{"id":19312,"date":"2024-07-09T15:01:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T14:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=19312"},"modified":"2024-07-09T15:01:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T14:01:16","slug":"us-air-force-flight-landed-in-sierra-leone-to-refuel-not-to-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/us-air-force-flight-landed-in-sierra-leone-to-refuel-not-to-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force flight landed in Sierra Leone to refuel, not to arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim:<\/strong> A social media user<\/a> is alleging that 5,000 [officers] from the US Air Force landed at the Sierra Leone International Airport in Lungi, Freetown, to capture an unnamed person.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verdict: <\/strong>False! The United States of America Embassy in Freetown has debunked the claim through its Facebook<\/a> page. Also, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority has said the aircraft landed at the Airport for routine check and refuelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the last couple of days, there has been controversy in Sierra Leone over the reason a United States of America military plane landed in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft with the inscription  \u201cU.S. AIR FORCE \u2014 8198 \u2013 437 AW, 315 AW\u201d<\/strong><\/a> landed <\/strong>at the country\u2019s International Airport, the Lungi Airport, on June 23, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media user Ransford Mann, in a Facebook post<\/a>, alleged that the military air force’s landing at the Lungi Airport was to capture an unnamed person. He also alleged that 5,000 US Air Force officers were on that flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c5,000 US Air Force just landed to capture him!\u201d \u201cI will keep you updated as and when I have more info\u201d  \u2014 the post added<\/em>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA took an interest in the claim by Ransford Mann because of his huge Facebook following of about 1.2k  followers \u2013 who typically take his posts to be true. The claim was also seen on several closed WhatsApp platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA contacted the Facebook user to find evidence regarding his post. <\/strong>However, Ransford Mann has since yet to respond to the message.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA then checked the country\u2019s aviation office, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation <\/a>Authority (SLCAA), to find whether there had <\/strong>been an official response. DUBAWA sighted a press release which states:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLANDING PERMIT FOR NON-SCHEDULE FLIGHT (NS). A permit to operate non-scheduled flight into Sierra Leone is hereby granted. . .\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The press release indicated further \u201cPursuant to Part X of the Civil Aviation Act 2023 to:  \u201cUNITED STATES EMBASSY (Technical stop fuel only).\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>Image showing a Landing Permit granted to the U.S. Embassy for the US Air Force flight to land at the Freetown International Airport. Image Source: <\/em>Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA) in Freetown <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government\u2019s reaction <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MICE)<\/a> reacted to the claims with a press release and agreement paper made between the United States Embassy in Freetown and the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA)<\/a>. They asserted the rights\/powers the aviation authority had given to the embassy for the U.S Air Force \u2013 8198 AW flight to land at the Freetown International Airport for refuelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry, on its official Facebook page,<\/a> indicated thus: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are taking extraordinary steps to release both the request and the issued permit for the United States Department of Defense aircraft that landed at and departed from Lungi Airport today.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States Embassy’s Reaction <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA contacted an official at the U.S. Embassy Communications Team, Mr. Alhassan Jalloh, by phone to confirm whether the Embassy had issued an official statement about the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alhassan confirmed to DUBAWA that the Embassy\u2019s Facebook page with a blue tick is a valid account of the U.S. Embassy in Freetown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever message you come across on the official and verified Facebook page of the U.S Embassy in Freetown is correct because the page is the valid Facebook hub where the Embassy communicates all its activities to the people of Sierra Leone,\u201d \u2013 Jalloh explained further to DUBAWA.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA conducted desktop research to determine the number of passengers a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III <\/a>can take. The checks suggest it can carry 134 passengers, 102 paratroopers, and other stretcher patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On its official Facebook handle, the United States of America Embassy in Freetown cleared the air regarding the viral allegations. The message on the Embassy\u2019s official Facebook page states: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are aware of some misinformation about a U.S Air Force plane that was seen landing at Lungi Airport.\u201d The post further disclosed<\/a>: \u201cA plane landed for routine refuelling and promptly left Sierra Leone. Rumours of the plane landing for any other purpose are false.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Based on the findings from DUBAWA\u2019s investigations, it is false that the US Aircraft landed with 5,000 officers to capture an unknown person. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: A social media user is alleging that 5,000 [officers] from the US Air Force landed at the Sierra Leone International Airport in Lungi, Freetown, to capture an unnamed person.   Verdict: False! The United States of America Embassy in Freetown has debunked the claim through its Facebook page. Also, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority has said the aircraft landed at the Airport for routine check and refuelling.  Full Text Over the last couple of days, there has been controversy in Sierra Leone over the reason a United States of America military plane landed in the country.  The aircraft with the inscription  \u201cU.S. AIR FORCE \u2014 8198 \u2013 437 AW, 315 AW\u201d landed at the country\u2019s International Airport, the Lungi Airport, on June 23, 2024. Social media user Ransford Mann, in a Facebook post, alleged that the military air force’s landing at the Lungi Airport was to capture an unnamed person. He also alleged that 5,000 US Air Force officers were on that flight. \u201c5,000 US Air Force just landed to capture him!\u201d \u201cI will keep you updated as and when I have more info\u201d  \u2014 the post added.  DUBAWA took an interest in the claim by Ransford Mann because of his huge Facebook following of about 1.2k  followers \u2013 who typically take his posts to be true. The claim was also seen on several closed WhatsApp platforms. Verification  DUBAWA contacted the Facebook user to find evidence regarding his post. However, Ransford Mann has since yet to respond to the message.   DUBAWA then checked the country\u2019s aviation office, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA), to find whether there had been an official response. DUBAWA sighted a press release which states:   \u201cLANDING PERMIT FOR NON-SCHEDULE FLIGHT (NS). A permit to operate non-scheduled flight into Sierra Leone is hereby granted. . .\u201d  The press release indicated further \u201cPursuant to Part X of the Civil Aviation Act 2023 to:  \u201cUNITED STATES EMBASSY (Technical stop fuel only).\u201d  Image showing a Landing Permit granted to the U.S. Embassy for the US Air Force flight to land at the Freetown International Airport. Image Source: Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA) in Freetown  Government\u2019s reaction  The country\u2019s Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MICE) reacted to the claims with a press release and agreement paper made between the United States Embassy in Freetown and the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA). They asserted the rights\/powers the aviation authority had given to the embassy for the U.S Air Force \u2013 8198 AW flight to land at the Freetown International Airport for refuelling.  The Ministry, on its official Facebook page, indicated thus:  \u201cWe are taking extraordinary steps to release both the request and the issued permit for the United States Department of Defense aircraft that landed at and departed from Lungi Airport today.\u201d  The United States Embassy’s Reaction  DUBAWA contacted an official at the U.S. Embassy Communications Team, Mr. Alhassan Jalloh, by phone to confirm whether the Embassy had issued an official statement about the matter.  Alhassan confirmed to DUBAWA that the Embassy\u2019s Facebook page with a blue tick is a valid account of the U.S. Embassy in Freetown.  \u201cWhatever message you come across on the official and verified Facebook page of the U.S Embassy in Freetown is correct because the page is the valid Facebook hub where the Embassy communicates all its activities to the people of Sierra Leone,\u201d \u2013 Jalloh explained further to DUBAWA.    DUBAWA conducted desktop research to determine the number of passengers a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III can take. The checks suggest it can carry 134 passengers, 102 paratroopers, and other stretcher patients. On its official Facebook handle, the United States of America Embassy in Freetown cleared the air regarding the viral allegations. The message on the Embassy\u2019s official Facebook page states:  \u201cWe are aware of some misinformation about a U.S Air Force plane that was seen landing at Lungi Airport.\u201d The post further disclosed: \u201cA plane landed for routine refuelling and promptly left Sierra Leone. Rumours of the plane landing for any other purpose are false.\u201d Conclusion  Based on the findings from DUBAWA\u2019s investigations, it is false that the US Aircraft landed with 5,000 officers to capture an unknown person. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1571,120,119,1268],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3442],"class_list":["post-19312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-check","category-economy","category-security","category-sierra-leone"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-51u","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3442,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"fayia-j-moseray","display_name":"Fayia J. 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