Operation Phillis was the British service-assisted evacuation operation for British citizens in

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

in November 2004. It was put into effect on 11 November of that year in response to the Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire. A company of the

Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unit ...

was initially deployed to neighbouring

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

transport aircraft were put on standby and HMS ''Albion'' was also directed towards the area to assist. Later troops of the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment were placed on standby to move to the area if reinforcements were needed. On 12 November the evacuation began to proceed as two RAF

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

and a C17 Globemaster aircraft flew evacuees to Ghana, with 120 Ghurkas escorting the evacuees from Abidjan to the airport and then forming a perimeter as the aircraft took off. 50 hours after it began the operation was complete, with 300 people evacuated including the British ambassador David Coates, and his staff. No British military or civilian casualties occurred during the operation.

References

Phillis Phillis is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Dennis Phillis (born 1948), Australian rules footballer * Jodi Phillis (born 1965), Australian guitarist * Rob Phillis (born 1956), Australian retired motor ...

2004 in Ivory Coast {{UK-mil-stub