Sierra Leone has seen a surge in the disarmament
of former members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) after rebel leader
Foday Sankoh talked to his men, a United Nations spokesman said today.
More than 500 ex-combatants registered
and surrendered their weapons, bringing to 1, 342 the number from the RUF
who have now disarmed. Nearly 500 members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary
Council and 515 from the Civil Defence Force have also laid down their
weapons.
Despite this latest development, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that about 700 people arrived at the border with Guinea yesterday, reportedly fleeing attacks by rebels in north-western Sierra Leone. There are already 192,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea, which is hosting close to 500,000 refugees from neighbouring African countries.
Meanwhile, the first group of 130 UN peacekeepers from Kenya landed in Sierra Leone at 9:30 p.m. local time yesterday, later than expected. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Francis Okelo welcomed them, at a ceremony early this morning.