Five U.N. Hostages Released in S. LeoneRebels in Sierra Leone have released five of the estimated 92 United Nations personnel they have been holding hostage over the past two days.The British Broadcast Cooperation (BBC) Friday quoted a U.N.spokesperson as saying in Freetown, capital of the west African country, that the five - a helicopter crew and a passenger - had now returned to an airfield in Freetown. The peacekeepers are being held by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) headed by Foday Sankoh, who accused the U.N.peacekeepers of trying to force his fighters to disarm. He had earlier warned the U.N. force not to reinforce military positions near his stronghold. "We don't want violence here again. It's provocation. You provoke the men, you make a big mistake," Sankoh said in an interview with the BBC. After RUF rebels killed four Kenyan soldiers and took dozens of other U. N. peacekeepers hostage in attacks earlier this week, U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan wanted a rapid-reaction force deployed immediately, rather than waiting for reinforcements due next month. |
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