Kenya Sends More Peacekeepers to Sierra LeoneKenya has sent 14 soldiers to Sierra Leone to replace the seven who were injured and returned to the country on Thursday, the East African Standard newspaper reported May 13.They left Nairobi for Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, by a U.N. military plane Friday to join their colleagues in the U.N. peacekeeping mission there, the report said. At the same time, Kenyan troops in Sierra Leone have moved to the safer region of Lungi on instruction from the U.N. peacekeeping force commander for counting to ascertain their safety. Reports here said 25 Kenyan soldiers are still being held hostage by the Revolutionary United Union rebels led by Foday Sankoh in the troubled country. Bogita Ongeri, spokesman for Kenya's Department of Defence, said "the government of Kenya is actively engaged in pursuing diplomatic and other initiatives to ensure the safety and well-being of our troops in Sierra Leone." Kenya sent a total of 824 officers and soldiers in two batches respectively in November and December last year to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone. |
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