S. Leone Calls for Immediate UN Sanctions on LiberiaThe Sierra Leonean government Monday urged the United Nations to impose immediate sanctions on Liberia for its regional destabilization schemes leading to tens of thousands of refugees, according to reports reaching here from Sierra Leone's capital Freetown.Liberia has failed to show proof and independent verification of the steps it claims that it has taken to "disengage itself from the rebel Revolutionary Union Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone," the Sierra Leonean government said in a statement. "A week ago, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that the RUF was still holding 500 children; that some 10,000 children had lost contact with their families, while over 1,000 girls had become victims of rape," the statement said. It appealed to the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions against Liberia based on the findings and recommendations of its Panel of Experts on diamonds and arms so as to protect tens of thousands of refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia. The statement came after Guinea called for sanctions against Liberia, of which the U.N. agreed to postpone for two months. |
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