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S. Leone Rebels Return Seized Weapons to UNAMSIL
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) Monday announced that the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has returned weapons and military equipment seized last year from United Nations peacekeepers, according to reports reaching here from the country's capital Freetown.
Head of the RUF delegation Ngulu Kpakai handed over an assortment of AK-47 and G3 rifles, general purpose machine guns and other weapons to the UNAMSIL at a ceremony in the northern town of Makeni. Also turned in were various military vehicles, equipment, uniforms and kits.
The weapons were seized from the UNAMSIL and peacekeepers of the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) during RUF's war against the government since 1991. About 500 U.N. peacekeepers were taken hostage in the rebel-held areas last May after the RUF rebels broke a 1999 peace deal.
Kpakai told UNAMSIL Deputy Force Commander Major General Martin Agwai that logistic problems had prevented the release of more equipment. He pledged to hand over more in the future.
On the same occasion, Agwai noted that the hand-over demonstrated the RUF's commitment to abide by the Abuja Cease-fire Agreement, urging combatants to turn in seized weapons to their commanders, who would then hand them over to UNAMSIL.
Meanwhile, Agwai called for the RUF to provide the type and location of remaining equipment taken from both the UNAMSIL and peacekeepers of the ECOMOG, saying that the information would enable UNAMSIL to determine the kind of logistical assistance needed.
As the largest U.N. peacekeeping force in the world, the UNAMSIL, which will increase to 17,500 troops from a current strength of 12,000, is trying to strengthen its deployment aimed at achieving lasting peace in the West African country.
A cease-fire last November, which allowed U.N. troops to deploy in rebel-held areas, largely ended decade-long fighting between the government army and the rebels, who launched their rebellion in 1991 that killed more than 20,000 people and made thousands refugees.
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