ECOMOG clears highway to interior

ECOMOG, the West African Peace Monitoring Group, has begun to clear rebels from a stretch of highway linking the capital Freetown to the eastern part of the country, a ranking official told reporters in Freetown. ECOMOG Chief of Staff Major-General John Olu said at a news conference on Thursday that his troops had begun moving towards Masiaka from Songo which they captured on Friday. Masiaka, on a key road junction to the north and to the eastern diamond mining area controlled by rebels, lies 75 km east of Freetown. The reopening of the highways to the north and the east will allow for the shipment of vital food and medical supplies. Much of country inaccessible to humanitarian assistance Meanwhile, humanitarian sources said at least two-thirds of Sierra Leone was inaccessible to aid agencies. For a year already, fighting in Sierra Leone had made it impossible to assess the needs of at least half the country's estimated 4.6 million people. For example, food stocks were expected to run out in the eastern cities of Bo and Kenema because of poor road access. The BBC on Wednesday quoted aid agencies as saying thousands of civilians trapped behind rebel lines in the town of Segbwema, some 236 km southeast of Freetown, faced starvation. It quoted an escaped relief official as saying that residents were living off wild fruit. RUF claims jets killed civilians in Songo, but survivors blame rebels Revolutionary United Front (RUF) spokesman Omrie Golley claimed on Thursday that ECOMOG jets were responsible for the death of scores of civilians in Songo, some 40 km east of Freetown, Reuters reported. "For eight consecutive hours they were bombarding allegedly RUF positions in the area on Friday," he told the agency "We unreservedly deny that the RUF has been responsible." However, survivors were quoted as saying at least 125 people died and that the rebels started killing residents as ECOMOG ground troops advanced on the town, the BBC said. It added the dead included hostages taken by the rebels from other towns and villages.