News reports say that between seven and nine Malian soldiers serving in the ECOMOG peacekeeping force were killed by rebels during fighting around the town of Port Loko last week. Three Malian soldiers were also reported missing after the attack on the town, some 58km northeast of Freetown.
Malian and Nigerian ECOMOG troops protecting Port Loko fought against rebels last Friday with heavy losses reported on both sides, Reuters reported diplomats as saying. However, an ECOMOG spokesman told IRIN this week that they had suffered only "a few casualties".
A spokesman for the RUF, Omrie Golley, urged Mali to withdraw its troops from Sierra Leone after their involvement in the recent fighting, Reuters reported.
Mali sent over 400 troops to Sierra Leone in February following the rebel attack on Freetown on 6 January. Mali's involvement in the conflict was unpopular at home even before news of the latest casualties, according to the BBC.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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