Guinean forces launch attacks against rebels

Guinean forces have launched a major counter attack, including air strikes, against rebels who control much of Sierra Leone’s western border district of Kambia, Reuters reported yesterday (Sunday). Aid workers in contact with the area were reported by Reuters as saying that fighting took place on Saturday as the Guinean troops tried to remove rebels who had advanced up to the border. The news agency reported that thousands of civilians had fled into Guinea, where the border town of Pamalap was shelled. Diplomats in Guinea’s capital, Conakry said its government has sent thousands of soldiers to drive the rebels from the border area, Reuters reported. Meanwhile ECOMOG spokesman, Lt-Col Chris Olukolade told IRIN today that Guinean ECOMOG soldiers had driven the rebels from Kambia, the last major stop on the road to Pamalap, but he added that some fighting was still going on as troops encountered “some pockets of resistance” in the area. Olukolade said the rebels had “hidden behind” civilians in order to gain access to the town. However, according to a report today by independent Star Radio in Liberia, the town of Kambia was still divided between rebels and government troops. Meanwhile, reports from the Missionary News Agency (MISNA) said today that ECOMOG had recaptured Lunsar in the North Province. Olukulade confirmed to IRIN that ECOMOG was “in the process of establishing control in the entire area and ensuring there is no further rebel activity.” He added that ECOMOG’s role now was to “restore the local population’s confidence.”