Kabbah calls for RUF challenge at the polls

Meanwhile, President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah challenged the RUF on Tuesday to fight his government at the ballot box in 16 months and not on the battlefield, news reports said. He was speaking in a nationwide independence day radio and television broadcast. His offer came a day after the RUF ceasefire proposal reported from Lome. Kabbah, who came to power in democratic elections ending military rule in 1996, also unveiled plans for an independent human rights commission. The body would investigate war atrocities, most of which the media has blamed on the RUF. The commission would also ensure the protection of fundamental rights of all Sierra Leoneans, he said.