ECOMOG captures Masiaka

The West African peace monitoring force, ECOMOG, seized the Sierra Leonean town of Masiaka on Thursday after days of fierce fighting with rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a spokesman for the force told IRIN.

"With the capture our vision of opening the road linking Bo, Kenema and Freetown," is more certain Lieutenant Colonel Chris Olukolade said. Masiaka lies on the junction of a major highway that leads to the large provincial towns.

The fighting involved artillery, heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. As mopping up operations were underway, Western diplomats told IRIN the town's capture would enable ECOMOG make a push on the highway east so that humanitarian goods could be trucked to Bo and Kenema which are held by pro-government forces.

Fighting is also taking place in Yele, about 150 km northeast of the capital Freetown, news reports and witnesses said on Thursday. The rebel attack at Yele on Tuesday sent residents fleeing to the nearby town of Bo.

Residents said the rebels burnt many homes and shot at people fleeing, among them women and children. The missionary news agency, MISNA, quoted independent sources as saying "several dozen" had been killed.

At an inter Religious Council meeting , comprising Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim leaders, Bishop Giorgio Biguzzi of the Makeni Diocese said actions such as that in Yele "constitute an obstacle in the peace process".