Cautious response to ceasefire

Humanitarian sources in Freetown told IRIN on Thursday they hoped a ceasefire announced by government and rebel representatives would allow people affected by the insecurity to receive much needed help.

"The most important impact of this agreement, from a humanitarian point of view, is in terms of improved access allowing safe delivery of supplies," a humanitarian source told IRIN, expressing a view echoed by several other aid organisations in Freetown.

Safe, unhindered access by humanitarian organisations to all people in need was one of the six points of the ceasefire agreement signed on Monday in Lome, Togo, by President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and rebel leader Foday Sankoh.

Residents of the eastern towns of Bo and Kenema face a food crisis since stocks are running low and the insecurity on the main Freetown-Bo highway has continued to constrain food aid deliveries.

"If the highway becomes safe, we will be able to increase our ability to deliver supplies," a CARE International spokesperson told IRIN.

However, there was some scepticism about the ceasefire, scheduled to enter into effect on 24 May.

Reuters reported that some people expressed concern that the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) might not have enough control over its guerillas. Others voiced similar fears about the pro-government Civil Defence Force (CDF), which includes the Kamajors.

In Freetown's hospitals and amputee camps, victims of rebel atrocities expressed hope that the war would soon be over, news organisations reported. One amputee was quoted by AFP as saying, "Our spirit has been lifted and most of us no longer bear any grudge against the rebels."