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Two more hostages freed

    ABIDJAN

    Two more hostages, a UN human rights officer and a Reuters journalist, were released late on Thursday, bringing the total to seven, a humanitarian source told IRIN.

    The humanitarian source said the hostage-takers, ex-members of the former Sierra Leone Army (SLA), insisted on the release of former Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) leader Johnny Paul Koroma, whom they claimed was being detained by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

    However, RUF leader Foday Sankoh said in a BBC radio broadcast on Friday that Korama was free to travel to Freetown if he wished.

    "He is not being held," Sankoh said.

    Sankoh described the hostage taking of the others as an isolated incident that would not affect the implementation of the Lome peace accord that ended a bitter war against the government of President of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. The humanitarian source confirmed that a British hostage negotiation team was expected in the country soon.

    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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