2,000 troops pulling out

The first 500 Nigerian troops in ECOMOG returned home on Tuesday, marking the start of a staged withdrawal from Sierra Leone, Nigerian defence spokesman Colonel Godwin Ukpo told IRIN. Speaking from Lagos, he said up to 2,000 troops would have arrived in Nigeria by the end of the week. Before the withdrawals began, he said, there were between 10,000 and 11,000 Nigerian troops in the ECOMOG force. The size of the ECOMOG force is 12,000 to 15,000 men, according to various sources. Nigeria, which plays a pivotal role in the West African force, has stated it would withdraw its troops in a cost-cutting effort but without endangering Sierra Leone. From Freetown, ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Olukolade told IRIN that the Lome agreement allowed for the gradual withdrawal of the troops and that the pullout of Nigerian units would "not jeopardize the peace process or the security of Sierra Leone".