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Secretary-General Annan, has recommended that the Security Council establish a new, robust UN peacekeeping force for Sierra Leone to help implement the Lome peace agreement, signed in July by the government and the RUF.
In a report released on Monday, Annan says that one of the main purposes of the proposed 6,000 strong force, will be to help the government disarm and demobilise an estimated 45,000 ex-combatants, many of them children. Another is that the force, to be called the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), will be expected to "create the conditions of confidence and
stability required for the smooth implementation of the peace process". It will replace the current UN observer mission known as UNOMSIL.
UNAMSIL should comprise six infantry battalions backed by specialised support units. These include logistics, communications, engineering and air and other transport units, Annan says.
Each battalion will be 750-strong. The specialised support units should have about 250 personnel each. Annan recommends that the UN force be supplied with armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter-borne rapid reaction unit of 200 soldiers. The number of military observers should also be expanded from the currently authorised 210 to 260, the report said.
Annan says that it would be advantageous to have a substantial number of ECOMOG troops incorporated into the new UN force.
The force will not be mandated to ensure the security of Freetown, the international airport at Lungi or provide security for the government. Those tasks will remain ECOMOG's, Annan says.
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
