UN peacekeeping troops due

A battalion of Kenyan troops is expected to arrive at Lungi International Airport on Monday to form part of the new UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone, UN sources in Freetown told IRIN. The Kenyan contingent, due to have arrived last week but delayed because of logistical problems, will form part of a 6,000-strong force also made up of units from Ghana, Guinea, India and Nigeria. A handful of Kenyan officers are already in Sierra Leone ahead of their troops and some logistical equipment also arrived on Sunday, the BBC reported. The Kenyans are expected to set up a temporary transit base before being deployed to the northern towns of Magburaka and Makeni, it added. The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, told the BBC on Monday he was "quite confident" that the UN force would succeed in its task. It has been mandated by the UN Security Council to cooperate with the government in the implementation of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. Other areas of responsibility include ensuring the security and freedom of movement of personnel in the delivery of humanitarian aid, and to encourage the parties involved to create confidence-building measures.