Clash between ECOMOG and rebel forces

A clash between ECOMOG forces and rebels at the weekend left one Ghanaian soldier wounded and one rebel dead, ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Olukolade told IRIN on Wednesday. Earlier, the media reported that a Ghanaian soldier and at least four rebels had been killed. The confrontation between the two forces took place close to midnight on Sunday between Madina and Pepel, just north of the Freetown peninsula and near Lungi International Airport. Intelligence reports had indicated that rebels would be foraging for food in the area, Olukolade said, and so Ghanaian ECOMOG troops were on the alert. Olukolade said that during the attack, which lasted under an hour, the ECOMOG platoon repelled some 300 rebel forces made up of both ex-Sierra Leonean Army (SLA) and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters. Six rebels were captured and are now in Freetown, Olukolade added, and the remainder retreated to their base in the area.