The West African Peace Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) condemned on Wednesday the recent statement by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) "field commander" Sam Bockarie in which he objected to his troops being disarmed by ECOMOG soldiers.
"ECOMOG High Command views Sam Bockarie's attitude with great concern and wishes to assure the general public that his threats are not capable of reversing the progress so far made in the peace efforts in Sierra Leone," ECOMOG said.
Bockarie told the BBC on Monday that he did not want his troops disarmed by ECOMOG or by former ECOMOG soldiers due to be absorbed into the UN peacekeeping force. He added that the Nigerians must leave Sierra Leone before he would cooperate with the UN.
Meanwhile ECOMOG said it was satisfied with its "interaction with the RUF leadership", which confirms that Bockarie's statements were personal and that he was acting alone. It added that RUF leader Foday Sankoh had been supporting the bodies involved in the implementation of the disarmament
process.
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