RUF intimidate ex-SLA for disarming

Some Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in eastern Sierra Leone have been intimidating former Sierra Leone Army (SLA) fighters who have disarmed, the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) reported in its bulletin on Thursday. The RUF claim that the former SLA soldiers have betrayed their common leader, Foday Sankoh, by agreeing to disarm. At times, it is also claimed that the RUF punish the SLA rebels, the NCDDR reported reliable sources as saying. As of 25 March some 256 ex-combatants - 230 ex-SLA and 26 RUF - occupy the Daru demobilisation centre which has a capacity of up to 2,000, the NCDDR liaison officer in the centre, John Jusu, said. He added that many of the ex-SLA's wanted to rejoin the restructured national army. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and senior military officers announced just over a week ago that that all former SLA were to be reintegrated into the military pending a selection process for the restructured army. An Indian contingent of UN Mission in Sierra Leone troops is now stationed in Daru and is responsible for the town's security."There is a free flow of vehicular traffic to and from Daru town and indeed up to places like Kailahun," Jusu said. Former combatants mingle freely with civilians who, Jusu added, were still concerned over the slow pace of disarmament. A concluding statement from the high-level donor's conference held in London on 27 March said that the DDR programme in Sierra Leone needed speeding up.