ECOMOG denies reports of pull-out

ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Olukolade told IRIN on Wednesday that reports of the final pullout of West African peacekeeping forces in Sierra Leone were inaccurate. "It's just routine, some are going on leave and some have new assignments," he said. The Associated Press, quoting senior ECOMOG officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported about 150 soldiers flew from Lungi International Airport near Freetown on Monday and Tuesday, marking the resumption of the withdrawal. The agency said more would follow this week. However Olukolade said Nigeria, which provides the bulk of the force, would have ordered ECOMOG headquarters in Freetown to resume the pullout, suspended in the last quarter of 1999. As of Wednesday, he said, no directives had been received. Since the Lome Peace Accord was signed in July 1999 between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Sierra Leonean government, ECOMOG and UN forces have been jointly responsible for security in the country. Due to its planned withdrawal ECOMOG, has gradually been scaling down its duties and handing over to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) which is expected to reach its full strength of 11,000 by the end of July.