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Disarmament tally

    ABIDJAN

    The total number of ex-combatants who have disarmed in Sierra Leone has topped the 22,000 mark.

    As at 12 April, it had reached 22,558, Sierra Leone's National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) said. These included 4,227 Revolutionary United Front (RUF) soldiers, 7,474 from the Civil Defence Forces (CDF), 5,590 from the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council/Ex-Sierra Leone Army(AFRC/Ex-SLA) 3,804 SLA and 1,463 others.

    [The RUF was a rebel group. The ex-SLA are soldiers who were loyal to the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) junta that ruled Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998. The CDF were pro-government militias while the SLA are soldiers who remained loyal to the state throughout the conflict]

    Informed sources stated that by Monday, the number of disarmed ex-fighters had reached 22,613, including child combatants who gave themselves in without weapons.

    The total number of weapons and ammunition collected up to 12 April was 227,820 although the statement pointed out that the figures did not include arms or ammunition handed in by members of the current SLA.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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