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A protest in Freetown on Friday by a group of former combatants has ended and "everything brought to order", a humanitarian source in the Sierra Leone capital told IRIN.
"There was a small riot in town, but it was quickly controlled," he said. "Although I don't have many details about it, I heard that it was about their allowances." He said he heard no reports of casualties.
The rioters were believed to be ex-Sierra Leone Army (ex-SLA) fighters, soldiers loyal to the Armed Forces of Revolutionary Council (AFRC) junta that ruled the country from May 1997 to February 1998, who joined the RUF rebels when the AFRC was ousted.
Similar disturbances involving ex-combatants have ocurred before in Freetown. On 11 April, former fighters vandalised the office of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration in western Freetown after not receiving the second tranche of their US $300 demobilisation allowance.
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