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Government denounces ex-rebel's claims

    ABIDJAN

    Liberia has denounced claims by former Revolutionary United Front (RUF)commander Sam Bockarie that he is an unofficial security adviser to President Charles Taylor and is thinking of returning to Sierra Leone, a Liberian minister told IRIN on Friday.

    The claims were reported on Tuesday in 'The Washington Post' which also quoted Bockarie as saying that he was controlling some 2,000 RUF members, some of whom had been integrated into the Liberian government's Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) while others were training for a return to Sierra Leone.

    Liberian Information Minister Joe Mulbah denied that Bockarie or any other RUF members were working for the government. He said Bockarie could not return to Sierra Leone as "he is under the protective custody of Liberia".

    Bockarie fled Sierra Leone in December 1999 following a rift between him and RUF leader Foday Sankoh. Prior to his flight, Bockarie had said he was dissatisfied with the implementation of the Lome peace deal and had openly defied Sankoh by refusing to disarm to ECOMOG or Nigerian soldiers.

    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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