UN reconnaissance mission to Mile 91/Masiaka

An large UN aerial and road reconnaissance mission to Mile 91 and Masiaka, east of Freetown, revealed that the area was calm on Sunday, two days after a clash between UN peacekeepers and rebels, a UN spokeswoman told IRIN. One Jordanian UN peacekeeper was killed and four others injured in an ambush by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels on Friday, Hirut Befecadu, spokeswoman for the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), said on Monday. The four injured soldiers are being treated in a military hospital in Freetown, she added. The peacekeepers were in a patrol convoy of five vehicles which was attacked at 1:30 pm local time some 20 km west of the town of Mile 91, the UN reported. Some 10 bodies believed to be RUF were found in the area after the incident, Befecadu said. UN troops were also involved in a minor security incident on Saturday during a routine patrol near Rokel Bridge, some 65 km east of Freetown, the capital, Befecadu said. They fired some shots after coming across people attempting to vandalise an overturned truck. No one was hurt, she said.