Kamajors warned to end lawlessness

Sierra Leonean officials have warned thousands of members of the pro-government Kamajor militia in the eastern district of Kenema to halt acts of lawlessness and to work for peace and stability in the area. The warning came on Monday from a delegation led by Vice-President Albert Joe Demby, the BBC reported. It followed persistent complaints of harassment, atrocities and general lawlessness by the Kamajors against the residents of towns and villages in southern and eastern Sierra Leone in the past month, the BBC said, adding that the fresh wave of violence, including armed, had created panic among the people. Demby visited eastern and southern Sierra Leone to investigate the complaints against the militia, also known as the Civil Defence Forces (CDF). He traveled with Deputy Defence Minister and National CDF Coordinator Sam Hinga Norman, and Security and Safety Minister Charles Margai. “The Civil Defence Forces are not an organisation for sheltering criminals ... anyone caught involved in any criminal activity will face the full force of the law,” the BBC quoted Norman as saying. A statement from President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s office on Monday said the UN and the international community had sent a clear message “that collective action is now being taken to end impunity in this country” by deciding to set up a special court to try violators of Sierra Leonean criminal law and international humanitarian law.