UN deploys to Tongo Fields

The UN deployed an advance party of some 300 Zambian peacekeeping troops on Friday to diamond-rich Tongo Fields in eastern Sierra Leone, a UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) news release said.

The remainder of the peacekeepers, who after full deployment will constitute a battalion, are expected to be deployed this week to the area, located in Kenema District. Tongo Fields was until recently a stronghold of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and UN deployment there marks another boost for the peace process. At a ceremony to mark the occasion, the RUF commanding officer in Tongo, Colonel Sama Banya, told UNAMSIL that his men would give the mission their full cooperation. UNAMSIL Force Commander General Daniel Opande assured local residents that NGOs would bring relief assistance as soon as former combatants had disarmed, the news release said. A recent mission by the medical aid organisation MERLIN to Tongo Fields revealed a dire humantarian situation - no health facilities, poor water and sanitation and a lack of food.

Earlier this month there were other encouraging signs in the peace process. On 5 September, the government released some RUF detainees from Pademba Road Prison in the capital, Freetown, as a show of confidence in the process. For its part, the RUF recently allowed UN troops to deploy to the eastern mining district of Kono.