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The latest meeting of Sierra Leone's Joint Committee on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration yielded an agreement to extend disarmament in the northern district of Koinadugu and start the process in two new areas of the country, UNAMSIL reported on Wednesday.
Tuesday's tripartite meeting, involving the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Sierra Leone's government and UNAMSIL (UN Mission in Sierra Leone), was to have taken place over two weeks ago but was postponed due to an RUF boycott.
Following a discussion on the low turnout of combatants in Koinadugu the parties agreed to extend disarmament there by two weeks. They said officials of the RUF, the pro-government Civil Defence Forces and UNAMSIL would carry out a resensitisation of combatants in the district on 20 September. The meeting also agreed that disarmament, preceded by a sensitisation programme, would begin on 24 September in the southern districts of Bombali and Bo.
The tripartite meeting also examined other aspects of the peace process and issues related to national recovery and stabilisation. It reviewed a range of political issues, including the transformation of the RUF into a political party, the question of a national consultative conference, the extension of government authority and freedom of movement of people and goods throughout the country, UNAMSIL reported.
The next meeting is due to take place in Freetown on 11 October, the UN said.
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