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On-off disarmament in east

    ABIDJAN

    Disarmament of rebels in eastern Sierra Leone, which had started this week, ground to a halt again after two days, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) spokesperson Margaret Novicki told IRIN on Friday.

    A total of 366 former fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) handed over weapons on Tuesday and Wednesday in Kailahun town, three weeks after the disarmament process had stalled in eastern Kenema and Kailahun Districts. The rebels had refused to disarm because they were unhappy over a number of issues including the outcome of the National Consultative Conference and the continued detention of their leader, Foday Sankoh. They also expressed concern over the time taken to fully register the RUF as a political party, which would make it eligible for presidential and legislative elections scheduled for May 2002.

    It is not clear why the the RUF disarmed in Kailahun town for two days and abruptly stopped again but, according to Novicki, there may have been some confusion within the rank and file members over whether or not they had been given the green light to go ahead. "I believe they started without instructions from higher authorities and have now decided to wait," she said.

    At the second centre in Daru town in Kailahun, a total of 795 pro-government Civil Defence Forces (CDF) had disarmed as of Thursday, UNAMSIL reported.

    Meanwhile disarmament in Kenema District is also facing hitches. No RUF rebels had yet reported to the disarmament centre in the diamond-mining town of Tongo Field, Novicki said, adding that 147 CDF had disarmed as at Thursday in Kenema town. However, according to a report by BBC on Thursday, Kamajor militia forces (CDF) were refusing to continue disarmament in Kenema District until eight of their colleagues, who are facing murder charges, were released.

    Kenema and Kailahun are the last two remaining districts to disarm in Sierra Leone. UNAMSIL officials are having discussions with rebel leaders to try to resolve outstanding issues "which we expect will be sorted out in the near future," Novicki said.

    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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