Security situation calm in western towns

Military observers in the towns of Port Loko, Moyamba and Mile 91, western Sierra Leone, have reported calm stability and ongoing economic activity, according to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) said.

In Port Loko, Captain Mark Aucoin told UNAMSIL's Chief Military Observer, Maj-Gen Syed Athar Ali, who visited the town on Tuesday, that trading activities had returned to normal in the area of the country's northern border with Guinea.

He also said that demobilised ex-combatants were actively engaged in farming and fishing activities. Ali was visiting the military observer team in the town.

Aucoin said that good progress had been made in extending government authority in the area.

The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and the police had been deployed, were maintaining good working relationships with the local population and had also participated in community-based projects in the neighbouring district of Kambia, he said.

With the help of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR), more than 6,000 former combatants had been registered for reintegration in the area, Aucoin said.

About 4,000 of them had already benefited from reintegration projects and a further 1,300 were undergoing training in various fields, he added.

In Moyamba, Lt-Commander Terry Bryne told Ali that plans were under way to reactivate the Sierra Rutile Mine, which had been the source of the main economic activity in the area.

The mine contributed about 90 percent of the country's export revenues between 1990 and 1995, prior to its closure because of war, and had employed more than 1,800 Sierra Leoneans.

In Mile 91, Ali commended the military observers for their dedication to duty. Noting that the focus of the mission had now shifted "from peacekeeping to peace building", he implored them to foster cooperation with all organisations and stakeholders in the area.