Powering-sharing agreement imminent?

A source close to the Sierra Leone peace talks in Lome told IRIN on Monday that oustanding issues relating to RUF representation in a proposed government of national unity could be resolved soon. “There is a process of dialogue which will be resolved in a few hours,” the source said in reaction to reports that the talks had been bogged down over the issue of power-sharing. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels originally requested 11 cabinet positions, but the government was only prepared to offer two ministerial posts, the source said, adding: “We are now down to about eight. It is all part of the negotiating process.” Meanwhile, Kingsley Amaning, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sierra Leone, told IRIN he was working closely with the two sides to resolve outstanding issues relating to humanitarian access. “We are in the final stages of the setting up of the implementation committee and we are making steady progress on establishing mechanisms for providing access,” he said. UNOMSIL releases rebels UN military observers have released 14 RUF rebels who had been captured by ECOMOG, a UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) source told IRIN on Monday. Eleven rebels were returned to their base at Laia in the Okra Hills, about 35 km from Freetown, and three others were handed over to UNICEF because they were minors, the source said. He added that ECOMOG handed over the rebels to UNOMSIL last week after they violated an 18 May ceasefire agreement by entering an area controlled by the peacekeepers.