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Northern town reportedly burnt and looted

There have been unconfirmed reports that a village near Kamakwie, some 50 km north of Makeni, was burnt and looted on Tuesday by armed elements, a humanitarian source in Freetown told IRIN. The source said the looting may have been connected to the fact that rice is being harvested in the area.

The Sierra Leone Human Rights Committee (SLHRC), a consortium of local and international human rights organisations, said in its most recent bulletin - issued on 27 September - that there were “frequent reports” that food distributed in the Makeni area was being taken from civilians by fighters.

“The ‘food tax’ is reported to still operate in areas under control of RUF/AFRC,” SLHRC 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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