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Over 1,000 rival fighters disarm in three days

    ABIDJAN

    More than 1,000 rebels and militiamen have disarmed over the past few days at special centres in Kambia and Port Loko, northern Sierra Leone, Margaret Novicki, spokeswoman for the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), told IRIN on Monday. “It’s been extremely encouraging,” she said.

    Between Friday, when the process started, and Sunday, 396 adult Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters and 115 child soldiers disarmed, Novicki said. The rival Civil Defence Forces (CDF), a pro-government militia, turned in 494 adults and four child soldiers.
    Weapons surrendered included AK 47 and AK 48 assault rifles, light, heavy and general-purpose machine guns, FN rifles, grenades and mortars. Those in good working order were disabled on site and all are to be turned into farming tools.

    Novicki said the ex-fighters were being taken to disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration camps in Port Loko, 60 km northeast of Freetown, where they will be prepared for civilian life. The rebels and the militia had each said they had 1,000 fighters due for disarmament in this sector.

    The disarmament operation follows the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement between the RUF and CDF on 15 May.

    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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