Army convoy drives through rebel-held areas

Sierra Leonean government troops accompanied by officials of a British military training team on Thursday drove through Makeni - a Revolutionary United Front (RUF) stronghold about 140 km northeast of Freetown - and took food to the town of Kabala, media organisations reported.

Kabala has remained in government hands throughout the war. It was cut off from Freetown since 1997 by the rebels, and the government soldiers there had to be supplied by air, army spokesman Major John Milton said.

Milton told the BBC that the convoy was “important for the peace process”. He said it was “the first time in over three and a half years that the security situation has improved to the extent that government forces can now transit through areas that were previously considered too dangerous”.