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More former ECOMOG peacekeepers released

    ABIDJAN

    Fifteen out of 25 Nigerian soldiers convicted of mutiny in December 2000 were released last week, bringing to 17 the total number freed, AFP reported on Wednesday. The French news agency quoted their lawyer as saying that he was trying to obtain the release of the eight others.

    The 25 soldiers had been wounded while serving with ECOMOG, the West African peacekeeping force, in Sierra Leone and were sent to Egypt for medical treatment. However, they staged a protest, claiming that they were not given adequate medical care and demanding special overseas allowances, which the military authorities refused them on the grounds that they were only for personnel on military training courses abroad.

    The protesters were court-martialled and convicted of mutiny. They were originally sentenced to life imprisonment but their terms were reduced to between one and five years.

    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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