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Kabbah shakes hands with former rebel leader

    ABIDJAN

    President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah shook hands on Monday with Revolutionary United Front interim leader Issa Sesay and told his former enemy that the 10-year old war had ended, the Associated Press reported.

    This was Kabbah’s first trip to the diamond-rich Kono District since he became president on 29 March 1996. He was accompanied by Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali - and their officials - who came to assess the disarmament process in this former RUF stronghold and help build confidence among the district’s residents.

    “This was to let the people of Kono realise and appreciate the fact that we are right now moving towards the achievement of full peace, and that they should be ready to participate in this process,” Cecil Blake, Sierra Leone’s information minister, told the BBC.

    He said that Pakistani UN peacekeeping troops reported that since their arrival many of the district’s residents had returned.

    “This visit will boost that enthusiasm,” he added.

    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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