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Final disarmament in Tonkolili district

    ABIDJAN

    The official end-phase of disarmament in Sierra Leone's central district of Tonkolili took place on Tuesday, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) reported. Several ex-combatants of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) handed over various types of weapons, including AK-47s, rifles and self-loading machine-guns to UNAMSIL peacekeepers in the town of Magburaka, it said.

    However, a UNAMSIL official told IRIN that while Tuesday's disarmament was considered the final phase in Tonkolili under an agreement within the country's Joint Committee on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration that the district would disarm on 1-14 November, "it is possible that we could still get late disarmaments after the 14 November deadline."

    Sierra Leone's government and RUF rebels agreed last week at the latest meeting of the joint committee to take "immediate action to facilitate fast disarmament" in all the country's districts by 30 November. The committee comprises representatives of the government, UNAMSIL and the RUF's political and peace council.

    UNAMSIL Force Commander Lt-Gen Daniel Opande said the humanitarian needs of Sierra Leonean civilians who supported the RUF during the war would be addressed through the National Commission for Reconstruction, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (NCRRR), a state body, the statement added. Opande also met with RUF interim leader Issa Sesay to discuss the forthcoming disarmament of ex-combatants in the eastern district of Kailahun.

    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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