Deployment of UN peacekeepers on track

UN peacekeepers continue to be deployed in Sierra Leone, with over 4,500 troops already on the ground, the UN Secretary-General’s spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said on Monday in New York. Of the six battalions that comprise the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) five have arrived in the mission area, Eckhard said. They are from Kenya, Ghana, India and Nigeria (two). A UNAMSIL spokesman in Freetown told IRIN that by 10 January, one Nigerian battalion had been deployed to Lungi, site of Sierra Leone’s international airport, as well as nearby Pepel village and Tasso Island. The other Nigerian battalion has been sent to Port Loko, Masiaka and Lunsar, all of which are crucial points on the roads from Freetown to other parts of the country. The deployment of the Kenyan battalion in the northern town of Makeni and in Magburaka, some 30 km south-east of Makeni was nearing completion. Some 300 Ghanaians had been sent to Daru in the eastern district of Kailahun and others were being sent to Kenema and Bo, UNAMSIL said. The Indian contingent is providing administrative, medical, transport and engineering support. It also includes an aviation refuelling unit. The remaining battalion, from Guinea, is scheduled to arrive in Freetown shortly, Eckhard said. In addition to the peacekeeping troops, some 215 unarmed military observers from 30 countries are monitoring the ceasefire and reporting on violations, UNAMSIL said.