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Government bans unauthorised armed men in Freetown

    ABIDJAN

    Joint patrols by UNAMSIL and Sierra Leonean military police have been established to end the unauthorised movement of armed personnel in Freetown, the government announced on Thursday over state-owned radio.

    In addition, AFP quoted the Ministry of Information as saying all armed pro-government forces in the capital would be issued with passes to allow them to circulate. “Armed personnel found moving around without passes will be arrested,” the ministry said.

    Difficulty in identifying the various armed groups (most of which had no uniforms) has caused confusion and, AFP said, this enabled many RUF rebels to slip into Freetown when they invaded the city’s eastern suburbs in January 1999.

    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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