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Britain reaffirms military support

    ABIDJAN

    Britain’s long-term aim in Sierra Leone is to see stability, the demobilisation of rebel forces and the government in control of the diamond-producing areas, British Secretary of State for Defence Geoffrey Hoon said in a statement on Tuesday.

    To help restore peace to the country, an advance party of the UK-led International Military Assistance Training Team, announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair on 27 March, will arrive in Freetown soon, he said.

    “The team will provide advice and training to help the government of Sierra Leone rebuild a new, effective and democratically accountable armed forces and Ministry of Defence in line with the Lome Peace Agreement,” Hoon reported.

    The UK will provide the majority of the personnel but the team, some 90 strong, will be a multinational effort and other countries with an interest in seeing peace in Sierra Leone are being encouraged to contribute.

    “Our longer term aim is to have a Sierra Leone that is stable, in which rebel fighting forces have been demobilised, with the government of Sierra Leone in control of the diamond-producing areas,” Hoon said.

    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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