Rebels emerging at night “to terrorise”

Humanitarian sources said rebels in Freetown seem to have maintained their strategy of hiding in the hills during the day and emerging at night to terrorise civilians and attack ECOMOG positions. They cited ECOMOG sources as saying women and children were increasingly being used by the rebels to implement their plans. Some children who had been used to carry out amputations and other atrocities were captured by ECOMOG who said it would release them to UNICEF.

The number of registered displaced people in Freetown stood at 126,000, the sources said. In other parts of the country, around Kenema, rebels had been active but ECOMOG had repelled the attacks and said it was fully in control of the situation. In Bo, the number of displaced people was still low but tension was rising, while in Kambia food and medical supplies were running out, but no acute emergency had yet been reported.

The UN Secretary-General’s special representative, Francis Okelo, meanwhile stressed the humanitarian situation was still acute and required both a regional and international response.