Ceasefire threatened by rebel blockade

Sierra Leone’s ceasefire is threatened by a rebel roadblock at a key junction near Robat village on the main road to Masiaka, some 50 km east of Freetown, ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Olukulade told IRIN on Tuesday. Olukulade said a group of about a dozen rebels had set up the roadblock since the start of the ceasefire and had therefore “committed a violation, details of which had been reported to UN military observers”. Although the rebels allow people to pass, it is unacceptable, Olukulade said, for ECOMOG troops to have to go through a rebel checkpoint to get food and provisions to units on the other side. ECOMOG was concerned, Olukulade added, because rebels were using the checkpoint to spy on its positions. ECOMOG (the Economic Community of West African States Peace Monitoring Group) has been supporting Sierra Leone’s government against Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels. Its force commander, Major Felix Mujakperuo, has warned that unless the rebels leave the area, he would have to “force his way through”, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported. Mujakperuo’s warning came as peace talks between the government and the RUF entered their second week in Togo’s capital, Lome. The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) said in a press release on Monday that it continued to receive reports of “violations or attempted violations of ceasefire which could place the peace talks in Lome, Togo, in jeopardy.” According to the press release, UNOMSIL urged all parties involved in the conflict to observe the ceasefire in word and deed and to avoid “provocative actions,” so that the talks can continue in an “atmosphere of understanding and cordiality”. A UNOMSIL spokesperson in Lome told IRIN the two sides were working in three joint committees on political, military and social/humanita.