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UNOMSIL releases rebels

    ABIDJAN

    UN military observers have released 14 Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels who had been captured by ECOMOG, a UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) source told IRIN on Monday.

    Eleven rebels were returned to their base at Laia in the Okra Hills, about 35 km from Freetown, and three others were handed over to UNICEF because they were minors, the source said.

    He added that ECOMOG handed over the rebels to UNOMSIL last week after they violated an 18 May ceasefire agreement by entering an area controlled by the peacekeepers.

    Under the agreement between the RUF and the government, which is backed by ECOMOG (the Economic Community of West African States Peace Monitoring Group), each side agreed to keep to its positions.

    RUF spokesman Omrie Golley had accused ECOMOG of violating the ceasefire, saying that the 14 were taken from rebel-held territory.

    The UNOMSIL source told IRIN ECOMOG agreed to release the captives “in the spirit of the agreement”.

    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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