200 Rebels arrive in Mile 91

A group of 200 Revolutionary United Front fighters arrived in the central town of Mile 91 on Sunday at the end of a 30-day ceasefire between the rebels and the government to affirm their commitment to peace in the country, SLENA reported.

The group came from Magburaka, northeast of Mile 91. It was escorted by members of the Organization for Peace, Reconstruction and Development (OPRAD) and Action Aid’s project support officer for youth, Tennyson William. The fighters said they were ready to welcome Action Aid into areas under their control.

Williams, who was in Mile 91 as part of Action Aid’s Never Again Campaign, told the Sierra Leone News Agency (SLENA) that the fighters’ arrival was an encouraging sign of peace.

The campaign aims at letting Sierra Leoneans take charge in ensuring that atrocities never occur again. Its main thrust is a peace-building initiative for the identification of the primary causes of the war, SLENA reported.

It quoted Williams as saying that the effort would allow victims and perpetrators of war crimes “to share their experiences, bringing to light and denouncing the dehumanizing ordeals of war”.

Williams said OPRAD was determined to keep coaxing the RUF out of the bush for as long as “they have the necessary support”. He said the organisation had already started trying to do this in the Western Area, close to Freetown, as well as the eastern towns of Bo and Kenema.