DATE=12/6/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE / U-N (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256885
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=ABIDJAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The first elements of a United Nations
peacekeeping force have begun arriving in Sierra
Leone. As V-O-A's John Pitman reports from our
West Africa bureau, the six-thousand troop force
are expected to reach full strength by the end of
this month.
TEXT: After several weeks of delay, one hundred
and thirty Kenyan peacekeepers arrived in Sierra
Leone last week.
The United Nations mission in Sierra Leone, known
as UNAMSIL, says it expects to pick up the pace
of its deployment in the coming days. An
additional 350 Kenyan soldiers are due in Sierra
Leone this week, as the Kenyan contingent builds
up to around 1000 troops.
In addition to Kenyan soldiers, elite troops from
the Indian army are also scheduled to start
arriving in Sierra Leone this week. A UNAMSIL
spokesman tells V-O-A the first members of the
Indian contingent are expected on Tuesday, but he
added details of the deployment are, in his
words, "shrouded in secrecy."
News reports say the Indian troops will most
likely be from the elite Ghurka regiment.
Unconfirmed reports say the Indian soldiers will
be deployed in eastern Sierra Leone, in territory
still controlled by the former rebel group, the
Revolutionary United Front.
Under the terms of the peace agreement signed in
July by the government and the rebels, the U-N
force is to help disarm the estimated 45-thousand
combatants on both sides.
When it reaches full strength, the U-N force will
number six-thousand troops, some of whom will be
equipped with tanks. In addition to Kenya and
India, Ghana and Guinea-Conakry are also
supplying token contingents. The bulk of the U-N
force - around four-thousand troops - will be
Nigerians drawn from the West African, ECOMOG,
peacekeeping force. That force fought on the
government's side after restoring President Ahmad
Tejan Kabbah to power in 1998.
Under the terms of the July peace accord, ECOMOG
will continue to work with the United Nations in
a limited capacity.
A UNAMSIL spokesman says the budget for the U-N
peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone has been set
at 250-million dollars for the next six months.
(SIGNED)
NEB/JP/GE/LTD/KL
06-Dec-1999 11:57 AM EDT (06-Dec-1999 1657 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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