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10 May 2000

UNAMSIL Digging In Near Freetown

(RUF reported heading toward Sierra Leone capital) (330)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- With Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters
reported "on the move" in Sierra Leone, U.N. peacekeepers have begun
consolidating their positions near Freetown, U.N. spokesman Fred
Eckhard said May 10.
Briefing reporters at the United Nations, Eckhard said that RUF forces
have been heading toward Freetown, and people on the move in the
country are believed to be fleeing fighting reported near Waterloo,
Masiaka, Mile 91, and other areas.
The U.N. Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers, who now
number 8,936, are being reinforced and consolidated near Freetown, the
spokesman said.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan indicated to journalists earlier that
"'we will do what we have to do to defend ourselves and the
government. We hope that it's not going to come to a pitched battle,
but, in effect, we're preparing for one,'" the U.N. spokesman said.
"Peacekeepers are not a fighting force. They are not configured to do
battle," Eckhard said. "They're basically digging in in a defensive
mode, anticipating the worst -- which is that there would be some kind
of attack on Freetown."
New UNAMSIL contingents from Bangladesh, Jordan, and India are
expected to arrive in Sierra Leone between May 20 and May 31, Eckhard
said.
"The problem now is not a shortage of planes," Eckhard said. "We have
enough lined up. It is the coordination of the equipment and getting
each of these units in sequence and their equipment to the place where
the planes will pick them up and deliver them to Sierra Leone."
Eckhard said that one of two Zambian UNAMSIL units detained by the RUF
has been taken further east to an RUF stronghold near Koidu, but he
had no information on their condition.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)