DATE=6/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE / HOSTAGES (L)
NUMBER=2-263912
BYLINE=PURNELL MURDOCK
DATELINE=ABIJDAN
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Rebel forces in Sierra Leone have freed 21
United Nations peacekeepers who have been held
hostage since early June. V-O-A correspondent
Purnell Murdock has details from our West Africa
Bureau.
TEXT: United Nations peacekeeping officials in the
Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, say the 21 Indian
peacekeepers arrived in the Liberian capital,
Monrovia, late Thursday.
U-N Spokeswoman Hirut Befacadu says the men are
believed to be in good health. They will undergo a
physical examination Friday when they arrive in
Sierra Leone.
Ms. Befacadu told V-O-A that negotiations for the
hostages' release had been positive and she was happy
with the result.
/// Befacadu Act ///
I knew it was bound to come because the
negotiations hat have been going on - the
contacts we've been having were serious - and
therefore I waited for it.
/// End Act ///
The 21 Indian peacekeepers were seized on June fifth
in the eastern town of Kuiva and moved to nearby
Pendembu.
The rebels took hundreds of peacekeepers hostage in
May following a dispute over disarmament under a 1999
peace deal.
They began releasing the hostages in June, mostly
through Liberia. Liberian President Charles Taylor,
who is believed to have close ties with the Sierra
Leone rebels, has been a central figure in the
negotiations.
Some 200 Indian peacekeepers at a U-N compound in the
eastern town of Kailahun remain surrounded by
Revolutionary United Front rebels. (signed)
NEB/wpm/KBK
29-Jun-2000 18:01 PM EDT (29-Jun-2000 2201 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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