DATE=8/28/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-SIERRA LEONE (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-265916
BYLINE=BRECK ARDERY
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is
recommending a major increase in the size of the U-N
peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone. VOA Correspondent
Breck Ardery reports from the United Nations.
TEXT: In a report to the Security Council, Mr. Annan
says peacekeepers in Sierra Leone must have the
ability to use force when attacked or challenged. Mr.
Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, says that means the
size of the mission, currently 13-thousand troops,
must be increased.
///ECKHARD ACT///
In his report, the Secretary-General calls for
UNAMSIL, as the mission is known, to receive an
increase in peacekeepers to 20-thousand-500, in
order for the mission to fulfill its priority
tasks outlined in a Security Council resolution
earlier this month.
///END ACT///
That resolution authorized peacekeepers to get touch
with the rebel group known as the Revolutionary United
Front. Some members of that group have been attempting
to sabotage the peace process in Sierra Leone and took
several hundred peacekeepers hostage earlier this
year.
In addition to recommending an increase in the size of
the force, Mr. Annan also asks the Security Council to
extend the mandate of the Sierra Leone mission for
another six months, through March of next year.
///REST OPT///
In another development, Mr. Annan told reporters he is
hopeful that 11 British soldiers and one Sierra Leone
government soldier will soon be released. They were
taken hostage Friday by a rebel group known as the
"West Side Boys." The British troops are not part of
the U-N peacekeeping force but are members of a group
that is training the Sierra Leone army. (Signed)
NEB/UN/BA/LSF/FC
28-Aug-2000 15:57 PM EDT (28-Aug-2000 1957 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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