DATE=8/31/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE / BRITAIN (L ONLY) CQ
NUMBER=2-266027
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// RE-RUNNING TO CORRECT INTRO - DELETING REFERENCE
TO PEACEKEEPERS IN THE FIRST SENTENCE OF INTRO - NO
CHANGES IN TEXT ///
INTRO: Renegade soldiers in Sierra Leone freed five
captured British troops late Wednesday, but six others
are still being held by the group, known as the West
Side Boys. V-O-A Correspondent Laurie Kassman in
London reports negotiators say they hope the others
will be released soon.
TEXT: The head of the U-N peacekeeping mission in
Sierra Leone says the 11 British soldiers were on what
he describes as a "Rambo" mission when they were
captured last Friday.
Britain's defense ministry says the men were returning
from a routine visit with U-N Jordanian troops in the
town of Masiaka when the renegade soldiers, known as
the West Side Boys, stopped their convoy and took them
hostage.
The head of Britain's force in Sierra Leone says the
five soldiers who have been released are being
debriefed to find out what happened. Intense
negotiations continue to gain freedom for the other
six men still being held.
The West Side Boys are not linked to the main rebel
group, the Revolutionary United Front, and claim
loyalty to former junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma.
When they seized the soldiers, they demanded food and
medicine and the release of one of their leaders in
jail, in exchange for freedom for the 11 British
soldiers.
There are about 300 British troops in Sierra Leone to
train the country's army recruits.
The incident highlights the instability of U-N
peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, coming only
three months after rebels kidnapped 500 peacekeepers.
The U-N Security Council now is considering Secretary
General Kofi Annan's request to add seven-thousand
peacekeepers to the 13-thousand troops already
stationed there to help the government regain control
of the country. (Signed)
NEB/LMK/JWH/FC
31-Aug-2000 13:00 PM EDT (31-Aug-2000 1700 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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