Tuesday, September 12, 2000
Members of Sierra Leone's rebel "West Side Boys" surrender to UN
12 September -- Members of the "West Side Boys" -- an armed band of rebels in Sierra Leone -- have turned themselves in to the UN mission in the country, a spokesman for the Organization announced today.
"Twenty-five West Side Boys surrendered and handed in their weapons and ammunition to the UN Mission in Masiaka yesterday," spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. Four more members of the group, including two child soldiers, had turned themselves in by midday today, he added.
The West Side Boys are made up of elements of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), the former Sierra Leonean Army and other supporters of the AFRC military junta.
Meanwhile, Nigerian soldiers working with the UN Mission at Rokel Bridge were attacked by small arms fire overnight. "No casualties were reported and no other details were immediately available," Mr. Eckhard said.
The overall security situation in Sierra Leone was reported to be calm, except in the Masiaka area in the east, which remained tense following a rescue operation over the weekend which freed six British military personnel and one Sierra Leonean army officer who had been detained by the West Side Boys.
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