From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: SIERRA LEONE: NO END IN SIGHT TO REBEL
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 01:50:40 GMT

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, southern
Title: SIERRA LEONE: NO END IN SIGHT TO REBEL DESTABALISATION/RELATE/


/att editors: relate the following to 'committee for multi-party
democracy set up' moved from freetown at 9:15 gmt./

freetown, sept 23 (ips) thirty-six-year-old captain
thomas mansaray was buried at the war heroes cemetery in the
capital freetown last sunday.

he was killed and 16 soldiers seriously wounded in an ambush
367 km south-east of here by rebels of charles taylor's national
patriotic front of liberia (npfl) operating in sierra leone
since 1991.

since the npfl incursion across the common border began
nearly 18-months ago, a total of 8,500 civilians and 150
soldiers have died in gruesome circumstances at the hands of the
rebels and conscripted sierra leoneans.

taylor's policy of destabalisation is punishment for sierra
leone's involvement in the west african peacekeeping force
(ecomog) in liberia which for two-years has attempted to bring
order to the chaos-ridden country.

taylor believes ecomog is determined to prevent him from
seizing power.

only 400 rebels have given themselves up in response to an
amnesty offer made in april, under secretary of state
defence, amuel mondeh told ips, and there appears little hope at
the moment for an end to the conflict.

''this is an ugly chapter in our history. farms have
been devastated and our bread basket ruined in the east'', he
said.

the war is eating deep into sierra leone's fragile resources.
scarce foreign exchange is being used to buy arms and
ammunition.

the rebel insurgency at first caught the country and the
military unprepared and ill-equipped to fight. it resulted in
hundreds of desertions and army moral was low, one deserter who
has now returned to the warfront told ips.

''the former government leaders were siphoning money into
their pockets, fiddling while rome was burning'', he claims.

that perception within the army, that they were being left in
the lurch, resulted in the apr 29 military coup.

the new government of capt. valentine strasser, has made the
end of the war a priority. (more/ips)


sierra leone: no end (2)

but reverses suffered last weekend when rebels
threatened villages previously recaptured by government troops,
has been an unpleasant surprise.

under attack were baiima, once the training camp and
headquarters of npfl-sponsored rebels, jujuiama and
gandorhun near the diamond mining area of kono in eastern
province.

control of the mines, and the carting off of the diamonds
back into liberia, has been one of the npfl's principal targets.

armed forces chief brigadier jusu gottor explained, ''we knew
the rebels were down to nearly zero in their arms and ammunition
but there was a sudden resurgence in the rebel ranks.

''our intelligence report said the weapons the rebels now
have were those forcibly seized from ecomog forces which were
sent to npfl controlled areas and have now been expelled'', he
told ips.

on sep 7, 500 members of an ecomog resupply team in npfl
territory were disarmed and briefly detained under taylor's
direct orders.

any hopes of a quick solution to the rebel war are further
dampened by statements of captured rebels.

a 28 year-old female rebel officer, baindu kallon,
captured last week said 700 rebels conscripts are currently
undergoing training in mobai for a fresh attack on jujuima.

baindu kallon was the adjutant of a rebel command post for
13-months.

another factor in the conflict is the relationship between
sierra leone troops and their guinean allies. unsubstantiated
reports speak of ''a rift'' but this has been dismissed by
brigadier gottor.

the grounds of ''friction,'' defence strategists say, lies in
the presence of former sierra leonean president joseph momoh in
guinea where he took refuge after the coup.

it is widely believed here he is plotting a comeback and
members of his ousted government are funding their own rebel
force. the guineans have denied any involvement.

nevertheless, sierra leone officials made a hurried visit
to guinea last weekend for both a political and military meeting
to defuse the situation. (end/ips/r-mj/oa/92)