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. 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.