OWN CORRESPONDENT, Freetown | Wednesday 3.00pm.
THE West African intervention force Ecomog needs at least 2000 additional troops to put an end to the war in Sierra Leone.
Ecomog spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jimoh Okunlola said on Tuesday: “Ivory Coast, Gambia and Mali have promised their support. We need at least 2000 men, real fighters, as well as logistical support.”
At present, the Ecomog force is made up mainly of Nigerian soldiers, with some Guineans and Ghanaians, and is thought to number about 5000.
Ecomog, initially set up by the 16-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to intervene in the 1989-96 war in Liberia, in February helped to oust a junta that took the country in a coup last May, but has so far failed to defeat die-hard rebels operating in the north and east of the country.
The ousted junta fighters, allied with longtime rebels of the Revolutionary United Front, have been accused of committing atrocities against civilians in the north. “Today we control 90% of the country,” Okunlola said. “Pockets of resistance remain, especially in the [northern] Kabala and [eastern] Kono and Kailahun areas.”
He added that the rainy season is a factor, and that the rebels are hiding out in dense forests. “We don’t have enough troops to cover the entire territory,” Okunlola said.