FRANSCOIS-XAVIER HARISPE, Abidjan | Friday 9.00pm.
THE fragile one-day-old ceasefire in the Sierra Leone capital Freetown crumbled on Friday as rebel insurgents intensified their attacks against positions held by the pro-government Nigerian-led intervention force, Ecomog.
Information was scarce on what areas of Freetown are in rebel or Ecomog control, as most phone lines are down in the city and the only means of communication is satellite phone. Sierra Leone’s Information Minister Julius Spencer told BBC radio, however, that shooting carried on overnight.
“By all indications, the rebels seem to have no intention of respecting the ceasefire,” he said, adding that he suspected the central power plant to have been attacked since all power was cut off in the city. Spencer also said fires had been set in Kingtom, in western Freetown.
On Friday morning, Sam Bockarie, the deputy leader of the Revolutionary United Front said that he had ordered his men to launch a general offensive on the capital, and that only the release of historic leader, Foday Sankoh, and a meeting with him “on neutral ground” would stop rebels from fighting.
Bockarie, also known as Mosquito, insisted that the rebels would obey their leader’s commands for a ceasefire only if Sankoh is proven “physically and mentally fit.” “I’ve ordered an offensive to start today on Lungi. Anyone who is found there is considered an enemy,” Bockarie said. Government ministers and foreign journalists are currently in Lungi. –AFP