STEPHANE ORJOLLETT, Freetown | Thursday 10.00am.
THE United Nations said it was preparing for a “pitched battle” to defend Freetown on Wednesday as more civilians thronged into Sierra Leone’s capital from rural areas in fear of rebel attacks.
For the third day running, people fearing a return to civil war fled to the capital, the fortunate among them piled into vehicles, the rest on foot.
The spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Fred Eckhard, said in New York there were reports that the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was “on the move” and that UN agencies were carrying out “an emergency mission” to assess the numbers of civilians fleeing towards Freetown.
“We hope it does not come to a pitched battle but in effect we are preparing for one,” he said.
Diplomats in New York said that for the first time since the crisis began 10 days ago, they discussed the possibility of hardening the mandate of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from peacekeeping to peace enforcement.
UNAMSIL is in deep trouble, having lost up to 500 men or the equivalent of an entire battalion as hostages to the RUF.
Nevertheless, Annan told reporters, “if the RUF is indeed moving towards Freetown, they will be checked.”
Also Wednesday pro-government troops announced the recapture of the strategic town of Masiaka from the rebels, 20 of whom had been killed, and were now advancing north to Lunsar, on the road to the RUF stronghold of Makeni.
Meanwhile UNAMSIL said the British evacuation force, which has evacuated around 300 foreigners since Monday, is set to change its role in Sierra Leone.
Britain has sent more than 700 troops and a naval flotilla to the region, while UN officials indicated that a further three battalions of troops from India, Bangladesh and Jordan, along with several Russian helicopter gunships, would be added to the 8,700-strong UN force before the end of the month.
West African leaders agreed on Tuesday to consider dispatching their ECOMOG force to the country when they meet on May 17.
Nigeria is willing to make “a little more sacrifice” in Sierra Leone but has so far received no formal request for further forces, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said. — AFP