/ 12 May 2000

UN OBSERVES EVADE CAPURE IN BUSH

FOUR UN military observers — three Britons and a New Zealander — evaded capture by rebels in Sierra Leone with a daring trek through the jungle. Britain’s defence ministry said Friday the the observers had been working with Kenyan peacekeepers in Makeni when they became aware of the “fairly heavy” presence of rebels from the Revolutionary United Front nearby, a ministry of defence spokeswoman said. Although the camp which the men were in was effectively surrounded, she denied the men had been taken hostage, saying that they had managed to evade capture. “They decided the best thing to do was to get out of there. They did that by trekking 64 miles through the bush.”

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