BRITISH soldiers backing the government in conflict-ridden Sierra Leone handed out leaflets in Freetown on Wednesday warning they would soon leave. “As UNAMSIL reinforces and assumes the role of defending Lungi airport (near Freetown) there will be a withdrawal of British troops,” the leaflet said, without giving any dates. The British government has said on several occasions that its troops will leave mid-June, despite pleas from the Sierra Leonean authorities for them to stay. A British military source contacted on Wednesday said that date still held. The British intervention force arrived in Sierra Leone shortly after Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels seized some 500 peacekeepers at the start of May, defying a ceasefire signed last year that was meant to end eight years of civil war.