(Rapaport…August 13, 2001) The Sierra Leone government and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels have signed a joint agreement that extends the disarmament process in diamond-rich Kono to August 17. The agreement came out of August 10 peace talks, held one day after the government released 41 RUF prisoners from jail.
More than 13,000 combatants have disarmed since mid-May, but pockets of armed soldiers still remain in Kono.