UN Troops Welcomed by RUF Leaders

(Rapaport…September 17, 2001) Approximately 250 Zambian United Nations (UN) peacekeeping troops entered into the Sierra Leone town of Tongo on September 14 and were formally welcomed by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leaders. The troops were deployed as part of the ongoing peace process in the war-torn nation. To date, about 18,000 combatants have disarmed, including an estimated half of the rebel force, and more than 16,000 UN troops have been deployed.