31 January: ECOMOG said Sunday it had pushed AFRC/RUF rebel forces further out of Freetown and was sending men and armoured vehicles to Calaba Town, described as the last part of Freetown held by the rebels. The area was reported calm Sunday morning after fighting overnight, Reuters reported.

State radio has confirmed rumours that former AFRC Chief Secretary Solomon "SAJ" Musa was killed in fighting at Benguema last month, the BBC reported on Sunday.

30 January: Thirteen foreign hostages abducted by rebel forces were released on Friday, the Italian Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA) reported on Saturday. Those freed include three of six nuns of the Missionaries of Charity order who were abducted on January 14. One of the nuns, Sister Aloysius Maria of Kerala state in India, was shot by the rebels on January 22. Two others, Sister Carmeline from Kenya and Sister Sweva from Bangladesh, were killed during fighting between the rebels and ECOMOG troops. "It was a tragedy in that the victims fell under the crossfire of fighting between the two factions on the outskirts of the capital," said Brother Guglielmo Zambiasi, who was also released Friday. He added that two of the freed nuns, Sister Suchelle and Sister Jeremy Joseph, had suffered injuries during the fighting and had been hospitalised. The Madrid daily newspaper El Mundo, quoting journalist Javier Espinosa who was briefly held by the rebels, had reported that three of the nuns had died. Also freed Friday were nine of thirteen Indian nationals abducted last week including, according to the Japan's Kyodo news service, Japan's Honorary Consul to Sierra Leone, Kishore Shankerdas. One of the Indian men is reported to have been hospitalised with serious wounds. Two others were killed in captivity, while a third was killed during the kidnapping. A fourth was wounded and his whereabouts are unknown.

Hundreds of people stood in lines to obtain passports while others crowded onto boats and helicopters in a growing exodus from Sierra Leone. Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier-General Maxwell Khobe appealed to Sierra Leoneans not to leave. "Nobody should leave this country because of the security," Khobe said. "ECOMOG has reversed the situation." According to the Agence France-Presse (AFP), Minister of Trade, Industry and Transportation Allie Thorlu Bangura appealed Friday to a private helicopter company to charge "decent" rates after fares from Freetown to Lungi International Airport rose to $100. Reuters quoted Bangura as criticising those who were attempting to flee the country. "The idea of vacating their own country is very unpatriotic," he was quoted as saying over Radio Democracy 98.1. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that helicopter fares to Lungi had soared to as high as $300.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP), quoting what it called "reliable sources", said Saturday that enough rebels remained on the peninsula — both in Freetown and in the surrounding hills — to mount a new attack on the capital. ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukulade said searches of vehicles and pedestrians at checkpoints in the city had become "really necessary because over the last 48 hours we have found women with guns hidden between their clothes and the the child on their back."

29 January: Eight West African leaders held impromptu talks in Conakry on Friday, and appeared to be in broad agreement on the need for a negotiated settlement in Sierra Leone. The heads of state of Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone to attend the swearing-in of Guinean President Lansana Conte, who last month was elected to a second five-year term. "Essentially the line of thinking is dialogue," said Mohamed Haruna, spokesman for Nigerian leader General Abdulsalami Abubakar. He said the countries contributing troops to the ECOMOG force — Nigeria, Ghana, and Guinea — had endorsed dialogue as the best formula for achieving lasting peace. Haruna said ECOMOG had retaken control of Freetown, but could not secure all of Sierra Leone. "The idea is to fortify the place (Freetown), then dialogue," he said. "There is no way you can clean up the whole country."

More than 4,000 persons are known dead following the fighting in Freetown, but the final death toll could be even higher, authorities said on Friday. They said the count did not include bodies buried in unauthorised graves. Witnesses said other bodies may be still undiscovered around the capital.

ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukolade said ECOMOG had extended its control to the eastern edge of Freetown, but that the highway leading to the interior was still vulnerable to RUF attacks. "The Freetown-Waterloo highway is now used by troops but it is not yet safe for motorists because we are concerned about RUF rebel ambush," he said. Olukolade said the rebels had been driven into the hills surrounding Freetown, where they were being attacked by artillery and fighter planes. "As many as about 70 rebels were killed yesterday," he said. There was no independent confirmation of his claim.

A United Nations assessment team will travel to Freetown early next week at the request of the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, who wants international aid workers to return to the city as soon as possible. A mission sent by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), returned from Sierra Leone Thursday night to report that health and sanitation conditions in Freetown were very serious.

A United Nations official "familiar with the Nigerian government's deliberations over Sierra Leone" told the Associated Press (AP) on Thursday that the Nigerian government's patience with President Kabbah was growing thin. "Kabbah hasn't taken the initiative to speak with the rebels and isn't playing an active role to end the war,'' the official said on condition of anonymity. The official added that the bodies of up to 30 Nigerian soldiers a day were being transported back home, an indication of the rising cost of the war to Nigeria, the AP reported.

Summary executions of suspected rebels and rebel sympathisers in Freetown have become more public in recent days, the Agence France-Presse reported on Friday. AFP correspondents witnessed the execution of a man in front of a local hospital on Friday, and of a woman who had tried to flee from a military checkpoint on Thursday. "There are rebels in the city. You must know that we will execute them where we find them," one soldier said. The AFP described Freetown as a "labyrinth of military checkpoints" where residents are body searched and sometimes forced to remove their shoes so that ECOMOG can check for "trademark rebel tattoos." Rebels are said to tattoo their recruit's feet and ankles to discourage their fighters from deserting, the AFP said.

The French-based charity Medicins du Monde (Doctors of the World) was forced to suspend its work in Freetown on Friday after local medical staff suspected expatriates of collaborating with the rebels. "You French, you are helping the rebels, you are collaborators and murderers," said Daphnee Pearce, a doctor at the hospital. Pearce also accused Medicins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and the International Committee of the Red Cross of being "highly suspect." A surgeon, an anesthetist, and a logistics expert with Medicins du Monde had begun work Thursday at Connaught Hospital, where hundreds of patients were in need of medical treatment. Authorities said the French team must now get formal permission from the Ministry of Health before they will be allowed to resume their activities.

Freed Spanish journalist Javier Espinosa told Catholic Bishop George Biguzzi that he had seen other foreign prisoners held by the rebels during his captivity, according to the Italian Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA). These included a man with a beard (probably Xaverian missionary Brother Guglielmo Zambiasi), two nuns of the Sisters of Charity order, and eleven Indian nationals. "For the moment there is no precise news regarding the (other) three Sisters of Charity, kidnapped on the 14th of January," MISNA reported. The Madrid newspaper El Mundo, for which Espinosa works, quoted him as saying that the three nuns had been killed during clashes between the rebels and ECOMOG troops.

Minister of Finance, Development and Economic Planning Dr. James O.C. Jonah told reporters Friday that the Sierra Leone conflict is a regional conflict, not a civil war. "It is not an internal conflict. It is a regional conflict. It is an attempt being made by a group of countries and individuals to deny the people of Sierra Leone the right to choose their own government," Jonah said at the United Nations in New York. "The recent invasion of our capital, Freetown, was organized from outside, sustained from outside, and financed from outside...The fact is that the war in Sierra Leone was initiated by (Liberian President) Charles Taylor and his NPFL fighters." Jonah said he was delivering two communications to the United Nations Security Council, the first relating to Liberian interference in Sierra Leone's internal affairs, and the second a comprehensive statement  "about the way we perceive the situation and how we plan to deal with it." He added that the government of Sierra Leone believed there was no need for new talks between the government and the rebels, "because there is an existing agreement...We believe that what is needed is implementation, honest and genuine implementation of the Abidjan Accord. This is our position."  Referring to the December 28 communiqué issued at the conclusion of the  ECOWAS Committee of Five on Sierra Leone meeting in Abidjan which called on the Chairman of ECOWAS (Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema) to arrange a meeting between President Kabbah and President Taylor, Jonah said: "The Sierra Leone Government is willing and ready to begin, immediately, diplomatic moves to deal with this burning issue of the involvement of Liberia and Burkina Faso, and perhaps about Ukrainian mercenaries." He acknowledged, however, that "We have not heard anything from the Government of Togo." Jonah called on the international community to deal "even-handedly" in its treatment of the Sierra Leone crisis. "Let us put it clearly and frankly, he said. "You cannot pursue ‘rogue states’ in the Middle East and Europe, and not pursue ‘rogue states’ in Africa...We would like the Security Council to make it very clear, as has been done in the case of Kuwait and countries in that part of the Middle East, that the world community would not tolerate any more interference in our internal affairs by Liberia and Burkina Faso."

The Security Council Committee established to oversee sanctions imposed on Sierra Leone by Security Council Resolution 1132 met Monday for the first time in 1999, under the leadership of its new chairman, Ambassador Fernando Enrique Petrella (Argentina). The Committee reaffirmed the need for continued close cooperation with ECOWAS and the United Nations Military Observer Force in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL), and renewed its request for regular reports on compliance with the arms embargo and other sanctions on Sierra Leone. In an effort to improve compliance with a travel ban on members of the former AFRC military junta and their families, the Committee requested additional information from the government of Sierra Leone in order to update lists of AFRC and RUF members.

28 January: ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukolade said Thursday that a group of rebels, "mainly dismissed soldiers previously in the Sierra Leonean Army," trapped in the eastern suburbs was prepared to fight on. Olukolade said the group, which he said consisted mainly of former Sierra Leone Army soldiers who had become "full time rebels,"  led by "Colonel Rambo," was "determined to fight and would rather die" than flee. He said the group had kidnapped of foreign workers, missionaries, and journalists in order to get "publicity in the world press." There have been conflicting reports as to the identity of the group, with Spain's Ambassador to Ivory Coast, Maria Rosa Boceta, and freed Spanish journalist Javier Espinosa both believing that it was a unit of the RUF. Olukolade warned residents of Kissy and Wellington not to collaborate with the rebels. Freetown was reported calm overnight Wednesday, with residents of the central and western areas of the capital telling Reuters that Wednesday was the first night since the invasion that they had heard no firing.

Nigerian leader General Abdulsalami Abubakar left Nigeria Thursday to hold talks on the Sierra Leone crisis with in Ghana and Guinea, both of which have contributed troops to the ECOMOG force. On Wednesday, Abubakar told Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy Wednesday that he hoped Nigerian ECOMOG troops will have left Sierra Leone by the time he hands over power to an elected government on May 29. Abubakar said Nigeria would support any negotiation between President Kabbah and the rebels if it would bring about peace. "It is the government's ardent wish for the restoration of peace and normalcy in Sierra Leone so that Nigerian troops in that country could be withdrawn before May 29," he said. Axworthy, a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group which had recommended Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth, arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday to consult with Nigerian officials on the two countries' bilateral relationship and security issues — "particularly the situation in Sierra Leone," he told reporters. The Nigerian Daily Times newspaper reported that Axworthy promised Abubakar that Canada would contribute U.S. $660,000 to the ECOMOG force.

About 1,360 Sierra Leoneans have fled to Guinea since the fighting in Freetown began on January 6, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday. The refugees are being sheltered at camps in Madina Oula, about 90 miles east of Conakry. The UNHCR statement said the refugees, most of them from Northern Province near Makeni and Kamakwie, left their homes amid "growing security threats in the region." Many refugees said rebels had burned down entire villages and stolen food supplies, the statement added.

ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukolade on Thursday condemned what he called "the high level of rebel collaboration by civilians" in Freetown with AFRC/RUF rebels, adding: "This is unusual in a situation such as this." Olukolade said some women were hiding weapons under children carried on their backs, while civilians were sheltering rebels in their homes. "These discoveries are disturbing," he said. Olukolade also said ECOMOG was suspicious of residents who were fleeing their homes. "The exodus of civilians from some parts of the city is suspicious as it is aimed at giving rebels the chance to infiltrate already cleared areas," he said. "We are not going to tolerate this ill-motivated migration, and where necessary we will enforce certain regulations that will stop these unnecessary migrations because of the mischievous intentions."

The Ministry of Health said Thursday it had set up seven clinics and three hospitals in western Freetown to perform surgery on wounded victims. Plans were being made to open others in the east, it said.

United Nations Special Representative to Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, met Thursday with President Kabbah. During the meeting, Okelo reportedly stressed the need for a ceasefire in Sierra Leone, and said that other countries in the sub-region should play a part in the peace process. Okelo repeated U.N. support for President Kabbah's government and the need for humanitarian assistance for Sierra Leone, according to a "local radio" broadcast quoted by the Agence France-Presse (AFP). Okelo arrived in Freetown following visits to Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo, where he briefed leaders on the situation in Sierra Leone.

ECOWAS Executive Secretary Lansana Kouyate left Abuja, Nigeria for Freetown on Thursday to hold talks with President Kabbah and ECOMOG commander Major-General Timothy Shelpidi. "Since the latest fighting in Freetown, the ECOWAS Authority has been making serious efforts to bring about a durable political solution to the crisis in the country," and ECOWAS statement said.

The United States government is seeking an additional $1.7 million in assistance for the ECOMOG force, U.S. State Department Spokesman James Foley said on Thursday. Foley said U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone Joseph H. Melrose Jr. had been in Freetown earlier in the week to assess the situation, including the requirements of ECOMOG and the needs of medical and relief organisations. "We will assess what the situation requires we're going to be working with Congress to obtain additional funds to support ECOMOG so that they can do the job they need to do to counter the horrendous brutalities perpetrated by insurgents," Foley said. He added that the Clinton administration will ask Congress for $1.7 to be used for spare parts for vehicles and communications equipment, among other things.

City officials on Thursday ordered grave diggers to report for work "immediately" at their assigned cemeteries. Many corpses throughout the city had been buried in mass graves, residential compounds, or school compounds, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The Director-General of Medical Services in Sierra Leone, Sheku Kamara, said Thursday that authorities had "buried all corpses that were littering the streets in the city." Kamara ordered private pharmacies to distribute free of charge all drugs which had been donated by the international community and aid agencies. "We shall close down any pharmacy found defaulting this statement," he warned.

Freetown Mayor Victor Johnson said Thursday that the City Council "is appalled over the unprecedented carnage and destruction in the city" following three weeks of fighting in the capital. "We note with anguish the destruction of historic buildings and the loss of civilian lives as well as the hundreds of thousands rendered homeless, he said. Johnson said the City Hall had been partly destroyed in the attacks, as had the council records. Regular council activities were to resume next week.

27 January: Fighting was reported Wednesday on the eastern edge of Freetown. ECOMOG task force commander Brigadier-General Abu Ahmadu said the force was targeting rebel hide-outs in the hills overlooking Kissy, Wellington, and Calaba Town. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) said Wednesday morning's shelling was the most intense in three weeks of fighting in and around the capital. An ECOMOG spokesman said Guinean and Ghanaian ECOMOG troops advancing from Port Loko to the east had linked up with their Nigerian counterparts along the main road. He said the ECOMOG force would now concentrate their efforts on "flushing out" rebels from the nearby hills. Fleeing residents told Reuters that several hundred rebels appeared to be in control of parts of the eastern suburbs, but that their numbers were increased by rebels who descended from the hills at night. Sustained small arms fire was also heard from the western edge of the capital, causing panic among residents. The spokesman said the shooting was from ECOMOG troops who had fired into the air during a search for rebel infiltrators at Juba Barracks, which houses soldiers of the disbanded Sierra Leone Army. 

Fighting in Freetown has created some 500,000 displaced persons in the city, Bishop George Biguzzi told the Italian Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA) . "The eastern sector of Freetown, where most of the heavy fighting took place in the last weeks, is the most critical considering it is also the poorest area of the city," Biguzzi was quoted as saying.

Spanish journalist Javier Espinosa was released on Wednesday, two days after he and French journalist Patrick Saint Paul were taken prisoner by AFRC/RUF rebels. His released came after Saint Paul, who was freed on Monday, disclosed the contents of a rebel communiqué in a BBC interview. The rebels had demanded that their message be read over the BBC before they would release Espinosa. Espinosa told his newspaper, El Mundo, that only two of six Sisters of Charity nuns kidnapped last week were still alive. He said three of the nuns were killed in an exchange of fire between the the rebels and ECOMOG troops, and were buried in the hills near the rebel camp where he was held captive. A fourth nun was murdered on Friday. The rebels said they would kill the remaining two nuns if ECOMOG attacked their camp again.

Four journalists have been killed in Freetown since January 9, and at least four more are missing and feared dead, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Wednesday. Jenner Cole of SKY-FM, Mohammed Kamara of KISS-FM, and Standard Times deputy editor Paul Mansaray were all killed on January 9. Associated Press Television News journalist Myles Tierney was killed on January 10. Missing and feared dead are Michael Charlie Hinga, an on-air broadcaster for Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS), Mabay Kamara, a freelance journalist, James Ogogo, an editorial consultant for the Concord Times, and BBC Makeni correspondent Sylvester Rogers. The CPJ said it was clear that journalists had been targeted by the rebels for their perceived anti-RUF coverage of the war, adding that some of the same journalists had been under attack by Sierra Leone's civilian government for their coverage of the RUF's advances toward Freetown. 

RUF legal representative Omrie Golley, in a statement issued on Wednesday, denied that the RUF was responsible for atrocities committed against civilians in eastern Freetown in the past week. "The Battlefield Commander of the RUF on behalf of the Movement, Brigadier Sam Bockarie, has assured me that the RUF are not behind or responsible for recent attacks against innocent civilians, including children, and has stated unequivocally that they equally condemn these acts," Golley said. He blamed the atrocities, which have included murders and the chopping off of hands, on the pro-government Kamajor militia and vigilante groups. "The Movement believes that the Government and their supporters have been behind moves to discredit the RUF by accusing them of these accounts of atrocities against individuals," Golley said. While denying RUF complicity in the attacks, Golley stated: "The RUF condemns the unwarranted attacks on innocent individuals, and has requested me to state that they have today at 11:00 am GMT re-issued severe warnings to all its commanders in the field, and through them to their combatants, that they will face instant court martial if they are caught, or they receive any reports of incidents of atrocities against innocent people." Golley called for an independent commission to investigate the allegations of atrocities, and called for "a political and social answer" to Sierra Leone's civil conflict.

A day after ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukulade said vigilante groups in Freetown had the support of ECOMOG, a statement issued by ECOMOG's military office said activities of the neighbourhood civil defence units were causing concern. "Activities of the civil defense units have become worrisome and uncomplimentary to ECOMOG's security effort," the statement said. "Behaviour and activities include the burning of used tires, ringing of bells, raising unnecessary alarms to keep people awake, drumming and singing at night as a means to deter rebel attacks," it added.

26 January: ECOMOG bombarded suspected rebel positions overnight in the hills overlooking Kissy and in the wooded areas beyond Lumley before dawn on Tuesday. Shelling was also reported Monday night around around Calaba Town.  ECOMOG officers said they were targeting "rebel infiltrators," Reuters reported. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported "relatively little shooting" overnight, but said tension in Freetown remained high. A military source said ECOMOG troops were "moving south, and would start bombarding adjacent hills in the next 48 hours." In conflicting reports, Reuters quoted medical staff at Connaught Hospital Tuesday as saying that the number of wounded arriving there had decreased substantially, while the AFP said wounded victims, many of them mutilated, continued to arrive at the city's five hospitals. The AFP, quoting hospital sources, reported more than 3,000 persons are known to have died during nearly three weeks of fighting between ECOMOG troops and AFRC/RUF rebel forces, with the final death toll expected to be much higher. No estimate of military casualties has been released.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Tuesday that some 60 people were killed Sunday in an attack on Waterloo. The number is based on reports by residents of 25 civilian deaths and a claim by Guinean ECOMOG sources that 35 rebels were killed during clashes in the town. Some 17 houses at Waterloo were reported to have been burned down. On Monday, ECOMOG said rebels were present at Wellington, but claimed to have surrounded the rebels on all sides. "We have blocked all known routes and are patrolling the coast," said ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jimoh Okunlola, adding that rebel forces were caught between ECOMOG troops at Kissy and in Waterloo. Okunlola said the rebels' supply lines had been cut and that they were running out of ammunition. ECOMOG spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukulade said Tuesday that neighbourhood vigilante groups which have sprung up in Freetown have the support of ECOMOG. "We encourage that but there should be orderliness. They should be organised enough to help ECOMOG in countering the movement of suspicious characters or likely rebels in the society," he said in a radio broadcast.

RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie threatened Tuesday that the RUF would make Sierra Leone ungovernable unless the movement was given a share of power. "No government can rule. We'll make the country ungovernable," he said. "We are demanding a political role." Bockarie said ECOMOG troops would be "unable to provide security" for the Sierra Leone government. "We are negotiating the liberation of (RUF leader Corporal) Foday Sankoh, and we want a new government of inclusion," he said. "No government can succeed in this country if it doesn't include Foday Sankoh." Bockarie ridiculed ECOMOG claims to have "trapped" rebels southeast of Freetown. "Can you trap a rebel in the bush?" he asked.

The Spanish foreign ministry said Tuesday that the BBC had interviewed French journalist Patrick Saint Paul who, along with Spanish reported Javier Espinosa, was kidnapped by rebels on Monday. Saint Paul was released with a message which the rebels have demanded be read over the BBC as a condition for Espinosa's release. As reported by Madrid EFE (radio), the BBC said stressed that its broadcasts could not include communiqués from guerilla groups anywhere in the world, adding that it could not "shape its news programmes as dictated by violent groups of any kind," the interview closely paralleled the rebel statement. Saint Paul said the rebel group wanted to assure the international community that in no case would it harm the civilian population. Earlier, the Spanish foreign ministry said RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie had given assurances to Spain's ambassador to the Ivory Coast that he would order the release of Espinosa, who allegedly was being held by a "Colonel Rambo."  The Spanish foreign minister confirmed that Spanish embassies in Nigeria, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, as well as the French secret service, were working to secure Espinosa's release. ECOMOG press spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Olukolade called the two journalists "irresponsible" Wednesday, adding they had put "their lives in danger to publicise people who have committed the worst atrocities." He said the journalists had ignored all the rules of caution in entering a zone believed still to be occupied by the RUF.

Freetown experienced fuel shortages Tuesday, a day after a fire at the Kissy fuel terminal on Monday further reduced already diminished supplies. "This is what we expected to happen. There has not been any supply for weeks and oil companies have had to supply ECOMOG with lots of fuel," said an engineer close to Safecon. "We don't know when the next shipment is coming in as no insurance company will cover any tanker docking at Kissy," he added.

Some shops began to reopen in the central business district of Freetown on Monday, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Some banks and shops reopened last week in western Freetown, which largely escaped the fighting. Few cars were on the streets Tuesday afternoon due to the fuel shortage.

Telephone and electrical service, which was partially restored in some areas last week, remain disrupted in central and eastern Freetown due to the destruction of power lines and overhead cables. "It will take several weeks to get things to near normal as burnt buildings have to be knocked down to prevent any catastrophe," a construction worker was quoted as saying.

The Sierra Leone Council of Churches continued emergency food distribution of rice and flour on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The Nigerian newspaper P.M. News reported Tuesday that the bodies of 31 Nigerian ECOMOG soldiers were returned to Nigeria on Sunday for burial. "A military source revealed that the dead soldiers include a major," the newspaper reported.

Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings called for peace talks to resolve the Sierra Leone conflict, but said AFRC/RUF rebels must first stop committing atrocities. "We are prepared to sit down to talk provided they stop those acts of violence, killing and maiming of innocent civilians," he said following talks with the United Nations Special Envoy to Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo. Rawlings said ECOWAS should review its strategy of using force. "We do not believe this is the only way to handle the situation," he told Okelo, adding that constitutional legality must be respected. "The will of the people must be made to prevail," Rawlings said. "I implore you to get to some of the sober-minded allies of the rebels to bring their influence to bear on them to see reason."

International humanitarian agencies, whose foreign staff had fled Freetown following the rebel attack on January 6, began to return to the capital on Monday. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Judith Kumin said security concerns had forced cancellation of an aid flight to Kenema, where the UNHCR said there are currently 50,000 displaced persons. ECOMOG reportedly wants to move these people because of their proximity to the rebels. Kumin said a Sierra Leonean employee of the Irish aid agency Concern was killed when rebels set his house on fire. The victim worked with Liberian refugees in Sierra Leone, she said.

The Japanese foreign ministry has called on AFRC/RUF rebels holding its honorary consul, Kishoie Shankerdas, who was reported to have abducted Sunday along with ten other Indian nationals. "We are deeply concerned about the report," a Foreign Ministry statement said. "We strongly demand the anti-government rebels release the honorary consul general and other civilians." Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Sadaaki Numata said Japan was working through several countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Togo, and Britain, to confirm the whereabouts of the eleven. Shankerdas, who has served as honorary consul for Japan since 1986, contributed greatly to the evacuation of Japanese citizens from Sierra Leone, the statement said.

Five Italian Xaverian missionary priests departed Sierra Leone for Italy via Conakry on Tuesday. Three of the five, Father Giuseppe Berton, Father Giovanni Ceresoli, and Father Mario Guerra, escaped from RUF custody last week, along with Archbishop Joseph Henry Ganda. A fourth, Father Girolamo Pistoni, survived an execution attempt by RUF fighters on Friday, and was hospitalised for a bullet wound in the chest. Father Giuseppe Cavallin (Giuseppino del Murialdo) had been isolated by the fighting and hid out for some days. The flight, which also includes civilians, was organised by the Crisis Unit of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

25 January: President Kabbah on Monday appeared to rule out a political settlement of the Sierra Leone conflict for the time being. "Now there is only a military solution," Kabbah said. "We have to push the rebels far, far from Freetown." Kabbah made the pronouncement following talks with Nigerian Foreign Minister Ignatius Olisemeka and Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshall Al-Amin Daggash, who were in Sierra Leone to assess the military situation. Daggash said ECOMOG troops were making good progress in what he termed "open warfare." Referring to reports of rebels using civilians as human shields, Daggash added: "We are moving slowly towards the east because we don't want to kill everybody."

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that intense fighting took place Monday between ECOMOG troops and AFRC/RUF rebel forces at Waterloo. Thousands of civilians were said to be fleeing toward the city centre from the eastern suburbs. In Kissy, the Safecon petroleum depot was reported to be on fire, according to a report by the pro-government Radio Democracy 98.1. Aid workers said they had registered 17,000 of an estimated 50,000 residents sheltering at the National Stadium. Throughout Freetown, members of the "Citizens Security Movement," comprised of groups of neighbourhood civil defence units, manned checkpoints and conducted searches.

Diplomatic sources said Monday that 140 rebels surrendered to ECOMOG Saturday at Tombo, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has rejected charges by ECOMOG that its staffers in Freetown used their communications equipment to aid AFRC/RUF rebels. "These allegations are without foundation and undermine the ICRC's reputation for strict neutrality," the ICRC said in a statement issued in Geneva on Monday. The ICRC said it used its communications equipment for the sole purpose of maintaining contact with its field staff, in order to ensure their safety. If ICRC equipment was used for any other purpose, the statement said, it could only have been after the equipment was confiscated or stolen by armed groups. "In accordance with the mandate conferred upon it by the international community, the ICRC respects the recognized principles of neutrality and impartiality," the statement said. "In its capacity as a neutral intermediary, it has contacts with the various parties to conflict and does nothing whatever to conceal those contacts. In the case of Sierra Leone, they took place with the knowledge and consent - and even at the request - of all the parties involved, in particular the government and ECOMOG." The ICRC deplored any consequences the accusations might have for its Sierra Leonean staff, "in particular the six employees arrested by ECOMOG, about whom the authorities have as yet provided no information."

Nigerian Foreign Minister Ignatius Olisemeka warned Monday that Nigeria would hold the Liberian government "fully accountable" for its alleged support of AFRC/RUF rebels. "We shall make every effort within the international community to bring men like President Charles Taylor and his collaborators to justice," Olisemeka said following talks with President Kabbah. "We shall pursue them until we exact full restitution for properties lost and a full accounting of the lives of our men and women in pursuit of peace."

AFRC/RUF rebels have kidnapped eleven Indian businessman in Freetown, including the honorary Japanese consul, Kishoie Shankerdas, a spokesman for the Indian Mercantile Association said on Monday. The eleven were abducted Sunday from Wellington. One other Indian national was burned to death after rebels broke into Shankerdas's compound and set the place on fire, the spokesman said.

Two European journalists were kidnapped by rebels Monday at Rokupr, near Wellington. The rebels later freed Patrick Saint Paul, a French reporter for the Paris newspaper Le Figaro, with a message which reportedly outlines rebel demands for negotiations with the ECOMOG force. The rebels continued to hold Spaniard Javier Espinosa of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, saying he would not be released until their message was read over BBC radio. The BBC said Monday it had not received any demands from the rebels, adding that while it had a policy of refusing such requests, the statement could be read as part of a news story. The kidnapped journalists had earlier been misidentified as Spanish Ramon Lobo and photographer Gervasio Sanchez of the Madrid daily newspaper El País.

The European Union (EU) on Monday condemned atrocities in Sierra Leone. The EU's foreign minister, in a statement issued in Brussels, welcomed international and African efforts to support the country's civilian government. The foreign minister called on the government and ECOMOG to provide the necessary security for international aid organisations, adding that the EU was prepared to provide humanitarian assistance as soon as conditions permitted.

Pope John Paul II has condemned the "barbarous assassination" of Sister Aloysius Maria by RUF rebels. "No motive can justify" such an act, the Pope said during a Mass in Mexico City.

Three Italian Xaverian missionary priests who escaped from RUF rebels last week will be flown to Italy Tuesday, according to the Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA). The three were identified as Father Giuseppe Berton, Father Giovanni Ceresoli and Father Mario Guerra. A fourth priest, Father Giuseppe Cavallin (Giuseppino del Murialdo), who had been isolated during fighting in Freetown is also being evacuated. At Italian airplane was due to land at Lungi on Monday and is expected to leave Tuesday. The condition of Father Girolamo Pistoni, who was shot by the rebels, continues to improve, Bishop George Biguzzi said.

The African Nations Cup second leg qualifying match between Sierra Leone and Togo has been postponed indefinitely due to Sierra Leone's civil conflict. Sierra Leone, which currently stands at the bottom of Group 2, is scheduled next to play Guinea at Conakry on February 28.  Match results from the weekend: Group 1: Ghana 1, Mozambique 0; Eritrea 0, Cameroon 0. Group 2: Guinea 1, Morocco 1. Group 3: Ivory Coast 3, Namibia 0; Congo 0, Mali 0. Group 4: Mauritius 1, South Africa 1; Angola 3, Gabon 1. Group 5: Nigeria 2, Burundi 0; Senegal 1, Burkina Faso 1. Group 6: Madagascar 1, Zambia 2; Democratic Republic of Congo 2, Kenya 1. Group 7: Algeria 0, Tunisia 1; Liberia 2, Uganda 0.

24 January: Reuters confirmed Sunday that "tens of thousands" of residents fled Kissy on Saturday, saying that rebels were active there and were mutilating civilians. "The situation is worsening. The number of people who are moving from the east is up to 150,000," said a member of a British humanitarian assessment team after a visit to the area. Civilians crossing the Ascension Town Road Bridge over the Congo Valley River said they had come from as far away as Wellington and Hastings. Reuters, quoting witnesses, said large numbers of ECOMOG troops had gathered in Congo Town, adding: "rebel infiltrators have in the past hidden among civilians." One witness told Reuters that the rebels set fire to a mental institution in the Kissy area on Saturday, killing around 70 inmates. Frightened civilians also fled the Lumley area on Saturday, but the suburb was reported calm on Sunday. Minister of Information, Communications, Tourism and Culture Dr. Julius Spencer appealed to residents late Saturday night not to panic. "I am appealing to you not to panic. We as Sierra Leoneans, have to defend our country. You must not be afraid of these people, they are human beings like you," Spencer said in a broadcast over Radio Democracy 98.1. He urged young men to take machetes to defend their homes and their districts. Church services resumed in the capital for the first time since the rebels entered Freetown on January 6. Christians and Muslims prayed and sang together, sometimes in the open air, in areas controlled by ECOMOG, witnesses told Reuters.

Britain airlifted 22 tons of medical supplies to Freetown on Sunday. The medical aid, which was delivered to the Ministry of Health, included two ambulances.

23 January: RUF rebels Friday murdered one of six nuns of the Sisters of Charity who were kidnapped in Freetown last week, the Italian Missionary Services News Agency (MISNA) reported on Saturday. The nun was identified as Sister Aloysius Maria, from the Indian state of Kerala. The rebels also attempted to kill Xaverian priest Fr. Girolamo Pistoni, but Pistoni was able to twist quickly and was only injured, MISNA said. Pistoni is currently hospitalised in Freetown and, according to Bishop George Biguzzi, is not in critical condition. "He was shot in the left side of his chest, though fortunately the bullet did not lacerate his lung," he said. Pistoni said the rebels were abandoning their provisional headquarters in the area in a disorderly manner when they decided to "get rid" of some of their prisoners, shooting them in cold blood, MISNA related. "The rebels shot (Sr. Aloysisus Maria) because of her fragile condition. She could not keep up with their rhythm as they fled," Pistoni said. Among those chosen to be executed was an Indian national, whose name and condition have not been released, but was said to still be alive after being shot in the mouth. There was no word on the number of prisoners killed or on the fate of the other missionaries still held by the rebels. MISNA identified them as Xaverian missionary Brother Guglielmo Zambiasi, and five other Sisters of Charity: Sister Suchelle (Kerala, India), Sister Jeremy Joseph (Kerala, India), Sister Hindu (Ranchi, India), Sister Carmeline (Kenya), and Sister Sweva (Bangladesh).

Fr. Mario Guerra briefed government and ECOMOG officials to share "the experience and knowledge he acquired over the course of two months," the Agence France-Presse (AFP) said Saturday. Guerra was abducted at Kamalo in November by a rebel faction led by former AFRC Chief Secretary Solomon "SAJ" Musa. He escaped on earlier in the week along with Archbishop Joseph Henry Ganda and four other priests, and was picked up by ECOMOG troops on Friday. "A military solution alone will not resolve the crisis in Sierra Leone," Guerra was quoted as saying.

ECOMOG sources said on Saturday that their troops were still encountering resistance from AFRC/RUF rebel troops in the eastern suburbs of Freetown, between Calaba Town and Kissy, an area overlooked by hills. ECOMOG task force commander Brigadier-General Abu Ahmadu said ECOMOG was searching for stragglers among the retreating rebels in the eastern suburbs, and were "shooting on sight" many rebels they encountered although they had captured about 200 adult rebels and a number of child combatants.. An ECOMOG spokesman indicate said the force was conducting house-to-house searches in Kissy, but indicated that the town had not yet been secured. "Once a place is swept we deploy soldiers. This has not been done in Kissy yet," he said. ECOMOG sources also reported that rebels had infiltrated the forest area on the western fringes of the city, beyond Lumley. Lumley residents heard the sounds of shelling beyond the town Friday night, and took to the streets with machetes and sticks after hearing reports of rebel sightings in the area, Reuters reported. ECOMOG confirmed it had shelled wooded areas to the west. President Kabbah, who spoke on Radio Democracy 98.1 late Friday, said that military operations by ECOMOG would continue beyond the weekend, and apologised for the continued presence of rebels in the capital two weeks after they first entered the city. The Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA) reported Saturday that about 100,000 displaced persons had arrived in Freetown, fleeing fighting in the areas of Calaba Town and Wellington "due to the 'turn' the conflict is taking and for fear of the eventual atrocities the rebel groups could commit while escaping." ECOMOG Lieutenant Colonel Chris Olukolade confirmed the exodus from the eastern suburbs of the capital. "People are so afraid that they're willing to risk their lives to flee the area," he said. "Rebels are making incursions along the main road before going back up to the hills," Olukolade added, calling the rebels "afraid and thirsty for blood." ECOMOG Major Kaya Tanko told London's Independent newspaper, "We have secured 50 per cent of the eastern end of the city, but our problem is the hills above Kissy. The rebels are hiding there. They come down at night to attack civilians and loot and burn their homes." MISNA said that while Sierra Leonean authorities were trying to tackle the emergency, "until now they have not found a way to provide food, water and shelter for the displaced. It is the mere beginning of a human catastrophe."

The Medical Director of Sierra Leone's prisons, Dr. Jibao Sandy, said his teams had buried 2,768 bodies by late Friday. "More bodies are being discovered. But some places are not accessible," he said at the Connaught Hospital compound. He added that most of the dead were males who had died from gunshot wounds. Civilian victims and witnesses interviewed Saturday at Connaught Hospital accused the rebels of lining up adults and children as young as eight in Kissy and hacking off their hands. About 50 newly-mutilated civilians awaited treatment at the hospital on Saturday.

The United States Charge d'Affaires to Liberia, Donald Peterson, told Liberian Star Radio that the Liberian government's alleged support for AFRC/RUF rebels in Sierra Leone might affect the naming of a U.S. ambassador to Liberia if the issue were not satisfactorily resolved.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP), quoting "a military source," said Saturday that RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh is being held in Guinea. The source added that Sankoh is brought to Freetown at regular intervals where he holds discussions with authorities.

22 January: Archbishop Joseph Henry Ganda and five Catholic missionary priests escaped from rebel captivity on Wednesday and were picked up by ECOMOG troops on Friday. The priests were identified as Fr. Giuseppe Berton, Fr. Giovanni Ceresoli, Fr. Giuseppe Cavallin (Giuseppino del Murialdo), and Fr. Mario Guerra of the Xaverian order, and Spanish priest Fr. Luis Perez Hernandez. Six nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, and two Xaverian missionaries, Father Girolamo Pistoni and Brother Guglielmo Zambiasi, are still in rebel hands. Bishop George Biguzzi said the priests had been held along with many other prisoners, including former President Joseph Momoh, at what he described as a brewery building at Grassfield. Fearing an ECOMOG attack, the rebels decided to relocate in great haste, Biguzzi related. "There was a sudden advance of ECOMOG from outside Freetown. There was a lot of chaos and shooting. Everybody was trying to move into a safer area and eventually we were freed by ECOMOG," said Fr. Mario Guerra, who was abducted in November from the Catholic mission at Kamalo, in northern Sierra Leone. Biguzzi related that the rebels first moved the six nuns and two Xaverian missionaries, leaving Archbishop Ganda and the other priests alone. "They were able to find shelter, where they spent the first night," Biguzzi told the Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA). "The following day they cautiously continued their escape and then found shelter in another building for the second night. This morning they tried to reach the 'main road' but were intercepted by a group of rebels. Though in that same moment also a civil defence patrol arrived and the rebels decided to not confront them and escaped." The six were retrieved by ECOMOG and taken to Ferry Junction with an escort which included "an armoured tank and a truck loaded with soldiers," Biguzzi added. "Their health conditions are satisfactory, and now they are resting," he said. "They were not mistreated, though they were not able to wash for two weeks." Said Archbishop Ganda, ""We're happy to be alive but there are others still there with the rebels. We're praying for them."

Thousands of displaced persons formed long lines Friday to receive emergency food aid being distributed by church and relief groups. Rev. Moses Khanu, President of the Council of Churches of Sierra Leone, said that stores of 8,000 to 10,000 tons of food had not been looted from warehouses near the port during the rebel attack on Freetown. The stocks, which include high nutrition corn and soya blend, bulgar, and vegetable oils, are owned by the United Nations World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services, and World Vision. "We believe that we have enough for the first phase of emergency aid," Khanu said. Aid workers said the number of displaced persons sheltering at the National Stadium had decreased by half, to about 17,000. They added that many had gone to check their homes but would return to the stadium to sleep.

ECOMOG officers said Friday that Nigerian fighter jets were attacking rebel strongholds in the mountains surrounding Freetown, while Nigerian and Guinean ECOMOG units were closing in on rebels trapped on the eastern fringes of the city. "(The rebels) have been devastated and (are) running in all directions," said ECOMOG spokesman Colonel Chris Olukuoade. "We are now on phase two of the operation, which is cordon and search." RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) Friday that AFRC/RUF rebels planned to launch an attack to retake the capital. "We are changing our tactic and planning a surprise attack on Freetown," he said, adding that despite their retreat the rebels "were still a strong fighting force." Bockarie denied allegations that the RUF was receiving assistance from Liberia and Burkina Faso. He claimed that the rebels had purchased or captured their arms from ECOMOG. "The Nigerians in ECOMOG are selling us arms and ammunition. They are collaborating with us," Bockarie said. He added that other weapons had been "seized from ECOMOG soldiers who were captured," adding that had captured "250 ECOMOG soldiers so far."

Kissy residents reported that "continuing atrocities by pockets of rebels," who attacked Thursday for the second night in a row, Reuters reported. World Food Programme (WFP) spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said Friday that ECOMOG had recorded at least 30 cases of mutilations. "The people are traumatised and in a state of shock," she said, adding that there had been summary executions and other human rights violations. Quoting witnesses, she said up to half of the houses had been burned down in the east of the city. A United Nations World Health Organisation official said retreating rebels had hacked off the limbs of civilians, including babies, in eastern part of the city. "The rebels have resorted to amputating arms and fingers of civilians, some as young as one-year-old babies," the official said. RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie denied that the rebels had mutilated civilians or burned houses. Instead, he blamed the atrocities on the Kamajor militia. "The Kamajors are known for using machetes. They are committing these atrocities," he said. Bockarie deplored the "incredible suffering of Sierra Leoneans in Freetown," and said the RUF had called a cease-fire for this week which was to have allowed food and emergency relief supplies to reach civilians trapped by the fighting. He warned that any future suffering would be "the responsibility of the Kabbah government and the Nigerians who have rejected a peaceful solution to the crisis." RUF spokesman Omrie Michael Golley also denied that the rebels were responsible for the atrocities. "The RUF was not responsible for the horrific recent atrocities in the east of the capital," Golley said. "ECOMOG said it had completely cleared the area of rebels on Tuesday. How is it possible then that rebels burst into people's homes on Wednesday and began cutting off their arms and legs?" In a separate interview, Golley said: "I have investigated this and spoken to our military high command, and I want to refute the idea that the RUF was behind these mutilations." Asked to comment on why survivors at Connaught Hospital had blamed their wounds on the rebels, Golley responded, "If anything happened, it must have been the civil militia going in and mutilating people they thought were rebels...There are a lot of terrible things going on. I'm not saying we've never committed atrocities, especially in the early stages of the war," he added. "In recent times, in the north and east, events will show it was not the RUF, it was the Kamajors that did the atrocities."

Following a closed-door meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday, Council President Ambassador Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (Brazil) read out a statement expressing grave concern about the humanitarian situation in Sierra Leone, and the increasing number of refugees. Council members expressed the need for all parties to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel, to allow them to work effectively, and to respect their impartiality and neutrality, the statement said. "Council members expressed support for the democratically-elected government of President Kabbah, and the efforts that are being made by ECOMOG," Amorim said. Council members urged the international community for "continued and sustained" support for the ECOMOG force, while indicating "their hope for an early resumption of dialogue that respect the legitimate government of President Kabbah."

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International on Friday termed "unacceptable" plans by the United Nations Security Council to reduce the number of human rights monitors attached to the United Nations Military Observer Force in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) from five to two or three. "At a time when it is more urgent than ever to monitor human rights abuses in Sierra Leone and to report them accurately and impartially, the UNOMSIL human rights section is being weakened dramatically" Amnesty International said. "Despite the difficulties posed by the security situation in Freetown, there is still much that UNOMSIL human rights officers can do." The Amnesty statement detailed human rights violations committed by both sides in the fighting. It said rebel fighters had "deliberately and arbitrarily" killed hundreds of unarmed civilians, and abducted large numbers of civilians, including children and young people. Rebels also killed eleven police officers near the Cotton Tree, in central Freetown. Amnesty said rebel forces had arrived in Freetown with lists of people to be targeted, including members of the National Commission for Democracy and Human Rights, lawyers, and journalists. Amnesty said ECOMOG and the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) had summarily executed "captured rebels or people they suspect of supporting rebel forces." The statement said ECOMOG troops had summarily executed 22 captives on Aberdeen Bridge on January 13, and that such executions were continuing. The CDF last week summarily executed six young men at Kingtom whom they alleged were rebels. Amnesty said indiscriminate aerial bombardments by ECOMOG had resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. The human rights group also said eight Sierra Leonean humanitarian aid workers had been detained by ECOMOG and accused of cooperating with rebel forces. "Most of them are reported to have been beaten while detained," the statement said.

The West African Journalists' Association (WAJA) on Friday said it was "outraged and shocked" by indiscriminate attacks and persecution of foreign and local journalists in Sierra Leone. "We condemn in no uncertain terms the abduction of journalists by the rebels, the killing of journalists, and the destruction of media houses and equipment," WAJA said in a statement. "WAJA has had occasion in the past to condemn the anti-media measures of the Tejan Kabbah regime, particularly the death sentence passed against some journalists. Whilst urging all parties in the crisis in Sierra Leone to lay down arms and bring peace to the long-suffering people of Sierra Leone, we equally appeal to them to respect the dignity and right of journalists, irrespective of their perceived political leanings, to do their work."

21 January: Heavy gunfire was heard throughout the day Thursday from areas southeast of Freetown. ECOMOG sources said they had encircled rebel forces, who were caught between Nigerian troops pursuing from Kissy, and by Guinean troops advancing from Hastings who had now linked up with Nigerian forces closing in from Waterloo. French helicopter pilots under contract to ECOMOG said armed men identified as RUF rebels had been spotted Wednesday in villages in the Songo area, but ECOMOG sources said the current offensive against rebel forces would keep them confined to the high ground of the peninsula. AFRC/RUF rebels re-entered the Ferry Terminal area of Kissy on Wednesday night, killing scores of people and mutilating many more, witnesses said. Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Ibrahim I. Tejan-Jalloh said rebels had hacked off the hands of at least 30 Freetown residents. Rachel Fallah, a Sierra Leonean employee of the United Nations Development Programme, told the Associated Press that the rebels had raped young girls and forced teen-age boys to carry goods looted from homes. She added that rebels were using women and children as human shields against the  ECOMOG force.

Connaught Hospital staff reported Thursday that many wounded people were dying because of an acute shortage of medical supplies. "The situation is bad enough in hospitals here, and we have no idea what is happening elsewhere in the country," said surgeon Dr. Johnston Taylor. "We are in desperate need of everything, above all antiseptic. The international community must intervene fast," Dr. Johnston pleaded. The British frigate HMS Norfolk last week transported 3.5 tons of medical equipment and supplies from Lungi to Freetown. As of Thursday, the AFP reported, there was no confirmation that they had been distributed. Reuters television filmed doctors at Connaught Hospital performing amputations on screaming victims. "I have never seen anything like this since the latest fighting started," Dr. Mumba Kawa said. "I am very short-staffed. My people have been working very bravely day in, day out. All they are using is local anaesthetics."

The first cases of cholera were reported in Freetown on Thursday, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

There is no acute food crisis in Freetown, World Food Programme (WFP) officer for Sierra Leone, Patrick Buckley, said on Thursday. Despite looting by rebels and Freetown residents, Buckley said various humanitarian agencies, including the WFP, had between 8,000 and 10,000 tons of food, mainly rice, warehoused in Freetown ready to distribute. "Now that we have access to our stores, there is no acute food crisis," Buckley said. Aid workers had been prevented from reaching the stores until now because of sniper fire. Buckley said the WFP had commercial trucks and fuel available, and would begin distributing food from eight sites around the capital starting on Friday. A Sierra Leone government official said in Conakry that the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone, which has its own food stores, had already begun distributing it to some 4,000 people. Paul Ares, the WFP Regional Manager for Coastal West Africa, said that security and logistical problems still remained. "Despite numerous appeals by aid agencies, the warring parties have not yet committed themselves to guarantee the safe passage of relief supplies to tens of thousands of war-affected Freetown residents," he said in a statement issued in Ivory Coast. "Humanitarian work is severely hampered by the ECOMOG ban on aid workers' use of telecommunications equipment," the statement added. "Although limited telephone services were restored to some areas of Freetown, international humanitarian personnel who were evacuated to neighboring Guinea have been unable to exchange vital information with their colleagues in the capital."

Minister of Finance, Development and Economic Planning Dr. James O.C. Jonah said Thursday that the Sierra Leone government is planning to raise a 15,000-strong interim civil defence force pending the formation of a new national army. "This will be on a nationwide basis, 1,000-strong from each district, to fill the gap in the event of ECOMOG phasing out after a period of time," Jonah told the BBC. "We want to raise this 15,000 strong civil defence force between now and perhaps June. We envisage that it would take some time to train properly the 5,000 strong national army, and in the meantime we want to use this 15,000 strong national defence force." Jonah, who is in London holding talks with the British government, said the Sierra Leone government would ask Britain to provide training, and hoped that Britain would also consider providing "some little weapons supplies" for the militia. Jonah said while he did not anticipate that ECOMOG would pull out of Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone government had to be prudent and make contingency plans. Jonah said the international community had recognised that the conflict in Sierra Leone was the result of foreign aggression. "Foreign aggression — this is now clear to everybody. And therefore the approach and the solution should be different," he said. "We are faced with rogue states in our sub-region." Jonah repeated accusations that Liberia and Burkina Faso were supporting AFRC/RUF rebels in Sierra Leone. "I had a statement by the president of Burkina Faso saying ECOMOG is one-sided. Does he know that we have information that many of the fighters in Sierra Leone were trained in urban warfare in Burkina Faso?," Jonah said. "The foreign minister said why didn’t I accuse them last time we met in Abidjan? Because at that time we did not have the information. We have since had by interrogation enough information to show that Liberia and Burkina Faso have been the most destabilising force in our sub-region." He claimed that "thousands" of rebel fighters had been trained in Burkina Faso.

Opposition parties in Burkina Faso have called for an international investigation into accusations that the Burkinabe government has been backing AFRC/RUF rebels in Sierra Leone, the BBC reported on Thursday.

President Kabbah has welcomed the British government's announcement of £1 million in humanitarian aid and non-lethal military assistance, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Life has begun returning to a semblance of normal in western Freetown, where buses and cars plied the streets Thursday. ECOMOG troops carried out searches of vehicles, as well as bags carried by pedestrians, saying they were trying to prevent rebel infiltration. The government-controlled Radio Democracy 98.1 has called on government workers to return to their jobs by Monday. It said the improving security situation in the capital had allowed authorities to partially lift the curfew, which will now run from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

1,140 bodies have been collected for burial in the vicinity of Connaught Hospital, the health authorities said on Thursday. The BBC added that there were "certainly many more." Early estimates of the number of dead as a result of fighting between ECOMOG troops and AFRC/RUF rebels in the capital was a minimum of 2,000. Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Ibrahim Tejan-Jalloh said Thursday that government workers had buried 420 bodies in mass graves and were searching the streets for more. Residents had buried many bodies in shallow graves, he said, and these would be disinterred and reburied. ECOMOG has refused to reveal how many of its soldiers have been killed in combat, but on Tuesday British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told Parliament that "many hundreds of ECOMOG troops" had lost their lives in the battle for Freetown.

Kamajor militiamen attacked a Liberian cargo boat on the Mano River, which separates Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Thursday, quoting local press reports which were confirmed by the Liberian Ministry of Defence. The boat was reportedly carrying mining equipment owned by a South African company, Greater Diamond. Defence Ministry officials said the company had failed to inform them of the attack, or of their operations in the area. They said the incident was under investigation.

20 January: A shipload of rice donated by Italy has been diverted to Conakry because of security concerns in Freetown, a World Food Programme (WFP) spokesman said on Wednesday. "The ship is not going to Freetown," the spokesman said in Abidjan. "When the situation in Sierra Leone improves we will transfer the food to Freetown." The ship is already unloading 1,800 tons of rice in Conakry. Earlier, ECOMOG sources said the ship's captain had demanded security guarantees in Freetown. On Wednesday, ECOMOG said it was putting security measures in place at the port for aid ships. "Even if we have security, logistics will be a major problem," the WFP spokesman said. Aid agency representatives met in Conakry Wednesday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Freetown. They said 8,000 tons of food had been warehoused at Clinetown, not far from the port. Aid workers who tried to reach the warehouse Wednesday were forced to turn back because of sniper fire.

ECOMOG planned to continue its offensive on Wednesday, targeting Hastings and Waterloo, according to an ECOMOG officer. He added that ECOMOG intended to prevent AFRC/RUF rebels from reaching the interior of the country.

ECOMOG task force commander Brigadier-General Abu Ahmadu accused local staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Tuesday of spying for the rebels. "We have arrested six of them but they are continuing to use the ICRC net to spy on us. There are others we are looking for and that is why we have taken away all aid agency radios," Ahmadu said. Last week expatriate ICRC staffers were expelled from the country, and over the weekend ECOMOG confiscated all communications equipment from aid organisations and United Nations agencies. A "senior official" of the United Nations Military Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL), after holding talks in Freetown on Tuesday, said there was some progress with the government and ECOMOG in resolving the communications dispute. An ECOMOG officer was quoted Wednesday as saying that all aid was to be distributed by the ECOMOG force.

United Nations Special Envoy to Sierra Leone Francis Okelo told Nigerian Foreign Minister Ignatius Olisemeka Wednesday that Nigeria had a central role to play in resolving the Sierra Leone conflict. "I made it a point to emphasise to the foreign minister that the role of Nigeria is central in the resolution of the conflict in Sierra Leone," Okelo said after meeting with Olisemeka in Abuja. "This is a country that has staked a lot in terms of lives, resources and manpower in a typical African crisis." Okelo said he was invited to Nigeria to brief the foreign minister on U.N. involvement in Sierra Leone, the humanitarian crisis facing people in the country, and to explore ways to end the conflict.

Pope John Paul II appealed on Wednesday for an end to violence in Sierra Leone and Kosovo, which he said had been characterised  by "ferocity and ruthlessness." The Pope made mention of Archbishop Joseph Henry Ganda, abducted by rebels in Freetown, and of other missionaries being held in Sierra Leone. "I appeal to those responsible to release them...as soon as possible," he said.

President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, in an interview published on Wednesday, accused ECOMOG of taking sides in the Sierra Leone conflict, and said the crisis could not be solved militarily. "(ECOMOG's mistake) is that it failed to try to bring parties together, and that it developed into a defence force of one of the two parties, in this case President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah," said Compaore, who is also the current OAU chairman. "The military path is not a solution," he added. "Once war has been won, peace must be won by organising reconciliation."

British High Commissioner Peter Penfold made a visit to Freetown from Conakry on Wednesday, promising British support for the ECOMOG force. "The British government has been fully supporting ECOMOG and they clearly recognise the great sacrifice that their people have been making," Penfold said. "We have been flying in support for ECOMOG." Penfold noted the damage to the capital in the wake of the fighting. "A hurricane has come to Freetown. This time it was man-made," he said. "We need to help galvanise the government of Sierra Leone and the people to help them get back on their feet," after visiting more than 30,000 displaced people sheltering at the National Stadium. "Undoubtedly there has been a lot devastation and from all accounts the areas that we cannot get to are even worse."

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said reports from Freetown made it clear that AFRC/RUF rebels targeted journalists for retribution during fighting for control of Freetown. "We have received reports that the RUF entered Freetown with a list of journalists who were to be eliminated for what was perceived as 'anti-RUF' coverage of the war," the CPJ said in a statement issued Wednesday. The group pointed to the murders of journalist Jenner "J.C." Cole and SKY-FM 106 reporter Mohammed Kamara, along with attacks on other journalists and the destruction of newspaper offices, as evidence of a pattern of retribution. The CPJ cited reports that the offices of the Concord Times and the Standard Times had been burned down, along with the building housing the SKY-FM 106 radio station. "The SLBS transmitter site at Leicester Peak is intact, but the building suffered serious damages because RUF rebels and AFRC forces were based there the first three days of the fighting," the CPJ said. "The SLBS studios were seriously damaged."

Journalists reported on Wednesday that ECOMOG soldiers had summarily executed suspected rebels. "On Tuesday, ECOMOG troops rounded up a group of five or six men, attached their hands together, and led them to another area to be summarily executed," the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, adding: "In Freetown, neither side has taken many prisoners."

19 January: Fighting continued to the south and east of Freetown Tuesday, as a seven-day unilateral cease-fire declared by the RUF for Monday was ignored. ECOMOG escorted journalists to Kissy, which ECOMOG task force commander Brigadier-General Abu Ahmadu said was recaptured on Monday. London Times journalist Sam Kiley confirmed Tuesday that ECOMOG had forced the AFRC/RUF rebels from their strongholds in the Kissy and Clinetown area, and had recaptured the strategic Queen Elizabeth Quay. Kiley reported that fighting was continuing at the Ferry Terminal, about a quarter of a mile from the main dock, where the rebels continued to resist. Guinean ECOMOG troops were advancing through Waterloo, which was now in ECOMOG hands, he added. ECOMOG task force commander Brigadier-General Abu Ahmadu said the "worst fighting" was taking place in southeast Freetown, at Foulah Town and Maeba. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) said the current ECOMOG offensive began Monday near Hastings, along the main highway linking Freetown to the interior. Military sources told the AFP that ECOMOG intended to prevent the rebels from escaping along the highway into the interior, thus trapping them within the peninsula. The AFP also reported that an unknown number of rebels had retreated Monday into the hills around Freetown, near the western suburb of Aberdeen, toward Lumley, Goderich, and Lakka.

London Times journalist Sam Kiley on Tuesday described scenes of devastation in Kissy, the scene of heavy fighting between the two sides. "Practically every single building in the Kissy suburb has been burned to the ground by the rebels, and at every street one crunches on spent cartridges," he said. "There are very, very few people on the streets. The atmosphere is extremely tense. It’s overlooked by mountains where the rebels can look straight down into the town. But in the west of town the streets are actually quite full of people, until the curfew at 3:00 when they disappear."  Reuters correspondent Jeff Koinange wrote of "streets strewn with corpses and...burned-out houses, shops and churches," adding that both Holy Trinity Church on Kissy Road and the Eastern Police Station had been destroyed. Kiley said that while ECOMOG was now in control of strategic sites in Freetown, the rebels maintained bases in the hills surrounding the capital. "My understanding is the Kamajors are operating in those areas that they’re familiar with, but in general Freetown is now very largely back in the hands of ECOMOG," he said.

Reuters reported that looters had replaced rebels at the port, "stealing food, drink, and anything else they could find" from warehouses, and, together with the threat of a rebel counter-attack, would further delay the arrival of emergency relief supplies. "We need security at the port for vessels and cargoes, we need trucks and diesel, and we need security for them to get to distribution points in the city," one aid source said. "Before that we'll need to send our own assessment teams in." ECOMOG task force commander Brigadier-General Abu Ahmadu told reporters that Nigerian ships bring reinforcements and supplies were due to dock on Tuesday. "Any other ships waiting to use the port can do so as it is now safe," he said. Ahmadu said Fourah Bay College, atop Mount Aureol, was also recaptured on Tuesday. He said the rebels had defended the "strategic site" with mortars and anti-aircraft guns.

Telephone service has been restored to Freetown, ten days after the telephone system was disabled during heavy fighting in the capital between AFRC/RUF rebels and ECOMOG troops.

Britain has pledged an additional £1 million in humanitarian aid for Sierra Leone, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told Parliament on Tuesday. "I can today announce to the House that the Government will be urgently releasing another £1 million of humanitarian assistance to the people of Sierra Leone, and also logistical support for ECOMOG," Cook said, observing: "We still have a long way to go to restore an integrated, stable Sierra Leone." Cook said Britain had sent a message to Liberian President Charles Taylor "demanding that he withdraw support" for rebel forces in Sierra Leone. "Britain will remain fully committed to alleviating the suffering of its people and in providing practical and political support for their right to be ruled by the legitimate government of their choice," he said. "We believe there are over 200,000 refugees, which is a very large proportion of a relatively small country, and they will require substantial assistance for relocation and resettlement." He said he intended to rally further support for Sierra Leone at next Monday's meeting of European Union foreign ministers. Cook told Parliament that "many hundreds of ECOMOG troops" had been killed in the fighting in Freetown. "The House will wish to pay its respect to the courage and sacrifice of those who have fought to sustain the legitimate Government of Sierra Leone," he said. We are relieved that the capital has not fallen, but the situation remains worrying. Much of Freetown has been destroyed and much of the rest of the country remains in rebel hands."

The leader of the British Reconnaissance Mission to Sierra Leone, Brigadier David Richards, met ECOMOG officers and members of the Sierra Leone government on Tuesday to discuss how Britain can best support the ECOMOG force. "It is my job to make recommendations to the British Government about how we can help. The first priority will be humanitarian. What military assistance we will be able to give is likely to be very limited," he said on Monday. Richards, operating from the British frigate HMS Norfolk, will submit his report to a Cabinet committee in London on Wednesday. ECOMOG has asked Britain to provide air transport for their troops. "What we need is a couple of gunships and several transport helicopters which could bring men in to react to attacks. It is difficult to use roads because of the threat of ambush," said ECOMOG commander Major-General Timothy Shelpidi.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned Tuesday that the food situation in Freetown was desperate and could degenerate into famine. "Following the recent escalation of violence in Sierra Leone, the food supply situation has seriously deteriorated, virtually wiping out modest gains in food security in Freetown and surrounding areas," the FAO said in an alert issued in Rome. It said the situation was especially critical in Freetown, where fighting has deprived the civilian population of food, water, and electricity. "With continued fighting despite diplomatic efforts to negotiate a cease-fire, their situation has become desperate and could degenerate into famine as food stocks are nearly depleted and fighting is blocking food supplies from the interior of the country...The situation is most critical in Freetown where its population, estimated at around one million, is facing severe food shortages that could result in starvation if the fighting continues and impedes delivery of food and other humanitarian assistance." The FAO, quoting the UNHCR, said the recent fighting had increased the number of internally-displaced persons in the country by 80,000, now estimated at 350,000. Most of the newly-displaced are in the Kenema area. The food supply situation was expected to worsen because of the disruption of aid activity previously coordinated from Freetown. The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) had been supplying food to some 63,000 persons before the recent fighting, but this has now been suspended. The current insecurity is also expected to impact the marketing of the 1998 rice crop. If the fighting persists into the next planting season, most agricultural rehabilitation activities planned for 1999 would be delayed or remain very limited, the agency said.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a senior member of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to Sierra Leone. Kevin Kennedy, chief of the Emergency Liaison Branch of OCHA, will assist Special Representative to Sierra Leone Francis Okelo in Freetown.

Minister of Information, Communications, Tourism and Culture Dr. Julius Spencer has accused AFRC/RUF rebels of abducting Freetown residents, including the chairman of the SLPP party, whom they planned to use as hostages. In a BBC interview Tuesday, Spencer alleged that the Sierra Leone conflict was "not so much a rebellion as an invasion," adding: "The vast majority of people involved in the fighting in Freetown are foreigners — lots of Liberians involved in the fighting. Some Sierra Leone soldiers, some Burkinabes, and some mercenaries, some other mercenaries, white people." He said the Sierra Leone government had not foreclosed the possibility of negotiations with the rebels, but accused rebel leaders of not being sincere. "Their actions speak very loudly. Even they said they declared a unilateral cease-fire Monday, from yesterday evening, which they did not observe," he said. Spencer rejected a suggestion that it was the ECOMOG force which refused to observe the cease-fire. "It is not. It is definitely not," he said. "They are the ones mounting the attack. What they were hoping to do, with declaring a cease-fire, is to lull us into a sense of complacency so that we will now relax and say ‘ok, there is a ceasefire,' and then they will do what they want to do."

Two Italian mercenaries, a man and a woman, were captured in Freetown Monday, according to a French pilot Jean-Jacques Fuentes, who is under contract to ECOMOG. Fuentes, himself a mercenary who has seen action in Rwanda and Angola, said the two were caught "red-handed as they torched houses and fired guns." The Sierra Leone government has alleged that Ukrainian mercenaries have been aiding the rebels, a charge which Ukraine rejected on Tuesday. "Ukraine rejects any accusations that its citizens are taking part in the conflict in Sierra Leone," said Volodymyr Strehal, the head of the information department at Ukraine's foreign ministry. On March 12, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andriy Veselovskyy said Ukraine had no official knowledge of involvement by Ukrainian citizens, but he added that the possibility could not be ruled out.

18 January: The sound sustained heavy artillery and mortar fire erupted in Freetown's western side Monday, indicating that AFRC/RUF rebels have penetrated the area for the first time since fighting began in the capital on January 6. The sounds of gunfire came mostly from the neighbourhood of Cockerill, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, adding that "reliable sources" said the rebels were heading north along Lumley Road. A Nigerian ECOMOG officer said the rebels had regrouped in the hills overlooking Aberdeen and the Wilberforce Military Barracks before infiltrating the Westend. Clouds of smoke surrounded the barracks, the AFP said. An ECOMOG helicopter, its guns aimed at the ground, circled around Cockerill, where ECOMOG has its headquarters, making sorties to Lungi International Airport and a heliport at a nearby hotel. A Nigerian officer confirmed that fighting was still continuing at Hastings, east of Freetown. Earlier Monday, most of Freetown was reported calm, although residents reported hearing sporadic heavy gunfire overnight from Kissy, where AFRC/RUF rebels continued to offer resistance.

Deputy Defence Minister Sam Hinga Norman, quoted Monday by BBC correspondent Prince Brima, said in respect of a cease-fire declared by the RUF that the government would not only insist on the cease-fire, but would prevent the rebels from moving into any areas they do not currently control. Norman said the government would observe the cease-fire as long as they were not attacked, but if the rebels did attack they would defend themselves. The unilateral cease-fire was to have taken effect Monday at 6:00 p.m. Witnesses were unable to confirm Monday whether it had gone into effect. ECOMOG has not committed to the cease-fire, but said it would step up its offensive against the rebels if the RUF did not stop firing. "If these rebels do not observe this cease-fire, we're going all the way," and ECOMOG officer said. Said Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier-General Maxwell Khobe: "The operational situation is progressing very fast. We have secured the Port of Kissy in the far east of the city." RUF spokesman Omrie Golley repeated Monday that the RUF cease-fire was still scheduled to take effect at 6:00 p.m. "When the RUF gives an assurance, particularly in these instances, it sticks to them," Golley said. He told the BBC he expected the government to use the cease-fire "to really think about their position and enter into a political dialogue to effect peace and reconciliation in our country and to join the process...We want peace, and we want ultimately national reconciliation in our country. I would urge the international community and President Kabbah to basically take this situation as, maybe, a step forward, a good step forward, as a window for peace." Golley warned that "from past experience" the RUF was in a strong position militarily should the cease-fire fail. "But what we should not be doing is continually talking about military, military, military situation. What we should be talking about now is how we are going to bring peace and national reconciliation in our country," he said. RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie said he thought ECOMOG would ignore the cease-fire because "they do not want to share control of Freetown" with the rebels. "We are ready... If they do not respect (the ceasefire), then we won't either," he said. "If we are attacked, we will reply."

The British frigate HMS Norfolk has sent three tons of medical supplies and equipment to Connaught Hospital, where medical staff have been struggling to treat the sick and wounded with virtually no medicines. Hospital Services Manager S.I. Koroma described the supplies as a "Godsend," but said much more was needed. "We are so hard pressed for drugs and medical sundries. I just don't know how to express our gratitude," he said. "There has been so much devastation in the city and there are so many wounded people who have not been able to reach the hospital. There are wounded people who have reached the hospital and cannot get drugs or any kind of help whatsoever." Hospital employees told Reuters that the hospital had been looted and ransacked by rebels during the fighting. Some of the rebels had shot patients, then climbed into the beds and demanded treatment for their own wounds, hospital staff said.

RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie repeated his accusation Monday that the Norfolk was involved in military action in support of the government. "Great Britain is part of this conflict. They are using their boat against us," Bockarie said. "(Britain is) bringing in arms and ammunition to kill our people." In a separate interview with Reuters, Bockarie said, "The British have taken sides. They have no good intentions regarding the people of Sierra Leone." A British Foreign Office spokesman dismissed the allegations. "The U.K. has not taken any military action and does not intend to," she said.

Up to 40,000 people made homeless by fighting in Freetown are sheltering at the National Stadium, according to Richard Shariff, spokesman for local humanitarian organisations in Freetown. "Cholera is our major concern right now. If it breaks out we are finished," Shariff said on Monday. Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier-General Maxwell Khobe said water was being provided to those at the stadium, but aid officials said there was little food and no sanitation facilities.

Seven foreign mercenaries, supposedly five Ukrainians and two Mauritanians, were killed near Koidu in Kono District over the weekend, BBC correspondent Prince Brima said Monday, citing a Kamajor commander as his source, later confirmed by Deputy Defence Minister Sam Hinga Norman. The seven were said to have been traveling between Koidu and Jaiama Sewafe when their four-wheel-drive vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The Kamajor commander claimed that, in addition to the mercenaries, 27 rebels were killed in the fighting and a large quantity of arms and ammunition seized. "The corpses of the white mercenaries were later displayed at the checkpoint on the Masingbi-Kono highway by the Kamajor militiamen," Brima reported.

Aid agencies are said to be negotiating the return of their communications equipment which was confiscated over the weekend, apparently because ECOMOG feared it could be used to assist the rebels. The Paris-based charity "Action Against Hunger," in another sign of increased tensions between humanitarian agencies and the ECOMOG force, said Monday that ECOMOG had arrested two of its local workers in Freetown.

Four Catholic priests, six nuns, and a junior cleric were kidnapped from Kissy a week ago, the Italian missionary news agency MISNA reported on Monday. Three of the priests and the cleric were Italian and one was Spanish, MISNA said. Four of the nuns were Indian, one was Kenyan, and one was believed to be from Bangladesh. The Xaverian missionary order in Madrid identified the Spanish priest as Fr. Luis Perez Hernandez, 47, who had been in Sierra Leone for a year and a half. The nuns are reported to be affiliated with the Missionaries of Charity, an order founded by Mother Teresa. RUF spokesman Omrie Golley said in Abidjan that he had no knowledge of the abductions, but would try to contact RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie. "If it is our side that is holding them, I will seek to secure their release," he said. He added that pro-government militias or "freelance fighters" in Freetown might have been responsible for the kidnappings.

17 January: Fighting between ECOMOG troops and AFRC/RUF rebels continued to the east of Freetown on Wednesday. London Times journalist Sam Kiley reported that the sounds of tanks and heavy artillery could be heard from around the university area, where "rebels are believed to be using a disused quarry and caves around there for cover." The number of casualties in the city since the onset of the fighting has been conservatively estimated at 2,000, the BBC and the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Sunday. The number is expected to rise on account of the number of injured, starving children, and because of the lack of medical care. Fires started by the rebels which have destroyed key installations, and reportedly even whole streets, coupled with damage from ECOMOG bombing raids, have left the city badly damaged.

ECOMOG commander Major-General Timothy Shelpidi said Sunday that re-establishing complete control over Freetown was a matter of "a few days," but he acknowledged that "urban warfare creates a lot of difficulties." He said bands of RUF rebels, often teenagers carrying assault rifles, and snipers on rooftops posed a threat which ECOMOG needed "better and more efficient means" to counter. He said the Nigerian Alpha fighter jets used by ECOMOG were too rapid, and said the force required helicopters, light arms, more communications equipment, and a commitment from other ECOWAS countries to contribute troops to the ECOMOG force. "We're now organising civil defence," Shelpidi added. He said the rebels, who had been prevented from getting back to the interior of the country, were now in the forested hills overlooking Freetown. "The worst thing is that the rebels change their clothes all the time," said a Nigerian major. "One minute, they're on the street in jeans and t-shirts, like you or me; the next they're in stolen ECOMOG battle dress."

Freetown was reported calm on Sunday morning, Reuters reported. Saturday night was reported generally quiet, although distant bombardments could occasionally be heard from the east. The news service described Freetown as a "disaster area," with bodies littering the streets. At Connaught Hospital, a few local doctors with almost no medicine attempted to care for the sick and wounded, while dogs and vultures disturbed bodies piled in the hospital driveway. "The hospital is in a dire situation right now. There are over 80 war wounded requiring all kinds of medical help, and we just do not have the means to assist them," said surgeon Dr Johnston Taylor. "There are bodies littered everywhere, unattended as well. We are appealing for any kind of help and assistance that we can get." Most aid agencies evacuated their personnel to Conakry following the AFRC/RUF rebel attack on Freetown. Five expatriate staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including a Dutch battle surgeon, were expelled by ECOMOG last week without explanation. On Friday, ECOMOG ordered non-government organisations and United Nations agencies to hand over their communications equipment, further hampering humanitarian operations.

The British frigate HMS Norfolk anchored off Freetown on Sunday. The British government has said the warship will not take direct part in fighting, but might provide logistical support for the ECOMOG force and assist in humanitarian operations, according to the British Foreign Office. In March 1998 the British frigate HMS Cornwall provided humanitarian and technical assistance following the ouster of the AFRC military government. The Foreign Office said Friday that the Norfolk would not undertake an evacuation of the estimated 50 British nationals remaining in Freetown. "That particular boat is equipped to provide humanitarian assistance, they have crew who will probably help to restore some of the essential services that the people so badly need," President Kabbah said on Saturday.  Brigadier David Richards, the leader of the British Reconnaissance Team, said the Norfolk was carrying three tons of medical supplies. "Our focus in the first instance is clearly on the humanitarian situation," he said. Richards added that the British "plan to support ECOMOG in any way we can to do whatever is necessary to restore stability in the country."  London Times journalist Sam Kiley said Sunday that the Norfolk's immediate mission would be to airlift the medical supplies from Lungi to Connaught Hospital in Freetown. He also reported that Richards met with Chief of Defence Staff Maxwell Khobe and President Kabbah to discuss the situation in Freetown both from a humanitarian and a military point of view. "So as yet the British certainly haven’t ruled out some sort of military role, although the Foreign Office in London of course have ruled out an actual direct combat role of the frigate that’s here, which may in fact be augmented in the future," Kiley said. He pointed out that the frigate was equipped with only one Lynx helicopter, capable of lifting about half a ton of equipment, but speculated that it could possibly supply "guidance or intelligence-gathering equipment" to direct ECOMOG Alpha fighter jets. RUF political spokesman Omrie Golley said RUF commanders in the field feared the Norfolk would help ECOMOG's Alpha jet fighters locate rebel positions. "They are worried it will eavesdrop on our communications and help the Alphas pinpoint our positions," Golley said. "Britain seems to have confused objectives. They say they are looking for dialogue and yet they are playing a great part in supporting ECOMOG." On Friday, Britain flew a planeload of military vehicles to Freetown, destined for the ECOMOG force. RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie, in an interview on Sunday, accused the Norfolk of shelling rebel positions. "Their shells have landed on our soil," he said. "We will attack their embassy. It's going to be burned down." A British Defence Department spokeswoman in London called the accusation "absolute rubbish." "All that has happened is that HMS Norfolk has arrived in international waters off Sierra Leone, and has sent a reconnaissance party in a helicopter to assess the situation from the air," she said. The British Reconnaissance Team intends to remain in Freetown until early February to assess the situation in the country.

The Ivory Coast reacted Saturday to criticism by Nigerian Foreign Minister Ignatius Olisiemeka of efforts by the foreign ministers of Ivory Coast and Togo to mediate the Sierra Leone conflict. A statement issued by the Ivorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abidjan recalled that the final communiqué issued by the ECOWAS Committee of Five on Sierra Leone following their extraordinary meeting on December 28 called both for reinforcement of ECOMOG and for a restoration of dialogue between the government and the rebels in Sierra Leone, as provided for by the Abidjan Accord and the Conakry Peace Plan. The ECOWAS foreign ministers called on Ivory Coast and Liberia to use their influence to establish contacts between the government and the rebels for possible further negotiations, the statement said, adding that the decision had received the support of all of Committee of Five foreign ministers. "It is worth recalling that the involvement of Ivory Coast in the settlement of the crisis in Sierra Leone is the result of an urgent request made in this regard by former Sierra Leone President Maada Bio and President Kabbah to President Henri Konan Bedie, who had made great efforts toward the signing of the Abidjan Peace Accord on 30 November 1996, an accord which had received the support of the entire international community," the statement added.

Malian army spokesman Aboudlaye Coulibali said Sunday that 428 Malian troops were sentX to depart for Freetown following an assessment mission Friday by General Nimkaro Kame. "Our aim is not to fight, unless we're attacked, but to provide security for the population and facilitate negotiations between the belligerents," Coulibali said. Reuters reported that a military delegation from Mali flew to Freetown Saturday for talks with ECOMOG as to when the long-expected contingent of Malian troops might arrive.

RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie said Sunday that the rebels would go ahead with a seven-day cease-fire set to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. "Our guns will go silent for a week. If the Nigerians do not try to do anything, they will stay silent for a week," he said. Bockarie warned, however, that any ECOMOG action — even a single flight by an ECOMOG jet — would end the cease-fire. "We will not sit down and look at them shooting at us," he said. Bockarie threatened to unleash anarchy on the capital unless RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh were released. "We have made Freetown ungovernable," he said. "We can do that until Kabbah steps down or they release Sankoh." United Nations Special Envoy to Sierra Leone Francis Okelo, quoted by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), said he feared "the intransigence" of President Kabbah toward the AFRC/RUF troops "could trigger, very quickly, a new wave of violence."

The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed "rebel official" in an "undisclosed location" in Sierra Leone reported Sunday that AFRC/RUF rebels will abandon their unilateral cease-fire unless President Kabbah agrees to release RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh. "We are hoping that there will be a significant shift on Kabbah's part," he said. "But if (there isn't), we fight and fight to the bitter end."   President Kabbah, in a Reuters television interview on Saturday, refused to release Sankoh. "What the rebels are saying is 'Mr. President, we have a gun pointed at your head. Either you release our man or we are going to shoot you'", Kabbah said. "They are saying that we should ignore our constitution, we should ignore our legal system, and just obey their orders to release Sankoh. I am not going to succumb to that." RUF political spokesman Omrie Golley told Reuters Saturday that the rebels planned to go ahead with their cease-fire beginning Monday, and that Sankoh's release was not a pre-condition. The "rebel official" told the Associated Press that rebel forces remain entrenched in parts of Freetown and could regain full control of the city within ten days. He acknowledged that the rebels were hampered in their movements by ECOMOG Alpha fighter jets and artillery, but said they were able to move freely after dark. "We have the upper hand by night, and they have the upper hand by day," the official said. "Although they are better equipped, we are smarter." He claimed that the rebels controlled most of Sierra Leone, except for the cities of Bo and Kenema.

BBC correspondent Prince Brima reported Sunday that AFRC/RUF rebels clashed with Kamajor militiamen at Jomu, 12 miles from Kenema. Brima said the battle lasted for three hours "before the rebels were repelled with heavy casualties." An afternoon curfew lasting from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. was imposed on Kenema Saturday, he said, adding that the town was calm Sunday. Heavy fighting also broke out Saturday near Masingbi, on the Makeni-Kono highway, between rebel forces and the Kamajor militia, Brima reported. He said the two sides continued to battle along the highway Sunday.

United Nations Special Envoy to Sierra Leone Francis Okelo flew from Conakry to Freetown Saturday to try to revive mediation efforts, and to arrange to bring humanitarian aid to Freetown by road from Guinea. "We've been assured of the necessary escorts and security and I'm on my way back to Conakry to relay this good news to the (aid agencies) so that they can begin right away," Okelo said.

The First Secretary at Sierra Leone's embassy in Liberia, James Sawi, has described as "false and misleading" a report by the Daily Times newspaper that the Sierra Leone government had asked Liberian refugees to leave the country. The newspaper said the Liberians were being expelled because of Liberian support for AFRC/RUF rebels. Sawi acknowledged that there were serious problems between the two countries, but said this would not cause Sierra Leone to expel Liberian nationals.

16 January: ECOMOG has relaxed a curfew on Freetown's Westend, saying that rebels had been cleared from the area, according to pro-government Radio Democracy 98.1. Residents were free to leave their homes between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., the radio said, but were warned not to gather in groups. Anyone on the streets outside of those hours would be treated as a rebel, the radio added. A 24-hour curfew remains in force on all eastern areas of the city, where rebel forces continue to offer resistance. ECOMOG officers reported heavy fighting at Jui, where ECOMOG soldiers from Nigeria's 2nd Brigade have their barracks. London Times journalist Sam Kiley said Saturday that while things had eased somewhat in the west of the city, the general situation was still extremely desperate. "The whole east of the city is still very much an area of heavy fighting and destruction," he said. "The rebels in retreat were ordered to burn everything they could as they left, and they made good on that. Last night it looked as if there was a forest fire raging through the wooden buildings that are so characteristic of Freetown. And so I think the situation there when it becomes safe enough to go into — ECOMOG is still mopping up — that there will be scenes of quite unimaginable carnage." Kiley said "quite heavy fighting" was continuing in the direction of Kissy and Hastings Airport. He added that despite the rebels' offer of a cease-fire, ECOMOG appeared determined to press on with their counter-offensive. Kiley confirmed that there had been instances of ECOMOG soldiers summarily executing "identified rebels," but added: "That is certainly not a policy of ECOMOG. It’s very heartening that they’re going to stay very much on the side of the law."

RUF political spokesman Omrie Golley said Saturday that the RUF would begin a seven-day unilateral cease-fire on Monday despite the government's "intransigence." "We are going ahead with our temporary ceasefire at 1800 GMT on Monday. A week from Monday is as far as our commitment goes," he said in Abidjan. He added that the cease-fire would be unilateral if necessary, and that the release of RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh was not a pre-condition. Golley said the cease-fire would be reviewed on January 25, and warned that it would be curtailed if the rebels were attacked on the ground or from the air. Golley added that the RUF wanted United Nations observers to monitor and verify the cease-fire.

BBC correspondent Prince Brima reported Saturday that AFRC/RUF troops launched simultaneous attacks Friday on the hydroelectric power station at Dodo and at Masingbi. "The RUF troops at midday yesterday attacked the hydroelectric power station at Dodo, in which the entire residential staff quarters of the power stastion were burnt down," Brima said. "The rebels, who are desperate to destroy the entire power station, were heading toward the dam when they ran into the Kamajor ambush. This resulted in a battle which lasted throughout the night before the rebels were repelled this morning with heavy casualties." Brima said rebel troops who were dislodged from Masingbi three weeks ago made a bid to recapture the town, but were repelled by the Kamajor militia in a five-hour battle. "Meanwhile, six truckloads of rebels who were yesterday afternoon retreating from Makeni town and heading towards Kono with looted property ran into a Kamajor ambush near Masingbi," he added.

15 January: President Kabbah rejected on Monday a key RUF demand to release RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh or to transfer him to a neutral country — conditions RUF leaders insisted be met by the end of a unilateral seven-day cease-fire they announced on Thursday. Kabbah said he would need parliamentary approval to release Sankoh. "Otherwise I would be impeached by my own people," he said. Kabbah added that he had not ruled out negotiations with the rebels, but said that power sharing was "totally out of the question." He also refused to transfer Sankoh to a third country, and specifically ruled out Burkina Faso, which the government has accused of aiding the rebels. "If I release him he will have to stay in Sierra Leone and not go to a third country," he said. United Nations sources said Sankoh was flown back to Sierra Leone on Friday after three days of talks in Guinea aimed at bringing about a cease-fire in the conflict. The sources said the Sierra Leone government had rejected an offer by Guinea to keep Sankoh under house arrest in order to facilitate contacts with U.N. and ECOWAS mediators. "President Kabbah said he wanted Sankoh back, so he was flown to Freetown this morning," a U.N. source said in Conakry.

Presidential spokesman Septimus Kaikai said Friday that RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh would not be released because he gone back on a cease-fire agreement with President Kabbah. "Corporal Foday Sankoh himself has now denied that he is not agreeing to any cease-fire at all with President Kabbah," Kaikai said in a BBC interview. "If he had agreed to the cease-fire, at the end, he would release him within seven days. But he did not agree to it at all. But the president went beyond that. He met with the ministers, foreign minister from Togo, met the foreign minister from la Cote d'Ivoire, and the U.N. special envoy to Sierra Leone, Ambassador Okelo, and asked them to meet with Corporal Foday Sankoh, which they did. It was in that meeting that Corporal Foday Sankoh flatly denied that he had signed any agreement at all with President Kabbah." Kaikai said the government would not agree to a cease-fire called by the RUF at the urging of Liberian President Charles Taylor because it had been delayed while RUF fighters continued to conduct operations. "You know the rebels had agreed to the cease-fire proposed by President Charles Taylor, which would have gone into effect on Sunday," he said. "(RUF commander Sam "Maskita" Bockarie) pushed it to Monday, because he says that his people had already [words indistinct] and he was going to engage an operation, therefore, he could not agree to that particular cease-fire until Monday. But what government — responsible government — is going to sit down and allow his people to be annihilated? No, [words indistinct] I think the government should be very negligent it did allow something like that to take place." Kaikai rejected reports that Nigerian ECOMOG soldiers were summarily executing rebels and rebel supporters. "I do reject that very strongly," he said. "These are the most professional people. [words indistinct] they would have murdered a lot of people on the way [words indistinct] to enter town. They did not. If the rebels were able to enter Freetown, it was simply because the Nigeria-led ECOMOG troops refused to engage in any such activity at all."

AFRC/RUF rebels continue to put up resistance in the Eastend of Freetown. Explosion were heard there on Friday, and thick black smoke was seen rising over the area. A Lebanese trader told Reuters that civilians in the east were trapped in desperate conditions. He said there were hundreds of bodies lying in the streets, some of them with their eyes or intestines hanging out.

AFRC/RUF rebel forces and Kamajor militiamen clashed at Thursday about 30 miles from Kenema on the Kenema-Liberia highway, BBC correspondent Prince Brima reported on Friday. Quoting a paramount chief from the area, Brima said the rebels had launched a "massive offensive" on two chiefdoms in Kenema District on Tuesday. While they were regrouping to attack Kenema they were surrounded and attacked by 2,000 Kamajor militiamen. 338 rebels were killed and large amounts of arms and ammunition seized, the chief said. There has been no independent confirmation of the report. AFRC/RUF forces also attacked Segbwema on Thursday, but were driven back with heavy casualties, Brima said. This was the third attack on the town by rebels seeking to capture the Moa Barracks near Daru. Brima reported that ECOMOG fighter jets had attacked rebel bases in Kailahun District on Thursday, but gave no details.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Ignatius Olisiemeka has voiced disapproval at efforts by the foreign ministers of Ivory Coast and Togo to mediate the Sierra Leone conflict. "Those who do not even have a soldier in Sierra Leone are pretending to be peacemakers. I would ask them to stop it. We cannot be taken for a ride," he said at a ceremony honouring fallen Nigerian soldiers. "When we are ready for peace we shall let them know." Senior Nigerian sources in Guinea have said that all mediation efforts had been effectively suspended. They said a new negotiating formula would be defined after Nigeria consulted with the other two countries contributing troops to the ECOMOG force, Ghana and Guinea. "A larger regional meeting will have to be convened. The three countries with troops on the ground will decide modalities of such a meeting," a Nigerian source said.

ECOMOG on Friday ordered all communications equipment belonging to the remaining humanitarian organisations, United Nations missions, and embassies to be confiscated. "They ordered all agencies with communications equipment to hand it over this afternoon to ECOMOG...They promised to give it back when the situation improves," one aid worker said. "From what we hear they suspect some of the humanitarian agencies to be involved in passing information to the rebels." Some organisations were accused of helping recharge batteries for the rebels' communications equipment. The action was taken after ECOMOG summoned all non-governmental organisations left in Freetown to a meeting on Friday morning. A U.N. official said relief groups throughout Sierra Leone had been given until Friday afternoon to surrender their satellite telephones and radios to ECOMOG. He quoted ECOMOG officials as saying the equipment had fallen into rebel hands, and that the confiscations were being carried out to tighten security. Officials from two major aid agencies said ECOMOG was hindering their efforts. An official of a major aid agency, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said the move effectively cut the remaining humanitarian links between Sierra Leone and the outside world and jeopardized already inadequate medicine and food distribution efforts being guided by "remote control" from nearby countries. "If we are not able to call the combatants to arrange safe passage, it is too dangerous to continue to travel or continue our work," the official said. One London-based aid agency expressed concern for its workers' safety now that communications links were broken. "Our staff will be more than ever exposed," an officer at the agency said.

United Nations agencies issued a joint appeal in Geneva Friday for a quick cease-fire in Sierra Leone and security guarantees for a humanitarian corridor so agencies could deliver food and medicine to tens of thousands of civilians whose lives were in danger. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern about the condition of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in Freetown. "The situation is very serious. The WFP launches an appeal to the parties of the conflict to accept a ceasefire and guarantee the necessary security conditions for humanitarian organisations to have rapid access to distressed populations in Freetown and inland," said WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume. "Tens of thousands of lives are in danger. "We must react rapidly if we are to avoid a catastrophe." She said residents of Freetown were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition after being deprived of food, water, and electricity for ten days. The WFP still had 63 local employees in place, but was not sure about the state of