23 'mercenaries' arrested in Sierra Leone

Reports from Sierra Leone say twenty-three people suspected of being mercenaries have been arrested in the capital Freetown, as they prepared to board a ferry to neighbouring Guinea.

Early reports suggested those arrested were Liberians but a police spokeswoman told the French news agency, AFP, that the group included Sierra Leoneans and Guineans.

She said they were detained because they did not have proper travel documents.

Guinea has repeatedly accused Liberia and rebels of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone of supporting rebels attacking its territory. The West African regional body, ECOWAS, last month approved sending a peacekeeping force to Guinea's border with Liberia and Sierra Leone. The arrests coincided with the arrival in Liberia of the secretary-general of the Organization of African Unity, Salim Ahmed Salim, for talks on regional security.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service