Sierra Leone releases RUF rebels

The government in Sierra Leone says it has released 41 members of the rebel Revolutionary United Front ahead of today's Friday's talks with senior RUF members and United Nations representatives in the eastern town of Kenema.

Correspondents say the release is likely to ease the talks which are aimed at cementing the peace process implemeted after the decade-long civil war in the country.

The former foreign minister, Paolo Bangura, and the chairman of the RUF's political wing, Daniel Kallon, were among those set free from a high-security prison in the capital, Freetown. Earlier, UN troops in Sierra Leone said they were close to completing a major disarmament exercise in the east of the country.

The UN said it had demobilised about 5,000 RUF fighters and opposing pro-government militiamen.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service