Warlord's body back in Freetown

Bockarie's death remains shrouded in mystery

A body believed to be that of former Sierra Leone rebel commander Sam Bockarie has been brought home from Liberia.

Mr Bockarie - alias Mosquito - was indicted by Sierra Leone's war crimes court in March, but less than a month ago he is believed to have been killed in Liberia.

He was a general in the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which became notorious for its systematic rape of women and abduction of thousands of children who were forced to fight.

Seeking to confirm his alleged death, the special court demanded his body for forensic examination. But only now has the Liberian Government released it.

Those who have seen the corpse and knew Mr Bockarie well say they have no doubt about his identity. But the court has said it will not withdraw the indictment against him until DNA tests are carried out.

We are taking home the body of a man who over the years has brought pain and suffering to the lives of Sierra Leoneans

Patrick Foyah

Profile of Sam Bockarie

Days before Mr Bockarie was killed, the court's prosecutor had accused Liberia of harbouring him and threatened President Charles Taylor with action if he did not hand him and former Sierra Leonean junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma over.

The prosecutor says several members of Mr Bockarie's family, who lived in Monrovia, were murdered by Mr Taylor's forces shortly after his death.

Liberia says an investigation is under way to determine what happened to them.

Observers say Mr Bockarie may have been intentionally killed to prevent him giving evidence in court.

Amputations

Throughout Sierra Leone's civil war, he is believed to have acted as the senior liaison between the rebel RUF and President Taylor - a relationship the Liberian Government would not have liked made public.

A disco-dancing champion, who will be remembered for heralding the deliberate and widespread practice of hacking off the limbs of his victims, Mr Bockarie died in a shoot-out when government troops tried to arrest him, Liberian officials say.

Many Sierra Leoneans however would have preferred to see him brought back alive and well, to stand trial for war crimes.

"We are taking home the body of a man who over the years has brought pain and suffering to the lives of Sierra Leoneans," Sierra Leone's ambassador in Monrovia, Patrick Foyah, told reporters at the airport.

Since the end of the war, Mr Bockarie has fought as a mercenary in Liberia and in Ivory Coast.

The BBC's Tom McKinley in Freetown says the court will probably maintain its focus on Liberia and Mr Taylor who may yet be asked to account for his role in Sierra Leone's brutal conflict.