ECOMOG denies Sierra Leone air raid

The West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG has again denied allegations by the military government in Sierra Leone that its fighter aircraft bombed a village last weekend, killing twenty people.

In a BBC interview, the ECOMOG chief-of-staff, General Abdul One Mohammad said the Nigerian planes were on a routine reconnaissance flight over Sierra Leone to monitor an international air and sea embargo when government anti-aircraft guns were fired at them.

General Mohammad said the ECOMOG planes returned fire in self-defence.

There's mounting tension between the Nigerian-led West African peacekeepers and the military authorities in Sierra Leone who are under regional pressure to restore civilian rule in their country.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service