Sierra Leone junta given time limit

Foreign Ministers from the Economic Community of West African States have said that the military regime in Sierra Leone must keep its promise to restore civilian rule next April.

The ministers, who were meeting in Abuja, were reacting to an interview on Thursday in which the ruler of Sierra Leone, Major Johnny Paul Koroma, cast doubt on the timetable because of difficulties in disarming the country's rival factions.

The ECOWAS ministers said that the international arms embargo on Sierra Leone must be enforced and that the United Nations should step up its efforts to send an observer force to oversee the process of disarmament.

The ministers made their remarks in a communique issued late on Friday.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service