More West African troops to Sierra Leone

The commander of the West African intervention force in Sierra Leone, General Victor Malu, says he expects to triple the number of his troops deployed in the country.

General Malu told the BBC he expects a decision from West African heads of states in the next few days to deploy ten thousand more soldiers, in addition to the five thousand mainly Nigerian troops already there.

He said the deployment would go ahead with or without the consent of the Sierra Leone military, who seized power in May last year.

The deployment of additional West African troops was agreed at a regional meeting last year which included the Sierra Leone military government.

Since then, it has raised new conditions for the deployment.

The BBC West Africa correspondent says this is widely seen as a stalling tactic by the military aimed at preventing a return to civilan rule.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service