Britain says it'll help to set up a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission in Sierra Leone.

The Minister for African affairs, Peter Hain -- who's in Freetown, said Britain, the former colonial power, would give four hundred thousand dollars to the project.

Tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans suffered mutilation and rape during the civil war.

A blanket amnesty was granted to war criminals as part of last year's peace agreement, which Britain supported.

Many Sierra Leoneans say Britain has operated double standards by pursuing war criminals in European conflicts, while telling African victims that they have to forgive, if not forget.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service