UN peacekeepers fly to safety

UN soldiers are taking a more aggressive role according to officials

The first contingent of UN peacekeepers freed by Sierra Leonean rebels flew into Freetown in the early hours of Wednesday.

The 93 soldiers, 81 Zambians and 12 Kenyans, had been captured two weeks ago and held in the jungle, but were handed over to the Liberian authorities on Sunday.

They landed at Freetown's Lungi airport aboard a Russian transport plane after the short flight from neighbouring Liberia.

They will be debriefed and given medical checks.

Another 46 peacekeepers and military observers are still in Liberia, waiting to return, but the UN remains concerned about more than 300 hostages still in the hands of rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

Liberia's Charles Taylor has called for an end to all fighting in Sierra Leone

The partial breakthrough in the hostage crisis came after negotiations involving the President of Liberia, Charles Taylor.

Between 30 and 40 of these peacekeepers are suffering from illnesses and injuries, including gunshot wounds, the Liberian president said.

The seizure of UN staff earlier this month reignited the eight-year Sierra Leone civil war.

Earlier A UN spokesman voiced fears that staff still held by the rebels were suffering from malnutrition and dehydration.

"As time goes by and we have no reliable information and we are not able to see them, we're becoming increasingly concerned about their wellbeing," the UN's David Wimhurst said.

The Liberian connection

The rebels handed over 139 UN hostages to Liberian custody on Sunday at the remote town of Foya, just across the border from Sierra Leone.

Mr Taylor played a major role in the negotiations that preceded the releases.

BBC West Africa correspondent Mark Doyle says the negotiations to free hostages are always sensitive - but these are particularly complex because of the role of Liberia.

In the past, the UN has condemned Liberia for supporting the rebels. Now it is obliged to deal with the Liberian president to try to obtain the release of the peacekeepers. Mr Taylor said the injured hostages had been wounded when they were seized and disarmed by the RUF guerrillas.

"It is absolutely imperative that there should be a total cessation of hostilities," in order to allow the release of the remaining UN captives, Mr Taylor said.

UN's 'offensive role'

Earlier on Tuesday, the UN commander in Sierra Leone General Vijay Jetley sanctioned a more aggressive strategy against the RUF.

The UK deployment in Sierra Leone may increase

The UN force is planning "a move east and to some extent south... towards the RUF heartland", Brigadier David Richards, a senior British commander in Sierra Leone, told the BBC.

Nigeria has undertaken to send more troops to Sierra Leone, as long as the UN meets the costs involved.

Nigeria already has four battalions as part of the UN peacekeeping force.

A further two are committed, and if the UN Security Council resolves to increase the overall size of the force beyond its current maximum of 11,000, Nigeria might be prepared to send more still, Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said.

UK Chief of Defence Staff General Charles Guthrie, who is on a visit to Nigeria, predicted on Tuesday that restoring peace to the former British colony would be a "long haul".

He said he was considering whether to deploy some 800 marines on board six Royal Navy ships anchored off Freetown to join the 700 paratroops in the capital, but had "no firm plans about it".