Rebels accuse Britain

British paras killed four rebels on Wednesday

The rebels in Sierra Leone have accused Britain of joining what they call a criminal conspiracy against them, as fears mount for UN peacekeepers still in rebel captivity.

A rebel spokesman, Jibril Massaquoi, told the BBC that Britain should clarify whether troops sent ostensibly to evacuate UK civilians were part of the UN peacekeeping force or not.

Mr Massaquoi, who recently fled Freetown for the rebel stronghold of Makeni, said Britain was supporting a group of criminal politicians in the capital.

British troops have boosted UN moral in Sierra Leone

British forces intervened in Sierra Leone after the government's peace agreement with Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels broke down 10 days ago.

That led to the temporary disappearance of rebel leader Foday Sankoh. He was captured on Wednesday by Freetown police and is now being held at an undisclosed location.

Mr Sankoh's absence - he spent many months in Nigerian detention - has not in the past affected the RUF's ability to carry on fighting.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether US peace envoy Jesse Jackson will visit Sierra Leone.

He has arrived in Nigeria, but the Freetown government is angered by comments perceived as sympathetic to Mr Sankoh, and has said he is not welcome.

UN fears

The BBC's Mark Doyle, reporting from Freetown, says the rebel accusation against Britain reflects a significant strand of public opinion there.

Some of the released UN personnel needed medical attention

Despite horrific rebel atrocities against civilians, many Sierra Leoneans blame the government for failing to address the widespread corruption that is the root cause of the war.

The rebel anger at Britain's role in the conflict came as the UN expressed concern about the condition of more than 200 of its peacekeepers still detained by the rebels, after Liberia's president said between 30 and 40 were wounded.

The UN spokesman in Sierra Leone, David Wimhurst, told the BBC that he did not know how serious their injuries might be, and that they were extremely worried about all of the detained peacekeepers, in rebel captivity for nearly two weeks.

Another 13 peacekeepers have now returned to Freetown from neighbouring Liberia. These are the first of 80 who were reportedy allowed to cross into Liberia on Wednesday.

The UN is expected to decide in the next few days whether to send more soldiers to Sierra Leone. West African ministers decided on Thursday to send an additional 3,000 troops to work with the UN.

Peacekeeper tension

The relationship between UN officials and the British military, which has been credited with restoring some order to the region, has become strained over the whereabouts of the RUF leader.

Officials say that Britain is not co-operating with efforts to locate Mr Sankoh, who was last seen in public at Freetown airport, protected by British soldiers.

A senior UN official said the peacekeepers had asked the British army to reveal his location, because they think he might be persuaded to tell his men to stop their offensive.

But British spokesmen will only say that he is in the custody of the Sierra Leonean police.

British troops have now reinforced their presence in Freetown, in what is being seen as a warning against further rebels attacks.

The show of strength follows Wednesday's clash near Freetown's Lungi airport in which British paratroops killed four rebels.