Cook flies to Sierra Leone

UK forces have helped restore order

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook is in Sierra Leone to review Britain's military support for the government there.

The move follows Britain's announcement that its Royal Marine Commando unit will pull out, leaving behind a strengthened United Nations force and a 180-strong training team from the Royal Anglian Regiment.

Most UK troops will withdraw next week

Mr Cook will discuss how Britain can continue to help its former colony during talks with President Kabbah.

He will also seek guarantees that British-supplied weapons will not go to child soldiers used by the Sierra Leone army.

On Tuesday Mr Cook announced that the UK would seek a United Nations resolution to ban trading in diamonds from rebel-held areas of the war-torn African country.

He said diamonds had fuelled Sierra Leone's rebellion for the past nine years and that while the country's people were among the world's poorest, rebels could buy vast quantities of arms.

Training team

Restrictions on diamond traffic would leave President Kabbah's government in control of the lucrative trade through Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Ministers believe Freetown's Lungi airport is safe enough for control of it to be transferred next week to UN troops when the 42 Royal Marine Commando unit withdraws.

It is expected that 11,000 international troops will be under UN command from next week, supported by British observers, with a further 5,000 expected to arrive in Sierra Leone over coming months.

Mr Cook told the House of Commons this week that Britain would provide a short-term training team to help train the Sierra Leone army's new recruits.

That training would be conducted by around 180 personnel drawn from the 2 Royal Anglian regiment, supported by HMS Argyle and RFA Sir Percivale.

Child soldiers

He described Britain as the "lead nation" in training a new Sierra Leone army.

He added: "We propose to accelerate our training in order to achieve a rapid boost in troop capacity."

Mr Cook is expected to spend part of his brief visit to the African country with British troops, whom he will thank for bringing stability to Freetown.

The foreign secretary's call for assurances on control of UK-supplied arms follows recent pictures of a young Sierra Leone Army soldier carrying what looked like a British rifle.

That soldier had claimed he was given the weapon for use at checkpoints against rebel insurgents.

President Kabbah promised in March 1999 that any British armaments would only go to regular adult soldiers.

Mr Cook said that a key problem in resolving the conflict would be winning the co-operation of neighbouring countries.