Cook pledges support for Sierra Leone

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has arrived in Sierra Leone at the start of a 24-hour visit to review the UK's support for the government there. A taskforce of six warships and over a thousand troops was sent to Sierra Leone last month, when the government was threatened by rebel forces. The UK says it has now stabilised the situation and is planning to pull out the majority of its troops next week. However much of the country is still controlled by the rebels, and there a fears the departure of British troops could leave the elected government vulnerable.