Sierra Leone rebels declare war over

The rebels say they are fed up of fighting

By BBC West Africa correspondent Mark Doyle, who travelled to rebel headquarters in the town of Makeni in northern Sierra Leone

Rebel forces in Sierra Leone say the decade-long war is over and that they want to engage in purely political struggle.

In an exclusive BBC interview, senior rebel commander Gibril Massakoi said the United Nations, which has its largest peacekeeping force in the world in Sierra Leone was now welcome to deploy throughout the country.

Senior commanders of the Revolutionary United Front told me, after I drove across the front line to meet them, that if elections due to be held at the end of this year were fair and monitored by the international community, the rebels would transform themselves into a political party and compete peacefully.

UK role

The British presence appears to have been a critical factor in bringing them to the negotiating table.

The British army has several hundred soldiers in Sierra Leone.

The rebels' have committed many brutal atrocities

But they are working outside the UN mandate, training the army of the internationally recognised government to face up to the rebels.

The rebels will not admit it publically, but there's no doubt that the large British military presence on the Sierra Leone government's side has been critical in bringing about this change in attitude.

The rebels know that they cannot take the capital while the British are there.

Many Sierra Leoneans will be deeply sceptical of the rebels' call for peace and will judge them on their actions not their words.

This is hardly surprising after a decade of war atrocities, most committed by the rebel side.

Nevertheless, the message the rebel commanders gave the BBC was clear - they are tired of the war and they also perhaps realise that, thanks to the British presence, they can no longer win it.