Sierra Leone warning after army arrests

The guns have gone quiet recently with the rebels disarming

The head of the Sierra Leone army has warned his troops that any ambitions to rule the country by force will not be tolerated.

Chief of staff Brigadier Tom Carew said it was now impossible to use the army to take power in Sierra Leone.

Let me assure the government and the people of our country that the arrest should not cause any alarm

Chief of staff Brigadier Tom Carew

His comments followed the arrest of the head of army training, Colonel Gabriel Mani, for storing a large quantity of arms at his home.

About 40 other people are being held in connection with the arms cache.

No charges have yet been brought but Sierra Leone police says they have not ruled out a possible coup plot.

"The news of Colonel Gabriel Mani's arrest did not go down well for the new army," Brigadier Carew, said.

"Let me assure the government and the people of our country that the arrest should not cause any alarm as the police are investigating the matter," he said.

Colonel Gabriel Mani, was detained on Saturday after a search of his house in the capital, Freetown.

He is a well-known figure and was one of the group of mutinous soldiers who overthrew President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in May 1997.

He fled to the bush when the military regime was overthrown the following year, but later rallied behind President Kabbah.

Peace process

Things have been going well recently in Sierra Leone with the country more peaceful than it has been for a long time.

United Nations peacekeepers are gradually pushing further and further into the interior; and Revolutionary United Front rebels have released several hundred children and teenagers who they'd press-ganged into joining their movement.

And the capital, Freetown, is now well-established as a de-militarised zone, where no unauthorised person should be carrying arms.

Our correspondent in the region says that President Kabbah has had to take a risk on the good faith of men like Colonel Mani if he is to rebuild a professional national army when the number of possible recruits is limited.

And his stockpiling of weapons may not have been an act of disloyalty, simply an insurance policy if the situation deteriorated again.