UK to arm Sierra Leone troops

British troops have been vital in taking the war to the rebels

The UK is to supply light weapons and ammunition to the Sierra Leone army at the request of the Freetown government.

UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told parliament that British officers would also lead an international team of military advisers to provide long-term training for President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's forces.

The army in Sierra Leone had been complaining of a shortage of both equipment and training.

However government forces and their allies say they are advancing towards Makeni, north-east of the capital, Freetown, which has been in rebel hands for 18 months.

The longer these attacks are carried out the more difficult it will become in mediating a successful release of the remaining hostages

President Charles Taylor

Heavy fighting has been reported, and the government said there had been numerous rebel casualties.

Reports say Revolutionary United Front rebels burned huts and destroyed rice crops as they retreated towards their eastern heartland.

The advance against the RUF started when government forces regained control of Lunsar, 80km (50 miles) from Freetown, which had been occupied by the rebels earlier this month - helping to precipitate the latest crisis.

Warning

The continued and successful attacks against the RUF have prompted a warning from the president of neighbouring Liberia, Charles Taylor.

He said they were hampering the release of the UN peacekeepers who are still in rebel hands.

Negotiations for the release of those hostages are being conducted through President Taylor, who has called again for a ceasefire.

About 270 UN peacekeepers are still being held hostage by rebels in Sierra Leone, although more than 80 have been released in recent days.

A message from the rebels demanding the release of their leader, Foday Sankoh, within 13 days was delivered by a group of 29 freed Zambian UN peacekeepers who arrived in neighbouring Liberia on Monday.

I am praying for my friends left there

Freed hostage Lance Corporal Fred Bwalya

But there has been no indication of what would happen if the ultimatum is not met.

President Kabbah has already rejected rebel demands that the detained rebel leader should be set free in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages.

Release plea

One of the released Zambian peacekeepers said he feared for those still held.

"We would want for the UN to try to seek the faster release of our friends. Our friends are suffering," said Lance Corporal Fred Bwalya

Another of the released peacekeepers said his group had been tied around a tree, beaten and given little food.

RUF rebels are notorious for hacking off limbs of civilians

"We ate virtually nothing. We stayed hungry almost the whole day. It wasn't easy," said Warrant-Officer Phiri Shadreck.

On Monday, Sierra Leonean soldiers discovered the mutilated corpses of what appeared to be several Zambian UN peacekeepers north-east of Freetown.

However, the UN has cautioned that an investigation would be needed to identify the bodies, as rebels have often worn the uniforms of kidnapped UN peacekeepers.

The US special envoy to Africa, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, has urged the US Congress to provide financial support for peacekeeping efforts in Sierra Leone.