Sierra Leone prepares new offensive

Pro-government forces plan to recapture Lunsar

Defence officials in Sierra Leone say they are sending reinforcements towards the strategically important town of Lunsar, in a bid to recapture it from RUF rebels.

They are occupying the place now, but of course we will be back very soon

SLA spokesman Major John Milton

But the United Nations has urged restraitn as negotiations continue in search of a ceasefire.

The loss of Lunsar is a big blow for President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's British-backed forces, only two days after they had taken the town.

The rebels retook the town on Wednesday after an eight-hour battle throughout Tuesday night.

Lunsar is located about 100 km (60 miles) north-east of Freetown on a major highway that leads from the capital to the rebel-held town of Makeni and the rest of the diamond-rich east of the country.

The defence officials said government forces retreated from the town in the early hours of Wednesday after running out of ammunition.

Other reports said the rebels attacked with armoured personnel carriers and heavy weapons believed to have been stolen from the United Nations peacekeeping force.

"They are occupying the place now, but of course we will be back very soon," said Sierra Leonean Army spokesman, Major John Milton.

UN pursues ceasefire

The UN spokesman in Sierra Leone David Wimhurst said on Thursday that he hoped a team of diplomats from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which is due to arrive in Freetown on Friday, would be able to negotiate a ceasefire.

"What is important now is that fighting does stop so we can find a way to talk to each other again," he told a news conference in Freetown.

"There is no military solution to this conflict," he added.

The Lunsar recapture - which is the first major reversal for pro-government forces in recent days - comes at a critical time in Sierra Leone as then majority of UK forces prepare to withdraw by mid-June.

The UK's Royal Marines last week replaced the paratroops who had led the UK intervention in Sierra Leone.