UK military team in Sierra Leone

UN troops will receive British guidance

British military advisers have arrived in Sierra Leone to advise the embattled United Nations force there amid a worsening hostage crisis.

They flew into Freetown on Saturday following the abduction on Friday of more than 300 UN hostages, including a British Army officer and 200 Zambian soldiers by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

We want to help the UN and we will be in a better position to consider what we can supply when the team has reported back to us

A Foreign Office spokesman

The captives are being held along with nearly 100 peacekeepers abducted several days ago.

The British team, which will be based in the capital Freetown, will advise UN forces on how to increase their effectiveness in the country, but will not be involved in hostage negotiations.

The Foreign Office has stressed that the decision to send the technical support team is not a criticism of the performance of UN personnel already in the west African country.

"We want to help the UN and we will be in a better position to consider what we can supply when the team has reported back to us," said a spokesman.

Support

The Foreign Office spokesman said the captive Briton is among 15 British UN personnel in Sierra Leone, all of whom are engaged in non-military observational roles.

"We understand the other 14 are safe although some may be in rebel-held areas where they may not be able to move about freely," he said.

Revolutionary United Front soliders in Sierra Leone

The fresh seizures follow the release of six UN staff who were taken hostage by the RUF earlier this week.

Their release came after Liberian President Charles Taylor, a long-time ally of rebel leader Foday Sankoh, interceded.

The 8,000-strong peacekeeping force - the UN's largest - is in Sierra Leone to try to facilitate the implementation of last year's peace agreement.

Signed in July, it ended the country's eight-year civil war and brought the RUF into a power-sharing government.

The current crisis started when the RUF fighters destroyed two UN disarmament camps on Tuesday.