Tense Calm in Freetown as Rebels Consolidate Invasion
January 10, 1999 - 0:0
FREETOWN A precarious calm settled over Freetown on Saturday amid reports that rebels had gained further ground since invading the Sierra Leonean capital on Wednesday. Witnesses said the West African intervention force ECOMOG had ceded further territory to the rebels, members of a military junta ousted nearly a year ago and allies in the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a longstanding rebel movement.
Streets were deserted, and no casualty toll was available from the general offensive launched Friday against ECOMOG positions. In London, the British Defense Ministry said the frigate HMS Norfolk was heading to the Sierra Leone region and will be monitoring events as a straightforward precautionary measure, to give us a ship available in that part of the world." (AFP)
Streets were deserted, and no casualty toll was available from the general offensive launched Friday against ECOMOG positions. In London, the British Defense Ministry said the frigate HMS Norfolk was heading to the Sierra Leone region and will be monitoring events as a straightforward precautionary measure, to give us a ship available in that part of the world." (AFP)