- Freetown, 17 May 2000
A. WESTERN AREA
Sankoh Arrested
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh was captured early Wednesday morning and is reportedly being held in a “secure location” at Lungi airport by British forces. Sankoh was caught close to his home, and reportedly shot in the leg in a gun battle with Sierra Leone Army (SLA) troops. News reports said that on his capture, Sankoh was stripped naked and paraded through the streets. He was taken briefly to Lumley police station, and then the house of SLA leader Johnny Paul Karoma, before being driven to defence headquaters at Cockerill. He was carried on to a British forces helicopter on a stretcher and evacuated to Lungi airport where sources said a medical team operated on his leg.
Information Minister Julius Spencer told the BBC he hoped Sankoh could be persuaded to “send a message” to his men to abide by the Lome peace agreement and if he refused, “appropriate steps would be taken”. A senior official in the government-appointed National Commission for Democracy and
Human Rights told HACU that Sankoh could be tried for RUF violations of the Lome agreement from
July 1999, the expiration of the rebel leader’s amnesty. “Obviously there is tremendous concern over what his followers might do,” he added. “We’re anxiously waiting for the unfolding of events.”
Meanwhile, the mood in Freetown has been reported by local and international media as anger and fear that Sankoh may be released, or pose an on-going threat to the security of Sierra Leone.
Despite Sankoh’s arrest, Freetown has remained calm and residents continue to go about their business as usual. Security officials have said that they do not foresee any immediate threat to the city, given the continuing presence and combined efforts of government troops, the UN forces and the British paratroopers. Additional British forces are also located on ships offshore. The UN Security
Management Team is recommending to raise the ceiling of international UN staff in-country from 25 to
40, effective Monday 22 May, although Freetown remains at the ‘Phase 4’ UN security designation.
Most international NGOs who were evacuated to Conakry are also beginning to return staff to
Freetown in limited numbers.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, 44 UN peacekeepers were released via Liberia. Security sources describe their condition as relatively “good”. This brings to 137 the number of detainees released in the last two days.
Humanitarian Developments
Humanitarian agencies continue to undertake relief activities for approximately 46,000 previously registered IDPs in Freetown, while making efforts to verify and assist those recently displaced, currently estimated at 6,000. These are mostly from towns and villages in the Western Area, between
Hastings and Newton. Other newly displaced people are believed to be staying with relatives in the city, while many from the Waterloo area have already returned to their homes. The IDPs who come from between Hastings and Newton will receive two-week food rations in their villages at the end of the week from WFP and partners, while those who come from beyond Newton, still believed to be unsafe, will be provided for in the existing camps. Those claiming to have been displaced from villages between Freetown and Hastings do not qualify for food aid, as they are not considered as IDPs.

Meanwhile, 600 of the new caseload presently residing at the National Workshop IDP camp are to be moved to the Waterloo transit camp to ease the pressure on already over-stretched water and sanitation facilities. Conditions have deteriorated at the camp due to lack of space to construct new latrines and acute shortage of water. The camp’s main water supply source has been cut off, as the government has not yet settled water bills. CARE, which is responsible for camp management, has requested the government to urgently address the issue in order to prevent a major health hazard.
UNHCR will visit the Grafton IDP camp on 18 May to verify reports of 130 spontaneous returnees from Guinea.
B. SOUTHERN PROVINCE
Security
The region remains quiet with no significant changes in the humanitarian situation. The CDF has responded to the current developments in the security situation around the country by taking up defensive positions in their previous areas of operation. They have re-established checkpoints around the region and are undertaking frequent cordon and search operations. RUF supporters who were arrested by pro-government forces in the last week have now been released. Within Bo town, the
Police and UNAMSIL, supported by the Kamajors, are conducting joint patrols to curtail criminal activities and prevent rebel movements. However, cases of harassment of the population by the CDF have persisted, including commandeering of relief vehicles and the illegal occupation of relief facilities. Agencies have mounted pressure on local authorities to put an end to these practices. MSF-B and the Medical Research Council (MRC) continue to maintain expatriate staff in the area, while other
NGOs and UN agencies continue programmes with their national staff.
Humanitarian Developments
There are currently no reports of population movements. However, in the last few days, agencies on the ground have continued to receive reports of IDP concentrations in the Konta area, north of Bo, reportedly arriving from Kono and Masingbi. ACF, which was running a supplementary feeding centre in the area, has been requested to investigate the reports. Sectoral committee meetings have been less frequent following the reduction of humanitarian staff. However, agencies continue to implement humanitarian activities in IDP camps, with ACF addressing WATSAN needs, UNICEF and MSF-B providing medical services, and WFP providing food rations for all registered IDPs in camps.
With regard to returnee movements, UNHCR reported that there are currently no cross-border movements from Zimmi to Liberia.
C. EASTERN PROVINCE
Security
No new security incidents were reported in the past few days. Kenema remains quiet but tense. Some
4,214 Kamajors who had disarmed in the eastern region have been fully remobilised to defend the region in collaboration with UNAMSIL and SLA forces. Curfew is observed from 9 pm to 7 am. The
Resident Minister has confirmed that CDF personnel are harassing communities to contribute money and food towards war efforts. The Head of the CDF administration has been requested to instruct his men to discontinue such practices.
Humanitarian

Agencies are carrying out normal humanitarian activities in Kenema supported by national staff members. However, movements are largely restricted to parts of Kenema district.
D. NORTHERN PROVINCE
Most of the region remains unstable and out of the reach of humanitarian agencies. On Wednesday,
WFP withdrew its food aid monitors from Lungi and postponed its school-feeding programme following a shoot-out between British paratroopers and the RUF that reportedly left three RUF rebels dead. A 40-strong RUF contingent was intercepted by the British patrol before dawn on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, SLA and UN forces came under attack in Port Loko from RUF machine gun and mortar fire. One UN soldier, a Nigerian, and six government troops were reportedly killed.
The latest incident disrupted efforts to undertake follow-up assessment missions to determine the actual number of IDPs in the Lungi and Lokomasama areas. Earlier estimates put the figures of new
IDPs at 6,000-9,000 in Lungi, and up to 20,000 in Loko Masama.
HACU, 17 May 2000