New U.N. Commander For Sierra Leone Arrives In Freetown
FREETOWN (AFP) - The new commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone, General Daniel Ishmael Opande, arrived in Freetown Saturday, UNAMSIL, the U.N. mission here said.
Opande, who is Kenyan, replaces the controversial Indian commander of the force, General Vijay Jetley.
Jetley had been in charge of the U.N. force in the West African country since November 1999, and had locked horns publicly with several Nigerian officers in the force.
With 12,500 troops, UNAMSIL is the largest U.N. peacekeeping operation in the world, but numbers look to be dwindling with contingents from India and Jordan due to be pulled out before the end of the year.
Sierra Leone has been torn by civil war since 1991, but rebels last weekend signed a new truce with the government.
Diplomats this week said that U.N. troops were to "immediately" begin deploying in areas held by the rebels, famed for the atrocities committed against civilians, and begin their disarmament.
