UN mission deploys peacekeepers to eastern Sierra Leone
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has begun deploying peacekeepers to Kono District in Eastern Province - the latest move in its ongoing efforts to further re-establish its presence throughout the country.
An advance party of UNAMSIL's Pakistani contingent, comprising 350 soldiers, deployed over the weekend to the newly established Sector 5, which has its headquarters at Yengema. The advance party includes personnel of Sector 5 Headquarters and the Pakistani Battalion 1.
Sector 5, which will be fully operational this week, relieves Bangladeshi peacekeepers positioned earlier for the recent disarmament of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Civil Defence Forces (CDF) in Kono District, according to UNAMSIL.
The Mission also said that on Friday, 1,088 combatants had submitted their weapons and joined the peace process in that area.