Sierra Leone: UN troops to begin first deployment to diamond-rich town

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) reported today that UN peacekeepers would be deploying for the first time in the rebel-controlled town of Kailahun, near the country's eastern border with Guinea.

In a statement issued in Freetown, UNAMSIL said an advance party of UN troops was travelling by road today, in preparation for the deployment of a Pakistani battalion to the diamond-rich area next week. The battalion is expected to complete its deployment by 31 October.

Created by the Security Council in October 1999, the UN operation cooperates with the Government and other parties in implementing the Lomé Peace Agreement and assists in the implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration plan. It currently has more than 16,800 soldiers in Sierra Leone.