Arriving in Sierra Leone, new UN envoy pledges to consolidate peace efforts

The new senior United Nations envoy to Sierra Leone has arrived in Freetown pledging to consolidate peace in the country as he takes over the reins of the UN operation there (UNAMSIL).

"With team work, we can pull together and ensure the mission given to us by the international community is accomplished," Ambassador Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawago of Tanzania, who was appointed to the position last month, told reporters yesterday.

He added that UN still has an important role to play in consolidating and sustaining peace in Sierra Leone, and pledged to address the sub-regional aspects of West Africa's conflicts.

The new envoy replaces Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji of Nigeria, who was named his country's Foreign Minister in July 2003.