Diplomat says UN force in Sierra Leone could intervene

A senior diplomat in West Africa suggested on Sunday that the 13,000-strong UN peace-keeping force in Sierra Leone could be used to help restore order in neighbouring Liberia. Noting that there were no immediate security concerns to address within Sierra Leone itself, the diplomat told IRIN that these UN forces, which are equipped with heavy transport and attack helicopters and armoured cars, could be rapidly deployed across the border if the UN Security Council so wished. "They could extend the mandate and ask them to intervene in Liberia," said the diplomat, who asked that his name be witheld. "I think the idea has been put on the table, but I don't think it has been actively discussed (at a senior level)." He noted that French forces were heavily involved in trying to restore peace in Liberia's eastern neighbour Cote d'Ivoire, while the British were strongly commited to beefing up the army of the elected government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah in Sierra Leone. But he expressed regret that the United States, which has traditionally had close links with Liberia, had shown little inclination to become militarily involved there. "Surely the Americans should be there," he said, noting that Liberia was founded by freed American slaves in the early 19th century and had always looked to Washington for aid and protection. During the latest fighting between government and rebel forces on the outskirts of Monrovia, many people have tried to gather round the US embassy seeking assistance, but have been dispersed by security forces. The UN Mission to Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), which includes troops from Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Nepal, was sent to maintain peace as the country returned to democracy after a 10-year civil war. It is currently the United Nations' biggest peace-keeping force anywhere in the world, but its size is due to be reduced gradually to 4,000 men by the end of 2004, when its current mandate expires. Diplomats in Abidjan said there was a consensus between Western and African governments that some kind of peacekeeping force would ultimately be required to restore order in Liberia, where President Charles Taylor is coming under increasing military pressure at home and diplomatic pressure from abroad to quit. But they noted that nobody wanted to send in their own troops until a ceasefire was in place. Peace talks between Taylor and one of two rebel movements fighting to remove him opened in Ghana on Wednesday, but immediately stalled after an upsurge in fighting on the outskirts of Monrovia and the Taylor's indictment for war crimes by a UN-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone.