Global Policy Forum

By Edith M. Lederer

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is pressing for the peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone to be beefed up, saying the war-torn nation, where the peacekeepers have tried to take a more assertive role, remains "dangerous and volatile." The United States is balking at approving any extra troops to strengthen the beleaguered U.N. mission in the West African nation, which is nearing its ceiling of 13,000 troops. Annan in May recommended the addition of 3,500 more soldiers to help the Sierra Leone government regain authority over territory under control of the rebel Revolutionary United Front.

In a report to the Security Council on Tuesday, the secretary-general said he still believes the force needs to be increased and plans to submit a new proposal in the near future. He also recommended a six-month extension of the force's mandate, which expires Aug. 7. He pointed to weaknesses that led to the force's biggest embarrassment in Sierra Leone: Nearly 500 U.N. troops were taken hostages by RUF rebels in May after they restarted the country's 9-year civil war.

The peacekeepers lacked cohesion and a common understanding of the force's purpose and rules of engagement, and some contingents were not prepared to deal with the difficult environment and logistical challenges, Annan said.

There was also a lack of coordination between the military and civilian sides of the U.N. mission and a lack of planning with U.N. agencies and voluntary organizations operating in Sierra Leone. "An important cause of these shortcoming was the fast growth of the mission from a small team of military observers to a large multidisciplinary peacekeeping operation," Annan said in the report.

Many of these problems have been addressed, and the U.N. force launched a successful operation last month to free 222 Indian peacekeepers and 11 military observers surrounded in their compound by RUF rebels, he said.

Nonetheless, "durable peace" remains a distant goal, he said. A political solution must be "based on a robust and credible international military presence."

He painted a grim picture of the situation in Sierra Leone. RUF rebels shows "no credible sign" of resuming the peace process, and civilians continue to suffer from the ongoing fighting and human rights abuses including abductions, rape, looting and forced recruitment of children, he said. "Despite some improvements, the situation in Sierra Leone has remained dangerous and volatile," Annan said.

A two-day session the United Nations that ended Tuesday addressed ways to put an end to the flow of illegal diamond sales that have helped the RUF fund its war.

The world body already has slapped an embargo on rebel diamonds. But the United States and Britain said Monday that the presidents of Liberia and Burkina Faso were helping the RUF sell diamonds to buy weapons.

The two West African countries demanded proof of the allegations, but promised Tuesday to cooperate with investigations and asked for aid to end the illegal trade in diamonds and arms in their countries.

Annan announced a five-member panel established by the Security Council to investigate possible violations of the arms embargo.

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