In progress at UNHQ

SG/SM/7484

SECRETARY-GENERAL EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT UNACCEPTABLE ENCIRCLEMENT OF 233 UN PEACEKEEPERS IN SIERRA LEONE

7 July 2000


Press Release
SG/SM/7484
AFR/252


SECRETARY-GENERAL EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT UNACCEPTABLE ENCIRCLEMENT OF 233 UN PEACEKEEPERS IN SIERRA LEONE

20000707

The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General continues to be extremely concerned about the unacceptable encirclement of 233 United Nations peacekeepers by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the eastern part of Sierra Leone. These peacekeepers have now been prevented from leaving their location for two months. The Secretary- General therefore, once again, urges the RUF to restore the peacekeepers’ freedom of movement immediately and without conditions, and he appeals to African leaders, in particular President Taylor of Liberia, to do their utmost to bring this about. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.

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For information media. Not an official record.