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200 children abducted in Sierra Leone

FREETOWN: A group of 200 child soldiers who had been handed over to a Roman Catholic aid organisation for rehabilitation have been kidnapped by rebels, a spokesman for the organisation said on Friday.

Father Teophilous Momoh, manager of Children Associated with War (CAW), told Reuters that the 200 children had been seized by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters on their way to the capital Freetown from the northern town of Kabala.

Five CAW officials and four soldiers from the ECOMOG West African peacekeeping force, who had just handed over the children in Kabala, had also been taken prisoner, he said.

State radio also reported the kidnapping, saying the matter had been referred to ECOMOG and the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), which is replacing the Nigerian-led ECOMOG force under a peace deal signed in June 1999.

Former combatants, including thousands of child soldiers, are being disarmed under the peace process to end nine years of civil war in the former British colony. RUF leader Foday Sankoh signed the deal in Togo and members of his groups are serving in the government in Freetown.

Officials said a further 300 children had been handed over to the Catholic aid organisation Caritas in the main northern town of Makeni.-Reuters