Lansana Fofana

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Belligerents Prepare For Talks

After two weeks of "in-house" consultations among the leadership of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Lome, Togo, the road appears clear now for face-to-face dialogue with Sierra Leonean government.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Government Rejects A UN Ceasefire Deal

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone has rejected a UN ceasefire proposal to end the country's eight-year conflict.

POLITICS-LIBERIA: Fears Of Civil War Looming

By Lansana Fofana

Liberia seems to be sliding back into civil war following last week's rebel attacks on the border town of Voinjama which forced more than 5,000 civilians to flee into neigbouring Guinea.

SIERRA LEONE: Convicted Rebel Leader Flown Out To Make Peace

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's convicted rebel leader Foday Sankoh, who has been sentenced to death, has been flown to Togo to hold talks with his army commanders in an attempt to end the country's eight-year civil war.

GUINEA: US Embassy Tightens Security, As Police Hunt Down Bombers

By Lansana Fofana

The US embassy in Guinea has tightened security as the Guinean authorities track down the people who planted a home-made bomb at the embassy in the capital Conakry, on Monday.

WEEKLY SELECTION-SIERRA LEONE: Refugees Detained In Guinea

By Lansana Fofana

More than 100 refugees from Sierra Leone have been detained by Guinean police and gendarme, on allegations that they are either rebels or their sympathisers.

RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE: More Than 100 Refugees Detained In Guinea

By Lansana Fofana

More than 100 refugees from Sierra Leone have been detained by Guinean police and gendarme, on allegations that they are either rebels or their sympathisers.

CONFLICT-SIERRA LEONE: Kabbah Seeks The Support Of Rebel Leader

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has enlisted the support of rebel leader, Foday Sankoh, to end the country's eight-year civil war.

POLITICS: Libya, Liberia, Burkina Faso Dubbed ‘Rogue’ States

By Lansana Fofana

The outgoing Field Commander of the West African Peace-keeping force, ECOMOG, Maj-Gen Timothy Shelpidi, has described Libya, Burkina Faso and Liberia as "rogue" states bent on destabilising Sierra Leone.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Rebels Move Into Neighbouring Guinea

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's rebel groups have taken their war across borders hitting the town of Pamelap in neighbouring Guinea and disrupting informal trade between the two countries.

DEVELOPMENT-SIERRA LEONE: Centre Manufactures Limbs for Amputees

By Lansana Fofana

At the Murray Town Camp for Amputees and the War Wounded in the Sierra Leonean capital, men, women and children are being given more than just hope to pick up the pieces of their lives.

SIERRA LEONE: Prospects For Peace Talks Hang In The Balance

By Lansana Fofana

Barely two weeks after President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah announced his government's willingness to hold talks with rebels, fighting has intensified with dissidents attacking towns and villages in the north and east of Sierra Leone.

WEEKLY SELECTION-SIERRA LEONE: Captured Child Soldiers Handed Over To Unicef

By Lansana Fofana

The West African peace-keeping force ECOMOG has handed over more than 50 captured child fighters to the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) for detraumatisation and reunification with their families.

SIERRA LEONE: Captured Child Soldiers Handed Over To Unicef

By Lansana Fofana

The West African peace-keeping force ECOMOG has handed over more than 50 captured child fighters to the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) for detraumatisation and reunification with their families.

CONFLICT-SIERRA LEONE: Government Urged To Hold Talks With Rebels

By Lansana Fofana

Pressure is mounting on Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah to hold talks with rebels in order to end the eight-year conflict in the West African country.

MEDIA: Five Journalists Murdered Following The Attack On Freetown

By Lansana Fofana

Up to five journalists have been confirmed dead, and many more missing, following the rebel attack on the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown on Jan 6, according to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).

CONFLICT-SIERRA LEONE: Xenophobia On The Rise

By Lansana Fofana

The capture of a number of foreign mercenaries, who fought along rebel troops that invaded the capital Freetown on Jan 6, is threatening to split the 16-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Weekly Selection: The Cost of Rebel Invasion in Sierra Leone

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, still looks like a ghost city, one month after it was invaded by a rag- tag rebel army which left behind a trail of chaos and destruction.

CONFLICT-SIERRA LEONE: Counting The Cost Of Rebel Invasion

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, still looks like a ghost city, one month after it was invaded by a rag- tag rebel army which left behind a trail of chaos and destruction.

POLITICS-GUINEA: Witch-Hunt Mounted Against Opposition Leaders

By Lansana Fofana

Guinea's opposition leaders say they have become the targets of a government 'witch-hunt' following the arrest of opposition leader Alpha Conde who has been charged with plotting to overthrow the government.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Foreigners Flee As Rebels Advance

By Lansana Fofana

Foreigners, mostly Britons and Americans, are fleeing Sierra Leone as rebels seeking to overthrow the government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah are advancing towards the capital Freetown.