Freetown - Former rebel fighters in Sierra Leone have taken 17 UN peacekeepers hostage in the north and east of the country, the commander of the United National Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) said yesterday.
Maj Gen Jetley, whose force deployed in April to police a peace deal signed by the warring parties in mid-1999, said that he was in negotiations with former rebel leader Foday Sankoh to secure the hostages' immediate release.