Appeal made to rebels' conscience

Freetown - President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone appealed to the conscience of rebels at a peace forum yesterday as reports…

Freetown - President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone appealed to the conscience of rebels at a peace forum yesterday as reports of a humanitarian disaster in the north of the war-ravaged state reached the capital.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the northern provincial town of Kamakwie were said to be facing one of the worst crises since civil war broke out in 1991.

More than 20 people die there every day because of hunger, lack of medical attention and atrocities caused by the rebels, the forum was told.