Sierra Leone Retakes Town, Military Says

Government forces in Sierra Leone recaptured Lunsar on Wednesday, taking control of the strategic town on the road to a major rebel base and the diamond fields of the east, a military spokesman said.

Lunsar, which government forces held briefly at the end of May, reportedly fell after overnight clashes between the two sides near U.N. peacekeepers stationed in the northern town of Kabala.

In Freetown, the capital, which was preparing for a visit by British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, anxious residents said they would ask Britain to delay the departure next week of its soldiers, who restored order in the city after a July 1999 peace deal collapsed.

Lunsar, about 50 miles northeast of Freetown, is the only town in rebel-held territory to be taken by government troops since an eight-year civil war flared anew in May.

“We are in Lunsar now. The troops are engaged in mopping up operations and securing our grip,” Sierra Leone army spokesman Maj. John Milton said.

Lunsar, which is on the road to the rebel stronghold of Makeni, fell to government-allied forces May 29 but was retaken by guerrillas two days later. The Revolutionary United Front rebels took U.N. peacekeepers hostage in May and later marched toward Freetown in defiance of the peace accord.