93 of Freed U.N. Peacekeepers Back in Sierra Leone’s Capital

Ninety-three exhausted Zambian and Kenyan U.N. peacekeepers, held hostage for two weeks in the bush by rebels in Sierra Leone, flew back to this government-controlled capital late Tuesday from neighboring Liberia.

But there was no sign of progress in efforts to secure the release of about 350 U.N. troops of many nationalities still apparently being held by the Revolutionary United Front. Mostly Zambians, they went missing early this month after the RUF went on the offensive after a dispute over disarmament in the small West African state.

In Freetown, U.N. spokesman David Wimhurst said of the 93 freed troops: “All are walking, two have IV drips, but they are all OK.”

The remaining 46 soldiers from a group of 139 released Sunday were expected to be flown today to Monrovia, the Liberian capital, from the remote town of Foya, just on the Liberian side of the border with Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, a small contingent of U.S. military personnel toured the airport in Freetown. They were there to make an assessment in case the United States gets involved in any logistical operations in Sierra Leone.

Liberian President Charles Taylor said earlier Tuesday that some of the U.N. forces in rebel hands had gunshot wounds.

“Between 30 and 40 of the personnel are wounded. Some are in a serious condition,” Taylor, who helped negotiate the release of the 139 soldiers, told a news conference.

Also Tuesday, U.S. presidential envoy Jesse Jackson postponed a peace mission to the region after his remarks angered Sierra Leone’s government.

The civil rights advocate, who had planned to leave the U.S. on Tuesday, had said that rebel leader Foday Sankoh, whose forces committed atrocities in the country’s 1991-99 civil war, could still play a positive role.