S Leone's Sankoh has cancer
2000-09-28 10:15
Freetown - The former leader of rebels in Sierra Leone, Foday Sankoh has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, a senior prison official told AFP on Wednesday.
The ex-rebel leader, who has been in custody at a secret location in Freetown since May, reportedly took ill some three weeks ago. Medical tests have since revealed the cancerous ailment, the
official said.
Sankoh's condition has been described as "critical" though it was not clear whether the condition diagnosed was a terminal one, the official added.
Speculations in Sierra Leone's capital have been rife that Sankoh may have to seek treatment outside the country.
Rumours of the ex-rebel leader having prostrate cancer started circulating in March, when he went to South Africa and had to be deported.
At the time, Sankoh claimed he had gone for a "medical check-up" after obtaining permission from President Kabbah.
On his return home, Sankoh told journalists at his residence that he was suffering from "high blood pressure".
Government officials have refused to comment publicly on the issue.
Sankoh, who is believed to be around 70 years old, launched a bush war in 1991, claiming to fight against state-sponsored poverty and corruption.
His rebel recruits, most of whom were children, have been accused of razing entire villages, raping, killing, and more recently
amputating people's limbs in a campaign to punish civilians for
supporting a civilian government.
In July 1999, Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front (RUF) signed a peace accord which granted rebels blanket amnesty for their atrocities.
Their leader was also granted vice-presidential status as head of an important commission overseeing mineral resources, including diamonds, which his rebels have used to fuel their rebellion.
The 1999 peace deal was shattered in May when rebels began seizing hundreds of UN peacekeepers hostage, triggering Sankoh's arrest.
The United Nations and Sierra Leone's government have agreed to set up a special war crimes tribunal to try Sankoh and his men, many of whom are still waging an insurgency. û Sapa-AFP
- SAPA