Neglected Arms Embargo on Sierra Leone Rebels

The current crisis in Sierra Leone, in which rebels with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have clashed with U.N. peacekeepers and pro-government forces, suggests that the fragile peace agreed to in July 1999 is rapidly unraveling. According to numerous reports, they also have taken hundreds of hostages, fired at a crowd of protesters, resulting in several deaths, and advanced to thirty miles east of Freetown.