Freetown - Civilians returning home after fleeing fighting in the east of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown have recounted tales of unabated horror suffered at the hands of rebels.
Since the Nigerian-led intervention force, ECOMOG, chased rebels of the Revolutionary United Front out of the capital last week, the insurgents have waged a desperate and bloody campaign against residents in their path.
An attack some 20 km southeast of the Sierra Leonean capital left about 60 people dead, residents and military sources said yesterday.
"My sister is an actress. They cut off both her arms," a student who gave her name as Joy said. "When they came back to our house for the second time, they also killed my brother and his seven-month-old baby.
Three days ago, Joy's neighbours were run out of their house by retreating rebels in eastern Freetown. "They set it on fire. They pulled the youngest boy who was five years old out of his mother's hands and threw him into the inferno," she said.
Residents in Waterloo, where a rebel attack took place on Sunday, said an estimated 25 civilians were killed.