Freetown - The commander of the West African military force in Sierra Leone, ECOMOG, said yesterday his men had virtually regained control of the capital from rebels who surged into the city a week ago.
As the Nigerian-led force pushed into Freetown's eastern suburbs, a senior UN official met detained rebel leader, Mr Foday Sankoh, for the second day running and flew to Freetown for talks with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, UN sources said.
"The operation is almost complete," ECOMOG commander Gen Timothy Shelpidi told reporters.
He said his 15,000-strong force, mainly Nigerians like himself, had driven Mr Sankoh's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) out of the city and into surrounding hills.