Culled from BBC African service


Foday Sankoh: Expected to be tried by the court

Eight judges have been appointed to serve on Sierra
Leone's special war crimes tribunal.
The court, which will operate in the capital,
Freetown, will try those accused of atrocities during
the country's 10 year civil war.

Unlike similar UN courts for the former Yugoslavia and
Rwanda, the Sierra Leone court will be staffed by both
international and Sierra Leone judges and prosecutors.


UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said the judges would take
up their posts before the end of the month.

Joining Sierra Leone judges in the trial chamber will
be counterparts from Canada and Cameroon.

Judges from Austria, Britain, Gambia and Nigeria will
join Sierra Leone judges in the appeals chamber.

Justice

Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front were
notorious for their brutality during the conflict,
killing, raping and maiming thousands of civilians.


Rebels have handed in their weapons

And their detained leader Foday Sankoh, who is
currently facing murder charges in a Sierra Leone
court, is among the most prominent of those expected
to be charged by the tribunal.

UN peacekeepers helped bring peace to the country and
peaceful elections were held earlier this year.

Earlier this month, Sierra Leone formally established
a truth and reconciliation commission.

It is based on the commission which held hearings in
South Africa on crimes committed during the apartheid
era.

It is likely to begin public meetings and statements
in three months' time.

Some 200,000 people died during the conflict and
Sierra Leone was recently ranked as the least
developed country, according to the UN's 12th annual
Human Development Report.






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