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. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~