FREETOWN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Seventeen people died when a truck with only one headlight ploughed into a crowd of dancers celebrating at night after a female circumcision ceremony in Sierra Leone. "Many of us saw the light of a vehicle but we thought it was a motorcycle so we did not get worried until the vehicle ran into the crowd," Asumamna Bangura, an injured survivor, told reporters. Police said the accident happened late on Wednesday on the highway through the northern village of Makorray. Twenty-four men and women were being treated for serious injuries in the capital, Freetown. Female circumcision is common in the West African country despite Western-backed campaigns to eliminate the practice also known as Female Genital Mutilation. Wednesday's celebration marked the return of two women who had spent two months in the bush undergoing initiation rites. Svend Ole Kvilesjo Journalist in http://www.aftenposten.no/english/ =================================================================== EASY and FREE access to your email anywhere: http://Mailreader.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] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~