Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone have for the first time allowed the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the contested eastern diamond- producing region of Kono, about 340 kilometres from the capital Freetown. Confirming the breakthrough to IPS this week, the spokesperson for the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Margaret Novicki, said that two companies of about 250 Bangladeshi troops have moved into Kono ahead of the full deployment of peacekeepers there.