The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has announced that come June this year all their support for Sierra Leonean refugees reluctantly refusing to come will stop. This was disclosed by the new UNHCR Public Information Officer, Rachel Goldstein-Rodriguez during a question and answer session at the UNAMSIL press briefing last week. She said although UNHCR is not forcing the refugees to return home, they have nevertheless on several occasions been encouraging them, as according to her, "the Agency will soon stop all relief supplies to Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and Liberia that do not want to return home."

The UN-backed war crimes court for Sierra Leone will open its doors March 10 ahead of trials of nine defendants in custody for alleged crimes against humanity during the West African state's decade-long rebel war, officials said. The court will hold special sessions in early March for the prosecution and defence to present a status report of their pre-trial preparations to the judges, who will then fix a date for trials, court spokeswoman, Alison Cooper told local radio. Observers say trials are likely to commence in late March or early April.

Three years after the end of Sierra Leone's devastating civil war, the living conditions of the majority of the people is getting worse by the day, as the economy shows no signs of picking up. "These are indeed troubling times," explains Ibrahim Sesay, a spokesperson for the Consumers Association of Sierra Leone in the capital Freetown. "The cost of living has skyrocketed and people are suffering, with unemployment on the increase, low incomes and rising costs of goods on the market," Sesay adds.