Fondation Hirondelle

Over 80 tons of military ordnance have been destroyed at the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces firing range at York Road, Waterloo.

The ordnance, which included rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and mortars were destroyed by an American defence contractor, Dynacorp International and the bomb disposal unit of the RSLAF.

The event was witnessed by the US Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Michael Owen and the Minister of Defence Retired Major Alfred Paulo Conteh.

Retired Major Conteh told CTN that the arms destroyed were those collected after the country’s decade-long civil war. He said the exercise was a big relief.

The US Ambassador told CTN that the joint destruction exercise demonstrated the strong bilateral relations between his country and Sierra Leone.

Ambassador Owen said he also saw the exercise as a step to fill the hands of young people with tools, books and other means of “waging war against poverty and injustice.”