A former rebel spokesman in Sierra Leone has been arrested and detained on suspicion of "subversion".
Thousands had their limbs hacked off during the war
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Omrie Golley claimed to speak for the Revolutionary
United Front during the civil war and became a senior negotiator at
peace talks in 1999.
Thousands of people died during the 10-year war in which RUF rebels waged a campaign of amputation and rape.
The president said Mr Golley, who was born in the UK, was picked up on his way to the airport after a visit.
"Omrie Golley was arrested by security forces... while
he was about to travel out of the country on suspicion of subversive
activities," President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah said in a statement.
The situation is being treated very seriously and the public should not be alarmed, the statement continued.
The BBC's Lansana Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says
Mr Golley was questioned late into Thursday night by officers of the
Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The CID director told our reporter that Mr Golley was
being quizzed about serious offences to do with state security, but
would not elaborate further.
A United Nations-backed war crimes court has been set up
to try those, from all sides, who bear the "greatest responsibility"
for the wartime brutalities.
RUF leader Foday Sankoh died while waiting to be tried by the court.
Last month, the last contingent of more than 17,000 UN
peacekeepers left Sierra Leone after disarming tens of thousands of
rebels and militia fighters.
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