Lome - Rebels signed a peace agreement with Sierra Leone's government yesterday, ending one of the most brutal conflicts in Africa.
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), signed the peace deal and government power-sharing agreement in Togo's capital Lome.
Under the deal, the rebels will get four ministries in a government of national unity in the devastated west African state, in return for laying down their arms.
Mr Sankoh, who nine months ago was sentenced to death for treason, will chair a powerful commission to oversee mineral resources and reconstruction, with powers equivalent to those of vice president.