Rebel Ambush Kills 38 In Sierra Leone

Thirty-one civilians and seven soldiers were killed in a rebel ambush in eastern Sierra Leone, the military said Wednesday, raising fears of a renewal of fighting after months of relative calm.

Fighters of the Revolutionary United Front attacked a government position Monday in Foindu, 200 miles east of the capital, said Col. Falla Sewa, a brigade commander in the region.

A cease-fire had been considered likely if the rebel leader Foday Sankoh and Sierra Leone’s new government could resolve their dispute over the presence of foreign soldiers in Sierra Leone.

Sankoh wants the soldiers out, while the government says they’re needed to maintain order and fend off possible incursions from Liberian rebels.