Rebel advance on Freetown driven back by government force after heavy firefight

Rebels advancing on Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, were driven back last night by government troops and United Nations peace-keepers in the worst fighting since the West African state's civil war reignited last week.

Helicopter gunships were said to have pounded the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) positions for an hour, and Nigerian UN troops used anti-aircraft guns and rocket propelled grenades to defend Waterloo, a strategic town 20 miles south-east of Freetown.

British paratroops supported local anti-RUF forces and the 8,900-strong UN peacekeeping force, helping to shore up the port's defences as terrified civilians streamed in from outlying areas for a second night. Many scrambled on to ferries hoping to reach Lungi airport across the bay, under the control of British troops.

The fate of 500 UN soldiers taken hostage by rebels last week was still unknown and in a further setback for the beleaguered UN force nine peace-keepers were wounded, three of them critically, after government soldiers mistook them for rebels in captured UN uniforms.

In London, the Government warned the RUF fighters defying the 1999 peace agreement that the British troops would "hit back hard" if attacked.

The Government has repeatedly insisted Britain does not intend to take part in the UN peace-keeping mission and the soldiers were officially in Sierra Leone only to evacuate United Kingdom citizens. But Tony Blair yesterday secured Cabinet backing to order the forces to "defend democracy" in Sierra Leone.

The Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, appearing to redefine the role of the reinforced paratroops, said: "When I say they will not be combat troops, I don't want any misunderstanding by the rebels that these people cannot hit back and cannot hit back hard if they are attacked. They would be very wise not to attempt anything that posed any form of threat to our forces."