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| Vital West African bridge opens | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A vital bridge linking Sierra Leone with Liberia - both recovering from civil wars - has officially re-opened. | |
| Relations between the countries have been strained as Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor was accused of fuelling Sierra Leone's brutal conflict. | Relations between the countries have been strained as Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor was accused of fuelling Sierra Leone's brutal conflict. |
| It is hoped the Mano River bridge will increase trade and unite families living on the two sides of the border. | It is hoped the Mano River bridge will increase trade and unite families living on the two sides of the border. |
| The bridge was used to move weapons in the 1990s wars, but civilians considered it too dangerous. | The bridge was used to move weapons in the 1990s wars, but civilians considered it too dangerous. |
| The BBC's Ledgerhood Rennie in Liberia says the official opening is significant as it is hoped it will cement the peace the two countries now enjoy. | The BBC's Ledgerhood Rennie in Liberia says the official opening is significant as it is hoped it will cement the peace the two countries now enjoy. |
| It is intended as a confidence-building measure to encourage more people to use the bridge, he says. | It is intended as a confidence-building measure to encourage more people to use the bridge, he says. |
| Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won elections in 2005, ending more than a decade of unrest. | Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won elections in 2005, ending more than a decade of unrest. |
| And Sierra Leoneans are going to the polls in August in the first elections since UN peacekeepers, who helped stabilise the country, left. | And Sierra Leoneans are going to the polls in August in the first elections since UN peacekeepers, who helped stabilise the country, left. |
| Our correspondent says as well as visiting families, many Liberians are looking forward to goods that they have had to do without for several years. | Our correspondent says as well as visiting families, many Liberians are looking forward to goods that they have had to do without for several years. |
| In particular, monkey meat which Sierra Leonean hunters used to find did a brisk trade over the border. | In particular, monkey meat which Sierra Leonean hunters used to find did a brisk trade over the border. |