The US said it would fly a battalion of Bangladeshi troops to Sierra Leone to reinforce the UN peacekeeping force, and would provide transportation for the scheduled battalions from Jordan and India as soon as they are ready to move. The US has refused to send its own troops into the country, but said it would arrange transportation if the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided to send its veteran ECOMOG peacekeeping division into Sierra Leone. The US has sent the patrol gunboat Thunderbolt to the coast of Sierra Leone with a SEAL commando platoon on board in case any special operations are needed.--Stephen V Cole