The conflict had been dragging on since a RUF coup attempt against Kabbah in 1997. Sierra Leonean politicians at home and abroad were ready to negotiate with the rebels, including Omrie Golley and Pallo Bangura (AFRC/RUF junta's "foreign minister"). At the same time, President Kabbah was worn down from the fighting, the coup attempt, the siege of Freetown (Sierra Leone's capital), and the weakening support of the Nigerians in ECOMOG, a peacekeeping force in the country.