A Sierra Leone militia commander convicted of civil war atrocities and jailed in Rwanda was returned Thursday to serve out his sentence at home, a UN-backed court in Freetown said.

Moinina Fofana led the pro-government Civil Defence Forces (CDF), a notorious paramilitary unit which recruited traditional hunters to fight rebels during the 1991-2002 civil war in the west African state.

He was convicted in 2007 and 2008 of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, cruel treatment and issuing collective punishments.

He has served almost 12 years in Rwanda's Mpanga Prison, but was granted conditional early release by the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, it said.

He will complete his 15-year term at home in the southern city of Bo, subject to "strict conditions and stringent monitoring", the court said in statement.

"Although Fofana will reside in Bo, he must still complete his sentence for his convictions for war crimes and crimes against humanity that he committed against the people of Sierra Leone," court registrar Binta Mansaray said in the statement.

He has been ordered to acknowledge his guilt, publicly apologise, and show remorse, and risks being returned to jail if he refuses, the statement said.

"He is forbidden from interfering with witnesses, and he must not engage in secret meetings to plan civil unrest or join politics," it added.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established by the UN in 2002 to try those who bore "the greatest responsibility" for the atrocities during the civil war.

The conflict, financed largely by so-called blood diamonds, left 120,000 people dead and tens of thousands mutilated.

As a parallel force to the regular army, the CDF fought rebels of the Revolutionary United Front and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.

The CDF was alleged to have "eliminated" civilians suspected of collaborating with rebels, either through shooting them, hacking them to death or burning them alive.

Many locals however believe the CDF and its Kamajor fighters helped to rein in the brutal RUF rebels and protect villagers in the vulnerable hinterland of the diamond-rich country.

Fofana was initially given only six years as the court acknowledged the CDF's role in restoring the democratically-elected government of ex-leader Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, but the sentence was increased on appeal.

He was sent to Rwanda under a special arrangement as Sierra Leone did not have facilities for his detention deemed fit by the United Nations.