UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Update 106-97, 12/17/97

IRIN-West Africa Update 106-97, 12/17/97


U N I T E D N A T I O N S Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa

Tel: +225 21-73-54 Fax: +225 21-63-35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci

IRIN-WA Update 106-97 of Events in West Africa, (Wednesday) 17 December 1997

[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of reports on the region. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]

SIERRA LEONE: Tension near Liberia border

At least 26 people have been killed in clashes between Sierra Leone's ruling Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and Kamajor hunter militia in the southeast of the country, AFP reported on Wednesday. Quoting military sources, it reported hostilities near the Liberian border in the Kenema district, 250 km east of Freetown.

The fighting started, it said, on Monday between government troops and members of Kamajors loyal to Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the civilian president ousted by the AFRC in May.

However, sources in Kenema told IRIN the town itself was calm, and that aid operations were going on as usual. "There has been activity in the area recently, but it seems stable at the moment," said one source. General JA Kwateng, the ECOMOG Deputy Force Commander in Monrovia, told IRIN: "I have not heard of any particular fighting. However, we are extra-vigilant because of continuing reports of clashes near the border."

Nigeria warns AFRC

The Nigerian government has warned the AFRC to stay away from the ECOWAS summit in Lome, Togo, news organisations reported on Wednesday. Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi said any AFRC delegates who turned up would be arrested.

"They are not allowed to leave their country without the express permission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and if they come here they will be arrested," Ikimi said. He said ECOWAS regarded Kabbah, the president ousted by the AFRC, as "the only legal representative of Sierra Leone and, as such, our only interlocutor."

LIBERIA: New UN envoy

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced on Tuesday the appointment of Felix Downes-Thomas as his Representative in Liberia and Head of the UN Peace-Building Support Office in that country. Downes-Thomas, a national of The Gambia, is a Director in the Complex Emergency Division of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

No UN decision on Liberia sanctions

The UN Security Council was briefed this week on Liberia, sources told IRIN on Wednesday. Fernando Berrocal Soto of Costa Rica, who currently chairs the council, as well as the Liberia sanctions committee, drew attention to the fact that the committee had not met once this year.

The sources said he had suggested that the Secretariat "might wish to evaluate the sanctions regime against Liberia in the light of positive developments in that country." However, pending a formal evaluation, the sanctions would remain in force. In September, ECOWAS called on the international community to lift the sanctions.

Meanwhile, the sources also said there had been no decision on weapons surrendered which were now in UN and ECOMOG safekeeping. ECOMOG and the Liberian government had yet to agree on the fate the arms, the sources said.

MALI: Cattle rustling peace deal

The authorities in Mali announced an end to clashes sparked by cattle rustling between rival clans in the country's arid northwest region, AFP reported. An estimated 15 people were killed and a dozen wounded in sporadic fighting in recent weeks between the Sonike and Peul communities near Nioro, 425 km from the capital Bamako.

Tiebile Drame, a regional deputy, was quoted as saying on Tuesday that the government had agreed to back a peace deal with extra security in region.

NIGERIA: Oil hostages still held

Diplomats said on Wednesday they were still trying to negotiate the release of four foreigners and nine Nigerian oil workers held hostage since the weekend, AFP reported. In a brief dispatch, the hostages, being kept on a boat off the coast of the southwestern Ondo state, were said to be in good health. The hostages, who include an Australian, two Britons and an American, are employed by the American oil exploration company, Western Geophysical.

WEST AFRICA: ECOWAS summit ends

A two-day summit of ECOWAS heads of state ended in the Togolese capital Lome on Wednesday with support for a permanent mechanism for conflict resolution and regional security.

Abidjan, 17 December 1997, 18:30 gmt

[ends]

[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-updates]

Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 08:59:04 -0300 (GMT+3) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 106-97, 97.12.17 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971218085852.21805C-100000@amahoro.dha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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