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IRIN-WA Update 128 of Events in West Africa, (Wednesday) 21 January 1998
[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: ECOMOG seeks a force of 15,000 men
West African leaders are seeking to deploy a 15,000-strong
peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone, Reuters reported
Tuesday. In a dispatch quoting the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN), it said West African ECOMOG peacekeepers would
help disarm warring factions in Sierra Leone. Lansana
Kouyate, executive secretary of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), was quoted as saying
consultations had already begun among regional leaders
to find troops for the ECOMOG force.
"If our experience in Liberia is anything to go by, only those who contributed to ECOMOG in that country might contribute to the latest effort," Kouyate said.
Nigeria dominated the 18,000-strong ECOMOG force set up to intervene in Liberia's civil war in 1990. Most of the ECOMOG soldiers already in Sierra Leone are Nigerians.
Concern for civilians caught in fighting
Relief workers in Sierra Leone on Wednesday told IRIN they were concerned about the fate of thousands of civilians fleeing fighting in the east of the country. Clashes in recent days between forces of the governing Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and Kamajor militias loyal to ousted president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in and around the diamond-mining town of Tongo Fields had forced thousands to flee their homes.
Local humanitarian sources said a number of villages around nearby Bo and Kenema had also been deserted in the last few days. There was also concern that villagers might be too afraid to venture into towns for help because of the presence of AFRC soldiers.
LIBERIA: Taylor agrees ECOMOG should remain in Liberia
President Charles Taylor of Liberia has said he agreed that ECOMOG should remain in the country beyond a deadline originally set for 2 February, Reuters reported Wednesday. Reacting to a statement by the new ECOMOG commander, General Timothy Shelpidi, that ECOMOG troops would remain so long as the government felt necessary, Taylor said there was new dynamism in the ECOMOG peacekeeping operation: "I have said it before and let me say it again that ECOMOG is not going anywhere. ECOMOG will remain here until this government deems it necessary to request its departure."
Shelpidi had told IRIN earlier that ECOMOG would remain working with the Liberian armed forces to help maintain security. The issue of an ECOMOG role in restructuring the Liberian army had been the subject of friction between Taylor and Shelpidi's predecessor, Major General Victor Malu, because Taylor had asserted restructuring was a job for the Liberian government alone.
Taylor has called for ECOMOG involvement in what he calls capacity-building or training of Liberia's security forces. Diplomats said this indicated that he was now playing down the dispute with Malu.
Policing Liberia
Meanwhile, Reuters said Taylor told police commissioner Joe Tate to rearm the police following a spate of armed robberies. He also asked for ECOMOG help in training 300 immigration border patrols.
SENEGAL: Ceasefire appeal
The secretary general of the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de la Casamance (MFDC), Father Augustin Diamacoune Senghor, on Tuesday reiterated his call for an end to hostilities in Senegal's troubled southern province, Africa No 1 radio reported. In the fourth such appeal in as many weeks, he said he was ready to stop demanding independence for Casamance. However, Senghor has been unable to reconcile his moderate faction with more radical elements of the MFDC, who have repeatedly undermined efforts to restore peace to the area. Skirmishes between soldiers and MDFC forces continued as late as last week.
Meanwhile, community leaders in the regional's capital, Ziguinchor, were reportedly implementing measures to pave the way for reconciliation, following the call for a ceasefire. According to Africa No 1 radio, the central government however had not responded so far to Senghor's appeal because they want the MFDC to demonstrate that it accepts him as their leader. Previous negotiations were repeatedly undermined when radical elements of the MFDC rejected Senghor's leadership role.
NIGERIA: Airline chief arrested
The managing director of Nigeria Airways, Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, has been detained by security agents following a news conference at which he criticised management failures of the national carrier, news organisations reported Wednesday.
According to Nigerian and international news reports, he had told journalists that the airline, popularly dubbed "Nigeria Air Waste", suffered under the weight of huge foreign and local debts, mismanagement, unreliability and insufficient planes. His arrest was not immediatly confirmed by the government.
Jailed activist ill
One of Nigeria's most prominent jailed human rights activists, Beko Ransome-Kuti, was reported by a Nigerian opposition radio station on Wednesday to be suffering from an ulcer and heart problems. Radio Kudirat Nigeria, which broadcasts from outside the country, quoted his family as saying he had been transferred from the prison of Kaduna to Katsina prison because of his failing health. Ransome-Kuti, leader of the Campaign for Democracy, has been behind bars since 1995.
MAURITANIA: Lawyers begin strike
Mauritanian lawyers went on strike Wednesday to protest the arrest of two human rights activists and a lawyer following their appearance in a French television documentary on slavery in Mauritania, AFP reported. The three, who were held at the weekend, appeared briefly in court Wednesday on charges of "creating and/or belonging to unauthorised organisations". Authorities said they were also seeking a fourth member of the anti-slavery society SOS Esclavage, Abdennasser Ould El-Yessa.
CHAD-CAMEROON: Oil pipeline construction to begin in April
Chad and Cameroon announced Wednesday that construction of sub-Saharan Africa's longest oil pipeline would begin in April, the BBC reported. The conduit, to be built over the next five years, will carry oil from the Southern Chad basin to the Cameroonian port of Kribi. The oil companies building the pipeline at an estimated cost of US$ 3 billion are Esso and Shell, each with a 40 percent stake, and Elf with 20 percent.
Abidjan, 21 January 1998, 18:15 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: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 18:18:52 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 128, 98.1.21 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980121181500.2817A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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