UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Update 139, 98.02.05

IRIN-West Africa Update 139, 98.02.05


U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination 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 138 of Events in West Africa, (Thursday) 05 February 1998

LIBERIA: Star radio to re-open

The head of Liberia's Star Radio, George Bennet, told IRIN that the independent radio station would resume operations on Friday. In a press release, carried by AFP, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications confirmed the resumption of Star radio broadcasts pending "the regularisation of the appropriate documentation".

The station, which was established by the Swiss NGO, Foundation Hirondelle, to provide unbiased coverage of the 1997 Liberian elections, had its license revoked following a misunderstanding with the government licensing agency early last month. Radio Monrovia, which was also briefly suspended, resumed broadcasts last week.

Refugee camp reaches 5,500

In a separate development, AFP reported on Thursday that the number of Sierra Leonean refugees at a camp in Liberia's Grand Cape Mount County had reached 5,500. The Sinje camp, located 40 kms for the border, houses mainly women and children. According to a humanitarian source refugees continue to "trickle in" from Sierra Leone.

A UNHCR source told IRIN that there were currently an estimated 127,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Liberia.

Special Report

This update is accompanied by an IRIN special report looking at the role of ECOMOG in Liberia and Sierra Leone as a regional peacekeeping force.

SIERRA LEONE: UN mission en route

A mission from UN headquarters in New York will travel to Sierra Leone soon to assess the humanitarian situation, the impact of UN sanctions and the ECOWAS embargo. The mission, which arrived in Conakry, Guinea on Thursday, comes in response to the growing concerns of the humanitarian community working in Sierra Leone, said a UN press release. During the week-long visit to Sierra Leone, the team will visit the capital Freetown, Makeni, 100 kms to the east, and Kambia, 8 kms south of the Guinean border. The mission is headed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and includes representatives from WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF and WHO.

The ECOWAS regional embargo and UN sanctions were imposed after the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) seized power in a May 1997 coup. The measures are being enforced by the West African regional peacekeeping force, ECOMOG. Although humanitarian aid is exempt, no food assistance has yet arrived in country because of administrative difficulties obtaining ECOWAS clearance.

ECOWAS briefs UN

Meanwhile, members of the ECOWAS Committee of Five arrived in New York on Wednesday to brief the UN Security Council on the situation in Sierra Leone, AFP reported. Led by Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi, the Committee, comprising five foreign ministers from the region, was mandated by ECOWAS to monitor and make recommendations on situation.

NIGERIA: Abacha for president

The five political parties authorised to participate in the presidential election announced plans to propose the Nigerian leader, General Sani Abacha, as their sole candidate, AFP reported on Wednesday. The parties agreed to establish a joint committee to approach Abacha with their offer. Abacha has remained mute on his possible candidacy.

The elections are scheduled for 1 August 1998 as part of Abacha's pledged transition to democracy. Critics have accused the military government of legalising only pro-government parties.

Abacha seeks better relations with Europe

Speaking at a diplomatic function on Wednesday, Abacha expressed hope that the European Union (EU) would change its stance towards Nigeria engendering a better rapport between the two, Africa No.1 radio reported.

CHAD: French nationals kidnapped

Unidentified armed men have kidnapped four French nationals in southern Chad, AFP reported on Wednesday. The four, abducted from a game park in Moyan province on Tuesday, include an aid volunteer and three members of the French Office National de la Chasse (ONC). Local sources told AFP that they thought the abductions were politically motivated rather than a simple act of banditry. No-one had yet claimed responsibility. However, the opposition Front National du Tchad Renove (FNTR) said the abductions were the "direct consequence of France's military and financial support of President Idriss Deby's regime".

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Foreign nationals arrested

Five foreign nationals face death sentences in Equatorial Guinea following a clash last week between government troops and Bioko Island separatists, AFP reported on Thursday. Among those arrested were a Nigerian and four former nationals with Spanish citizenship. The clash, which claimed seven lives, followed a government search for members of the separatist Movimiento para la Autodeterminacion de la Isla de Bioko (MAIB) in the island town of Rebola, 60 km south of the capital, Malabo. The opposition claimed government forces had arrested over 300 people since the first alleged MAIB attack on 21 January.

The minority Bubi ethnic group in Bioko, an island off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, is demanding independence from the mainland Fang.

MALI: Mediation rejected

Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare rejected an offer by the country's former leader to mediate in a political crisis stemming from an election boycott last year, AFP reported on Wednesday. Konare said General Ahmadou Toumane Toure "could efficiently play a facilitator role, but not that of mediator as (he had) in the Central African Republic". He also called on the coalition of "radical" opposition parties to present in writing its recommendations on how to resolve the current crisis.

Critics have charged that the opposition, faced with financial constraints and Konare's popularity, had deliberately sabotaged the electoral process.

Government reaches agreement with students

Meanwhile, further strikes by students in Mali were averted following the announcement of an agreement between students and the government, Africa No.1 radio reported on Thursday. Local sources told IRIN that there had been increased security forces in the capital, Bamako, during two weeks of tense negotiations. Mali was hit with several student strikes throughout the later part of last year. The most recent ended on 22 January when the two sides agreed to meet.

GUINEA: Election date set

Presidential elections in Guinea have been set for next December, AFP reported on Wednesday. Twelve candidates will be competing in two rounds of voting. Electoral lists are to be compiled by 28 February.

SAHEL: African summit

The second African summit of Sahelian and Saharan countries began in Libya's capital, Tripoli, on Wednesday, news reports said. Agreements on joint cooperation in security, the free movement of people and goods and the establishment of joint companies were to be discussed. The presidents of Chad, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso as well as an observer from Nigeria were attending the conference.

Abidjan, 05 February 1998 19:05 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, 5 Feb 1998 19:09:15 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 139, 98.02.05 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980205185526.1308A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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