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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 15-97 of Main Events in West Africa covering period 22-26 September 1997
[The weekly roundups are based on relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and the media. IRIN-WA issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community, but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source. Please note IRIN-WA's daily round-up for Friday is included in this report.]
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IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 54-97 of Events in West Africa, 26 September 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of international media 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: AFRC troops and Kamajors clash over diamond town
Four Sierra Leonean soldiers and ten Kamajors militia have been killed in fighting for control of Tongo, in the eastern district of Kenema. The fighting started on Wednesday. Heavily armed Kamajors attacked four military positions in the diamond-rich city, AFP reported. A local source told AFP that the military had been forced to make "tactical withdrawals at least five times but later regrouped and were now gaining ground steadily". A Sierra Leonean military commander in Kenema attributed the army's slow progress to Nigerian army assistance to the Kamajors. This was denied by a Kamajor spokesman who said the Kamajors were fighting on their own to reinstate ousted president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and to "put democracy on course". He said the battle for Tongo was decisive and would set the stage for further gains in the area. Independent sources told AFP the current fighting had more to do with taking control of the lucrative diamond mines than defending democracy.
Meanwhile, military authorities in the southern village of Dambara Kangobai said clashes between government troops and the Kamajors in the area had died down on Thursday. The military said it was unable to give casualty figures for either side but six civilians were caught in crossfire. At Gbangtoke, in the southern district of Moyamba, 40 Kamajors were stoned by angry civilians. Local chiefdom administrator Sam Lahai told AFP the villagers wanted peace.
AFRC leader ready to talk to ousted president
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) leader, Major Johnny Paul Koroma, offered to meet ousted president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. In a letter dated 19 September addressed to the president of the UN Security Council, Bill Richardson, Koroma pledged his personal support for tripartite talks with Kabbah and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh to negotiate a "peaceful solution". Local reaction to the AFRC's offer was reportedly one of scepticism. The Sierra Leone government in exile described the AFRC overture as a ploy to gain time, diplomatic sources said.
Nigeria calls for continued isolation
Nigeria, on Tuesday, called on the international community to isolate the Sierra Leonean military government. Speaking before the UN General Assembly, Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi noted that no government had recognised the AFRC. Ikimi stressed that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) needed international support to reverse the coup d'etat which ousted Kabbah in May. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe also urged the international community to continue to reject the Sierra Leone military government and stand behind Africa in denying it recognition.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Guinean opposition Parti du Renouveau et du Progres, Siradou Diallo, said the Guinean government should pursue a different policy on Sierra Leone. Diallo claimed the government could not afford such expensive peacekeeping operations and ought to invest in development at home. AFRC and Nigerians troops clash at airport
Nigerian ECOMOG and AFRC troops exchanged heavy artillery fire on Monday at Freetown's international airport. A Nigerian colonel said that his men were reacting in self-defence to harassment by "rebels" linked to the Sierra Leonean army. A Sierra Leonean military source claimed Nigerian soldiers had moved their positions towards the army airport's base in an attempt to take it.
ECOMOG warns ships not to break embargo
The West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG warned all commercial shipping on Tuesday to stay away from Sierra Leone. A statement read by ECOMOG Commander Colonel Max Khobe over clandestine pro-Kabbah radio reminded all shipping companies of the embargo against Sierra Leone. The statement specifically warned the captain of the merchant ship MV Sky, the agent of the ship and the military government that if the MV Sky or any other ship attempted to berth in Freetown it would be "destroyed".
Crackdown on press
The AFRC ordered newspapers to obtain clearance from the ministry of information before going to the press. Any publication failing to comply would be liable to suspension with immediate effect, state and television reported. On Monday, Information Commissioner Sedu Turay instructed all newspapers to renew their registration by the end of the month. He said there was a need to "bring sanity and responsibility" into reporting. Local newspapers have accused the AFRC of human right abuses, excessive state spending, looting and plundering.
LIBERIA: UNOMIL mandate expires on 30 September
The mandate of the UN Observer's mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) expires on 30 September. The UN special envoy, Ambassador Tuliameni Kalomoh, told a farewell press conference on Thursday that the UNOMIL withdrawal was already well under way. Kalomeh said UNOMIL would be replaced by a UN peace-building support office in Monrovia to sustain the momentum achieved in the peace process. The office would "help mobilise international support for reconstruction efforts" and provide a "channel of communication between the Liberian government and the UN." Kalomoh added that UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan was convening a special ministerial conference on assistance to the peace process in Liberia on 3 October.
Taylor will not attend UN session
Liberian President Charles Taylor will not attend the United Nations General Assembly's plenary session in New York. The Liberian Senate turned down Taylor's request to travel for "security reasons". On Wednesday, a US district court magistrate dismissed a 1984 extradition request against Taylor filed by the then Liberian government. Taylor travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, for medical treatment earlier in the week.
NIGERIA: Army backs Abacha candidacy
The Nigerian army will support General Sani Abacha "absolutely" if he decides to stand for president next year, an army headquarters statement said today (Friday). According to AFP, the statement refutes a recent report in the Nigerian weekly 'Tempo' that the army had told Abacha it was firmly opposed to his candidacy. The statement said the army "remains solidly loyal to the head of state and the transition programme" and would "stand by any person chosen by Nigerians to contest the presidency". The statement stressed that there were no factions in the Nigerian army.
Bomb blasts home of Abacha appointee
An explosion damaged the home of the head of the National Reconciliation Committee (NARECOM) yesterday, news organisations reported. Nobody was hurt in the blast at the home of Chief Alex Akinyele, in Ondo state. His personal assistant told Reuters that the police had confirmed it was a bomb. NARECOM was set up by the military government in 1995 to prepare for the transition from military to civilian rule.
Rights activist gets bomb threat
Leading human rights activist and lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, alerted police on Wednesday to a threat to bomb his chambers. He said that two men, who did not identify themselves, had warned him of the plot. Two people were injured when shots were fired at Fawehinmi's chambers in 1994.
20 killed in inter-clan clashes
At least 20 people were killed and many injured on Wednesday in clashes between the Ife and Modakeke communities in Osun state, southwestern Nigeria. Several buildings were burnt down. Fighting between the two communities broke out following the relocation in mid-August of the local government headquarters from the Modakeke-dominated town of Enuwa to Ife-dominated Oke-Ogbe. The police sent reinforcements to the area which is now reportedly calm.
Security forces arrest 71 democracy activists
Nigerian security forces arrested 71 pro-democracy activists in the central city of Jos yesterday. Tunji Abayomi, the lawyer of former military head of state Olusegun Obasanjo and head of Human Rights Africa, was among those arrested at a pro-democracy conference. Obasanjo is currently serving a 15-year prison term over an alleged coup plot.
Oil pipeline sabotaged
A pipeline belonging to Elf-Aquitaine was "sabotaged" in southern Nigeria in mid-September, Elf-Nigeria said today. The statement, reported by AFP, said that a hole punched in a pipeline 20 km from the Obagi oil fields in southern Rivers State caused a slick which was quickly dealt with. The company said that there had been four sabotage attempts on the same pipeline in the last three weeks. The Nigerian head of state is to launch an Oil Spill Contingency Plan, according to yesterday's 'Nigerian News Report'. It quoted oil industry sources as saying that the plan, which was promised by Petroleum Resources Minister in August 1996, was now ready.
US summons Nigerian envoy
The US government summoned the Nigerian ambassador to ask for an official explanation on the break-up of a farewell party for its outgoing envoy last week. The Nigerian police insisted last week that the raid at the party venue was a coincidence. They had received "very reliable" information that arms and ammunition were being taken to that part of Lagos. On Monday, the Nigerian minister in charge of special affairs at the presidency, Alhaji Wada Nas, said that relations between the countries had been damaged during the tenure of the outgoing US envoy, Walter Carrington. He hoped Carrington's departure signalled the restoration of good ties between the countries.
SENEGAL: Casamance rebel commander allegedly killed
The commander of the rebel Mouvement des Forces Democratique de Casamance (MFDC) was killed during a military operation on Monday in southern Senegal. According to AFP, today's pro-government daily 'Le Soleil' said that Salif Sadio died in a Senegalese army offensive against a rebel base between Santhiaba-Mandjack and Djirack, in Casamance province, close to the Guinea-Bissau border. The report has not been officially confirmed. Sadio has been MFDC military commander since 1994. Radio France International reported that 15 rebels had been killed in an attack on their base in Santhiaba-Mandjack on Monday. A journalist, who witnessed the attack, described it as "carnage".
Civilians killed in Casamance, Amnesty says
Amnesty International has received "alarming" reports of extra-judicial killings and disappearances by the Senegalese security forces in Casamance since July, AFP reported. The report, based on an eight-day mission to Casamance by an AI delegation, also accuses the rebel MFDC of "arbitrary and deliberate" killings over the same period. At least 30 civilians had been arrested by the Senegalese security forces since July. Most had been executed without trial and buried not far from the military barracks, AI said. Many civilians were also tortured and ill treated by the Senegalese forces. The report said that armed MFDC fighters had killed nine civilians at a youth club in the village of Djinabar, in Sedhiou, in early September. Survivors were quoted as saying that the rebels criticised them for "dancing while they fought for the independence of Casamance".
Five thousand displaced
Five thousand people in villages near Senegal's border with Guinea-Bissau are reported to have fled to Ziguinchor, the capital of Casamance province. Most are staying with relatives and over three tonnes of rice have been distributed in the last six weeks.
NIGER: Rebel coalition kills five in attack
Five Niger government soldiers were killed and five injured in an attack last Saturday on a military post in northern Niger. The Forces Armees Revolutionnaires du Sahara (FARS) and the Union des Forces de la Resistance Armee (UFRA) claimed responsibility for the raid on the Madama army post near the Libyan border. The two movements announced a coalition last Wednesday. They said the attack was launched because of the government's "bad faith" in implementing a 1995 peace agreement. The rebels said they wanted jobs and other social benefits before they handed in their weapons in compliance with a disarmament timetable. Nigerien Interior Minister Idi Ango said the government was "stunned and surprised" at the attack. He blamed "a neighbouring country" for supporting the rebels. Nigerien President General Ibrahim Bare Mainassara arrived in Libya on Thursday on an official visit, Libyan television reported.
Civil servants go back to work
Nigerien civil servants resumed work today (Friday) after a three-day strike. The civil servants demanded the payment of five months' salary arrears and the reimbursement of pay cuts by the government. None of their demands have been met. Union representatives and the authorities did not meet, AFP reported.
Abidjan, 26 September 1997
[Ends]
[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax: +225 216335.]
Message-Id: <199709270852.LAA20479@dha.unon.org> Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 11:43:52 -0700 From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes <irin@dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 15-97 for 22-26 Sep 1997 97.9.26
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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