UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa 150, 98.2.20

IRIN-West Africa 150, 98.2.20


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 150 of Events in West Africa, (Friday) 20 February 1998

SIERRA LEONE: Unrest beyond Freetown

Eleven people were killed on Thursday and dozens others wounded in attacks by fighters loyal to Sierra Leone's ousted military government, AFP reported. The attacks by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) occured in Rokupr, 80 km northeast of the capital, Freetown.

It said the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, had since deployed in the area to stop the fighting. A Guinean ECOMOG contingent found a large cache of arms and ammunition hidden under a bridge in the area. Meanwhile, AFP reported that the second city, Bo, 170 km east of Freetown, was still tense and it was not clear who was in control following similar attacks by remnants of the former military government's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

The country's other major town, Kenema, 240 km southeast of Freetown, was reported to be under ECOMOG control.

About 1,000 AFRC supporters in detention

Around 1,000 AFRC supporters have been detained since ECOMOG regained control of Freetown during the week, AFP reported on Friday. It said Hundreds had been jailed in the main maximum security prison in Freetown, while some 390 people were being held at Lungi airport, outside the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday started visiting some of the detainees, it said.

Union calls on workers to return to work

Meanwhile, the Sierra Leone Labour Congress (SLLC) on Friday called on its members to return to work, saying the security situation had "improved" in Freetown, AFP reported. After the AFRC coup last May, the SLLC urged its members to stay home to protest the military action takeover.

The SLLC also called on remnants of the AFRC and the RUF to "lay down their arms and surrender their weapons to ECOMOG".

More Nigerian troops to arrive in Freetown

A contingent of 400 Nigerian soldiers has left the northern city of Kano in Nigeria for Sierra Leone, AFP reported on Friday. Quoting the Lagos-based daily 'The Punch', it said that the Nigerian government had not confirmed the new deployment. Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi said earlier in the week more troops from the region would arrive to reinforce the ECOMOG West African peacekeeping presence in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, Ikimi on Thursday said president-in-exile Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's return to Freetown would be determined at an Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) summit, according to media reports. No date has been set for the summit.

Food aid to be distributed

A WFP spokesman on Friday said a ship carrying 850 mt of food and medical supplies was being unloaded in Freetown harbour. He said food would be distributed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

NIGERIA: Six face public execution

Six men sentenced to death for banditry will be publicly executed by firing squad on Saturday in Lagos, AFP reported. The six men were convicted by a special court set up to deal with violent crime. The special courts are generally presided by a high court magistrate and include both civilians and soldiers appointed by the military autorities.

On July 22 1995, 43 people sentenced to death were shot in front of a crowd of 3,000 people. The public execution was the largest in Nigeria involving civilians for several years and was harshly criticised by the opposition and diplomats.

European parliament calls for oil sanctions

The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution calling for sanctions against Nigerian petroleum products, media reports said. The resolution said a boycott of Nigerian oil products "would be the most effective instrument to oblige the Nigerian regime to restore democracy".

The sanction initiative was taken by Glenys Kinnock of the parliament's majority Socialist bloc. She called for the closure of European trade missions in Nigeria and asked for Nigerians to be banned from the World Cup football competition this summer in France.

The EU in 1995 imposed visa restrictions on Nigerian government officials and banned Nigerian participation in European sports in the aftermath of the hanging of nine human rights activists

GUINEA: Opposition leader concerned at mutiny trial

The leader of the main opposition party in Guinea has called on President Lansana Conte to beware that the trial of 96 military personnel on mutiny charges could lead to long-term instability, AFP reported on Thursday.

Jean-Marie Dore, leader of the Union pour la Prosperite de la Guinee (UPG), said the mutiny in February 1996 over pay conditions and the subsequent trial scheduled for 26 February was not a good idea. In a press statement, he said "an eventual conviction of these military men will create a situation of instability and uncertainty in Guinea for years to come." He called the state security tribunal, which will hear the case, "an instrument of servility" and said "legal conditions for a fair trial have not been established".

LIBERIA: Taiwan pledges job-training funds

Taiwan has pledged to grant Liberia US$ 3 million to help fund job-training programmes for the country's former combatants, AFP reported on Friday. The pledge was made by visiting Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jason Hu during his 24-hour visit to Liberia. Hu also held talks with President Charles Taylor.

MALI: Trans-Sahara highway

President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali has announced plans to build a trans-Sahara highway linking his country with the Algerian coast, AFP reported on Friday. He announced the plan on his return to Mali from a two-day visit to Algiers.

Abidjan, 20 February 1998, 16:30 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]

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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 15:08:00 +0300 (GMT+0300) Subject: IRIN-West Africa 150, 98.2.20 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.980222150646.32379C-100000@dha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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