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IRIN-WA Update 162 of Events in West Africa, (Tuesday) 10 March 1998
SIERRA LEONE: Jubilant homecoming for president
The return home on Tuesday of elected President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah after 10 months in exile in Guinea signalled the restoration of democracy in Sierra Leone, news organisations reported. Kabbah was met at the airport by members of the West African intervention force, ECOMOG, and a huge crowd of cheering Sierra Leoneans. An entire day of festivities was planned culminating in an afternoon ceremony at the main stadium in Freetown. Sierra Leoneans lined the motorcade route from the crack of dawn, while flags and banners decorated the shattered city. Nigerian leader General Sani Abacha, Malian President Alpha Konare, Guinean President Lansana Conte and President of Niger Ibrahim Bare Mainassara were present at the welcoming festivities.
Reuters quoted Kabbah as telling the thousands of jubilant Sierra Leoneans it was a "beginning" for Sierra Leone. "You have given your blood, you have suffered, so now we should all be determined to give our sweat, hard work and honesty for Sierra Leone to go forward," he said.
The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahima Fall, said Africa could no longer tolerate and accept as "faits accomplis coups against elected governments". Meanwhile, the Sierra Leonean ambassador to the United Nations, James Jonah, quoted by Reuters, said the "task ahead is much more difficult. Not only have they (the toppled Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) destroyed the infrastructure but the morale of the people".
ECOMOG threw a tight security cordon around Freetown for the homecoming celebrations, warning tough measures would be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt the welcoming ceremony.
Rebel leader vows to continue fighting
Meanwhile, Colonel Sam Bockarie, commander of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), vowed to continue fighting against ECOMOG, the BBC reported on Monday. Speaking from an undisclosed location, Bokari said he was in command of both AFRC and RUF components of the rebel forces. He dismissed reports of fighting between the RUF and those AFRC forces wishing to surrender to ECOMOG in Daru, 270 kms east of Freetown. ECOMOG announced the capture of the strategic base of Daru at the weekend. The BBC reported that Kailahun, 320 kms north of Freetown, was believed to be the last remaining outpost under rebel control.
More ECOMOG troops needed to provide security
Meanwhile, ECOMOG Chief of Staff Abdul One-Mohamed said
more troops would be needed to restore security nationwide,
news organisations reported on Monday. Reuters quoted
One-Mohamed as saying ECOMOG currently had about 10
or 11 battalions but needed more soldiers if it were
to "dominate" the whole countryside. He added
many of the rebels had come out of the bush and surrendered
their weapons. ECOMOG has provided food and cash to
those who turned themselves in, he added.
Medical NGO to cremate 500 corpses in Bo
The medical NGO, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), announced on Tuesday that it would have to exhume and cremate 500 corpses in Bo, 170 kms southeast of Freetown, in order to avoid the outbreak of cholera and other diseases, news reports said.
In a related development, AFP, quoting national state radio, said more than 1,000 skeletons had been discovered in another mass grave in the Bonthe district, 80 km south of Bo. The victims were believed to have been non-combatants killed during an RUF offensive in 1995.
More food aid arrives
A WFP report said a second WFP-chartered vessel carrying 730 mt of food arrived in Freetown on Monday. The consignment can feed some 80,000 vulnerable people. Meanwhile, AFP reported that food, mainly rice, donated by Britain had been airlifted to Bo and Kenema in eastern Sierra Leone.
An OCHA official told IRIN Britain had also pledged
US$ 3.24 million to the newly established UN Trust
Fund for Sierra Leone. The fund established by the
UN Security Council is another mechanism for donors
to contribute voluntarily towards a variety of aid
programmes.
MALI: Coup plot trial opens
A former Malian minister and six army officers have gone on trial in the capital, Bamako, accused of plotting to overthrow President Alpha Konare in 1996, news organisations reported on Tuesday. The former minister of health, Maddy Diallo, was charged with paying the officers to carry out planned attacks on government officials. If found guilty, the defendants could receive life sentences. Amnesty International (AI) would be monitoring the trial expected to last four days. In a separate trial last week, Diallo was found guilty by the same court of embezzling at least US$ 72,000 during his tenure as minister, PANA reported. He was sentenced to three years in jail.
GUINEA: Defence lawyers boycott trial
Defence lawyers in the trial of 96 mutinous soldiers on Monday decided to boycott court proceedings "until further notice", AFP reported on Monday. According to the news agency, the lawyers stated their rights had been "limited" by the special court. During the hearings on Monday, a defence lawyer exchanged words with the judge on the validity of the investigation. The trial, which opened last week, has been postponed twice at the request of the defence in order to enable them to prepare their case.
SENEGAL: Authorities dispute rebel death toll
The Senegalese authorities have denied reports that between 50 and 150 separatists of the Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) were killed during an attack last week by government troops, Radio France Internationale reported on Tuesday. While declining to give any figures, the minister of communications, Serigne Diop, challenged the high death toll. He accused Amnesty International of contributing to the idea that a "climate of terror" was being maintained by the Senegalese army in Casamance.
NIGERIA: Serious fuel scarcity grips Lagos
A serious fuel shortage is gripping Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital, and its environs, AFP reported on Monday. The situation took a turn for the worse on Monday when long queues of motorists formed in front of the limited number of petrol stations. No official reason was given for the scarcity. AFP quoted informed sources as saying that the shortage may be linked to the diversion of fuel bound for Lagos to satisfy demands by pro-Abacha demonstrators last week in Abuja. Petrol dealers were officially instructed to sell fuel throughout the duration of the rally, including at night. Other sources said the shortage was linked to the breakdown of the largest oil refinery in Port Harcourt, 400 kms east of Freetown.
WEST AFRICA: Conflict management meeting on Wednesday
Cote d'Ivoire Foreign Minister Essy Amara announced on Monday the establishment of a permanent intervention force for peace and security in West Africa, news organisations reported. The Ivorian daily newspaper, 'Fraternite Matin', quoted Amara as saying a two-day meeting slated for 11-12 March in Yamoussoukro, 350 kms north of Abidjan, would gather West African ministers of defence to discuss the establishment of a permanent intervention force. The force would intervene in conflict areas within West Africa or at the request of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Issues such as preventive diplomacy, circulation of arms and transborder crime would also be discussed.
Amara said his country was ready to contribute troops to peacekeeping operations.
Abidjan, 10 March 1998, 19:00 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: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 19:09:51 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 162, 98.3.10 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980310190427.27617A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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