UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Update 168, 98.3.18

IRIN-West Africa Update 168, 98.3.18


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 168 of Events in West Africa, (Wednesday) 18 March 1998

LIBERIA: Refugee repatriation slower than UNHCR expected

Despite international efforts towards secure and proper re-integration, repatriating Liberia's 480,000 refugees is taking longer than expected, a senior UNHCR official told a press conference in Abidjan on Wednesday. Following a review of the refugee situation in West Africa on Tuesday, HCR Director for West, Central and East Africa Albert-Alain Peters declined to describe the situation as either positive or negative. "Re-integration is not happening at the pace we would have liked," he said. Some Western governments had claimed that free distribution of agricultural tools and seeds to returnees was discriminatory vis-a-vis those who had stayed in the country. "The truth is, we are on the eve of the planting season and if refugees are disappointed for lack of tools or seeds, there is a risk they will leave again," Peters remarked.

UNHCR's plans include a repatriation phase to last to the end of 1998, followed by re-integration through development projects in Liberia until December 1999. Peters told IRIN that apart from a US$ 1.3 million contribution from Japan, the US$ 38.2 million HCR had appealed for in favour of Liberian refugees in 1998 "was not there." An HCR local official told IRIN he was confident the Guinean authorities would re-open the border with Liberia on 23 March as scheduled. The move could allow as many as 65,000 refugees to return home.

SIERRA LEONE: Refugee trend worrying

Peters also expressed concern over the situation of some of Sierra Leone's 380,000 refugees in West Africa. He said despite claims by the ECOMOG peace-keeping force that it was a matter of days before it suppressed the last remnants of rebel militias, he was worried the many Sierra Leoneans crossing the border into Liberia were busy building makeshift shelters. "This is a worrying trend as it suggests that people do not think of returning any time soon," Peters commented. More than 26,000 refugees had crossed the border into western Liberia, and more continued to flood in. Peters said another cause for concern was the fact that most of the refugees were women and children. Some of these told HCR staff that the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel militia took most male refugees as "hostages" to carry out a variety of tasks for them. As for the US$ 700,000 HCR had requested to assist Sierra Leonean refugees over the next three months, Peters told IRIN a number of donors had expressed interest and asked for further details.

Meanwhile, WFP announced that on Tuesday four of its trucks carrying 65 MT of food had reached Bo and Kenema, two major towns close to the Liberian border. WFP said the consignment was enought to feed 30,000 people for a week.

State of emergency declared

The newly-restored government of President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah has declared a state of emergency to deal with remnants of the junta toppled by ECOMOG peace-keeping forces last week, a parliamentary source said, according to AFP. The authorities may now detain members and collaborators of the ousted regime for up to 30 days without review. The possession of arms and military uniforms by unauthorised personnel is also banned, as is hoarding essential food items and petroleum products. According to the constitution, the declaration of a state of emergency must be ratified by parliament, which meets next week.

Fleeing rebels reportedly attack sugar factory

Fleeing rebels of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have "massively" looted and vandalised the Magba sugar factory in Tonkolili district, the agriculture ministry announced. State radio on Tuesday quoted a ministry statement as saying the rebels were trying to "destroy the most valuable economic base" in the area.

Civil servants to get back pay

The president's office has announced that civil servants, who fled the country when the military junta seized power last May, will be backpaid, state radio reported on Tuesday. A statement from the president's office said these workers were regarded as having been on special leave with full pay.

Sierra Leone ECOMOG soldiers to leave Liberia

Sierra Leone soldiers serving with ECOMOG in Liberia are to return home shortly at the request of President Kabbah, AFP said. ECOMOG chief of staff Brigadier-General Abdul-One Mohammed told a press briefing in Monrovia on Tuesday they were returning "in line with previous ECOMOG arrangements". He added that the soldiers, numbering several hundred, would voluntarily hand in their weapons before leaving for Freetown.

CHAD: Strike call against violence in the south

Human rights and labour groups in Chad have called for a two-day general strike, due to begin on Wednesday, to protest against fighting between soldiers and rebels in the southern Moundou area, news reports said. An alliance of human rights and labour organisations accused both the rebel Armed Forces for a Federal Republic (FARF) and government soldiers of "disdain" for civilian lives in the area and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. A peace agreement between the rebels and the government, signed last April, collapsed in October. Amnesty International has also called for an end to civilian killings.

Radio France Internationale reported that about 10 civilians were killed by the army in Benoy, some 60 km from Moundou, last Thursday. A local official said the victims included the traditional ruler of Gore district. Reuters quoted former Chadian premier Jean Bawoyeu Alingue as saying the resurgence of clashes in the south had made insecurity a way of life there. Alingue is leader of the opposition Union pour la democratie et la republique (UDR) party.

GHANA: President slams Burkina Faso dam plan

President Jerry Rawlings has criticised plan by Burkina Faso to build two hydro-electric dams on a major tributary of the Volta river. According to the Ghana News Agency, he said Burkina Faso had already built a dam for agricultural purposes and to build two power-generating units might affect the flow of the river to the Akosombo dam in Ghana. The neighbouring countries of Benin, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire also draw electricity from the dam. "We must think seriously about the common use of resources in the sub-region," Rawlings told visiting ministerial delegations from Benin and Togo on Monday. "If not, some countries will be in grave difficulty."

WEST AFRICA: Annan urges cooperation in stemming arms flow

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for vigilance and cooperation to stem the proliferation of arms in West Africa. Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, at the launch of a book on Mali, he remarked that the insecurity and violence which plagued Mali in the early 1990s was fuelled in part by the spread of small arms.

Abidjan, 18 March 1998, 16:55 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, 18 Mar 1998 16:59:36 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 168, 98.3.18 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980318165648.9292D-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

Previous Menu Home Page What's New Search Country Specific