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IRIN-WA Update 184 of Events in West Africa, (Thursday) 9 April 1998
SIERRA LEONE: Ousted junta allegedly training in Liberia
A commander of the Nigerian-led intervention force, ECOMOG, in Sierra Leone, Colonel Buhari Musa, alleged on Wednesday that more than 3,000 troops loyal to the ousted Sierra Leonean military junta were receiving training in neighbouring Liberia, news organisations reported. Musa, ECOMOG commander for southern and eastern Sierra Leone, said the training was taking place in Lofa county at a camp used by the former faction of Liberian President Charles Taylor during the Liberian civil war. The Liberian government has repeatedly denied these allegations. ECOMOG Force Commander Major General Timothy Shelpidi told IRIN that he was verifying the information, adding that the claims were not new and had been circulating for a while.
The Liberian defence ministry denied it was involved in training foreigners, Star Radio told IRIN on Thursday. Defence spokesman Philbert Brown told the radio it would be "foolish" for the Liberian government to train anybody. He promised to take the press to the camp for them to see for themselves.
Meanwhile, AFP quoted Musa as saying he had decided to close the River Mano bridge leading into Liberia in a bid to end rebel activity in the area. He also accused Liberian security forces of harassing "peace-loving" Sierra Leoneans in Liberia. Musa announced that ECOMOG had retaken two towns in the Kailahun region, where junta forces were still holding out killed 75 people last weekend, according to the BBC.
President says national defence important
Sierra Leonean President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, on Wednesday, said his country needed to defend itself from external enemies, AFP reported. In a radio address quoted by AFP, Kabbah said Sierra Leone needed to ensure that no aggressor would ever control the country again and violate its territorial integrity. He suggested the possibility of establishing a "small well-trained and well-equipped army". Kabbah also denied the expulsion of 22 foreigners, many of whom Lebanese, accused of colluding with the ousted junta was xenophobia. He said Sierra Leone was open to all nationals who respected its laws, authority and contributed to improving the well-being of Sierra Leoneans.
Hundreds die in flight from combats
Hundreds of exhausted Sierra Leoneans among thousands fleeing rebel attacks in the east have died en route to Guinea, Reuters reported on Wednesday, quoting aid and government officials. Large numbers of inhabitants of towns and villages have been fleeing fighting in the diamond-producing district of Kono in recent weeks. Reuters quoted refugees telling stories of rebels killing and pillaging in Kono district, while boys and men were forcefully conscripted. The report quoted Sahr Gando, a senior Sierra Leonean government official, as saying more than 200 people travelling with him had died as they fled Kono. Other eyewitness accounts spoke of "bodies littering bush tracks". Many fleeing civilians were suffering from starvation, pneumonia and cholera, AFP added.
A UNHCR regional spokesperson told IRIN refugee camps inside Guinea were now sheltering some 50,000 Sierra Leoneans with more streaming in daily. About 25,000 refugees had arrived in February and March 1998. No new figures were available on the refugee influx in April.
LIBERIA: Former presidential bodyguards acquitted in murder trial
A Liberian jury on Wednesday acquitted two former bodyguards of Liberian President Charles Taylor of the murder of an opposition member of Parliament, Samuel Dokie, and three family members, news organisations reported. The jury decided that there was insufficient evidence to convict Richard Saydee and Kennedy Fineboy of murdering the Dokies. The Dokie family were last seen on 29 November 1997 in the custody of the Special Security Services (SSS). Their charred bodies were discovered three days later on a road leading to Monrovia. The defence lawyers blamed the murders on a "regional SSS commander and four others" who are now believed to be in Cote d'Ivoire, AFP said. The lawyers claimed that lack of police reports and eyewitness accounts "created doubts about their (clients) involvement". The acquittal came as no surprise to observers, who recalled that charges against three prominent suspects were dropped before the trial began for "lack of sufficient evidence". The three officers, Isaac Whonnie, Moses Jallah, and Moses Sackor, served as state's witnesses during the trial.
Local sources told IRIN the verdict still left many questions on the Dokie murders unanswered. According to AFP, after the killings, a broad cross-section of Liberian society, including church and human rights leaders, openly accused the government of involvement. Dokie supported Taylor's 1989 rebellion against Samuel Doe but later broke ranks with him during the civil war.
NIGERIA: Government establishes constitutional court
The Nigerian government on Thursday established a Constitutional Court as part of its transition programme to hand over power to a civilian government, AFP reported, quoting the justice ministry. The Court will arbitrate electoral disputes and interpret and enforce a new constitution. Nigerian leader General Sani Abacha will appoint the judges to the court on recommendations by an advisory judicial committee. The Court has the power to confirm, vary or reject the judgement of the election tribunal, and to hear petitions on the conduct of presidential elections or the registration of political parties. Its decisions will be final except for rulings on the presidential elections, which may be challenged in the Supreme Court. The Court, which is subordinate to the Federal Court of Appeals, will have a president and at least ten other judges.
West Africa: Francophone finance ministers discuss CFA
Finance ministers from mainly French-speaking countries met in Gabon on Thursday to discuss the future of their common currency, the CFA Franc, according to the BBC. The meeting is held amid concerns over a possible devaluation of the currency when France joins the single European currency, the euro, in 1999. France guarantees the value of the CFA by maintaining a fixed rate of one French Franc to one hundred CFA Francs.
Abidjan, 9 April 1998, 18:00 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: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 17:58:13 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-WA Update 184 of Events in West Africa, 98.4.9 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980409175155.6100A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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