UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Update 227, 98.6.11

IRIN-West Africa Update 227, 98.6.11


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 227 of Events in West Africa, (Thursday) 11 June 1998

GUINEA BISSAU: Fighting flares as foreign nationals evacuate

Hundreds of Portuguese and other foreign nationals were evacuated from Guinea Bissau by sea on Thursday during a brief lull in fighting between government forces and the supporters of a military rebellion, media reports said.

According to Reuters, the foreign nationals gathered at Bissau port to board a merchant vessel sent to evacuate them. They included about 1,000 Portuguese, 70 French, 50 US citizens, as well as some Japanese, Brazilians and other nationalities, media reports said.

Two Portuguese air force planes were also standing by in nearby Cape Verde, the BBC reported. A further contingent of US and French planes was also being readied in Senegal to fly to Guinea Bissau when the situation allowed, AFP reported.

But despite intense shelling, rebels maintained their control of the main international airport and two army barracks on the outskirts of the capital, Bissau, AFP reported.

Final showdown

Media reports said government forces appeared to be preparing for a final showdown after President Joao Bernardo Vieira refused permission for national assembly mediators to cross government lines to speak with the rebels.

According to media reports, up to 1,700 troops from Senegal and Guinea arrived in Bissau on Tuesday to help the government.

The revolt started at the weekend following the appointment of a new army chief of staff, General Humberto Gomes. His predecessor, Absumane Mane, was suspended earlier this year after several military officers were arrested for allegedly smuggling weapons to separatist rebels in Senegal's southern province of Casamance. Mane, who declared himself head of a provisional military government on Tuesday, has called for elections in July.

NIGERIA: Abubakar faces sanctions call

As a leading opposition group called for international sanctions against Nigeria's new military ruler, the three-day regime of General Abdulsalam Abubakar also faced its first high court challenge at home by pro-democracy activists, news agencies reported on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, Abubakar set himself on a "collision course" with Nigeria's opposition after he announced on Wednesday he would follow the discredited democracy plan of his predecessor, General Sani Abacha, who died earlier this week from a heart attack.

In the high court challenge, Gani Fawehinmi from the umbrella opposition group, the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), told a news conference in the commercial capital, Lagos, it believed Abubakar's succession was illegal and unconstitutional, AFP reported. Fawehinmi said the army's Provisional Ruling Council had no legal basis to appoint a new head of state.

Echoing these demands, the Lagos-based 'Post Express' said the best the military could do for Nigeria was prosecute the people's will. "Nigerians have made it abundantly clear they do not want any more military rule," the journal said.

According to media reports, the new government would face the first real test of its commitment to transition on Friday, when activists have called for mass street protests to mark the fifth anniversary of the 1993 presidential elections annulled by the military. JACON has also called for the immediate release of gaoled millionaire businessman, Chief Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 poll.

Lagos's military administrator, Colonel Mohammed Marwa, warned would-be protestors in a television address on Wednesday that they risked provoking a heavy response to Friday's call-to-action.

SIERRA LEONE: United Nations assistance

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has recommended the establishment of a UN peacekeeping mission for Sierra Leone comprising an unarmed military group of about 70 members. In a report to the Security Council he said the force would be deployed for about six months to help the West African ECOMOG intervention force disarm rebel fighters loyal to the ousted military junta.

His announcement coincided with a three-day visit to Sierra Leone by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

American aid mission

In a related development on Thursday, AFP reported that the United States government would send a humanitarian mission to Sierra Leone at the weekend for a week-long visit. The American delegation, to be led by Under-Secretary of State Julia Taft, also planned to visit Guinea and would coordinate with European Union aid officials.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Spanish quiet diplomacy

The Spanish government said on Wednesday it was engaged in "quiet" diplomacy with its European Union partners and the United States to secure clemency for 15 people sentenced to death following separatist attacks in the main island of Bioko last January, AFP reported.

The fresh efforts followed a series of international protests against the sentences. AFP quoted the Spanish foreign minister, Abel Mutates, as saying the latest attempt to seek clemency was not only for humanitarian reasons, but to ensure the credibility of the country's democratisation process.

GHANA: French aid

Ghana is to receive a US$ 2 million loan from the French government for the construction of two new electricity generating plants, AFP reported on Wednesday. It said the loan would be granted before the end of July. Ghana and its neighbours, Togo and Benin, have suffered an acute energy crisis this year caused by a reduction in capacity of Ghana's main Akosombo dam brought on by poor rains.

Abidjan, 11 June 1998, 1930 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, 11 Jun 1998 19:26:15 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 227, 98.6.11 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980611192122.19453A-p://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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