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IRIN-WA Update 283 of Events in West Africa, (Friday) 28 August 1998
SIERRA LEONE: UN envoy calls for reconciliation
The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, said yesterday (Thursday) that durable peace in Sierra Leone hinged on "reconciliation" in the country, AFP reported. It quoted Okelo as saying that " All those guilty of atrocities must face the requisite justice in accordance with law of Sierra Leone while respecting their human rights". He added that it may be necessary at times "to bend backwards to accommodate those Sierra Leoneans who may show genuine signs of repentance and a genuine inclination to reform their lives". He acknowledged that resentment was very "deep" and memories "painful".
A High Court in Sierra Leone during the week found 16 defendants, among whom five journalists, guilty of collaborating with the military junta ousted by the West African intervention force, ECOMOG, in February 1998. The British government and several international press watchdogs said they would appeal to President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to commute the death sentences. The defendants have 21 days to appeal.
A UN source in Freetown told IRIN on Friday that Sierra Leoneans in their majority were pleased with the sentences handed down by the High Court. This sentiment was heightened by the continued atrocities committed by the rebels in northern and eastern Sierra Leone. He said fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) had now started carving the letters RUF on the foreheads or backs of the victims as part of their campaign of terror. However, the source added that Kabbah may commute certain death sentences in part to appease the international community's concerns.
Further clashes with rebel fighters
Meanwhile, the Sierra Leone army repelled a rebel incursion in the northern district of Tonkolili, AFP reported yesterday. It quoted a ministry of defence spokesman as saying that the troops led by Sierra Leonean Colonel Robert Yirra Koroma had flushed out the rebels and had "scored a string of victories from Bumbuna, Samaia, Bendugu, Alikalia and Yiffin" in the north. The spokesman added that the army had captured the towns of Tombudu and Yamandu in the eastern district of Kono.
Meanwhile, rebel fighters attacked towns in the Kambia district in northwestern Sierra Leone earlier in the week, AFP said. Catholic priests reported that a relative calm had returned to the area yesterday. A priest, quoted by AFP, said Guinean soldiers, part of the ECOMOG contingent, had responded swiftly to halt the rebel attack.
In a related development, AFP reported that ECOMOG was waging an intense military campaign against rebel-held villages in the eastern district of Kailahun. It added that ECOMOG troops had been reinforced by the presence of well-armed Sierra Leonean soldiers, and armoured vehicles and heavy artillery. Kailahun is the last rebel stronghold.
Army chief warns renegade troops
The Sierra Leonean chief of defence staff, Brigadier-General Maxwell Khobe, issued a tough warning yesterday to absent troops, saying that they would be considered rebel fighters if they did not report to ECOMOG by Saturday, AFP reported. Khobe said soldiers absent without leave would be considered to be backing the ousted junta and rebel fighters.
In a related development, Khobe also said the soldiers, who had surrendered earlier in the year to ECOMOG and subsequently released had not turned up as expected at the UN-sponsored disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration units.
Flooding in northwest
A UN humanitarian source told IRIN today that there had been a serious flood near the towns of Kambia and Mambolo in northwestern Sierra Leone. It was estimated that over 100 houses had been destroyed by water and 1,000 people were rendered homeless. The source said the UN would charter a plane in the next few days to determine the extent of the damage in the area.
LIBERIA: Gunfire around Taylor rival's home
Gunfire broke out today (Friday) around the Monrovia residence of Roosevelt Johnson, a former wartime rival of Liberia's President Charles Taylor, AFP reported today. The dispatch said ECOMOG troops massed in the city centre after the shooting broke out in the early afternoon. Local residents rushed for cover. No further details were provided.
Johnson's home had been searched last week by security men in a joint ECOMOG and national police operation. In a Voice of America dispatch earlier in the week, Johnson had described the search as a "violation of his human rights".
Analysts said the issue was very sensitive because some of the worst fighting during the Liberian civil had resulted from an attempt to arrest Johnson in April 1996. In March this year, ECOMOG troops with armoured vehicles had to intervene to keep the calm during an incident in which presidential guards were alleged to have attacked Johnson's home.
Johnson was the leader of the Krahn wing of the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO-J).
ECOMOG denies allegations of misconduct
Meanwhile, ECOMOG rejected Johnson's allegations that it had given uniforms to government security officers during the cordon and search operation of Johnson's residence, Star Radio said. In a statement, ECOMOG described the allegations as "irresponsible and shocking", adding that it was fully aware of the repercussions of taking sides in any peacekeeping operation. The Ghanaian embassy also protested against Johnson's allegations of improper conduct by the Ghanaian ECOMOG contingent. It said the 20 August search had been conducted jointly by the national police and ECOMOG, and was not aimed at one person.
SENEGAL: Sixty rebels, four soldiers killed in fighting
Sixty rebel fighters and four Senegalese soldiers were killed in clashes in the southern province of Casamance and neighbouring Guinea Bissau during the week, AFP reported, quoting military sources in Dakar. The dispatch quoted a Senegalese military officer as saying that one of the battles had taken place across the border with Guinea Bissau. Some Senegalese newspapers claimed that rebel troops from Guinea Bissau were fighting alongside Senegalese separatists. Government troops killed 60 rebels and recovered goods stolen from the market, AFP said. Senegalese troops have been carrying out sweeps to destroy rebel bases in the Kolda region, on the border, since last week Friday.
The separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) has been waging a campaign against the government of Senegal since the early eighties.
GUINEA BISSAU: International community welcomes ceasefire accord
The US and French governments as well as the United Nations yesterday welcomed the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the government of Guinea Bissau and army rebels, saying that it augured well for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The US State Department deputy spokesman, James Foley, in a statement, said the US government was "very hopeful about the prospects of a lasting peace settlement". Talks on implementing the ceasefire accord were scheduled for 11 and 12 September in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire.
A new ceasefire accord was signed on 26 July at peace talks in Cape Verde under the auspices of mediation teams of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking countries (CPLP) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
A mutiny broke out on 7 June, when the President of Guinea Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, sacked his armed forces chief of staff, General Ansumane Mane, on charges of gun smuggling to the neighbouring separatist province of Casamance in Senegal.
NIGERIA: Political associations start registration process
The Nigerian independent national electoral commission (INEC) opened its office yesterday to prospective political parties, which have to register in order to compete in the forthcoming elections, news agencies reported. According to INEC guidelines issued on Tuesday, political associations have to collect and submit forms for preliminary registration. New agencies reported that numerous political associations have sprung up across the country since the ban on political activity was lifted
Minister promises Nigerians freedom of expression
The newly-appointed minister of information, John Nwodo, said the Nigerian government was open to opinions and views from all sectors of Nigerian society, state television reported. Nwodo said the country's new leadership was interested in hearing both the views of those who agreed and disagreed with the government's policies and decisions. "Dissent was a necessary ingredient of governance," he added.
US oil multinational finds oil in north
The US oil giant Chevron is expected to start oil exploration in northern Nigeria by the end of 1999, AFP reported on Thursday, quoting the Nigerian 'Daily Times'.
COTE D'IVOIRE: Annan in Abidjan
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, on a private visit from 29 to 31 August. According to Ivorian television, Annan will meet the President of Cote d'Ivoire, Henri Konan Bedie.
Abidjan, 28 August 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 or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to <archive@ocha.unon..org> - mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 18:09:41 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 283, 98.8.28 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980828180829.11176A-D N A T I O N S
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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