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IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 32-97 of Events in West Africa, 20 August 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly roundups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of international media reports on the region. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]
SIERRA LEONE - Fears of attack prompt curfew
Sierra Leone's military rulers have imposed a 10pm to 6am curfew and restricted river traffic in the capital, fearing an attack by militia loyal to ousted president Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. Sources said intelligence reports indicated that the Kamajor militia, allegedly backed by Nigeria, were planning a sea-borne attack on Freetown next week. A police source told reporters that more than 200 Kamajors had infiltrated the capital. Some are alleged to be among those arrested Monday in connection with a cancelled anti-government march. The military regime has accused Nigerian officers of mobilising and training Kamajors at Lungi airport.
The ban on boats and dug-out canoes travelling from the Lungi peninsula to ports in Freetown will be strictly enforced. Boats will be seized and their owners arrested, a statement broadcast on state radio said. The river traffic ban is expected to create additional hardships for both consumers and sellers, resulting in further shortage of essential goods. Source: AFP.
SIERRA LEONE - Soldiers warned against thuggery
Sierra Leone's military regime has warned its armed forces to act lawfully or risk being shot on sight. A statement broadcast on state radio said that soldiers harassing citizens will 'pay the full penalty of the law' while soldiers or armed civilians caught looting or commandeering vehicles will be shot 'without warning or explanation'. The statement said that the defence department was 'determined to enforce harsh measures to contain any situation designed to give the government a bad image.' Source: AFP.
SIERRA LEONE - No decision on UN sanctions
The United Nations Security Council yesterday discussed possible sanctions against Sierra Leone's military rulers and decided to coordinate its actions with those of Sierra Leone's neighbours who will meet 27-28 August at a summit in Lagos, Nigeria. The summit is organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has expressed its determination to reinstate the elected government. The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sierra Leone, Berhanu Dinka, briefed the Council yesterday morning on diplomatic efforts being undertaken regarding the Sierra Leonean crisis. Following the briefing, Council President, Sir John Weston reiterated the Council's condemnation of the violence in Sierra Leone and its insistence that there be freedom of movement for humanitarian agencies. He said that the Council would return to the matter in a few days time 'in an operational frame of mind.' Sources: AFP & United Nations.
SIERRA LEONE - Journalists released
Two journalists arrested while covering clashes between students and the police in Freetown on Monday were released yesterday. The two men had been detained during a police clamp down to stop a banned anti-government march through the capital. The march, organised by students, had been called off but both sides accused the other of shooting incidents. Some 62 people are reported by police sources to have been arrested. The situation in Freetown was reported to be 'quite tense' yesterday. Source: AFP.
NIGERIA - Administrator appeals for calm
The Osun State Administrator, Colonel Anthony Obi, has appealed to the people of Ile Ife and Modakeke to stop the destruction of life and property after several days of violent clashes which have resulted in the deaths of at least 65 people. Conflict between residents of the two towns has spread to nearby villages despite a dawn to dusk curfew imposed by the government at the weekend and the deployment of security forces. The disturbances, said to be the culmination of decades of mutual animosity between the two communities, were triggered on Thursday by the relocation of the local government headquarters of Ile Ife East from Enuwa (a Modakeke town) to Oke-Ogbo (an Ife stronghold). The two towns have been left partially destroyed by the violence and many residents have fled the area. Police said that 18 people had been arrested.
Similar clashes in other communities are reported to have claimed over 300 lives so far this year and have frequently started over the relocation of government offices. Sources: NTA TV & Radio Kudirat Nigeria via BBC Monitoring, AFP.
NIGERIA - Bomb in Lagos market/weapons found
A bomb 'designed to cause maximum damage' in Lagos's biggest electrical goods market was defused by police Friday. The home-made bomb in the centre of the market was discovered by a trader. Lagos has been hit by a series of bomb blasts, mostly targeting military establishments, since last December. The Nigeria government believes that the opposition coalition, NADECO is behind the bombings and has charged some of its leaders with treason. NADECO has denied the charges.
In a separate incident, police seized a large number of guns and cartridges at Lagos seaport, the media reported yesterday. In addition to illegal arms importation, an illegal arms factory was discovered by police in Abia state earlier this year. Sources: AFP & Radio Kudirat Nigeria, Voice of Democracy via BBC Monitoring. NIGERIA - Pipeline sabotaged
The Angola-Dutch Shell Oil company said yesterday that saboteurs had deliberately spilled an estimated 2,000 barrels of oil from its pipeline in Nigeria's southern Bayelsa state. So far this year more than 36,500 barrels of oil have been spilled in 41 separate sabotage incidents. Source: AFP.
NIGERIA - Trial of Moslem leader adjourned
The trial of Moslem fundamentalist leader, Ibrahim Ahmed El Zaki-Zaky, due to open yesterday in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna was postponed until 22 October because the judges and prosecution were not available. Zaki-Zaky and three others are charged with inciting opposition to the government, sedition, and denouncing the government by publishing and circulating a magazine in which a caption read 'there is no government but that of Islam.' The Shiite sect leader was arrested last September following clashes between members of his sect and Christians in Kaduna. According to press reports, five people died in the clashes. Source: AFP.
NIGERIA - Prostitutes arrested
Dozens of prostitutes were arrested yesterday in a police swoops of Lagos streets one week after the burial of Nigeria's renowned singer, Fela Ransome-Kuti, who died of AIDS. Fela was the first Nigerian to be publicly acknowledged as having the disease. Police involved in the swoop said that similar exercises would be carried out in other parts of Lagos in a bid to stop the spread of AIDS.
SENEGAL - Rains come at last
The first major rains have fallen in parts of Senegal's semi-arid north, diminishing fears of a prolonged drought and possible famine, media reports said. However, residents say that 90% of ground nut crops in the north-central basin have already been lost and in some areas all crops have perished along with livestock. Agriculturists report that only 20.9 millimetres of rain was recorded in some regions as of mid-August. Rains normally begin in June and last until October. Until these recent rains, experts had feared that the country was headed for a disaster of a similar magnitude to the 1973 famine.
Senegal's drought has been further compounded by the resurgence of rebel activity in the south of the country. Reports from Ziguinchor, capital of Casamance region, say that rebels of the Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance tried to infiltrate the city last weekend, following a stalemate in talks mediated by the French ambassador to Senegal. Rebels have been fighting for autonomy since December 1982. Source: PANA.
MALI - Opposition members relocated
Five of the ten members of the radical opposition collective, who were detained and charged with inciting violence leading to the death of a policeman on 11 August, have been relocated to prisons in the interior of the country, said an official from the central prison. The remaining five are still being detained in the central prison. An arrest order has also been issued for Oumar Mariko, a member of the opposition collective and a former student leader. Twelve other members of the opposition were released from custody on Tuesday. Iba N'Diaye, spokesperson for the ruling party, the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (Alliance pour la Democratie au Mali - ADEMA), has accused the opposition of being "coup leaders". Source: AFP.
MALI - Rise in aids causes alarm
Malian health authorities have reported an alarming increase in the number of people with AIDS or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Out of 334 blood samples taken at a Bamako hospital between July and September 1996, 46% were found to have HIV anti-bodies. The rate for infants tested in the same hospital was 24%. The disease's prevalence is reported to be particularly alarming in transit towns along the country's regional trunk roads and in urban areas hosting large numbers of seasonal workers. The Malian Aids control programme, funded by Canada, has said it will supply specific drugs to areas it covers. Other affected areas would be expected to purchase drugs using funds generated from the sale of medicines by community operated medicinal stores. Source: PANA.
Abidjan, 20 August 1997
[ENDS]
[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax: +225 216335.]
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19970820174443.006ffa44@pop.africaonline.co.ci> Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 17:44:43 +0100 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 32-97, 20 August 1997 97.8.20
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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