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IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 42-97 of Events in West Africa, 5 September 1997
SIERRA LEONE: ECOMOG condemned for civilian deaths
According to AFP, hundreds of people gathered at the national stadium in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, today (Friday) to protest the death of at least 50 people killed in the shelling of a market allegedly by West African peacekeeping troops (ECOMOG). The news agency said the busy dockside market was hit Thursday morning by stray rounds as Nigerian ECOMOG gunners tried to warn off two embargo-breaking ships from off-loading food supplies. ECOMOG commander, General Victor Malu, today denied that his men were responsible for the deaths. Speaking by telephone from Liberia, Malu told IRIN that there had been a "massive shoot-out" between units of the Sierra Leonean army in Freetown, which could have caused the casualties. A Nigerian defence ministry statement issued in Lagos accused the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) of firing on civilians and ECOMOG positions on Thursday. It said the AFRC had declared a "total war" against the peacekeepers based across the estuary from Freetown at Lungi. It made no mention of ECOMOG artillery fire. A Nigerian defence spokesman told Reuters that "our target is the junta, not civilians."
On Thursday, in a nationwide broadcast, the chairman of the AFRC, Major Johnny Paul Koroma, blamed Sierra Leone's ousted civilian president for the tragedy. He accused President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of "ordering the carnage which the Nigerian troops have embarked on". He added: "if the Nigerians persist in their provocation we shall retaliate." Koroma declared a week of mourning for the dead. In a broadcast on the Lungi-based clandestine radio station FM 98.4, Kabbah denied that Nigerian-led ECOMOG forces had been responsible for the deaths. He claimed that the ships targeted by ECOMOG artillery had been carrying weapons rather than food. The broadcast was reportedly recorded in neighbouring Guinea where Kabbah is in exile. Source: AFP, Reuters & IRIN.
SIERRA LEONE: Peacekeepers die in landmine blast
Eleven ECOMOG soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion near Sierra Leone's international airport on Wednesday, an ECOMOG statement said. Three soldiers were also wounded in the blast, which occurred as the troops were transporting food to colleagues and displaced civilians in Lungi, 15 kms from Freetown. ECOMOG blamed AFRC forces for laying the mine. The statement described the use of mines as an "inhuman practice", posing more dangers to civilians than ECOMOG troops. Source: PANA & AFP.
SIERRA LEONE: Humanitarian supplies allowed
ECOMOG commander, General Victor Malu, said today that humanitarian supplies are exempt from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) blockade of Sierra Leone. However, Malu said he must be informed of planned deliveries and the shipments inspected. The Nigerian general said that ECOMOG was not at the moment enforcing the blockade to give shippers a "breathing space to get used to the idea." Malu stressed that if vessels continue to violate the embargo, "we have the capability to sink ships, if and when we chose to do so." The blockade was imposed at the ECOWAS regional summit in Nigeria last week to force the AFRC to relinquish power. The measures, which ECOWAS wants the UN Security Council to endorse, are expected to remain in force for a month, after which, ECOWAS could sanction military action to restore ousted President Kabbah. Source: IRIN.
SIERRA LEONE: Displaced numbers rise
Humanitarian sources reported that recent clashes in Sierra Leone have displaced more than 25,000 people. There are now an estimated 92,400 displaced, up from 65,000 prior to the AFRC coup in May. Humanitarian organisations in Liberia also reported an influx of Sierra Leonean refugees. Among them are believed to be Kamajors - militia fighters opposed to the AFRC. There are currently 1,800 refugees at Sinje, in western Liberia. The newly-opened camp can accommodate 10,000 people. Meanwhile, Francis G. Okelo has been appointed as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Sierra Leone. Source: Humanitarian sources.
SIERRA LEONE: Refugees look for asylum in Nigeria
About 300 Sierra Leoneans who fled the country following the AFRC coup in May have applied for refugee status in Nigeria, the head of the country's refugee commission said yesterday. The requests are expected to be granted. The Sierra Leoneans are currently camped at Oru town, in southwest Ogun State. According to AFP, hundreds of Liberians who fled their country's civil war are also in the same camp. Source: AFP.
LIBERIA: Streamlined ECOMOG ECOMOG commander, Gen. Victor Malu, said he wants a scaled-down ECOMOG force to remain in Liberia for a year. The six-month extension would enable ECOMOG to complete the "restructuring" of the Liberian army and police. Malu said a review is underway aimed at reducing the number of peacekeepers in Liberia from the current force of 11,000. "We don't see what 11,000 troops will be doing here now there's a democracy," he noted. AFP reported this week that Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi had said in Zimbabwe that the ECOMOG contingent would remain in Liberia for six months.
Meanwhile, Malu dismissed Liberian government fears that forces loyal to former warlord Alhaji Kromah were operating across the border in Sierra Leone and planning to destabilise Liberia. "We have ensured that we have adequate security on the border of Liberia to insure nothing spills over," Malu said. There have been repeated allegations by the Liberian government that Kromah's "defunct" Mandingo wing of the United Liberation Movement (ULIMO-K) is fighting against the AFRC alongside the Kamajors in Sierra Leone. Source: IRIN.
LIBERIA: World Bank/IMF team arrives
A World Bank/International Monetary Fund delegation is on a week-long assessment mission to Liberia. A delegation from the African Development Bank is expected on Sunday and a team of revenue and customs experts from Ghana is also due to arrive soon. Source: Star Radio.
LIBERIA: Revamping ports key to recovery
Revamping Liberia's ports and Robertsfield international airport are key objectives of President Charles Taylor, according to Reuters. Port officials say the number of ships calling at Monrovia and the port of Buchanan - to the southeast of the capital - have "risen markedly" since Taylor's inauguration on 2 August. Port workers at Monrovia free port have resumed night shifts due to the growth in traffic. The two ports, and minor ones at Harper and Greenville, are central to the revival of the economy, which was based on rubber, iron ore and timber before the country's seven-year civil war. Meanwhile, Robertsfield international airport, 50 kms from Monrovia, is due to reopen shortly. It was wrecked by Taylor's forces during the war. The runways however remain intact and UNDP has reportedly completed the rehabilitation of a terminal building.
The Nigerian private airline ADC plans to make a special flight to Robertsfield on Saturday to boost international confidence in the airport, according to the local Star Radio. Regular commercial services by ADC will not resume until official authorisation is granted. Source: Reuters & Star Radio.
MALI: Moves to release opposition leaders
Lawyers acting for 10 detained leaders of Mali's radical opposition began legal moves on Wednesday to secure their release on bail, Reuters reported. The 10, members of an 18-party alliance, have been held since 10 August, one day after the killing of a policeman at an opposition rally in the capital Bamako. The 10 opposition leaders are accused of inciting violence and causing unrest resulting in death - charges carrying jail terms. The release of the detained men is the opposition's precondition for the start of negotiations with the government. Their supporters have begun a series of foreign tours to explain their side of a political dispute over this year's multiparty elections. The radical opposition boycotted presidential and primary polls claiming a lack of proper preparation. They are demanding the elections be rerun and refuse to recognise the government. President Alpha Oumar Konare won reelection in May. His Alliance for Democracy in Mali won a landslide in parliamentary elections in July and August. Source: Reuters & RFI.
SENEGAL: Government calls for peace talks with separatists
The Senegalese government wants a peaceful settlement with separatist rebels in southern Casamance Province but will not agree to independence for the region. Information Minister Seringe Diop said yesterday "there is only one thing unacceptable to the government. The independence of Casamance is not negotiable." The news conference was reportedly the first official reaction to a flare-up of violence in the region. On 19 August, 25 soldiers were killed by Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC). There have also been reports of bloody vendettas in the countryside. The Senegalese Red Cross said Tuesday that 2,000 people had fled their villages and were heading to the regional capital of Ziguinchor. The Red Cross said the figure could double by the end of the week. According to Gabonese Africa No 1 radio today, gunfire was heard yesterday evening in the suburbs of Ziguinchor. The MFDC has been fighting for the independence of Casamance since 1982. Source: Reuters, Africa No 1 radio & humanitarian sources.
NIGERIA: Petrol smugglers to be shot-on-sight
Security forces in northern Nigeria's Borno State have been ordered by the state's military administrator to shoot petrol smugglers on sight. The smuggling of Nigerian petrol, particularly across the Chadian border, combined with poor maintenance and management of the country's refineries, has created a serious petrol shortage in Nigeria. Source: AFP.
MAURITANIA: Chirac, more flack over trip
French President Jacques Chirac's trip to Mauritania today continues to court controversy. Opposition groups in the country claimed the two-day visit, just four months before Mauritania's presidential elections, was an expression of moral support for head of state Maaouyia Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya. "There is no election in this country but a ballot-stuffing exercise which they are no longer even trying to disguise," Ahmed Ould Dadah, leader of the Front des Partis d'Opposition (FPO), alleged. A member of Chirac's entourage is scheduled to meet with the FPO leader. Source: AFP.
Abidjan, September 5 1997
[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.]
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 15:39:45 -0300 (GMT+3) From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes <irin@dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 42-97, 5 September 1997 97.9.5 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.970906153411.22733A-100000@amahoro.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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