| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
Department of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
for West Africa
Tel: +225 21-63-35
Fax: +225 21-63-35
e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci
IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 46-97 of Events in West Africa, 12 September 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups 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: ECOMOG jets bomb barge, kill two
Nigerian warplanes serving under the West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) bombed an oil barge anchored in the port of the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown on Thursday. Two oil company workers were killed and two people wounded, AFP reported. Three bombs were dropped by the planes, but one missed its target. "We are shocked because the ship was under repair and had not left port for six-months," an oil company official was quoted as saying. The barge belongs to the National Petroleum Company. Source: AFP & DPA.
SIERRA LEONE: Malu warns jets will shoot back
ECOMOG commander, General Victor Malu, warned Sierra Leone's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) on Thursday that Nigerian warplanes would return fire if attacked. ECOMOG aircrafts, "performing their legitimate duty to enforce (an) embargo on Sierra Leone are being fired at from anti-aircraft guns deployed in civilian populated areas around the port of Freetown," Malu said in a statement, adding "An ECOMOG aircraft might have no option but to fire back in self-defence." Malu accused the AFRC of turning Freetown's port into "a military base and using the port facilities for weapons and ammunition storage." Source: AFP.
SIERRA LEONE: UN ambassador calls for tougher sanctions
Sierra Leone's ambassador to the UN, on Thursday, called on the Security Council to endorse ECOWAS sanctions against Sierra Leone. James Jonah, a former UN Under-Secretary-General for political affairs, said the Security Council must make it "very clear that the military junta will not be tolerated." Source: UN Central News release.
SIERRA LEONE: ECOWAS ministers due in New York
The foreign ministers of the West African Group of Five coordinating ECOWAS action on Sierra Leone are expected to meet the UN Secretary-General on 19 September in New York, sources told IRIN. ECOWAS is seeking UN Security Council backing for its sanctions package and embargo imposed on Sierra Leone at last month's ECOWAS summit. The Group of Five includes Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. Source: IRIN.
LIBERIA: Meeting to plan refugee repatriation
The voluntary repatriation of an estimated 479,000 Liberian refugees in West Africa is to be discussed at a regional meeting convened by UNHCR in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on 15-16 September. "This is an extremely important meeting which will allow UNHCR to establish the practical modalities of an organised mass voluntary repatriation operation of Liberian refugees," Albert-Alain Peter, UNHCR Director for Operations for Central, East and West Africa, said. There are an estimated 235,000 Liberian refugees in Guinea, 210,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 14,000 in Ghana, 14,000 in Sierra Leone and 6,000 in Nigeria. Source: UNHCR.
SENEGAL: Rebels surrender
Gabonese Africa No 1 radio reported that "several rebels" of the Senegalese secessionist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) surrendered to government forces on Monday. The rebels, "beefed up by mercenaries of various nationalities of the subregion" had suffered losses in an offensive by the Senegalese army, the radio said. The MFDC fighters surrendered in the Djibanar area on the Ziguinchor-Kolda road. Source: BBC Monitoring.
SENEGAL: New elections panel
Senegalese President Abdou Diouf has appointed a nine-member election observer body, Observatoire Nationale des Elections (ONEL). A presidential decree on Thursday said retired general Mamadou Niang would head the panel. Under a new electoral law passed last month, political parties nominate candidates to the body. The president chooses its members. Parliamentary elections are due in May next year. Source: Reuters.
NIGER: Drought disaster
Niger state radio said on Thursday that some 71,000 villagers are threatened by famine in Niger's drought-afflicted southeastern districts. The radio reported the food situation in the region around Ouallam, 150 km from the capital Niamey had become catastrophic and villagers were fleeing the area. Last year the government announced a cereals shortfall of 120,000 tonnes. It said about two million of its nine million people needed food aid. The price of a 100kg bag of millet has doubled since August to 20,000 CFA (US$ 33). Source: Reuters.
NIGER: Rebels say peace in danger
Former rebels in Niger said on Thursday they wanted jobs and other social benefits before handing over their guns in compliance with a disarmament timetable agreed with the government, AFP reported. The Union des Forces de la Resistance Armee (UFRA), which groups three Tuareg movements, challenged the timetable signed last Friday by the government and 12 Tuareg groups, claiming it would only lead to "a partial peace". The timetable calls for 250 former Tuareg rebels to be recruited into the army, gendarmerie, other paramilitary corps and the civil service. The US NGO Africare is providing 500 ex-rebels with training in trade skills, funded by the US government. UFRA wants jobs for all former rebel fighters before it disarms. The ex-combatants have been cantoned since last August under the terms of a 1995 peace plan. However, according to one humanitarian source, "too much was promised in the peace accords and the government doesn't have the capacity to deliver." The government estimates it will cost 18.6 million CFA (US$ 31 million) to finance the rehabilitation of Tuareg areas and the reintegration of the former rebels. Source: AFP & IRIN.
NIGER: Opposition clashes with police
Six police and three supporters of the opposition Mouvement National pour la Societe de Developpement (MNSD) were wounded in a clash on Wednesday in Tibiri, 550 km from the capital Niamey. The police had attempted to disperse an unauthorised gathering by supporters of MNSD president Mamadou Tandja. In Niamey, the police used teargas to break up a crowd of several hundred people gathered to welcome the return of opposition leader Mahamadou Isoufou of the Parti Nigerien pour la Democratie et le Socialisme (PNDS). The principal leaders of Niger's opposition, the former president, Mahamane Ousmane, Tandja and Isoufou, have been touring the country to mobilise their supporters. Source: AFP.
GUINEA: Troops demand pay
Guinean troops returning from ECOMOG missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone fired into the air on Wednesday night to protest at the non-payment of war-risk benefits, AFP quoted witnesses as saying. The protest took place in Alpha Yaya camp, 15 km from the capital Conakry. The shooting reportedly lasted six hours. According to local sources, the press was not permitted near the area. The soldiers were reportedly eventually disarmed. There has been no official statement on the incident. A mutiny at Alpha Yaya in February 1996 led to violence in which more than 50 people died. Source: AFP & IRIN.
NIGERIA: "Inviolability" of civilian rule date
Nigerian Head of State General Sani Abacha has promulgated a decree to legalise the "inviolability" of the 1 October 1998 hand-over date to civilian rule, a Nigerian newspaper reported. However, the decree allows the national electoral agency to alter any of the other dates specified in the programme. The decree was reported on Friday by the private 'Nigerian Tribune' newspaper, although it was apparently signed by Abacha on 15 July. Source: AFP.
GAMBIA: Drought meeting opens
The heads of state of the nine-member Permanent Interstate Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) opened in Banjul, Gambia, today. The conference will address recommendations produced by a ministerial meeting this week. The 10-point resolution included recommendations for a special fund for sustainable development in the Sahel, improved surveillance of areas most likely to suffer drought this agricultural year, the stabilisation of food prices and the replenishment of food stocks. Source: PANA.
Abidjan, 12 September 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.]
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 11:15:30 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes <irin@dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 46-97, 12 September 1997 97.9.12 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.970913110408.26004B@dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
| Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |