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IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 47-97 of Events in West Africa, 16 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: Freetown port residents flee
Residents of the port area in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, fled their homes over the weekend in the face of threats by west African peace-keepers (ECOMOG) to use force against embargo-breaking vessels. AFP reported that some 200,000 people had left the area. On Saturday, the state radio advised residents in the port area not to panic and said that the authorities were determined to provide security around the port. An AFRC statement said that the "Nigerians had no mandate from any quarters to attack any target in Sierra Leone". The threatened area contains the main children's and maternity hospital, a number of warehouses and shops. ECOMOG force commander General Victor Malu last week advised the port area residents to evacuate the area. Source: AFP and Reuters.
New mediation group
A group of prominent Sierra Leoneans said on Monday that they had formed a committee to try and defuse the country's crisis. The Independent National Mediation Committee wants to bring together the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) military ruler, Johnny Paul Koroma, and ousted president, Alhaji Tejan Ahmad Kabbah. Committee spokesman Hilton Fyle told state radio that the committee would be sending a delegation to meet Kabbah and Nigerian head of state General Sani Abacha. He said that the committee had held talks previously with the AFRC and appealed for international support for this initiative. The committee, whose members are mainly from academic, cultural and religious circles, also wants to involve veteran rebel leader Foday Sankoh in the negotiations. Sankoh has been detained in Nigeria since March 1997. Source: Reuters.
UN Agencies concerned over embargo
WFP and UNICEF have repeated their concerns that the ECOWAS blockade will have a devastating impact on the Sierra Leonean civilian population. Although humanitarian supplies are to be exempted from the blockade, the poor and the vulnerable are expected to be badly affected. WFP officials are expected to meet ECOMOG Force Commander General Victor Malu to discuss the movement of humanitarian supplies to Sierra Leone. UNICEF is concerned that the exemption may exclude general food commodities. A narrow exemption would allow medicines into the country, but not food items. Source: WFP report, Reuters nd IRIN.
Regional roundtable
WFP and UNHCR are jointly organising a regional meeting in Abidjan from 17 to 19 September to review a common food aid strategy in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea. The meeting, to be attended by key donors and NGOs, will also put in a place a strategy for reintegrating refugees and internally displaced persons. Source: WFP.
Power cuts in Freetown
Freetown has been functioning on less than a third of its usual power supply because of a shortage of lubricating oil, state radio reported. With output down from 15 to 4.5 megawatts, only essential facilities such as hospitals and factories have received continuous power supplies, while domestic users have only received supplies once a week, according to the National Power Authority. Source: AFP.
LIBERIA: Special conference to convene in October
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will reconvene a ministerial meeting of the Special Conference to support the peace process in Liberia on 3 October in New York, according to a UN report released on Monday. The meeting aims to capitalise on the momentum of the successful elections in Liberia to strengthen peace-building efforts. Source: UN central news. Red Cross clinic burnt down
Three suspects, including two watchmen, were arrested yesterday in connection with the burning down of a Liberian Red Cross clinic in Tubmanburg, north of Monrovia, on Friday. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. A Red Cross local official told Star Radio in Tubmanburg that the fire started in the warehouse of the five-room office building. Medicines, equipment, and office furniture were apparently destroyed. The Red Cross clinic has been one of the main clinics providing health care. Source: Star Radio (Foundation Hirondelle). Acute food and water shortages in Tubmanburg
Food and water shortages are said to be causing severe hardship for the residents of Tubmanburg, Star Radio reported. Residents said that wells in the city were unsafe for drinking. Humanitarian sources in Monrovia said that the NGOs and UN agencies working in the area were closely monitoring the situation but denied that there were any acute shortages. Star Radio (Foundation Hirondonelle) and IRIN.
SENEGAL: Diouf rejects talks with Casamance rebels
Senegalese president Abdou Diouf has dismissed the idea of a national conference on the crisis in Casamance. He said that Senegal's territorial integrity and independence were not negotiable. Twenty-six people - four government soldiers and 22 fighters of the Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) - were killed during clashes on Friday in Santhiaba-Mandjack, some 400 km south of Dakar. Diouf reaffirmed his confidence in the national army which is "doing an outstanding job". He added that he would give the army additional resources to fulfil its mission in Casamance. Source: Le Soleil.
NIGERIA: Catholic bishops challenge military election role
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, in a statement released to journalists yesterday, called for the release of all political prisoners. The Church urged Nigerian military leader General Sani Abacha to step down. Source: UN and Reuters.
CAMEROON: Presidential elections in October
The Cameroonian presidential elections will take place on 12 October, the government announced last Friday. Some opposition members are trying to organise a boycott of the election to protest against President Paul Biya's refusal to appoint an independent electoral commission. They are also against increasing the presidential term from five to seven years. According to AP, Biya is expected to win the election, given his government's control of media and repression of opposition groups. One possible challenger is former health minister Titus Edzoa. Edzoa resigned from his ministerial post in April and was shortly after arrested on charges of embezzling public funds. Source: AP.
SAHEL: Ministerial session on the Sahel-Saharan project
Foreign ministers from five African states bordering the Sahara desert began a three-day meeting in Benghazi, Libya, yesterday (Monday) to finalise plans for enhanced cooperation under the Sahel-Saharan framework. The ministers of Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali and Niger are expected to come up with practical suggestions to implement the new cooperation proposed by their respective heads of states at a summit in Tripoli in August. Source: AFP.
Abidjan, 16 September
[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: <199709170704.KAA28695@dha.unon.org> Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 09:55:27 +0300 From: Pat Banks <banks@dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 47-97, 16 September 1997 97.9.16
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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