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IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 51-97 of Events in West Africa, 23 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: AFRC leader offers talks with ousted president
Sierra Leonean Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) leader, Major Johnny Paul Koroma, offered to meet ousted president Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, AFP reported. In a letter on Friday to the president of the UN Security Council, Bill Richardson, Koroma said that he would meet Kabbah to "negotiate a peaceful solution". He praised the UN for appointing a special envoy to Sierra Leone and criticised the role of the Nigerian component of ECOMOG. He said that despite calls to stop the Nigerian "acts of aggression" Nigeria continues to kill us with impunity." Koroma proposed that the Revolutionary United Front's (RUF) leader, Foday Sankoh, should be included in the talks. The letter said: "We are ready to talk at the level of ECOWAS=85 at the level of the UN". Koroma pledged his personal support for tripartite talks with Kabbah and Sankoh, saying "enough of our people have died". Source: AFP
ECOMOG warns ships not to break embargo
The West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG has warned all commercial shipping to stay away from Sierra Leone. A statement read by ECOMOG Commander Colonel Max Khobe over clandestine pro-Kabbah radio reminded all shipping companies of the embargo against Sierra Leone. He warned that embargo-breaking vessels would be "destroyed". He advised port residents to evacuate the area, which would be considered a military zone. Source: AFP
AFRC gives newspapers registration deadline
The AFRC has intensified its crackdown on the press, ordering newspapers to renew their registration by the end of the month. Information Commissioner Sedu Turay issued the ultimatum at a meeting with the president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Frank Kposowa, on Monday, state radio and television reported. Turay said there was a need to "bring sanity and responsibility" into reporting. Local newspapers have accused the AFRC of human rights abuses, excessive state spending, looting and plundering, according to AFP. On Monday, the newspaper 'For Di People' carried a report alleging that hundreds of Sierra Leoneans had sought refuge with ECOMOG peace-keeping soldiers. Source: AFP
SENEGAL: Army kills 15 rebels in Casamance=20
The Senegalese army attacked a rebel base of the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) yesterday (Monday), killing 15 rebels, Radio France Internationale reported today. According to AFP, the soldiers surrounded and shelled a rebel base at Santhiaba Manhjack, close to the border with Guinea-Bissau, for four hours. A journalist with the independent 'Sud Quotidien' daily, who accompanied the troops, described the attack as a "carnage". Senegalese troops killed 22 rebels and four soldiers during a military sweep a week ago. Source: AFP and RFI
Five thousand displaced
Five thousand people in villages near Senegal's border with Guinea-Bissau are reported to have fled to Ziguinchor. A Red Cross source said most of them are staying with relatives. Jerome Dasilva, a local Red Cross official, told Reuters yesterday that the Red Cross had registered 769 families in Ziguinchor, with each family consisting of at least five to ten members. Some families have sought refuge in an elementary school in Santhiaba. Over 3 metric tonnes (MTs) of rice have been distributed to displaced families in the last six weeks. Source: Reuters and IRIN
LIBERIA: Taylor no longer risks arrest in US
Liberian President Charles Taylor no longer risks arrest in the USA after a district court magistrate dismissed an extradition request filed against him in 1984, AFP reported. The Liberian authorities sent a letter to the US authorities earlier this month, withdrawing a 1984 extradition request. At the time, the government viewed Taylor as a dissident plotting to overthrow it. Source: AFP and Reuters
NIGER: President meets Libyan charge d'affaires
Niger President General Ibrahim Bare Mainassara met Libya's charge d'affaires on Monday, state radio reported. After their 45-minute meeting, they visited troops injured in Saturday's attack on the Madama military post, in which five soldiers were killed. The Forces Armees Revolutionnaries du Sahara (FARS) and the Union des Forces de la Resistance Armee (UFRA) claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Radio France Internationale. Mainassara said sophisticated weapons and mines and new vehicles had been used in the attack. He said the incident was the more regrettable since it had taken place just when there was talk of "African integration". A draft treaty on Sahel-Sahara economic cooperation was discussed by ministers from nine countries in Libya last week. Source: AFP, BBC Monitoring and Camel express telematique. Canada resumes aid
The Canadian government has decided to resume its international aid programmes in Niger. Canadian bilateral aid programmes were suspended following the coup d'etat in January 1996 which brought Mainassara to power. The decision was taken after a review of developments in Niger, according to an official Canadian statement released today in Niamey. Source: AFP
NIGERIA: Minister says US envoy damaged ties
The Nigerian minister in charge of special affairs at the presidency, Alhaji Wada Nas, said yesterday (Monday) that Walter Carrington, the outgoing United States ambassador, had damaged relations between the two countries, AFP reported. Nas accused Carrington of having wasted four years by pursuing his own "political agenda" to destabilise Nigeria. He alleged that Carrington cultivated the friendship of groups suspected of terrorism "who wish to dismember the country." Nas said he believed that this was not part of the US policy and hoped Carrington's departure signalled the restoration of good ties between the countries. Carrington is due to leave Nigeria in October. Source: AFP and Reuters
Abidjan, 23 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.]
Message-Id: <199709240953.MAA31842@dha.unon.org> Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 12:40:56 +0000 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 51-97 for 23 Sep 1997 97.9.23
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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