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IRIN-WA Update 80-97 of Events in West Africa, 11 November 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of 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: Humanitarian aid may resume by Friday - Malu
General Victor Malu, commander of the west African peacekeeping force ECOMOG, has said humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone could resume by Friday, AFP reported. The general, who arrived in Freetown on Tuesday for talks with the military authorities, was speaking during a pause in the proceedings. He pointed out that numerous aid organisations were poised in neighbouring Guinea ready to deliver emergency food aid to Sierra Leone. AFP said he met members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) at Grafton, just outside the capital, for discussions on the recently-signed peace accord in Conakry. The peace plan, agreed between the AFRC and west African states, provides for the restoration of democratic rule in Sierra Leone. AFP said the AFRC team is headed by army chief of staff, Colonel Samuel Williams and includes Labour Minister Salam Williams and Development Minister Victor Brandon.
Aid organisations discuss humanitarian deliveries
The Conakry peace accord stipulates 14 November (Friday) as a date for resuming humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone, in particular food aid. Humanitarian sources told IRIN a mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had been in Conakry, Guinea, since the weekend meeting UN agencies to evaluate the level of preparedness for cross-border operations. The mission is due to meet ousted president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on Thursday to gain his approval. The sources pointed out that humanitarian aid would be delivered to rural areas in the Kambia region and Kambia itself would be used as a relay point for food distributions to other areas. The sources described the current food situation in Sierra Leone as critical. The number of displaced people throughout the country is estimated at 157,000, mainly in Bo, Kenema, Port Loko and Kambia.
RUF says only Sankoh can order laying down of arms
In an interview with AFP, a member of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) - former rebels allied to the AFRC - said the group would not hand in its weapons as long as its leader Foday Sankoh was still imprisoned. The RUF's third-in-command Eldred Collins, now a minister in the AFRC government, stressed only Sankoh had the authority to tell fighters to disarm, one of the provisions of the Conakry peace deal. "Under no circumstances can the Nigerians disarm us," he declared. Sankoh was detained by the Nigerian authorities early this year.
Cargo ships turn back
Four cargo vessels trying to enter Freetown port turned back after ECOMOG threatened to attack two of them last week, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting eyewitnesses. ECOMOG had accused the two ships of heading for Freetown in violation of the fuel and arms embargo against Sierra Leone.
LIBERIA: Malu warns against arming of Liberian forces
ECOMOG commander General Victor Malu on Monday warned the Liberian government's move to arm its security forces risked triggering the kind of violence that devastated Monrovia last year, Reuters reported. Malu told an EU team visiting the Liberian capital that the arming of Liberian border security troops was in contravention of regional accords which ended seven years of civil war in the country. "I have no intention of allowing that sort of thing to happen during my tenure," Malu said.
Local humanitarian sources told IRIN there have been a number of standoffs between ECOMOG and the Liberian security forces lately. They claim the government is not capable of maintaining security in Liberia at the moment and any withdrawal of ECOMOG would be "disastrous". Last week, Malu said ECOMOG would pull out of Liberia if it was no longer "relevant".
Taiwan pledges to help Liberia
Taiwan has pledged to help in the reconstruction of Liberia. A joint statement issed on Tuesday at the end of President Charles Taylor's visit to the country said Taipei "is more than willing to serve as a reliable partner in Liberia's devotion to national development". Taylor stressed Liberia's support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN and other international organisations.
NIGERIA: 12 killed in communal violence
Twelve people were killed and 10 others injured in further communal violence between Ife and Modakeke youths in south-western Nigeria on Sunday, according to local press reports. This brings to 97 the number of people injured in violence between the two rival ethnic groups since mid-August, the reports said. The last major clashes were in 1983 when hundreds of residents on both sides were killed and property was extensively burned or vandalised.
At least 10 dead as fire sweeps through market
At least 10 people were killed Monday night when fire swept through the main market in the northern city of Kaduna, press reports said. Eight of the victims were prisoners being held in a police station within the market. Eyewitnesses said fire engines were unable to get through the narrow entrances of the market to put out the blaze, which sparked off a looting spree. The fire was believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.
Abacha meets Benin, Togo counterparts
President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin and President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo visited their Nigerian counterpart Sani Abacha in Abuja on Monday during which they pledged to boost ties between the three countries, Nigerian television reported. They also expressed support for the rapid economic integration of west African countries, according to a joint statement issued at the end of the visit.
SENEGAL: UN committee concerned over Casamance situation
The UN Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the situation in the troubled Casamance region. At the end of its autumn session in New York, the Committee stated that continuing violence and unrest in Casamance had resulted in persistent violations of human rights. It said it had received allegations of "indiscriminate killings" of civilians by the army and police and of "disappearances, ill-treatment and torture" against suspected members of the separatist Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC).
NIGER: Aid worker deported
A French aid worker has been deported from Niger for reasons of internal security, state radio reported on Monday. Quoted by Reuters, the radio said Martine Cabarez, director of the NGO Aminata, had been arrested and held for over a week in the capital Niamey. She was suspected of complicity with a group of Tuareg rebels who had rejected a 1995 peace deal with the authorities, the radio reported.
TOGO: Opposition leader beaten up, blames authorities
Yao Agboyibo, leader of one of Togo's main opposition parties, has blamed the authorities for an attack he suffered on Sunday in northern Togo, AFP reported. Agboyibo, leader of the Comite pour l'Action et le Renouveau (CAR), told AFP that two of his assailants were dressed in civilian clothes, but he identified them as soldiers. The interior minister publicly deplored the incident.
BURKINA FASO: Authorities move to eradicate child labour
The Burkinabe authorities are to register all working children in the country in a bid to combat the practice. A team of inspectors, experts in working practices and investigators has been put together and has six months to report back with its findings, according to AFP. One inspector told the news agency that child labour was rife in Burkina Faso, and although the situation was not as bad as in Asian countries, "we don't want it to reach such levels".
Abidjan, 11 November 1997, 18:00 gmt
[ENDS]
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-list]
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 18:27:24 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-WA Update 80-97 of Events in West Africa for 11 Nov 1997 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971111182448.22528A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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