| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
Tel: +225 21-63-35
Fax: +225 21-63-35
e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci
IRIN-WA Update 95-97 of Events in West Africa, (Tuesday) 2 December 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: Disarmament delayed
Disarmament in Sierra Leone failed to start on Monday as planned, according to Reuters. The ruling Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Committee of Five signed a deal in Conakry in October to restore ousted Sierra Leone president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in April 1998. A key provision was the disarmament of all "combatants". According to media sources, this part of the accords broke down over the definition of "combatant", and specifically the disarmament of the Sierra Leonean army.The AFRC has also demanded that Nigerian soldiers be included.
Humanitarian assistance put back by Conakry delays
Humanitarian assistance operations into Sierra Leone from Guinea have still not started over two weeks after crossborder deliveries were planned under the Conakry agreement. A humanitarian source told IRIN on Tuesday that aid was being held up because of "difficulties" over inspecting cargoes at the Guinea border. "The aid has to be checked by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to comply with sanctions. At the moment there is no mechanism to do this," he said. According to the source either the regional peacekeeping force ECOMOG will have to deploy to the border, or Guinea customs officials will have to be delegated authority to examine deliveries. Brigadier General Kwateng, ECOMOG deputy commander confirmed to IRIN on Tuesday that cross border assistance operations were still stalled.Agencies "will have to wait a few days before things are clarified," he said.
Sources in the humanitarian community told IRIN on Tuesday that it was possible aid is being deliberately delayed until aspects of the Conakry agreement start to be implemented. "The challenge for agencies is to not let aid be linked to the political process, so aid does not have to wait until April. Donors and NGOs agree this week is critical," one said.
Nigerian warship off coast
The AFRC protested at the presence of a Nigerian warship off Sierra Leone's coast on Tuesday. According to state radio, the ship represented a "naked disregard" for the Conakry Peace agreement. "The government views this act as provocative and a ploy to destabilise and create panic among Sierra Leoneans," an AFRC statement said. ECOMOG ground commander in Sierra Leone, Colonel Max Khobe told AFP the ship was just on a routine sailing mission."There should be no cause for alarm," he said.
LIBERIA: ECOMOG starts troop withdrawal
Nigeria will pull out 1,400 peacekeeping troops from Liberia this week. According to Major General Victor Malu, ECOMOG commander, the withdrawal forms part of a phased programme to reduce the force's strength as part of the Abuja accords which brought an end to the seven-year civil conflict in Liberia. "A ship is already in Monrovia and it will be joined by another vessel to bring back personnel and materials," Malu told PANA. Nigerians comprise some 6,000 troops from the 11,000-strong force made up by contributions from ten of the sixteen countries, which make up ECOWAS. Malu denied the drawdown has anything to do with recent friction with Liberia's president Charles Taylor over the final phase of ECOMOG's mandate in Liberia to restructure the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
CHAD: Seven killed in rebel attack
Chad rebels attacked a small town killing at least seven civilians, state radio reported on Sunday. According to the report, rebels from the Forces Armees pour une Republique Federale (FARF) overran the town 40 km from Moundou shooting and hacking civilians with knives on Saturday. Several people were reportedly burned to death and vehicles set on fire. One priest who fled the massacre claimed up to 40 people may have been killed, while others were taken prisoner by the rebels. In a speech on Monday to mark the seventh anniversary of his takeover of power, President Idriss Deby said he still wanted to find peace with the FARF despite the rebel attack. The FARF has made no official comment, according to AFP. Fighting in Moundou between rebels and government forces in October left between 42 and 98 dead according to official figures. Tension has been running high between FARF and Chad authorities over conditions for FARF integration into the armed forces. Under an agreement signed in April, some 1,000 FARF members are to be included in the army and so end one of Chad's last rebellions.
NIGER: New government announced
The new prime minister of Niger, Hassane Mayaki, appointed his government on Monday, according to news sources. Cabinet members include Risa Bula, a former rebel leader as minister of tourism. Bula heads Cra rebels based in the Agadez region who signed a peace accord with the government last year. Only 22 ministers have been appointed to the new government in what is seen as a cost cutting exercise. Only eight new ministers have been appointed.This raises doubts whether the incoming government will do any better than the previous one, according to the BBC.
NIGERIA: AIDS rally
Thousands of Nigerians attended a rally in Lagos on Monday to mark World Aids Day. According to the BBC, dancers and singers led a street procession accompanied by trucks advertising the merits of condoms. The number of Nigerians with the HIV virus is approximately doubling each year, according to official figures. Experts fear that more than a third of the population could become HIV-positive within decades. Until recently AIDS has been a taboo subject in Nigeria. The recent death of popular singer Fela Anikelapo Kuti from AIDS related illness came as a shock to the country.
Abidjan, 2 December 1997, 19.30GMT
[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-updates]
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 20:20:56 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 95-97, Tuesday 2 December 97 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971202201400.2694A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
| Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |