U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa

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WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 149
16 - 22 November 2002


CONTENTS:

MANO RIVER UNION: Humanitarian agencies appeal for $180 million
WEST AFRICA: US $15.9 million needed for victims of Ivorian crisis
GUINEA: Agencies plan for possible influx
NIGERIA: 100 killed in protests over news report
SIERRA LEONE: Donors pledge continued support
GUINEA-BISSAU: New prime minister named
LIBERIA: Church calls off strike
MAURITANIA: Funds sought for drought-hit families
CAMEROON-NIGERIA: Bakassi commission to be established


MANO RIVER UNION: Humanitarian agencies appeal for $180 million

Humanitarian agencies in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone on Tuesday
appealed this week for US $180 million for programmes in the three Mano
River Union countries in 2003.

The amount requested for Guinea is US $54.1 million, to be used for
humanitarian emergency assistance, the transition to development and
encouraging peace.

Some US $42.7 million has been requested for Liberia, mainly for
strengthening coping mechanisms of displaced persons and other vulnerable
populations.

For Sierra Leone, the agencies want US $ 82.9 million for relief work and
to help the country recover from a 10-year civil war that ended in
January.

The three countries have borne the brunt of conflict and its humanitarian
implications in the sub-region. Guinea hosts people displaced from the
other two countries, Liberian government troops continue to fight rebels,
and Sierra Leone is in a critical post-war reconstruction period.

The appeals are available at:
Guinea: http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2003/files/gui03.pdf
Liberia: http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2003/files/lib03.pdf
Sierra Leone: http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2003/files/sle03.pdf

WEST AFRICA: US $15.9 million needed for Cote d'Ivoire crisis victims

To respond to the needs of 3.9 million people affected by the two-month
old Ivorian insurgency, humanitarian agencies launched an emergency flash
appeal on Thursday for US $15.9 million to cover the period November 2002
to January 2003.

The appeal is intended to mobilise resources for the implementation and
coordination of an action plan that integrates all the humanitarian
activities of UN agencies and their partners, to help people displaced in
Cote d'Ivoire and from Cote d'Ivoire to Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso.

The Ivorian crisis began on 19 September when army mutineers staged an
attack in Abidjan, where they were beaten back; and retreated to the
hinterland towns of Bouake and Korhogo. They later spread to other parts
of northern and central Cote d'Ivoire. Talks between representatives of
the state and the insurgents continued this week in Lome, Togo.

Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) reported on
Tuesday that an ECOWAS buffer force would replace by the end of the month
French troops who have been monitoring a cease-fire agreed on 17 October.
An advance party arrived in Abidjan on Sunday - a day after a French
envoy, Christian Duthiel de la Rochere, arrived in Lome to help push
deadlocked peace talks.

Detailed IRIN reports on Cote d'Ivoire are available at:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Cote_d_Ivoire

GUINEA: Agencies plan for possible influx

Resulting from the Ivorian crisis, Guinea's National Humanitarian Action
Service (SENAH - Service National d'Action Humanitaire - SENAH) estimates
that 200 Guineans returned daily from Cote d'Ivoire in October and
November. By 5 November, some 8,600 Guinean returnees had been registered,
the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported
this week.

Six sites in the southern town of N'Zerekore were identified for temporary
location of refugees in case of an influx from Cote d'Ivoire. UNHCR
estimates that up to 20,000 refugees may arrive, OCHA reported. MSF
Belgium, MSF Switzerland and Action Contre la Faim were developing a
contingency plan covering water, sanitation and health emergency supplies,
according to OCHA, which has established a permanent field presence in the
area.

For IRIN reports on Guinea go to:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Guinea

NIGERIA: 100 killed in protests over news report

Muslims in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna protested violently for
three days this week against an irreverent reference to the Prophet
Mohammed by Thisday newspaper. They set the paper's offices ablaze along
with several churches. The Red Cross said on Friday that over 100 people
had been killed.

The protesters were angered by a report in the paper on 16 November
dismissing Muslim opposition to the Miss World contest by suggesting that
the Prophet would have probably chosen one of the beauty queens as a wife.
A front-page apology by Thisday did not appease the protesters.

In the central regional city of Ilorin, at least five people were
seriously injured on 17 November when explosions rocked the offices of
another newspaper, the National Pilot. The suspected bomb attack forced
the roof of the building to cave in.

Meanwhile Amnesty International said this week in a new report titled
'Nigeria: Vigilante violence in South and South-East' that a rise in crime
and insecurity had led to the expansion of vigilante groups at the local
and state levels.

Amnesty said the federal government was responsible for violations
committed by its security forces and accountable for groups officially
endorsed by authorities at the state or local level to carry out law
enforcement duties. These included an armed vigilante group called the
Bakassi Boys who have executed, tortured and maltreated alleged criminals
in Abia, Anambra and Imo states.

On the economic front, the African Development Bank has approved a US
$100-million loan to Nigeria for a liquefied natural gas project in the
Niger River Delta that is expected to create 1,050 jobs.

Details of these and other IRIN reports on Nigeria can be found at:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Nigeria

SIERRA LEONE: Donors pledge continued support

Development partners pledged financial and technical support peace,
recovery and development in Nigeria at a meeting held on 13-14 November in
Paris.

The meeting said Sierra Leone had established a unique track record for a
post-conflict country. According to UNDP, less than a year after a 10 year
war ended, Sierra Leone had achieved a growth rate of six percent while
inflation has fallen to zero percent. It had also resettled 300,000
displaced people and refugees and disarmed 70,000 combatants. The United
States told the meeting it planned to remain fully engaged in Sierra Leone
and to assist with the country's economic and social re-development over
the coming years.

For IRIN stories on Sierra Leone go to:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Sierra_Leone

GUINEA-BISSAU: New prime minister named

Guinea-Bissau's President Kumba Yala swore in in a new prime minister on
17 November after dissolving parliament and calling early elections. Mario
Pires, 53, replaced Alamara Nhasse. On 18 November a new cabinet was
announced.

Before Pires was named, security was beefed up and police sealed off all
government ministries in the capital, Bissau. Yala accused the legislature
of subversion and his minority Social Renovation Party government of
corruption. The election will take place in 90 days.

Since 2000 when Yala came to power, the country has been wracked by
crises, including a rebellion by members of the former military junta in
November 2000, a coup attempt in December 2001, and recent dismissals of
several ministers.

For other IRIN reports on Guinea Bissau go to:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Guinea-Bissau

LIBERIA: Church strike paralyses schools, health centres

The Liberian Catholic church called a nationwide strike on 15 November
following verbal attacks by government officials against Archbishop
Michael Francis. The strike paralysed schools and health centres
throughout the country. It was called off on Tuesday after President
Charles Taylor met the church leaders and convinced them to end their
protest.

For IRIN reports on Liberia go to:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Liberia

MAURITANIA: Funds sought for drought-hit families

The Red Crescent Society in Mauritania this week sought support for three
small-scale projects costing an estimated 74,500 Swiss Francs (US $51,200)
to improve food security. Two of the projects would provide 70 families
with sheep to replace those they lost to drought and the third project
entails the organisation of agricultural workshops for 15 female
co-operatives in areas prone to food insecurity.

Mauritania, a largely arid country of 2.5 million people, has been hit by
drought since mid-2001. Several people died in January 2002, when
unexpected heavy rains and cold weather ruined pasture land, caused the
death of 120,000 cattle, sheep and goats, and destroyed 25 percent of
already harvested crops. In July 2002, the Famine Early Warning Systems
Network (FEWS Net) reported insufficient rainfall throughout the country,
saying access to basic food supplies was alarmingly low.

For more information on the food-security situation in Mauritania, please
see  and WFP
Emergency Reports.  For other IRIN reports on Mauritania go to:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Mauritania

CAMEROON-NIGERIA: Bakassi Commission to be established

More than a month after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on
the dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi peninsula, UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan met on 15 November with the Cameroonian and
Nigerian presidents, Paul Biya and Olusegun Obasanjo respectively, to
follow up the ruling.

Nigeria had refused to accept the ruling. This week the two leaders agreed
to establish a "mixed" commission to resolve their differences over the
disputed peninsula. The commission would be led by Annan's Special Envoy,
Ahmedou Ould-Adballah.

The ICJ ruling is available at:
 21010.htm
Other related IRIN reports are available at:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Cameroon


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