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 177
24 - 30 May 2003


CONTENTS:

WEST AFRICA: Establishment of rapid military force
NIGERIA: Obasanjo begins second term
COTE D'IVOIRE: Peacekeepers deploy in west
LIBERIA: Peace talks amid alarming situation
TOGO: Six candidates vie for presidency
CAMEROON: ADB approves $20.7 million for rural development
WESTERN SAHARA: UN extends MINURSO by two months

WEST AFRICA: Establishment of rapid military force

The Economic Community of West African States agreed on Wednesday to set
up a rapid response military force to tackle conflicts in the region,
while adopting a proposal to increase the number of peacekeepers already
in action in Cote d'Ivoire.

In a meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja attended by a handful of
leaders. The 15-member organisation said the rapid deployment force would
work through the activation of "stand-by units within the armed forces of
member states", as the organisation aims to institutionalise structures
for maintaining peace and security in the troubled region who in the last
decade has witnessed numerous wars and armed conflicts.

The once-stable Cote d'Ivoire is one of the last countries where conflict
has erupted. In the aim of preserving Cote d'Ivoire and the region, the
meeting also agreed to send more troops to Cote d'Ivoire where more than
1,200 West African peacekeepers since the beginning of this year have been
policing ceasefire agreements. The Ivorian conflict has displaced
thousands of people and impacted on the economies of its neighbours.

The number of peacekeepers to be sent will be determined at a later date,
officials told IRIN on Wednesday.

For IRIN coverage of West Africa please visit
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=West_Africa

NIGERIA: Obasanjo begins second term

President Olusegun Obasanjo began on Thursday his second and last term as
Nigeria's chief executive following his 19 April presidential victory,
which was contested by the opposition.

The inauguration, which was attended by several African and Western
dignitaries, took place in the capital Abuja, one day after the Supreme
Court overruled a case filed by Obasanjo's main opponent, Muhammad Buhari,
that the April elections were fraudulous.

Obasanjo, a former army general, had ruled the 36-states nation as a
military ruler from 1976-1979. Imprisoned under military ruler Abacha, he
was released prior to the 1999 elections which he won, thus becoming
Nigeria's first elected civilian president since 1984.

Obasanjo was re-elected with 62 percent of ballots cast, according to
official results.

For IRIN coverage of Nigeria please go to
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Nigeria

COTE D'IVOIRE: Peacekeepers deploy in west

French, West African, Ivorian and elements of the rebel groups begun on 23
May their deployment in western Cote d'Ivoire as part of a four-party
agreement aimed at restoring law and order in the troubled region.

In the near future, the united military force is to create a "zone of
confidence", which in addition to being a no-fight zone, would facilitate
access to humanitarian agencies and allow for a gradual restoration of the
State's authority, among other things.

Eight months after the 19 September coup d'etat, Cote d'Ivoire has
embarked on several political and military solutions in order to being
back peace and stability to the country, a regional economic powerhouse.
While the vast majority of the country remains calm, western Cote d'Ivoire
is still volatile as mercenaries and other hired fighters of both the
Ivorian government and the rebels have been killing, pillaging, and
causing wide destruction in the area.

The French army, which has some 4,000 men on the ground, has deployed the
largest number of men and equipment to the area, also made unstable by
rebel activities in Liberia.

The area's problem has been compounded in the last week by a large inflow
of Liberians fleeing hostilities between the government of President
Charles Taylor and rebel organisations. According to UNHCR, some 15,000
people, including people who had fled Cote d'Ivoire for shelter in
Liberia, had crossed in the southwestern area in the past two weeks. In
the southwestern town of Tabou, a 700-people capacity transit center is
now hosting 2,400 people. The agency said it was in negotiation with the
Ivorian government on the possibility of building a refugee camp in Tabou.

The UN World Food Programme on Tuesday appealed to international donors to
fund a new emergency food programme which would mainly target western Cote
d'Ivoire. The agency said it was targeting Liberian refugees, internally
displaced persons and families hosting them. Also at risk were the
unemployed and small-income earners and their dependants. Out of a total
number of 500,000 people, the food agency was targeting 300,000 pupils
through a school-feeding programme, the agency said in a news conference
in Abidjan.

Ivorian Prime Minister Seydou Diarra and UN Special representative Albert
Tevoedjre respectively paid visits to the area to inquire about the
situation and get first-hand account of the ordeal that populations are
living through.

For IRIN coverage on Cote d'Ivoire please visit
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Cote_d_Ivoire

LIBERIA: Peace talks amid alarming situation

The regional facilitator of proposed peace talks between the Liberian
government and rebel movements held on Monday preliminary talks with the
rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, while the second
group gave no official explanation for its absence at the Freetown
meeting.

Both the LURD and the facilitator, former Nigerian head of state
Abdusalami Abubakar, described their encounter in Sierra Leone's capital
as fruitful. "If they are sincere in what they told me, I believe we would
soon have peace in Liberia because everybody is yearning for peace,"
Abubakar told IRIN in Freetown.  The diplomat said he aims to talk with
the second group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, prior to the
start of the proposal talks on 4 June in Ghana.

Liberian President Charles Taylor announced on Wednesday that he would
only attend the opening ceremony of the talks, while negotiations on
behalf of the state would be led by a junior minister of state for foreign
affairs. Taylor in the past had said that he would himself participate in
the talks in the Ghanaian town of Akosombo, 100 km north of the capital
Accra.

Amid all diplomatic efforts to organise the talks, Liberia continues to be
on the brink of full-out war as fighting was again reported in the
southeast, as well as near the Guinean border.

On Monday, the government accused the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) of supplying food to MODEL rebels in the southeast "while areas
under government's control are not receiving any supplies". UNHCR
representative in Liberia, Moses Okello, denied the allegations, saying
that the UN agency had never done business with MODEL. Okello however
clarified that the agency had lost four trucks during fighting in the area
and might have been used by "unauthorised people".

Relations between the Liberian government and UNHCR became strained
following a visit by High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers to the country on 14
May when Taylor refused to see him. Lubbers subsequently said that the
Liberian government should face the truth and agree to share power with
its opponents and that Taylor should consider stepping down.

Allegations of limb amputation of men, women and children have surfaced in
Liberia, with a growing number of children aged 1-18 were being forced
into fighting, the Church World Services said in a report on Wednesday.
Humanitarian actors continue to appeal to the international community to
help end the unfolding humanitarian crisis as well as the armed struggled
for power.

For IRIN coverage of Liberia please visit
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Liberia

TOGO: Six candidates vie for presidency

After Togo's security personnel voted on Thursday to elect the next
president, millions of Togolese are expected to head out and choose who
will run the country for the next five years. Six candidates are vying for
Togo's top job, including incumbent President Gnassingbe Eyadema who has
been in power for 36 years.

The two-week electoral campaign ends on Friday, 29 May at midnight. One of
the highlights of this week was the withdrawal of opposition candidate
Leopold Messan Gnininvi to back Emmanuel Bob-Akitani, the candidate of
Togo's most prominent opposition party, the Union of Forces for Change.

The two-week campaign was also highlighted by personal attacks, censoring
of opposition electoral addresses on the state-run television, and
interdictions of the opposition to hold rallies in several towns.

Some 3.1 million voters, a number that the opposition says is too high for
a country with about five millions inhabitants, are expected to vote in
one of 5,280 voting stations. Voting would take place from 6:30 GMT to
17:00 GMT on Sunday.

For IRIN web special on Togo's election please go to
http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/togo/default.asp

CAMEROON: ADB approves $20.7 million for rural development

The African Development Bank (ADB) on Monday approved US $20.7 million to
finance decentralisation and rural development projects in seven
departments in the Nort-West Province of Cameroon.

The projects to be implemented in Grassfield, an area whose community are
among the most disadvantaged in the country, including the other six
departments in the province, will contribute to poverty reduction and
enhance food security in rural areas, a news release from the Bank said on
Monday. It also aims to increase the incomes of small-holders in the
Grassfield region through increased agricultural production and improved
socio-economic environment.

According to the Bank the implementation of the six-year project will also
contribute to the creation of 29,300 permanent and temporary jobs, curb
rural exodus by the youth and foster the emergence and integration of
women in economic channels, among other objectives.

For IRIN coverage of Cameroon
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Cameroon

WESTERN SAHARA: UN extends MINURSO by two months

The UN approved on Friday a two-month extension for its mission in Western
Sahara (MINURSO) in order to decide the best way forward on a new plan
proposed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resolve the situation in
Western Sahara.

Annan had earlier proposed a new settlement option and recommended the
Council to approve the peace plan, which was developed by his Personal
Envoy, James Baker. The Council commended Baker's work in the Western
Sahara, including his efforts to resolve the pending humanitarian issues
related to the conflict and to implement confidence-building measures in
the region led by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The new peace plan provides each side some, but not all, of what it wants.
It envisages a period of transition during which there would be a division
of responsibilities between the parties before the holding of a referendum
for self-determination.

MINURSO was first deployed to the northwestern African territory in 1991
to settle a territorial dispute that erupted in 1975 between Morocco and
the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro
(POLISARIO). The dispute started after the colonial power, Spain pulled
out and Morocco annexed the territory. POLISARIO started to fight for
independence.

For IRIN stories on Western Sahara go to:
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Western_Sahara


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