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

Tel: +225 22-40-4440
Fax: +225 22-41-9339
e-mail: irin-wa@irin.ci


WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 188
9 - 15 August 2003


CONTENTS:

LIBERIA: Taylor's departure ushers in prospects for peace
BENIN/NIGERIA: Porous border reopens
COTE D'IVOIRE: 54 political prisoners released


LIBERIA: Taylor's departure ushers in prospects for peace

In a moving ceremony on Monday in the Liberian capital Monrovia, President
Charles Taylor turned over the reins of power presidency to his
vice-president and boarded a Nigeria-boun plane for the southern state of
Calabrar where he began his life in exile.

Since Monday, hitherto Vice-President Moses Blah became the 22nd president
of Liberia, a country he would run only until October.

On Thursday, Blah flew to the Ghanaian capital, Accra, to meet with the
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement
for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL)- the two armed organisations who had been
fighting to oust Taylor from power- to iron out the remaining obstacles on
a way of a peace agreement. Since 4 June, representatives of the Liberian
government, opposition parties, NGOs and the two rebel groups have been
meeting in Accra to agree on a peace agreement for the country who has
been in near constant civil war for the 14 years.

Sources said on Thursday that an agreement could be signed on Saturday.
The latest draft agreement provided for Blah to hand over power on 14
October to an interim government that would rule Liberia for two years and
organise elections; that the president and vice-president, as well as the
speaker and deputy speaker of the legislative assembly would all be
civilian figures with no links to the warring parties; that 10 of the 15
ministerial posts in the new cabinet and positions in many parasstatal
corporations would go to the rebels.

Taylor's departure facilitated the deployment of United States soldiers
into Monrovia, a pre-requisite established by President George Bush for
sending in US soldiers to support Nigerian troops who first deployed in
Monrovia last week. Nigerian soldiers, an avant-guard of a West African
peacekeeping force to number 3,250 by the end of August, had been deployed
in the war-torn city since last week.

On Thursday, rebel forces ceded the port to the Nigerian soldiers as they
had agreed to do so a day earlier. However the port handover was preceded
a day earlier by massive looting of food containers which contained food
stocks belonging to the World Food Pogramme. The agency plans to replenish
its lost stock throughout the coming weeks.

The deployment of Nigerian and American soldiers is expected to facilitate
the resumption of humanitarian aid in the city of three million
inhabitants. Senior United Nations humanitarian officials traveled to
Monrovia to assess the new situation and make arrangements for UN teams to
resume its activities. The UN evacuated from the country in early June.

The troops are also expected to open up the bridge, hitherto the de-facto
frontline, to civilian circulation as thousands of Liberians, on either
side of the bridge had not seen their friends and relatives in weeks.

Participants at the peace talks in Ghana have short listed 10 potential
candidates from which they would decide by consensus those who will run
the country for the next two years.

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


COTE D'IVOIRE: 54 political prisoners released

The Ivorian government released on Saturday 54 political prisoners under
the terms of an amnesty law which was approved by parliament last week

Those released included 16 military personnel and 38 civilians who were
released from prison in the economic capital Abidjan. Many of those freed
were members or suspected members of the opposition Rally of Republicans
(RDR) party of former prime minister Alassane Ouattara.

The amnesty law was passed last week and protects all those who took up
arms against the state or participated in acts that threatened the
security of the state from the time of the 2000 presidential elections
until the 19 September coup d'etat-turned rebellion. It shields only
Ivorian nationals from prosecution. It however excludes economic crimes
and serious violations of human rights.

Meanwhile UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented this week his first
quarterly report to the Security Council about the situation in Cote
d'Ivoire in which he highlighted that a few "negative trends" such as the
presence of unofficial armed groups were still threatening the peace.
Annan commended the formation of a government of national reconciliation
and the signing of an amnesty law, but urged both parties to continue to
work toward peace in the once-peaceful West African state.

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


BENIN-NIGERIA: Porous border reopened

Six days after Nigeria's unilateral decision to close the border with its
western neighbour Benin, the porous border opened on Friday morning
following a high level meeting between President Olusegun Obasanjo of
Nigeria and Matthieu Kerekou of Benin.

Nigeria closed the border in frustration of illegal cross-border
activities which, according to Nigeria, threatened its national security
and economy. Women and child trafficking, stolen goods including cars fuel
flowed freely from Nigeria to Benin, Nigerian authorities said.

At the meeting held on Thursday in the border town of Badagri, in Nigeria,
both countries pledged to strengthen their cooperation to curb illicit
activities, by conducting joint border patrols and setting up other joint
security mechanisms to protect both states.

According to Nigerian authorities, theft and car jackings had dropped in
states such as Lagos, Oyo, Kwara who are reknown for being hotbeds of
criminal activities.

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


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Fax: +225 22-41-9339
Email: IRIN-WA@irin.ci

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