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 214
7 - 13 February 2004


CONTENTS:

COTE D IVOIRE: Rebel warlord killed outside nightclub
COTE D IVOIRE: UN envoy slams fear and lack of responsibility in media
GHANA: Rawlings makes brief first appearance at reconciliation commission
LIBERIA: Environmentalists report illegal logging
GUINEA: Student arrests as university strike spreads to interior

COTE D IVOIRE: Rebel warlord killed outside nightclub

Adama Coulibaly, a rebel warlord in Cote d'Ivoire's northern city of
Korhogo, was dragged out of a nightclub and shot dead by unidentified
assailants in the early hours of Sunday.

The incident and the surrounding speculation over who pulled the trigger
dominated the press throughout the week with pro-government papers
reveling in speculation of a possible split in the rebel group, the New
Forces.

Colonel Soumaila Bakayoko, the chief of staff of rebel forces occupying
the north of Cote d'Ivoire, told Radio France International (RFI) on
Monday that Coulibaly, who was better known by his nom de guerre "Adams,"
was killed by one of his Liberian bodyguards after a scuffle.

Adam's bodyguards, a group of some 41 Liberian mercenaries, told IRIN that
masked assassins sent by the rebel leadership in Bouake killed Adams.

Adams was a prominent supporter of Master Sargent Ibrahim Coulibaly,
widely known as "IB," an exiled hero of the rebel movement who is widely
seen as a potential challenger to Guillaume Soro, the official leader of
the insurgents.

Adams also had a rival in the north, another rebel commander also based in
Korhogo known as "Bin Laden." Last month, four people were killed in the
city as the two sides fought a gun battle for the control of a disputed
petrol tanker.

COTE D IVOIRE: UN envoy slams fear and lack of responsibility in media

A UN human rights official has warned that fear, intimidation and a lack
of editorial responsibility in the media were hampering "the free
circulation of balanced opinions and ideas" in Cote d'Ivoire.

"There is a pressing need to discuss freely the future of this country
without falling again into the nightmare of civil war," said Ambeyi
Ligabo, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights,
Monday.

Ligabo also condemned the widespread use of checkpoints by security forces
in the capital and along main national roads. These, he said were being
used to "harass and exert money from ordinary citizens for no reason."
Ligabo's comments came at the end of a weeklong visit to Cote d'Ivoire.

As Ligabo departed, another senior UN official arrived in Cote d'Ivoire to
investigate ethnic conflict.

Doudou Diene arrived Monday and will spend 12 days visiting both
government and rebel held parts of the country.

Relief workers believe that several hundred people have been killed in
ethnic clashes since conflict began in September 2002. Many more have fled
their persecutors to their homelands of Burkina Faso, Mali or Guinea.

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


GHANA: Rawlings makes brief first appearance at reconciliation commission

Former Ghanaian president, Jerry John Rawlings made a short but tumultuous
first appearance before the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) on
Thursday to answer questions about controversial killings that took place
during his tenure as military head of state 20 years ago.

Thousands of chanting supporters gathered outside the building as Rawlings
answered two specific questions relating to the executions of a former
military colleague and three high-court judges.

After months of speculation over whether Rawlings would heed the NRC's
subpoena, he was only in court for 30-minutes.

Rawlings said he did not have any evidence that might throw light on the
NRC's investigations, and denied being present at the executions.

The former coup maker and junior officer from the air force, had lost non
of his crowd winning charm. When the questioning was over he quipped "Oh,
Sir, why is that all?"

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


LIBERIA: Environmentalists report illegal logging

A Liberian environmental group has reported finds of illegal timber at
ports and sawmills in southeastern Liberia, which is controlled by
Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) rebels.

"Our fear is that if UNMIL [UN peacekeepers] are not deployed in Maryland
as soon as possible, those processed logs our monitors saw in the port
warehouses would be exported against the UN sanctions on timber", said
James Makor of The Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU).

Eugene Wilson, a senior official of MODEL who is now Managing Director of
the FDA in Liberia's transitional government, said he would investigate
the SAMFU report.

"If we have evidence of any company engaging in logging business such as
what was cited in the SAMFU report, we will make the case retroactive, the
company will face the full weight of the law where its concession
agreement will be revoked", Wilson told IRIN.

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


GUINEA: Student arrests as university strike spreads to interior

The authorities in Guinea have arrested 17 student leaders at Gamal Abdel
Nasser University in the capital Conakry since its 14,000 students went on
strike earlier this week, student representatives said on Friday.

Reports from the interior said students at the Institute of Geology and
Mines at Boke, 200 km northwest of Conakry, had joined the stoppage.

A spokesman for the students on strike in Conakry told IRIN that most of
those arrested in the capital had been picked up while organising the
strike.

He denied claims by the authorities that the students were being
manipulated by opponents of President Lansa Conte, a former army colonel
who has ruled Guinea with an iron hand for the past 20 years.

"Our action is independent and is geared solely towards the improvement of
students' condition at the university," the student spokesman said.

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


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

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