U N I T E D N A T I O N S Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa
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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 19-97 of Main Events in West Africa covering the period 18-24 October 1997
[The weekly round-ups are based on relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and media. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source. Please note IRIN-WA's daily round-up for Friday is included in this report.]
SIERRA LEONE: Kabbah may return next week to Freetown
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Committee of Five announced on Thursday that the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) had agreed to a deal which hands back power to ousted President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on 22 April 1998. Under a six-point plan endorsed by AFRC leader Johnny Paul Koroma, provisions were made for an immediate ceasefire, disarmament and demobilisation of combatants, the restoration of the constitutional government and broadening of the power base, amnesty for those involved in the May coup, return of refugees and displaced persons and the commencement of delivery of humanitarian aid. The plan was drawn up at ECOWAS sponsored talks which started in Conakry, Guinea on Thursday.
Local reaction to the peace plan was one of satisfaction by civilians and the military alike. Kabbah on Friday praised the agreement and announced that he will return to Sierra Leone next week, Reuters reported. Freetown residents on Thursday took to the streets to celebrate. Some soldiers, firing into the air to express their joy, injured onlookers, Radio France Internationale reported. The peace plan also recognised the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh's role in the peace process. He is expected to return to Sierra Leone.
Humanitarian situation cause for concern
Under the peace plan humanitarian assistance will resume in Sierra Leone from 14 November monitored by ECOMOG and UN military observers. Sanctions against the AFRC, imposed by ECOWAS and the UN Security Council, will remain in force. Humanitarian agencies working in Sierra Leone have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation. The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the serious humanitarian situation in the country posed a dilemma for the international community because of lack of security and safety. A European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) report issued earlier this week said that major indicators in the health sector have not shown serious deterioration yet. However malnutrition combined with traditional diseases could turn into a "deadly cocktail". In the food sector, small-scale and targeted seeds and tools programmes aimed at the most vulnerable were crucial despite a relatively good harvest. The report underlined the need for precise field assessment and constant field monitoring. The NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Freetown on Monday also expressed concern over the number of civilian casualties in Sierra Leone as a result of fighting.
Kabbah announces reconstruction plan
Kabbah, on Monday, unveiled a 90-day programme to be implemented once he has been restored to power. Kabbah told a British-sponsored conference that his government would need a massive injection of funds to rebuild Sierra Leone and urged that his country be treated as a special case. His first priority would be to ensure lasting peace and security and to put in place a functioning government.
Britain and Liberia criticise ECOMOG bombing
Thousands of civilians fled the capital, Freetown throughout the week after several days of aerial bombardment. At least 67 people were killed on Saturday when a truck in which they were fleeing plunged into a ravine. Sources say that as many as 31 people were killed in Kenema during ECOMOG bombings. The British ambassador to the United Nations, John Weston, on Thursday said that he had raised the issue with the Security Council. Liberian Foreign Minister Monie Captan said on Monday that his country did not support the bombing in Sierra Leone and would not allow the use of its territory to attack the AFRC. ECOMOG Force Commander, General Victor Malu defended ECOMOG actions in Sierra Leone and denied reports that ECOMOG was hitting civilian targets.
NIGERIA: Commonwealth likely to postpone sanctions
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on BBC today said that there were two sets of recommendations tabled before the Commonwealth summit against Nigeria. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) has recommended a first set of steps that could be taken to coerce Nigeria to carry out its commitment to return to democracy. Cook said that if Nigeria then failed to meet the 1998 deadline, when elections are scheduled to be held, a separate package of "much tougher measures" could be imposed. These measures might include an oil ban and the seizure of financial assets. Nigeria's expulsion from the Commonwealth would be one of the options considered in October 1998.
A Nigerian foreign ministry source said that Nigeria was "not likely to pull out" of the Commonwealth, AFP reported today. This followed a report in the British 'Financial Times' newspaper that Nigeria's military regime, angered by the criticism of its human rights record, was expected to announce its withdrawal from the Commonwealth.
Rights watchdogs demand expulsion from Commonwealth
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international watchdog, today called for Nigeria's expulsion, describing the transition programme to democracy a "sham", Reuters reported. HRW claimed that Nigerian head of state General Sani Abacha had "manipulated every aspect of the current transition programme". Nobel Literature prize winner Wole Soyinka, chairman of the United Democratic Front of Nigeria (UDFN), an international alliance of Nigerian pro-democracy groups, also called for Nigeria's expulsion. Another pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) called on the Commonwealth to apply pressure on Abacha to enter into dialogue with Chief Moshood Abiola and set up a broad-based government. NADECO said that Nigeria's human rights record had taken a turn for the worse since Nigeria's suspension in 1995 from the Commonwealth. Abiola is widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 elections.
LIBERIA: Army to patrol border/refugees to move
The Liberian government says its has closed the country's border with Sierra Leone to prevent a spillover of conflict and will rearm 1,000 police and immigration officers to patrol its frontiers. Deputy Information Minister James Wolo said that the decision to man the borders, particularly its western border with Sierra Leone, was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Charles Taylor on Monday night. Wolo said that the Liberian officers would be deployed alongside ECOMOG troops.
Also on Tuesday, the government announced that it will relocate some 20,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in camps in Grand Cape Mount and Lofa counties to at least 160 km from the border. Residents say that shells from Sierra Leone have wounded some refugees.
Friction over army restructuring continues
Friction over the restructuring of Liberia's army increased this week with both President Charles Taylor and ECOMOG claiming to have taken the lead. Under the Abuja peace accords, ECOMOG is mandated to restructure the army. Taylor, who has said that raising an army was his constitutional right, on Monday ordered the arming of 1,000 officers to patrol border areas (see above). Sources said that Taylor had been warned by troop-contributing countries about the implications of his action. Liberia's commissioner for maritime affairs, Benoni Urey, told reporters in London that the Liberian government would assume responsibility for the country's security and would decide who to invite to train a new national army.
ECOMOG's Force Commander Major General Victor Malu, meanwhile, announced at a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday that the Nigerian chief of defence staff, Major-General Abdulsalam Abubakar was leading the restructuring initiative. Malu said that it was in the interests of the Liberian government that his force complete the restructuring task and cited what he called the problems associated with tribalised armed factions. The last ECOWAS summit in Abuja in August this year stipulated one year for the restructuring, expected to involve some 4,000 policemen and a 5,000-strong army. ECOMOG announced this week that it will downsize its presence in Liberia once restructuring begins. Currently, there are some 11,000 ECOMOG troops in Liberia. The ECOMOG mandate in Liberia expires in February 1998.
SENEGAL: Army destroys rebel bases in Casamance
Two bases of the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) in the southern province of Casamance were destroyed by the Senegalese army mid-week. AFP, quoting military sources, said that a "substantial" number of rebels had been killed but that there had been no government casualties. Held by the rebels for two years, Babadinka and Guidel, 20 km southeast of the provincial capital Ziguinchor, were reportedly a source of revenue for the MFDC. The bases located along the Guinea-Bissau border were also a fallback position for the MFDC.
One civilian was killed and three injured when a transport vehicle hit an anti-tank mine 12 km southeast of Ziguinchor. According to an AFP source, the mine was laid by the MFDC and probably intended for the army in reprisal for the heavy losses sustained this week.
Minister says Casamance tourism not at risk
Minister of Tourism Tidiane Sylla, on Wednesday, assured tour operators in Cap Skiring, Basse Casamance, that there was "no risk" to tourism in Casamance. Reuters reported today that there had been a 1.2 percent drop in tourism in 1996 due to increased tension in Casamance. Officials expect tourist numbers to exceed 400,000 this year despite the clashes between rebels and government troops. Tourism is Senegal's second foreign currency earner.
Refugees to be moved from border
UNHCR is to help move 15,000 refugees away from the Senegal-Guinea-Bissau border area for security reasons. Following a joint meeting of Senegalese, Gambian and Guinea-Bissau military chiefs and the UNHCR, it was decided to move the refugees 360 km within Guinea-Bissau. So far only some 500 refugees have agreed to the move.
NIGER: Clashes claim 27 lives/2000 demonstrate in capital
Clashes between security forces and about 100 armed men last Sunday in northern Niger left 27 people dead, the Nigerien defence minister said. The clashes took place in Aderbissanat, southern Agadez, a predominantly Tuareg area. The minister said that large quantities of arms had been recovered and implied that three Tuareg movements grouped within L'Union des Forces de la Resistence Armee (UFRA) were involved. In September the UFRA pulled out of the 1995 peace agreement which was to have brought an end to a four-year Tuareg rebellion.
A day earlier, some 2,000 opposition supporters are reported to have demonstrated in Niamey against the government's "dictatorial leanings", complaining about lack of respect for political rights, arbitrary arrests and lack of access to the state-run media. Niger's President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara came to power in a military coup in January 1996 and won a disputed election the following July.
MALI: President releases opposition members
Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare released a total of 26 opposition members this week. Last weekend, he announced a presidential pardon for ten opposition members sentenced to prison for their involvement in violent demonstrations in which a policeman was killed. A second decree earlier this week resulted in the release of a further 16 opposition members imprisoned for involvement in political unrest. The opposition collective, which comprises 18 political parties, described the releases "as a good start in the right direction", but pointed out that political detainees were still being held in Malian prisons. According to the BBC, the releases are seen as an attempt by Konare to defuse the political tension in Mali at a time of mounting criticism at home and abroad of the government's handling of the opposition.
CAMEROON: Biya victory officially announced
The Supreme Court yesterday officially announced Cameroonian President Paul Biya's re-election to a further seven-year term with 92.57 percent of the votes. The government estimated voter turnout at 81.35 percent of the registered electorate. Last weekend, the three main opposition parties, which boycotted the 12 October elections, claimed massive support for the boycott and said that voter turnout had not exceeded 20 percent. Four petitions to cancel the elections lodged by Biya's opponents in the elections were rejected by the Supreme Court on grounds that they lacked motive or merit.
International Socialist concern at political repression
A communique issued by the International Socialist (IS) yesterday voiced "strong concern" at the mounting political repression in Cameroon. IS President Pierre Mauroy protested at the recent "arbitrary arrests" of Henry Njiwah and Seidou Mahdadi, high-ranking officials of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF). He also referred to irregularities in the preparations and holding of the presidential elections and the increasing arrests and detention without trial. News sources in Cameroon were unable to confirm whether the SDF officials had been released.
Paris Club agrees to debt restructuring
The Paris Club of creditor nations said today that it had agreed to restructure Cameroon's external debt. According to Reuters, the agreement will reduce Cameroon's debt burden by up to 50 percent under the so-called Naples Terms of debt relief for the world's poorest and most indebted nations. Cameroon's external debt was estimated in June at about US$ 7.3 billion. Its gross domestic product was US$ 7.9 billion in 1995.
Mauritania: First black candidate in presidential election
Mauritanian senator and mayor, Tidjane Koita, announced on Wednesday that he will run in December's presidential elections, making him the first black presidential candidate in the predominantly Arab country. Koita was suspended by his party, Action for Change, in July for hosting the Mauritanian prime minister and praising the president, Maaouiya Ould Taya. Three other politicians have announced their candidacies so far. An opposition coalition has called for a boycott of the elections.
GUINEA: Cabinet reshuffle
Guinea's president, Lansana Conte, reshuffled his cabinet for the third time in under six months on Tuesday. The reshuffle, just over one year away from presidential elections, brought in several newcomers, including one to the post of internal security minister. Conte, who seized power in 1984, won disputed elections in 1993.
GHANA: Coup trial adjourned
The trial against five Ghanaians charged with attempting to overthrow president Jerry Rawlings was adjourned on Wednesday because of problems with recording equipment, designed to speed up the hearings. The trial has been rescheduled to 28 October. The five, who reputedly belong to an obscure London-based prayer sect, have pleaded not guilty. They have been in custody since 2 September 1994, the alleged date of the coup attempt.
OAU defence chiefs to discuss peacekeeping
A three-day meeting of African chiefs of defence staff on present and future peacekeeping initiatives opens in the Zimbabwean capital today. OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim said the meeting would allow the defence chiefs to exchange ideas and plan for peacekeeping missions.
Abidjan, 24 October 1997
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