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 of Main Events 37 in West Africa covering the period (Friday-Thursday) 20-26 February 1998
SIERRA LEONE: ECOMOG gains control of Bo and Kenema
As the West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG partially relaxed its nightlong curfew on the Sierra Leone capital Freetown this week, its troops battled fiercely with the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) soldiers and its allies, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the interior of Sierra Leone. But by the end of the week, ECOMOG had gained control of the country's second city, Bo, 170 km east of Freetown and the diamond-mining city of Kenema, 240 km northeast of Freetown.
Missionaries in radio contact with Bo, 170 km southeast of Freetown, said troops of the former military government had fled the town earlier in the week leaving it in "ruins". Despite the massive destruction, civilians had started to return. A Roman Catholic priest said that he had found bodies in the streets of Bo and that homes and shops had been looted by the retreating troops. In Kenema, AFRC troops had fled, while in Makeni, 140 km northeast of Freetown, fighters had surrendered and pledged to support the country's elected president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Shops, homes and the offices of international agencies in Makeni were also looted.
Meanwhile, some 200 AFRC supporters surrendered to ECOMOG on Wednesday in the northwest Kambia district. ECOMOG said a large amount of arms and ammunition had been seized.
Abductions raise new concerns
There was also concern over an estimated 25 Western missionaries and aid workers taken hostage since mid-February by the armed groups battling ECOMOG. A Catholic official, Ercole Marcellini said that a group of 25 Westerners and about 20 Sierra Leonean church workers had been captured since 14 February in Makeni and Lunsar in northeastern Sierra Leone. Other missionaries, who had escaped Makeni, said that the RUF fighters were going from "house to house in Makeni raping and looting". The Church was trying to establish contacts with their captors to secure the release of hostages.
Meanwhile, the Pope John Paul II, in a message from the Vatican, and the European Union, expressed for the safety of the hostages and demanded their immediate release. Offering its services as a neutral intermediary for a "positive outcome", the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it too was trying to establish contact with the abductors. The ICRC also said it had started visiting an estimated 1,000 AFRC fighters detained by ECOMOG since the capture of Freetown.
ECOMOG opens port and airport, relief supplies distributed
During the week, ECOMOG lifted its embargoes on shipping and commercial air traffic. The ICRC, Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and other humanitarian agencies started distributing an estimated 800 mt of food and medical supplies delivered by WFP at the weekend. Meanwhile, the international aid community said more food and medical supplies were being shipped to Sierra Leone. LIBERIA: Sierra Leonean refugees arrive in northern Liberia
Some 14,000 refugees fleeing fighting in Sierra Leone have arrived in northern Liberia in recent weeks. UNHCR said that people were continuing to arrive in Lofa county at a rate of 700-1,000 a day. It was concerned that existing clean water sources were insufficient to cope with the influx.
Liberia sends troops to Sierra Leone border
Meanwhile, Liberia sent troops to its border with Sierra Leone this week following reports that supporters of the ousted AFRC in Freetown were crossing the frontier. A Liberian defence ministry spokesman said the deployment as a precaution.
Murder trial opens
The trial of two former Liberian security officers charged with murdering the opposition politician, Samuel Dokie late last year opened on Wednesday in the city of Gbarnga, 160 km northeast of the capital Monrovia. Kennedy Sackey and Richard Saydee both pleaded not guilty.
One of the first witnesses called to give evidence, police Colonel Lemuel Reeves, told the court that Dokie, his wife Janet and two others had been detained in the Gbarnga district by officers of the Special Security Service (SSS). They were not seen again until the discovery of their mutilated bodies, he said. He said that five men, all of them former SSS personnel, could be held "reasonably" responsible for the murders. However, the justice ministry ordered the discharge of three of the men to serve as state witnesses.
Human rights commission raises concerns
A Catholic human rights group in Liberia, the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), said the recent murder of Dokie, the abduction of a journalist and the suspicious death of a former faction commander, General Manneh Zekay, in an alleged armed robbery, were further examples of human rights abuses. It claimed that human rights and national reconciliation remained a challenge for the new government following the end of the seven-year civil war in Liberia.
UN envoy meets President Charles Taylor
The United Nations Special Envoy for Liberia, Felix Downes-Thomas, said that Liberians and the United Nations had to demonstrate that stability and progress could be achieved to attract funds. Speaking after his first meeting with Liberian President Charles Taylor, Downes-Thomas promised to obtain international aid for Liberia. NIGER: Army mutiny spreads
A Niger army mutiny over pay which started in the remote desert town of Diffa, 1,000 km north of the capital Niamey at the weekend spread to four other towns during the week, including the second city of Zinder. Conflicting reports said mutineers were holding an estimated 10 military and civilian hostages. In each of the towns, soldiers commandeered local radio stations to broadcast their grievances.
The Niger Defence Ministry confirmed the mutiny, but said a peaceful settlement was being negotiated. Niger, which has faced a prolonged political crisis compounded by severe economic hardship, is faced with regular work stoppages and strikes.
Civil service stages 48-hour strike
In a related development, Niger's civil servants staged a two-day strike this week to press demands for the payment of up to seven months' salary arrears. It said the strike was also fully observed in schools where teachers have been demanding back pay owed for December and January.
Former premier barred from leaving the country
Meanwhile, former prime minister of Niger, Hama Amadou, said that authorities had prevented him from leaving the country. He said that he had given the government requisite advance notice of his trip, which was not tied to any "political activities". Amadou was released on bail in January after being accused of creating a "militia" to topple the government. NIGERIA: Coup trial to be held in camera
Amnesty International has appealed to the Nigerian government not to impose death sentences against 26 people on trial for plotting to overthrow the country's leader, General Sani Abacha. The 26, who include 15 senior military officers, could face "execution or long incommunicado imprisonment" if found guilty, Amnesty said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government reaffirmed that it would hold the trial behind closed doors, dispelling reports that the trial would be open to observers. The defendants include Major General Oladipo Diya, formerly Abacha's second in command. The trial being held in the central city of Jos, was expected to last about one month, officials said.
Public executions draw crowd of 2,000
Six common law prisoners were publicly executed at the weekend by a firing squad before a chanting crowd of some 2,000 people at the Kirkiri high-security prison in Lagos. The six, convicted on various charges of armed robbery, had been in jail six years until they were led chained and manacled before an eight-man firing squad on Saturday morning.
SENEGAL: Government releases 16 Casamance separatists
The Senegalese government released some 16 Casamance separatists this week from detention. It said 13 of the prisoners were freed in the capital, Dakar, and taken to Ziguinchor, the main town in Casamance. Other prisoners were released in Casamance itself. A government spokesman described the move as a gesture of "goodwill" towards the Casamance separatist movement. The spokesman denied the amnesty was linked to an Amnesty International report last week, condemning Dakar's treatment of captured Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de la Casamance (MFDC) prisoners.
Senegalese president accuses Amnesty International of bias
Senegalese president Abdou Diouf accused Amnesty of printing a "pack of lies" in its report on Casamance. Diouf said that his government would have nothing to do with "irresponsible people who do not tell the truth". He reaffirmed that his government had no intention to grant independence to Casamance.
WEST AFRICA: Senegal river nations fail to agree
Senegal, Mali and Mauritania failed to agree on how to restructure their joint Senegal river authority. It said that a ministerial meeting of the Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Senegal (OMVS) had ended in deadlock over how to meet reforms sought by international donors. The participants had apparently been unable to agree to a Mauritanian request granting it the same number of positions it used to hold in the OMVS. Western-backed peacekeeping exercise
With backing of military advisers from France, the United States and Britain, more than 2,500 soldiers from eight West African nations started a week-long peacekeeping exercise at the weekend in a remote area near the point where the borders of Mali, Senegal and Mauritania converge.
Taiwan foreign minister satisfied after West Africa tour
Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Minister Jason Hu returned home this week after a six-nation African tour, which he described as "fruitful and significant". He said that his visit was aimed at "shoring up" the government's diplomatic ties with its allies in the region and providing development aid.
World Court to hear Cameroon-Nigeria border dispute
The International Court of Justice at The Hague will start hearings on a boundary dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria on 2 March. A court statement said the judges would consider an application by Cameroon instituting proceedings against Nigeria over sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula.
Abidjan, 27 February, 19:15 GMT
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