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IRIN-WA Update 388 of Events in West Africa (Tuesday 26 January)
SIERRA LEONE: ECOMOG pushes east, bombs west
Sierra Leonean President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah has
said there was now "only a military solution"
to the country's crisis, Reuters reported yesterday
(Monday). "We have to push the rebels far, far
from Freetown," he was quoted as saying after
talks in the capital with visiting Nigerian Chief of
Defence Staff Al-Amin Daggash and Foreign Minister
Ignatius Olisemeka. Daggash said his troops were making
progress against the rebels of the Revolutionary United
Front (RUF) and were moving slowly towards the east,
news agencies said. Meanwhile, the Nigerian-led West
African intervention force ECOMOG bombarded rebel positions
on the western edge of Freetown early today (Tuesday),
Reuters reported. It quoted ECOMOG officers as saying
they were targeting rebel infiltrators in the area.
Rawlings wants talks, end to atrocities
Ghanian President Jerry Rawlings yesterday called for negotiations to resolve the Sierra Leonean conflict, but he said the talks must be preceded by an end to rebel atrocities, the PANA news agency reported. PANA quoted Rawlings as saying that although the rebels might have legitimate concerns, "nobody will listen to them so long as they continue to kill and maim innocent civilians". Rawlings was speaking in the capital Accra during a visit by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, PANA said. Ghana has military units serving with ECOMOG in Sierra Leone. Rawlings said he was not an "admirer" of Kabbah but that the intervention in Sierra Leone was meant to "consolidate democracy", PANA reported.
WFP protests looting of food aid
WFP today said some 2,300 mt of its food supplies were looted during the rebel attack on Freetown. In a statement received by IRIN, WFP said the looting of the food aid will make it difficult to meet urgent needs in the country. The statement said the identity of the looters was not yet know but WFP suspected that the looting was carried out by rebel elements and some civilians. Until yesterday, it had not been possible, for security reasons, to reach WFP's stores in eastern Freetown. "Once again our food stores and property have been the target of people who have no respect for humanitarian principles," WFP Regional Manager Paul Ares said in the statement.
Situation remains "grim"
Humanitarian sources described the situation in Freetown today as "grim" following "massive" human rights abuses suffered by the city's population. The bodies of about 2,200 civilians killed in the conflict were brought to a single mortuary between Thursday and Monday alone, indicating that this was merely the "tip of the iceberg," an OCHA official told IRIN. Innumerable women were raped and at least 300 people were victims of amputations and other atrocities "as the rebels unleashed their fury in the east", he said. The situation in Freetown remained "extremely volatile", and residents were tense and nervous, particularly after recent RUF warnings of a planned new attack on the city, he added.
Up to 150,000 displaced in Freetown
There are up to 150,000 internally-displaced persons in Freetown, but only 70,000 vulnerable people are currently accessible, the OCHA official said. The largest concentration is at the central stadium, which now shelters between 20,000 and 40,000 people. "We are hoping cholera will not be an issue," the official said, adding that a hygiene-awareness programme had been set up there. During the day, the displaced leave the stadium to search for food. While many have received two-week relief food rations, these are not enough to cover their needs, he said, adding that distributions were targeting only vulnerable groups. Some looted food supplies had found their way into local commercial markets, which has contributed to lowering the prices of rice and bulgur to December 1998 levels, he added.
Rebels near Kenema
A planned UN/NGO mission to the southeast town of Kenema yesterday was again cancelled for security reasons, UNHCR said. A UNHCR spokesperson said today in Geneva that an estimated 50,000 displaced people were now crowded into the town. ECOMOG was considering moving the group 20 km west of Kenema because of the proximity of rebel forces, the spokesperson said. Fighting continues to be reported near the town.
More foreigners abducted
Rebels have abducted 12 more foreigners on the outskirts of Freetown, including a Spanish journalist yesterday and 11 Indian businessmen on Sunday, news agencies said. A second abducted journalist, of the Paris-based 'Le Figaro' newspaper, was freed by the rebels later yesterday after they ordered him to pass on their demand for negotiations with ECOMOG, Reuters said today. The rebels said the Spanish journalist would not be released until their demand was broadcast on radio, according to news reports. One of the 11 abducted Indian businessmen is also the honorary consul to Japan, AFP said.
Meanwhile, Pope John Paul has condemned as a "barbarous assassination" the killing of an Italian nun by RUF rebels on Friday, news agencies said. "No motive can justify" such an attack, AP reported the Pope as saying on Sunday while celebrating Mass in Mexico City.
EU prepared to support ECOMOG
European Union foreign ministers have condemned the attacks against unarmed civilians and reaffirmed their support for Sierra Leone's government, AFP reported yesterday. The ministers also said they were prepared to supply military equipment to ECOMOG, AFP said. However, the military support could not be routed through Nigeria because of an EU arms embargo against the country, it added.
LIBERIA: Taylor stresses self-reliance in state of union address
President Charles Taylor, in a state of union address yesterday, told Liberians to be more self-reliant and stressed Liberia does not have special relations with any country in the world, Star Radio reported. He said that fighting among Liberians would not promote national recovery and warned Liberians against disunity, especially in the midst of international accusations. Efforts would be made to ensure that Liberia remained part of the international community and was not diplomatically isolated, Star Radio quoted him as saying.
Taylor also spoke about the need for adequate financial support for the foreign service and announced that one third of Liberia's maritime revenue will be used to support it. He proposed a mandatory foreign service training and screening by the Civil Service Agency, although political appointees such as ambassadors and honorary consuls would be exempted from such screening, Star Radio reported.
Foreign Minister on four-nation mission
The Liberian foreign minister, Monie Captan, is travelling to Brussels, London, Paris and Washington, Star Radio reported today. He will also stop at the UN headquarters in New York before returning to Liberia. The foreign minister will hold discussions on the crisis in Sierra Leone, the report added.
More checkpoints on Kakata-Bong Mines highway
Additional checkpoints have been erected on the Kakata-Bong Mines highway, Star Radio reported today. The number of checkpoints has been increased from one to four. The report said drivers have expressed concern as they are forced to pay money at each checkpoint, which has led to an increase in transport fares and prices of commodities in the area.
The new checkpoints are on a road to Sierra Leone, which would suggest that the Liberian government is concerned about security in the area, a humanitarian source in Monrovia told IRIN today. Military checkpoints and other controls from the civil war were removed last year. At the time, analysts told IRIN that this was an important step in building post-war confidence since the checkpoints had symbolised the paralysing grip factions maintained on all aspects of Liberian life during the conflict.
NIGERIA: IMF agrees to economic aid for Nigeria
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to an economic programme monitored by it, news organisations reported quoting IMF spokesman William Murray in Washington D.C. on Monday. The agreement is the first in almost 10 years between the IMF and Nigeria but will not involve the release of IMF funds, Reuters said. Murray would not give details other than to stress that it aimed to help Nigeria maintain macroeconomic stability, improve governance and promote structural reforms, including privatisation.
Murray, quoted by Reuters, said an IMF team returned from Abuja on Sunday after an agreement in principle was reached on a staff-monitored economic programme. He said he anticipated that the fund's management would review the agreement shortly so that it could take effect.
AFP said Nigeria was seeking international help with its economic crisis which has been worsened by the collapse of oil prices, which accounts for most of its foreign earnings.
HUMANITARIAN: ICRC's major challenges
Reaching the victims of conflicts and ensuring respect of international humanitarian law have become "the two major challenges" to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an ICRC press statement issued yesterday said, quoting its director of operations, Jean-Daniel Tauxe.
Presenting an overview last Wednesday of humanitarian problems and the main challenges the ICRC was facing, he said the organisation's impartiality, neutrality and independence were increasingly being challenged. Moreover, in conflicts, he said, the organisation found it difficult to act because of the need to ensure the safety of victims and humanitarian workers.
Meanwhile, addressing the ICRC yesterday in Geneva, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said humanitarian work by both organisations had come under "unprecedented stress" in recent years, a UN press release said. The consequences, he added, had been needless suffering, prolonged crises and damage to the credibility of international institutions "and to the very idea of an international community".
Abidjan 26 January 1999, 19:30 GMT
[ENDS]
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 20:13:42 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 388 for 1999.1.26
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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