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IRIN-WA Update 85-97 of Events in West Africa, (Tuesday) 18 November 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of reports on the region. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]
SIERRA LEONE: Ten alleged coupists arrested
Ten men arrested in Freetown on Tuesday were allegedly plotting to topple the ruling Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Speaking to Reuters, a senior army officer, who asked not to be identified, claimed the six soldiers and four civilians wanted to oust Major Johnny Paul Koroma's government because it agreed to hand back power to ousted civilian president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. A Reuters correspondent saw the arrested men in Freetown's Pademba Road gaol. One prisoner was Stephen Bio, brother of the former military ruler Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, who handed power to Kabbah. Another detainee was Colonel Gibril Massaquoi, a senior official of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) allied to the AFRC.
ECOMOG denies violating ceasefire
The West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG denied its jets violated the Sierra Leone ceasefire on Sunday. "Our aircraft were shot at so we returned fire," the Nigerian force chief of staff Brigadier General Abdul One Mohammed told AFP. The general said three ships bringing fuel into Freetown were detected by ECOMOG on Saturday in violation of ECOWAS and UN sanctions against the AFRC. Mohammed claimed that warnings to the ships, including in the Freetown press, "didn't work out, so we sent in the Alpha jets". Mohammed said the Nigerian planes had been fired upon as they flew over the capital. An AFP correspondent said no shipping warnings had been seen in the press and anti-aircraft guns had been dismantled in accord with the Conakry peace accord.
Meanwhile, AFRC spokesman Allieu Kamara told Reuters that ECOMOG force commander General Victor Malu was due to meet Koroma on Wednesday to resolve differences over disarming the combatants and the dominance of Nigerian troops in ECOMOG.
Child soldiers start to disarm
The AFRC started registering child combatants for demobilisation on Monday. According to Major Kula Samba, AFRC Social Welfare Minister, teams have already started identifying and registering child combatants in the regional capitals of Bo, Kenema, Makeni and other towns. Samba told Reuters disarmament under the Conakry agreement should start 1 December.
Humanitarian sources in Freetown and Monrovia told IRIN they had heard little of AFRC plans for child demobilisation: "It is probably a publicity stunt but if there is a genuine opportunity to demobilise the children we will do what we can to help."
Cross-border assistance delayed
Cross-border humanitarian operations into Sierra Leone have been re-scheduled for Thursday. According to humanitarian sources in Abidjan, eight WFP trucks will depart Conakry for Kambia with 200 mt of food later than planned because of difficulties in obtaining clearances from "various quarters". Sources told IRIN that WFP plans to position an international staff member in the Kambia area to supervise the implementation of its targeted food programme. The WFP convoy will also carry UNICEF vaccines, and World Vision, CARE USA and Catholic Relief Services food commodities. No plans exist to airlift food to Sierra Leone.
LIBERIA: Human rights organisation urges justice for war crimes
The US-based Human Rights Watch-Africa has urged the Liberian government to bring to justice individuals who grossly violated the rights of civilians. A statement released in New York on Monday said the immunity granted to former faction fighters by the Abuja and other peace accords should not apply to atrocities committed against civilians during the Liberian conflict. It commended President Charles Taylor's government for setting up a National Human Rights Commission, but said government funding and a free hand was also needed. Human Rights Watch proposed a truth commission to collect testimony on war crimes and expose those responsible. The New York statement called on the international community to commit itself to a process of reconstruction in Liberia and make human rights a condition for international aid. The report was also concerned demobilisation in Liberia was incomplete and faction command structures remained intact, threatening possible new political or criminal violence.
NIGERIA: Opposition reserved about amnesty
Opposition groups expressed reservations about General Sani Abacha's amnesty for political prisoners. The Nigerian head of state's promise on Monday to free some prisoners was described as "empty" and "vague" by an official from the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) who said the gesture would be "meaningless" if Chief Moshood Abiola, widely believed to be the winner of the 1993 annulled elections, and Beko Ransome-Kuti, a prominent human rights leader were not released.
A statement released by Article 19 on Monday welcomed the announcement but was sceptical that the promised release of political detainees would mean any change in Nigeria's human rights policy. It suggested the Abacha regime was seeking to make minor concessions before the forthcoming European Union (EU) review of sanctions on Nigeria. EU sanctions adopted in 1995 include an arms sales ban, visa restrictions on army officials, suspension of EU development assistance, and a moratorium on high-level visits.
SENEGAL: Dakar authorities arrest 850 in security clamp-down
Some 850 people were arrested in a security sweep in Dakar over the weekend. A police source told AFP the move against various suspicious individuals and "malingerers" was aimed at improving security and cleanliness in the city as ordered by Senegal president Abdou Diouf. Hundreds of police and gendarmes took part in the operation concentrated on the most popular suburbs of Dakar. On Sunday, the pro-government 'Le Soleil' announced that insecurity in Dakar was reaching alarming levels.
Diouf says Casamance rebels must lay down weapons
Diouf called on the separatist Casamance rebels to lay down their weapons and start peace negotiations. In an interview with Radio France Internationale broadcast on Monday, Diouf said the government "is always ready to engage in dialogue with those who want to negotiate in order to lay down their arms". The conditions for talks with the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) were not right and the army would protect Senegal's territorial integrity and the population, he said. There has been an upsurge of violence between separatist rebels and the government since July.
Abidjan, 18 November 1997
[ends]
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 19:32:33 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-WA Update 85-97 of Events in West Africa, 18 November 97, Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971118192820.13726A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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