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Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa
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IRIN-WA Weekly Round-Up 4 of Main Events for West Africa covering the period 22-28 January 1999
SIERRA LEONE: "Siege mentality" reported in Freetown
The West African intervention force ECOMOG carried out more bombing raids against rebels in hills near the capital Freetown on Wednesday, news agencies said. AFP quoted an ECOMOG spokesman as saying that the town of Waterloo, southeast of Freetown, was now in ECOMOG hands, effectively preventing rebels "from escaping to Liberia." Meanwhile, a "siege mentality" had taken hold in Freetown, with checkpoints set up at strategic locations by ECOMOG troops on the lookout for rebels who have mixed among civilians, AFP said on Thursday. Many other checkpoints have been erected by civilian "vigilante groups" who stop and search all passing vehicles and pedestrians, news agencies said.
On Monday, Sierra Leone President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah said there was now "only a military solution" to the country's crisis. "We have to push the rebels far, far from Freetown," he was quoted as saying. Nigerian head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar said on Wednesday his country's troops should pull out of Sierra Leone by the end of May. News agency reports said this was the first time Nigeria had expressed a desire to withdraw troops by a particular date.
Fuel shortage in Freetown
More shops and banks re-opened in parts of Freetown earlier in the week, but a serious fuel shortage was compounding difficulties for residents in the war-ravaged city, news agencies said. Fighting was reported in the east beyond the port areas of Kissy in Wellington and Calabar town, where there were pockets of rebels, Reuters cited a spokesman for the West African intervention force ECOMOG as saying.
Rebel commander Sam Bockarie of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) told AFP that the RUF would make the country "ungovernable" if its demands for a "political role" in the country were not met.
Situation remains "grim"
Humanitarian sources on Tueday described the situation in Freetown 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 last Thursday and Monday alone, indicating that this was merely the "tip of the iceberg," an OCHA official told IRIN, adding that the situation remained "extremely volatile". He said there were up to 150,000 internally-displaced people in the city, but only 70,000 vulnerable people were currently accessible. The largest concentration is at the central stadium, which now shelters between 20,000 and 40,000 people.
WFP said some 2,300 mt of its food supplies were looted when rebels attacked Freetown. In a statement itsaid the looting of food aid would make it difficult to meet urgent needs in the country. The statement said the identity of the looters was not yet known but WFP suspected that the looting was carried out by rebel elements and some civilians.
IDPs in Bo and Kambia
Between 3,400 and 4,400 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were now in the southeast town of Bo, and some 200 IDPs were arriving in the town every day, an OCHA official in the Guinean capital Conakry told IRIN on Tuesday. He said a further 17,600 IDPs were now in Kambia, northeast of Freetown, and that this figure was also "likely to grow".
LIBERIA: Minister lashes out against US, UK
Deputy Information Minister J.Milton Teahjay this week accused London and Washington of "leading a misinformation campaign" against his country and strongly denied accusations that Liberia was supporting rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war. "What is happening is an international conspiracy to try to subject Liberia to international ridicule," he told a news conference at the Liberian embassy in London, according to Reuters. He said Liberia did not have the resources to become involved in such a war. "We have absolutely no relation with RUF rebels," he added.
More checkpoints on Kakata-Bong Mines highway
Additional checkpoints have been erected on the Kakata-Bong Mines highway, Star Radio reported on Tuesday. The number of checkpoints has been increased from one to four. 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. Military checkpoints and other controls from the civil war were removed last year.
Taylor stresses self-reliance in state of union address
President Charles Taylor, in a state of union address on Monday, 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.
FAO reports overall improvement in food supply
An FAO special report on Liberia published this month said crop and food supply figures indicated a "significantly improved overall food situation". The report was based on a FAO mission to Liberia last month.
NIGERIA: Canada pledges support
Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy who visited Nigeria this week announced his country would contribute Canadian $ 750,000 to projects supporting free and fair elections in Nigeria. A press release from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said Ottawa would also contribute $115,000 to a project supporting democratic development. "One of the objectives of Mr Axworthy's trip was to convey Canada's satisfaction with the way elections have been held since the death of General Abacha and to encourage them to continue their efforts," Donald McMaster, the Canadian ambassador in Abidjan, told IRIN on Thursday.
AD announces presidential candidate
The Alliance for Democracy (AD) party, which is reportedly merging with the All People's Party (APP), has put forward its candidate for next month's presidential elections. It announced former finance minister Chief Olu Samuel Falae, as its candidate for the 27 February poll, the independent 'Guardian' newspaper said on Thursday.
Electoral Commission unhappy about alliance between two parties
The head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Justice Ephraim Akpata, said on Wednesday that the electoral alliance announced this week between the AD and APP "appeared to contravene INEC rules", AFP reported. He said that the two parties wanted to "derive the benefits of a merger without going through with one".
TOGO: Rights body denounces torture in Togo, authorities deny claim
Togo has "categorically" denied accusations of detention and torture by a human rights group, describing them as "fallacious". A report by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), received by IRIN on Wednesday, claimed Togolese citizens were being arbitrarily detained and tortured. But, according to AFP, the chief prosecutor of Lome's Court of Appeal said FIDH investigators "who benefited from all facilities during their stay in Togo...never told the authorities of their observations and conclusions...so that an immediate verification could be conducted in their presence".
GUINEA BISSAU: Doubt over unity government
Guinea Bissau Prime Minister-Designate Francisco Fadul said last Friday the government of national unity would not be sworn in that day, as announced by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He told the BBC he would recommend the ceremony be deferred till 7 February. There was no indication why he wanted the delay.
France to ferry 600 ECOMOG troops
French Ambassador to Guinea Bissau Francois Chappellet told IRIN on Wednesday that France would ship 600 ECOMOG interposition troops to Bissau from Dakar, Senegal, on 1 February. He said France would provide logistical support to the troops from Gambia, Niger and Togo and pay each soldier 100 francs (US $60) daily "most likely" until the end of ECOMOG operations in the country.
Arrival of the ECOMOG troops will pave the way for the complete withdrawal of the Guinean and Senegalese troops who backed President Joao Bernardo Vieira against a military revolt spearheaded by his former armed forces chief of staff.
SENEGAL: President meets separatist leader
President Abdou Diouf held talks for the first time last Friday with the secretary-general of the separatist Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC), Father Augustin Diamacoune Senghor, news organisations reported. The two leaders held their historic meeting lasting over an hour in the capital of the southern province of Casamance, Ziguinchor, Reuters said.
Diouf had called for dialogue between the MFDC and the government earlier in the day in a broadcast address. "The time has come to talk to one another frankly, sincerely and fraternally," Diouf was quoted as saying. Diamacoune, who is under house arrest near Ziguinchor, reaffirmed his commitment to the search for peace and the start of negotiations, the minister of state for agriculture and Ziguinchor mayor, Robert Sagna, told Senegalese radio. According to the Senegalese newspaper 'Sud Quotidien', the talks were "unanimously" welcomed by political leaders.
Abidjan, 29 January 1999, 13:45 gmt
[ENDS]
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 13:56:09 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Weekly Round-up 4-99 for 1999.1.29
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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