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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 12-97 of Main Events in West Africa covering period 2-8 September 1997
[The weekly roundups are based on relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and the media. IRIN-WA 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 Monday is included in this report.]
SIERRA LEONE: ECOMOG jets bomb embargo-breaking ships
Nigerian warplanes bombed embargo-breaking ships in Freetown harbour over the weekend as West African peacekeepers (ECOMOG) moved to enforce a blockade of Sierra Leone. At least two bombs reportedly hit one vessel on Saturday night as it delivered rice, damaging the engine room. AFP reported that four people were also seriously wounded in the raid. At least one other ship was bombed on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The air attacks followed an ECOMOG warning on Friday that it would take military action to enforce the blockade against Sierra Leone imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reverse the 25 May coup by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). The warning came after at least 50 civilians in Freetown were killed on Thursday, allegedly by ECOMOG artillery fire, in an attempt to prevent a ship from unloading at the port. Demonstrators marched through Freetown on Friday in protest the shelling and demanded the immediate withdrawal of ECOMOG. On Saturday, people also marched in the southern town of Bo in opposition to the Nigerian-led ECOMOG, Sierra Leonean state radio reported. The main peacekeeping force is based near the international airport at Lungi, across the estuary from Freetown.
AFRC leader Major Johnny Paul Koroma said the AFRC "will have no alternative but to attack the Nigerians" if the "provocation" did not stop. He also accused ousted President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, whom ECOWAS aims to see reinstalled, of "ordering the carnage, which the Nigerian troops have embarked on". ECOMOG denied it was responsible for the civilian deaths, blaming them on AFRC soldiers. ECOMOG claimed on Thursday that the AFRC had declared a "total war" against its forces. The allegation followed a land mine blast on Wednesday near Lungi in which 11 ECOMOG soldiers died. Further ECOMOG reinforcements from Liberia arrived at Lungi on Saturday amid the escalating confrontation between the two sides.
SIERRA LEONE: Displaced numbers rise
Humanitarian sources reported that recent clashes in Sierra Leone have displaced more than 25,000 people. There are now an estimated 92,400 displaced people, up from 65,000 prior to the AFRC coup. Last week, the anti-AFRC Kamajor militia reportedly succeeded in cutting the road to the southern city of Bo, Sierra Leone's third-largest town. A fresh attack on Bo is expected. More than 1,000 Sierra Leonean refugees fleeing the fighting have crossed into Liberia since Friday, AP reported. The refugee population in the Liberian border town of Dambala and neighbouring villages has swollen to 11,000. AP quoted aid officials as saying the refugees are surviving on wild plants. There are currently 1,800 more refugees at a newly-opened camp in Sinje, in western Liberia.
SIERRA LEONE: Malnutrition fears Malnutrition rates in eastern districts of Freetown have reached the point where supplementary feeding should be considered, humanitarian agencies have warned. The situation is also believed to be particularly acute in Lungi. The closure of the international airport to commercial traffic, which was the area's main income earner, has decimated the local economy. The AFRC's decision to stop boats crossing the estuary, in fear of ECOMOG infiltration, has also reduced trade with Freetown. Lungi residents are now forced to take the much longer land route to the capital. ECOMOG commander General Victor Malu told IRIN that humanitarian supplies are exempt from the ECOWAS embargo.
LIBERIA: Monrovia announces two-China policy
The Liberian government announced on Saturday that it recognises both China and Taiwan. Both China and Taiwan have embassies in Liberia. Beijing has reportedly been pressing the new government of President Charles Taylor to clarify its position on recognition. Meanwhile, on Friday, Liberia withdrew recognition of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, becoming the eighth African country to do so, the Moroccan news agency, MAP, reported.
Liberia: Rubber workers strike
More than 2,000 labourers on Liberia's Japanese-owned Firestone Rubber Plantation went on strike on Saturday, demanding back pay, insurance benefits and resettlement packages. ECOMOG deployed armoured personnel carriers to deter attacks on company property. Labour Minister Tom Woewiyu told Reuters he had been meeting both sides in the dispute. The plantation only began shipping unprocessed rubber again in February after suffering heavy losses during the seven-year civil war.
LIBERIA: ECOMOG wants extension
ECOMOG commander General Victor Malu wants a scaled-down ECOMOG force to remain in Liberia for a year. The six-month extension would enable ECOMOG to complete the "restructuring" of the Liberian army and police force. Malu told IRIN that a review aimed at reducing the number of peacekeepers in Liberia was under way. He also downplayed Liberian government fears that members of the defunct Liberian faction, the United Liberation Movement (ULIMO-K), were rearming in Sierra Leone and planning to destabilise Liberia. Malu stressed that ECOMOG had the capacity to protect the country's territorial integrity. Meanwhile, according to humanitarian sources, ECOMOG has reportedly withdrawn a contingent of Sierra Leonean troops from the Grand Cape Mount area bordering Sierra Leone. It will be replaced by a Ghanaian unit.
LIBERIA: Ports key to revival
Revamping Liberia's ports and Robertsfield international airport is a key objective of President Charles Taylor, according to a Reuters report. Port officials say the number of ships calling at Monrovia and the port of Buchanan have "risen markedly" since Taylor's inauguration in August. Meanwhile, a World Bank/International Monetary Fund delegation arrived in Liberia on a week-long assessment mission. A delegation from the African Development Bank was also expected in the country on Sunday.
LIBERIA: Questions over health priorities
Humanitarian agencies are concerned over the health sector priorities of the Liberian government. The government is apparently placing less emphasis on primary health care than the humanitarian community would recommend.
SENEGAL: Casamance violence escalates
Five civilians were killed and six wounded in an attack on two villages in southern Senegal's troubled Casamance province on Sunday night. The attack on the villages of Diaroume and Bounkiling, some 100 km from the regional capital of Ziguinchor, is believed to have been carried out by the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC), AFP said. The Senegalese army has reportedly launched a new offensive in the region following an escalation of MFDC activity. According to Gabonese Africa No 1 radio, there were clashes with the MFDC on the outskirts of Ziguinchor last week in which mortar fire was heard. The Senegalese government continued to stress the need for a political settlement but said independence for Casamance was not negotiable. Amid speculation of a split within the MFDC, Communication Minister Serigne Diop said on Thursday that the Senegalese government recognised Father Diamacoune Senghor, the movement's leader since its inception in 1981, as the sole representative of the MFDC. The violence in the countryside, which some speculate could be related to the splits within the movement, last week forced at least 2,000 people to flee their villages for Ziguinchor.
MALI: Konare favours broad-based government Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare on Sunday unveiled what Reuters described as "an action plan for democracy". The proposals reportedly envisaged a review of the main laws regulating Mali's democratic system. The plan will form the framework around which Konare intends to rally support for a broad-based national government. He urged a gathering of 20 political parties on Sunday to overcome "the logic of self-exclusion and of violence in debate." The radical opposition boycotted this year's presidential and parliamentary elections denouncing the lack of preparation. The courts ruled that the legislative elections in April were poorly organised and annulled the results. International observers agreed, but nevertheless declared them to have been free and fair. Konare's reelection in May was followed by his party's landslide victory in the parliamentary elections in July and August. The opposition is demanding a rerun.
Meanwhile, lawyers acting for 10 detained leaders of the radical opposition, on Wednesday, began legal moves to secure their release on bail. The 10, members of an 19-party alliance, have been detained since 10 August. They are accused of inciting violence and causing unrest resulting in the death of a policeman at an opposition rally. Konare has refused to bow to pressure to release the detainees, saying that the law must take its course. The release of the 10 is the radical opposition's precondition for restarting negotiations with the government.
MALI: Former rebels join gendarmes
Malian RTM radio reported that two groups of former Tuareg rebels graduated as non-commissioned gendarmerie officers on Thursday. The radio said the event marked the achievement of the "essential objective" of national reconciliation.
NIGERIA: Abacha "ill"
The Nigerian military head of state, General Sani Abacha, is "very ill" with cirrhosis of the liver, the independently weekly news magazine 'Tell' alleged on Monday. The paper, quoting sources close to the president's office, said Abacha's health had seriously deteriorated in recent months.
NIGERIA: Governor survives bomb blast
The military governor of the Nigerian southwestern state of Ekiti survived a bomb attack on Tuesday that wounded at least seven people, four of them seriously. Some 30 people were arrested. The explosion was the seventh bomb attack since 16 December, AFP reported.
NIGERIA: Improved relations with South Africa
Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi said relations with South Africa have improved and that Nigeria and South Africa had nothing against each other. Ikimi arrived in South Africa last Monday with a special message for President Nelson Mandela from Nigerian head of state General Sani Abacha. Ikimi said the two countries need to cooperate to find lasting solutions to Africa's trouble spots. Bilateral relations had soured when Mandela condemned the 1995 execution of activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa.
GAMBIA: Anti-drought meeting due
Gambia is preparing to host a two-day summit of the nine-nation Inter-State Committee for the Control of Drought in the Sahel (CILSS). The 11-12 September meeting will review this year's poor climatic and crop situation and look for measures to improve the effectiveness of the 24-year-old organisation.
MAURITANIA: Drought emergency
Mauritania is currently threatened by drought and a "critical food situation", according to the NGO Alliance of Churches Together (ACT). There have been large rainfall deficits in virtually all agro-pastoral areas.
MAURITANIA: Chirac pledges French help
French President Jacques Chirac ended a two-day visit to Mauritania on Saturday after pledging that France would remain Africa's top donor nation. He announced food aid and help in providing drinking water for the arid Sahelian country. Chirac also had several rounds of talks with former military ruler, President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya, which were condemed by the opposition. They claimed Chirac's visit amounted to an endorsement of Ould Taya in the run-up to presidential elections due on 12 December. Opposition parties, who denounced the conduct of legislative elections last year in which they won only one seat, said they would boycott the elections.
LIBYA: Open borders
Libyan leader Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi has opened his borders to trade with southern neighbours Niger, Chad and Mali. "There is nothing banned with Niger, Chad and Mali," he said last Monday in a speech marking the 28th anniversary of his rule. Qadhafi last month proposed a plan for regional integration to allow the Sahelian countries to develop trade with Europe through Libyan ports.
Abidjan, 8 September 1997
[ENDS]
[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax: +225 216335.]
Message-Id: <199709090836.LAA14286@dha.unon.org> Date: Tue, 09 Sep 1997 11:13:04 -0700 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 12-97, 2-8 September 1997 97.9.8
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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