AFRICANEWS

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Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean military officials said on September 29 that they were ready to defend their ports against ECOMOG attacks. Major Johnny Paul Koroma, leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), said that it would react "positively" to any ECOMOG attempt to take over the two major ports in Freetown or any another port along the coast. ECOMOG Field Commander in Sierra Leone, Colonel Max Khobe, announced on September 28 that he would use force to implement the regional embargo. He did not say when this declaration will be effected.(Source: AFP.)

Liberia Liberian President Charles Taylor left Abuja on September 28 for Tripoli after a two-day stop-over in Nigeria. Taylor and Nigerian head of state General Sani Abacha held talks on bilateral relations and the Sierra Leone situation. Taylor proceeded to Libya, where his counterpart hailed him as one of the "prominent" revolutionaries and fighters in Africa, Libyan state radio reported.(Source: PANA and Libyan TV via BBC Monitoring. Meanwhile President, Charles Taylor submitted an interim budget to parliament on September 3. The interim budget, estimated at some US$ 12 million, will cover the period from September 1 to December 31, 1997. No information was available on the allocation of funds to various government ministries and agencies. Taylor has requested that the budget cover arrears owed to civil servants, logistics and development projects.(Source: AFP)

Senegal Eleven people were killed, four wounded and two disappeared on September 27 during an attack on a fishing village in Casamance. The assailants, reportedly belonging to the separatist group le Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC), attacked Diogue, a fishing village in Casamance. Most victims drowned as they attempted to flee in a canoe. Some villagers were able to swim to safety. Eyewitnesses said that some 20 rebels looted US$ 26,000 worth of goods during the raid. According to Radio France Internationale, Diogue was a thriving fishing village. It had received funding from various Aid agencies to improve fishing and commercial methods. AFP reported that many people were fleeing that area for Ziguinchor, the provincial capital of Casamance. However, Madore Fall, a Senegalese reporter with the 'Le Sud Quotidien' daily, said that population movement had stabilised since the Senegalese army was deployed to the area. He also told IRIN that it was extremely difficult to attribute any attack to the MFDC since it hardly ever made any statements. Eyewitness accounts were the most reliable source of information on the perpetrators. (Source: AFP, RFI and IRIN)

Guinea A land dispute between two villages in northeast Guinea erupted into fighting on September 27. One person was killed, 12 were seriously wounded and 1,000 fled the villages of Seke and Bidika, 550 km northeast of Conakry. 246 huts and 11 granaries were destroyed. Several people, including the ringleaders, were arrested by police.(Source: AFP)

Mali Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, on September 27, called on his new government to start a dialogue with the political establishment. Addressing the first meeting of the new government, Konare said that the government was not a transitional government and was not based on ethnic, religious or regional considerations. Its success would be measured by its capacity to respond to challenges such as the eradication of poverty, unemployment, health and education.(Source: AFP and RTM radio via BBC Monitoring)

Nigeria Twenty-five people of the Ijaw community were arrested on September 27. In a statement, a group calling itself the "Ijaws of Warri", accused the Itsekiris of conniving with security forces in arresting the 25 Ijaws, Reuters reported. The statement called for an end to all harassment of defenceless Ijaws by "purported military personnel" aided an abetted by the Itsekiris. Security forces confirmed that a number of people had been detained but gave no further details. Scores of people died earlier this year in clashes between the Ijaws and the Itsekiris over the relocation of local government headquarters.(Source: Reuters)

Geneva The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Ishmael Noko on October 10 congratulated the International Campaign to ban Land mine's (ICBL) coordinator, Jody Williams who is the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her global efforts to eradicate antipersonnel land mines "This bestowal of this honor is also recognition of the suffering and continuing struggle of the countless victims of antipersonnel land mines in so many parts of the world. It is their suffering which has provided the moral force and urgency to this campaign," he said. Lutheran churches and relief agencies all over the world are direct members of ICBL. The ICBL brings together humanitarian, human rights, children's, peace, veterans, medical, development, arms control, religious, environmental and women's groups.(Source: Lutheran World Information Office)

Chad The Chadian government signed a peace agreement with four Tuareg "political-military movements" on October 8, said a joint communique. The agreement includes a general amnesty for the rebels, a proviso permitting the groups to form political parties, assistance for the reintegration of returning refugees and the reinstatement of public service workers and former military personnel who left their jobs for political reasons. The four rebel groups include the Front National du Tchad (FNT), the Front National du Tchad Renove (FNTR), the "Mouvement pour la Justice Sociale et la Democratie" (MJJSD) and the Counseil Democratique Revolutionnaire (CDR-Volcan).(source: AFP)

Mali Tuareg refugees returning to Mali face a bleak future. According to Refugees International (RI), the economic and environmental viability of the Tuareg resuming their previous lifestyle is questionable. Their herds have been decimated and agricultural production is only feasible in a few of the settled areas. UNHCR said integration efforts were impeded by the poor response to the May 1997 donor appeal for US$ 15 million. Only $6.5 million has been pledged leaving a 56% shortfall.(Source: AFP)

Mauritania A government decree issued on October 8 confirmed that the first and second rounds of the presidential election would go ahead on December 12 to 16 despite an opposition boycott, Six candidates, including current President Maayouyia Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, have already announced their candidacy. Main opposition parties, who have demanded the creation of an independent electoral commission, reconfirmed their intention to boycott the elections. According to local source, their absence will guarantee a second term of office for Taya. In what many believe was an effort to broaden its representation, the government recently promoted leading black Mauritanians to the head of the Foreign Ministry and to key ambassadorial posts. The ruling Partie Republican Democratique et Social (PRDS) derives most of its membership from Mauritanians of Arab decent.(Source AFP)

Nigeria Radio Kudirat claimed on October 7 claimed that the Nigerian government was plotting to "kill" Chief Moshood Abiola in prison. Speculation that Abiola has died in detention is already rife, as not even his doctor has seen him since earlier in the year. The military government in 1994 imprisoned Abiola, who is widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 elections. AFP reported.

Gambia Ministers of the Gambian ousted civilian government of President Dawda Jawara have regained the right to work and unrestricted travel. However, they are still banned from participating in political activity. The ministers were barred from holding jobs and forced to restrict their movements to the capital, Banjul, following Yahya Jammeth's 1994 military coup.(Source AFP)

Sierra Leone Nigerian warplanes serving under the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, bombed and damaged the Sierra Leone army headquarters on Octeber 8 in western Freetown. The director of defense information, Major John Milton, said the attack was probably prompted by an Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) meeting at the base, which was to have been attended by AFRC leader Major Johnny Paul Koroma and other high-ranking officials. The meeting was cancelled at the last minute. Milton described the attack as an "assassination attempt" on Koroma and held the Nigerian contingent of ECOMOG responsible, AFP reported.

Liberia A group of independent journalists have protested over a decision to bar them from covering a senate confirmation hearing on October 8. Senator Thomas Nimely of the Senate Investment and Concession Committee gave no explanation for his directive banning seven private media agencies from attending. Journalists for the state-owned radio ELBC, Kiss-FM and the Inquirer newspaper were permitted to cover the hearing. This is the first time that duly accredited reporters have been prevented from covering senate activities under the new government.(Source: Star Radio)

Niger A Tuareg rebel movement in Niger said they had killed 13 soldiers and taken several hostages in an attack on a military convoy near Agadez, 750 km north of the capital. The Ministry of Defence said only one soldier had been killed, another seriously injured and four drivers taken hostage in an attack by the Armed Revolutionary Forces of the Sahara (FARS). The rebels, from the Toubou ethnic group, were one of the few groups that refused to sign the 1995 peace accord. Speaking on state television on October 8, the minister of the defence said "the government would take the necessary steps to disable all elements who have distanced themselves from the peace pact." (Source: AFP)

Chad The government signed a peace agreement with four rebel groups on October 8. The agreement includes a general amnesty for the rebels and the formation of political parties. The government has promised to help refugees from Sudan to return and, in conjunction with UNHCR, to assist in their reintegration into the community. The government also promised to reinstate public service workers and former military personnel who left their jobs for political reasons. The four groups include the Front National du Tchad (FNT), the Front National du Tchad Renouve (FNTR), the Mouvement pour la Justice Sociale et la Democratie (MJJSD) and the Conseil Democratique Revolutionnaire (CDR-Volcan).(Source: AFP)

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