AFRICANEWS
ClippingsCongoThere were contradictory reports on August 10 tha rebels fighting President Laurent Kabila's regime DR Congo had captured the western town of Boma. According to a diplomatic source in Kinshasa, Boma fell to ethnic Tutsi Banyamulenge fighters on August 7 or 8th, a week after launching their anti-Kabila rebellion.However, a highly-placed interior Minister source denied the claims, saying that Boma, situated 350 kilometres southwest of Kinshasa, was still controlled by government troops. The revolt speaheaded by the Banyamulenge - the Congo kinsofolk of Rwanda's dominant ethnic minority after President Kabila issued an order on July 27 that all Rwandese soldiers leave the country. President Kabila ousted Mobutu with the help of Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated army and the Banyamulenge in May 1997. Meanwhile Rwanda denies it is involved in the latest conflict. (Source:IRIN)
Guinea BissauRebel soldiers in Guinea Bissau threatened to break last month's ceasefire they signed with pro-government forces loyal to President Joao Bernardo Vieira if West African countries joined in the peace negotiations scheduled to start on August 7, news agencies reported. The peace talks between the government of Guinea Bissau and army mutineers were due to begin aboard a Portuguese warship under the auspices of the Community of the Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) which had negotiated the truce.According to the BBC, the rebels said they would reject any role by the Economic Community of West African Community (ECOWAS) because two of its members - Senegal and Guinea (Conakry) were backing government forces. In radio broadcast, AFP said the rebels also accused ECOWAS of supporting Vieira and criticising the mutiny. An ECOWAS committee was scheduled on August 7 to meet Vieira and rebel leader, General Ansumane Mane in Guinea Bissau. At a meeting in Accra, Ghana, earlier in their week, ECOWAS reiterated its willingness to cooperate fully with the CPLP in its quest for a peaceful solution to the crisis, AFP said. Senegal and Guinea sent more than 2,500 troops to back government forces. The mutiny started on 7 June after Vieira sacked Mane, his former armed forces chief of staff. (Source:IRIN)
LiberiaLiberia's defence minister, Daniel Chea, has accused neighbouring Guinea of plotting to overthrow President Charles Taylor's government, AFP reported on August 3. It said several independent papers in the capital, Monrovia, quoted Chea as saying Liberian security agents had confirmed "reports from Guinea" that some 800 individuals were being trained to infiltrate Liberia and topple the government.Chea said the force planned to use the cover of ECOMOG to enter the country. But Chea reportedly vowed: "There will be no additional ECOMOG troops, especially from Guinea. Anything to the contrary will be met by force." Media reports said relations between Guinea and Liberia have been strained ever since forces from Taylor's NPFL killed a number of Guinean traders they said supported the rival United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO) during the civil war. In June, Taylor also failed to appear at a mini-summit called by President Lansana Conte in Guinea's capital, Conakry, citing domestic security concerns. But humanitarian sources in Monrovia told IRIN two weeks ago they believed the Liberia government's quarrel included all ECOMOG. According to one source, Chea had earlier said that Liberia no longer needed ECOMOG now the civil war was over. However, the source believed Liberians had seen little or no improvement in security.
MogadishuThe establishment of a govenmnet in Puntland, northeastern Somali has brought dispute and anger among the key figures in the dominant Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).The govenrment, an outcome of a conference chaired by Islam Mohamed Musa, elected Colonel Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed as president and Mr Mohammed Abdi Hashi as deputy president. About 300 people attended the conference from the various sectors,of the northeastern communities. They also endorsed the formation of a 69 member .parliament and nine ministers who will be announced within 45 days. Reports say that the outcome of the meeting has shocked people in the town of Bossaso and several other towns in the northeast. The SSDF and the United Somali Party (USP) are the powerful groups in this part of the Horn of Africa.
NigeriaNigeria's highest ruling body, the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), on August 3 appointed a 14-member independent national electoral commission headed by a judge, Justice Ephraim Akpata, to oversee elections leading to a handover to civilian rule in May 1999, news organisations reported. Major-General Godwin Abi, quoted by Reuters, said the "decree establishing the commission was considered thoroughly and details of the content of the decree were given sufficient consideration so as to ensure that the new electoral commission is fully independent."The BBC correspondent in Lagos said the credibility of the electoral commission was absolutely crucial in Nigeria, a country in which such organisations have in the past played a key role in failed attempts at returning democracy. Meanwhile MOSOP press release on July 28 reported that 20 Ogoni continue to languish in the jail cell where they havebeen held since May 1994, after the Nigerian police haverefused to obey a High Court ruling to release 15 of the detainees on bail. Police have told the 20's lawyers that the prisoners will not be released without direct orders from military commanders in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The 20's legal defense team are petitioning the head of stateGeneral Abubakar, and have filed an application for the security forces to be held in contempt of court for refusing to release the detainees. The 20 face the same politically motivated murder charges, the same violations of their human rights in prison and to a fair trial, the same military appointed tribunal and the same hangman's noose which killed MOSOP President Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders in November 1995. Ogoni is currently under combined army and security forces occupation, with the normal duties of the police subject to oversight by the military. (Source: APIC)
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