Archives

October 2000

UK's Hoon denies ‘mission creep’ over Sierra Leone
Posted October 31, 2000 - 12:36 by newsdesk

Related Source: The Scotsman

Helicopter carrier HMS Ocean bound for S.Leone

By Andrew Woodcock

Tuesday, 31 October 2000

BRITAIN is to send a 500-strong Royal Marine force and a convoy of five ships to Sierra Leone to prepare for possible future military action in the west African state, it was announced yesterday.

The move sparked accusations that the government was allowing British troops to be sucked into a "vacuum" which could lead to them facing rebel guerrillas head-on.

But the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, insisted Britain’s "primary purpose" in Sierra Leone was to train government troops and that there was no intention of taking on Revolutionary United Front (RUF) guerrillas.

A Royal Navy Amphibious Ready Group, including the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, landing ship HMS Fearless, three Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels and troops of 42 Royal Marine Commando, will be deployed offshore for a limited period during November, Mr Hoon told the House of Commons.

"While in the area the group will be able to practise procedures and conduct a detailed reconnaissance, both of which will significantly reduce the time needed to deploy should the rapid reaction force be needed in future," he said.

But the shadow defence secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, warned that the United Nations’ UNAMSIL peacekeeping force was falling into disarray in the wake of decisions by India and Jordan to withdraw their troop contingents.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "With the departure of the Indians and Jordanians, that force is beginning to look even more ineffective than when the British forces were deployed earlier this year to support them.

"That leaves us with a vacuum that may well suck us deeper into this."

He asked: "What conditions must prevail for British troops to be withdrawn?"

One Labour backbencher, Gareth Thomas, asked for an assurance that "we aren’t going to see mission creep and find ourselves in a situation of British forces taking the fight direct to the rebels".

Mr Hoon replied: "I can give you that assurance. The primary purpose of British forces going to Sierra Leone is to train the forces of the government of Sierra Leone."

The Defence Secretary insisted there was no indication that UNAMSIL could not carry out its peacekeeping role effectively or that the RUF was gaining any ground.

About 400 British troops are stationed in Sierra Leone, undertaking training duties at Benguema camp outside the capital, Freetown. Although they co-operate with UN troops on the ground, they are not formally a part of the UN operation.

The government said earlier this month that it stood ready to deploy a rapid reaction force in support of UN peacekeeping operations, Mr Hoon said.


(c) 2000 The Scotsman

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Friday, 27 October 2000
Posted October 31, 2000 - 12:28 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL Chief of Public Information Section Dr. Maurice Odine and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


You will recall that a Joint Press Conference organized by the United Nations Community in Sierra Leone on the occasion of the United Nations Day was held on Monday, 23 October, and we were not able to have our usual UNAMSIL Press Briefing until today, Friday 27 October.

The Security Council Delegation that visited Sierra Leone from 9-12 October in a memorandum, addressed to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, expressed gratitude to officials of UNAMSIL and the Government of Sierra Leone for making their visit a success.

On 25 October, the SRSG Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji and Acting Force Commander Brigadier General M.A. Garba visited UNAMSIL Sectors I and 3 at Port Loko and Mile 91 respectively. The purpose of the visit was to assess the security situation in those areas.

The SRSG was informed that Port Loko is a key point for the activities of UNAMSIL within the western region, and for this reason, it is considered the most volatile. Ever since the commencement of hostilities in May, Port Loko and its environs have been attacked 16 times by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Of these attacks, 10 were deliberate. Furthermore, the peacekeepers expressed a common understanding of the mandate of UNAMSIL. The Sector Commander called for the cessation of hostilities by parties to the conflict to enable UNAMSIL to perform its peacekeeping role.

The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Camp South currently has about 600 ex -combatants. It was observed that the major problems identified within the camp included unruly behavior by some ex combatants, overstay by ex combatants, and lack of implementation of the re- integration aspect of the DDR programme. UNAMSIL Military Observers and Peacekeepers have therefore introduced activities such as sports, farming and civic duties in the Camp to help re-orient the ex -combatants to normal life again.


Questions and Answers
Q: Do you have any information regarding RUF attacks on the Civil Defence Force (CDF) who are undergoing military training in Mongeri about 39 Km north of Bo?

A: It is believed that Mongeri which is about 39 Km north of Bo is within UNAMSIL areas of responsibility, but that notwithstanding, we cannot confirm whether there was an attack although some shootings were heard.

Q: What can you say about the cessation of hostilities when there are still some attacks being carried out by the RUF in the Port Loko and other areas?

A: You will recall that since the May 2000 crisis, there has been resumption of hostilities by the RUF. And the fact that UNAMSIL's mandate is to assist in the implementation of the peace process as stipulated in the Lome Peace Agreement, the UNAMSIL Sector Commander in the Port Loko area called for the cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict to enable UNAMSIL to perform its peacekeeping role.

Q: What is the reason for the major problems identified within the camp by some ex-combatants that led to UNAMSIL's introduction of some activities like farming and civic duties etc.?

A: As you are aware, the May 2000 crisis disrupted the implementation of the Lome Peace Agreement. The policy for the DDR programme is the responsibility of the Government of Sierra Leone through the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR). UNAMSIL is here to ensure the implementation of the Lome Peace Agreement, which the DDR process is part of. However, the DDR process is being reviewed, but until a policy statement is released, UNAMSIL continues to apply the existing DDR policy.

***********


(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

UK Joint Task Force in S.Leone - Activities Update to 29 Oct 2000
Posted October 31, 2000 - 12:10 by newsdesk

SIERRA LEONE
SUMMARY OF MILITARY ACTIVITY - WEEK ENDING 29 OCT 00


  GOVERNMENT FORCES

• General Order One was issued to the Sierra Leone Armed Forces this week by the Acting CDS, Col Carew. The order lays out the rules of conduct for personnel participating in operations and is seen as a major step in the transition of the Armed Forces towards becoming a more accountable and professional force.



• Acting CDS, met with war widows at the Wilberforce hockey pitch on Wed 25 Oct. Among the subjects discussed were:
  
  * The resumption of salary payments in 2001
  * Commuting of pensions and gratuities
  * The non-eviction from the barracks or quarters until benefits to next of kin have been paid
  * Ways to source funding for small scale business, especially micro credit facilities.
  * Free primary education in the new year for children aged six.



• The Sierra Leone Navy has continued its patrols this week. The patrols are aimed primarily at Anti smuggling and fishery protection, but also give the opportunity to monitor boat and ship movements along the coast.



• There was a gathering of the CDF/GBETHIS Northern Region at KONTAKUMA (east of MASIAKA) on 21 October. The gathering consisted of representatives from five chiefdoms, YONI, MASEMIRA, KOYA, MABANG and MALAL; it numbered 500-600. Replying to a speech given by the Commander of the YONI, Sampha Conteh, the principal guest, Acting CDS Col Carew, said that he "welcomed the inclusion of the CDF as a partner in the coalition of Government Forces, he recognised their past achievements and valued their future contribution."



• A meeting of the CDF High Command took place at the Ministry of Defence in Freetown on Thu 26 Oct to discuss the future of the CDF. 33 members from throughout the country attended and consisted of initiators, administrators and field commanders. Discussions on the National Restructuring Conference and the values and standards to be achieved were covered. Detailed discussions on the current nature of the CDF were covered emphasizing their civilian basis and their close links with the SLA. A formal announcement on the restructuring can be expected soon.



• The passing out parade for the latest battalion to complete training at Benguema will take place on Fri 3 Nov 00.



• The continuation training of other Battalions and specialist troops is going well and the redeployments of units has gone smoothly and unhindered by rebel action. New equipment is due to arrive in a few days.



• The pipping ceremony of the second batch of Nigeria Defence Academy trained Officers took place at DHQ on Sat 28 Oct.

• Gen Sir Charles Guthrie, the UK's Chief of Defence Staff, visited Sierra Leone for two days this week to see for himself the situation on the ground and to meet the key personalities involved. After a call on the President, he was able to visit Benguema Training Camp and travel to Port Loko where he met with Senior Government Force Commanders.

• A handover has been completed this week between the 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment (1 RIRISH) and the newly arrived 1st Battalion the Prince of Wales Own Regiment (PWO) who have assumed responsibility for the training at Benguema. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir GERAINT docked in Freetown on Friday 27 to offload the PWO equipment and will return to the UK with that of the 1 RIrish.
  [Right: Equipment being unloaded from Sir Geraint]



• UK Officers traveled to BO this week to meet senior CDF officials and Field Commanders. This was part of the ongoing work towards the restructuring of Sierra Leones Armed Forces and is a recognition of the CDF's important role in that future.



• The training of the next battalion will be undertaken by the 1^st Battalion of The Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment, who begin to arrive in Sierra Leone shortly.

• A number of RUF have given themselves up in the last week, claiming either that they do not wish to fight in Guinea or that they wanted 'to make good use of their lives'.

• A CDF unit located at BORKOR was attacked by RUF troops early last week, reportedly using mortars, RPGs and small arms. The CDF unit at MONGERI dispatched reinforcements and after a brief engagement the RUF withdrew. They left behind 15 civilians captives, whom they had been using to collect food. The CDF handed the civilians over to UNAMSIL forces in Bo.

Britain to set out support plans for Sierra Leone
Posted October 30, 2000 - 12:07 by newsdesk

Related Source: Reuters

Geoff Hoon, UK Defence Secretary

LONDON, October 30 (Reuters)

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will give details this week of Britain's plans to back up Sierra Leone's government with a naval rapid reaction force, government sources said on Sunday.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said Hoon would make a statement to parliament on Monday about support for the Sierra Leone government, which is fighting rebels who control parts of the war-ravaged country including key diamond producing areas.

She declined to give details of the statement but sources said Hoon was likely to flesh out a British pledge three weeks ago to have a brigade-strength "rapid reaction capability".

Britain has more than 400 troops in Sierra Leone training the country's army to counter attacks by rebels.

The BBC had said on Saturday that British military planners were preparing to deploy a Royal Navy task force off the west African coast.

It said the task force, currently on exercise in the Mediterranean, could reach the seas off Sierra Leone within days. The force would include 500 Royal Marines, it said.

"This amphibious rapid reaction force...is always ready to react," the spokeswoman said but declined to confirm the report.

Britain rushed marines and paratroopers to Sierra Leone after Revolutionary United Front rebels captured 500 United Nations peacekeepers in May and headed towards the capital Freetown.

But the British government, wary of opposition charges of "mission creep" and open-ended commitments in its strife-torn former colony, has refused to commit troops to the troubled UN peacekeeping force there.

India, currently the mainstay of the UN peacekeepers with more than 3,000 troops, said last month it was gradually pulling out its contingent at a time when the UN was attempting to increase its soldiers from 13,000 to 20,500.

Jordan has also said it will withdraw its 1,800-strong contingent because it had expected rich nations to join the force.



Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

UK Tories fear messy Sierra Leone conflict for troops
Posted October 30, 2000 - 12:03 by newsdesk

Related Source: Ananova News

Iain Duncan Smith, UK Tory Defence Spokesman

28th October 2000

British troops risk getting dragged into a messy conflict in Sierra Leone, the [Opposition] Tories are warning after it emerged the Government is preparing to order a new task force into the region.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is expected to announce on Monday that at least two warships and 500 commandos are to sail for the west African country to support the United Nations force in Sierra Leone. The UK already has several hundred troops in the country training Sierra Leonian government troops.

The Royal Navy's Amphibious Ready Group is in training in the eastern Mediterranean and is due to pick up supplies in Turkey ahead of the announcement.

The group, which is expected to reach Sierra Leone in 11 days, includes the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean with 42 Royal Marine Commandos on board, the landing ship HMS Fearless and four support ships.

The troops are not expected to go ashore, but will be back-up for the UN's force involved in fighting with Revolutionary United Front rebels.

But the Tories claim the Government is risking "dragging our military deeper and deeper into the mess and muddle of Sierra Leone".

Shadow Defence Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "Again our servicemen and women are paying the price of Robin Cook's failed foreign policy in Sierra Leone. His policies in Sierra Leone change from day to day but our armed forces involvement increases week to week."

There are new fears about the strength of the UN force after it was announced that Egyptian and Jordanian troops, who are seen as the most professional elements of the force, are to be withdrawn by their governments. There is concern that RUF rebels could launch a new offensive if they believe the UN's strength is depleted.

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Menzies Campbell said the British troops should be assigned directly to the UN command. "If the UN goes through another crisis like last May, then all the gains since then will simply be lost," he said.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are not prepared to comment on deployments before we make a formal announcement."



Copyright © 2000 Ananova Ltd

Situation in S.Leone 'very complicated' says UN envoy
Posted October 28, 2000 - 12:20 by newsdesk

Related Source: IRIN

'The sub-region is awash with weapons .. all kinds of militias .. refugees ..'

NEW YORK, 27 October (IRIN)

In the final instalment of a wide ranging three-part interview with IRIN, Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Africa, spoke on the prevailing situation in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone.

(Extract on Sierra Leone):

Q: You are also part of the team that is trying to bring peace to Sierra Leone. In your view what are the most important issues that still need to be resolved?

A: The situation there is very complicated. The main issues are how to extend the authority of the government of Sierra Leone to the entire country and, therefore, to bring the diamond producing areas under the control of the government so that the proceeds of those diamonds will be able to help state administration and bring services to the people.

At the same time we have to work out how to deal politically with the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) factor which the Sierra Leonean government and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) have to pronounce on and work slowly with the UN to address.

Then you have the special court for the trial of those who are mostly responsible for the atrocities in Sierra Leone. The Secretary-General has sent a report to the Security Council giving his views and has invited the Security Council to make a decision on that.

There is also the issue of the size of UNAMSIL (the UN mission in Sierra Leone) which the Secretary-General has proposed to expand from 13,000 to 20,000 and he is engaged in the process of finding countries that will be willing to contribute troops with proper logistical support.

Finally, you have the regional dimension where you have all kinds of military action and border problems between Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The sub-region is awash with weapons, it is awash with all kinds of militias, it is awash with refugees criss-crossing the border and it is very important that all this be looked at in a very holistic, regional context.

It is necessary for the UN to work with the countries in the sub-region and to mobilize resources from the international community but the Secretary-General is fully seized with these issues.


Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000

UK Joint Task Force in S.Leone - Press Statement 28 Oct 2000
Posted October 28, 2000 - 11:56 by newsdesk

SIERRA LEONE

PRESS RELEASE - 28 OCT 00

RUF BURN VILLAGES

Following the report on the 26 of the RUF burning villages in the Kabala region, it was confirmed today that the RUF have also attacked and burnt down property in villages in the GBINTI area, 15 miles north of the town of LUNSAR.

On this occasion the villages attacked were:

• Gberi
  
• Ro-Bor-Bo
  
• Wari
  
• Wula.

Injured War Reporter Has No Regrets
Posted October 27, 2000 - 18:21 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

By ROBIN McDOWELL, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Almost two years after Associated Press correspondent Ian Stewart was shot in the head while covering the civil war in Sierra Leone, he still asks himself if it was worth it - would he take the same chances today for a story?

To even his surprise, the answer is no longer no.

"Will I risk my life for a story again? No. Not even if the world cares next time,'' Stewart wrote one year ago, following months of operations and therapy, learning how to wiggle his toes, curl his fingers, stand and eventually, with the help of a cane, walk.

His left arm and hand were paralyzed and his left leg impaired after the attack by teen-age rebels that killed AP Television News producer Myles Tierney in January 1999.

"I think I wrote that a little bit early,'' Stewart said last week at the annual AP Managing Editors conference as, between standing ovations from his peers, he accepted an award for the moving account of his recovery.

Elaborating on his remarks in a telephone interview Tuesday, he said: "It was too soon to see how much interest there really was in Sierra Leone.''

Stewart, 34, who was drawn to journalism because of the excitement and because he believed he could make a difference, has now come full circle in the way he views the profession and the risks war correspondents take.

Stewart now says he believes the reporting he and others did from Sierra Leone had an impact, raising awareness at the United Nations (news - web sites), and in the United States and Britain.

"I still don't think the international community is reacting quickly enough, or well enough, but at least the door has been opened,'' he said Tuesday. "I'd like to think our work started the ball rolling.''

The United Nations now has some 13,000 peacekeepers stationed in Sierra Leone, trying to salvage a peace agreement the government signed with Revolutionary United Front rebels in July 1999 to end the civil war that has killed tens of thousands of civilians since 1991. Britain, the nation's former colonial ruler, also has troops in Sierra Leone to help train the army.

The United Nations also has banned the purchase of diamonds from rebels in Sierra Leone and instituted a certification process so legally mined gemstones can be sold. Diamonds have helped finance the war in Sierra Leone.

"I'm not optimistic about Sierra Leone, but I'm proud of what we did and the sacrifices we've made,'' said Stewart. "Ultimately, it's what we do. We try to give these people a voice, make the world care, not forget them. It's something to be proud of.''

He attributed some of his change in perspective to the death of Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora, an APTN cameraman who was killed in a rebel ambush in Sierra Leone in May. Kurt Schork, a correspondent for the Reuters news agency, also was killed.

"When I think of Miguel going back in after seeing what happened to myself and Myles - that he was still willing to take the risk - that really changed the way I viewed things,'' he said.

Stewart said he suffered a major relapse after learning of the attack that killed Moreno de Mora, which occurred just over a year after his own.

"I relived the whole event and had to spend a month back with my psychologist,'' he said, adding that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Stewart, who has started to walk without a cane, still has trouble using his left arm and is unable to touch-type. Because of the extent of his brain injury - the bullet entered through the center of his forehead - he still suffers from fatigue.

He hopes one day to return overseas as a journalist.

"I wouldn't mind parachuting in for hairy stories from time to time, but I don't want to be based in a conflict area,'' said Stewart who served in India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Afghanistan before going to Africa.

"But when I think about going back in the war zone, if I ever do, I'm sure I will use a lot more caution.''

And he says, he has learned the importance of listening to your instincts, a message he wants to pass on to other young reporters who cover civil conflict - from war to street riots.

"Admit to yourself if it's too much,'' he said. "It's nothing to be ashamed of to say 'It's too far, I can't do this. I don't want to do this.' No story is worth dying for.''

Of his own injury, he says, "I wouldn't want to be hurt this way again, but it takes some of the sting away to think that maybe our work did some good.''



Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UK Joint Task Force in S.Leone - Press Statements 25 & 26 Oct 2000
Posted October 26, 2000 - 19:45 by newsdesk

SIERRA LEONE

PRESS RELEASE - 26 OCT 00

RUF BURN VILLAGES

The military headquarters in Freetown have discovered that several villages South-East and West of Kabala (North-East Sierra Leone) have been destroyed by the RUF in the last few days.

The villages destroyed were:

• Kamandugu
  
• Sokurela
  
• Samgbrmba
  
• Nanven
  
• Komoia.

US troops train Guinean soldiers
Posted October 26, 2000 - 19:33 by newsdesk

Related Source: IRIN

President Charles Taylor of Liberia. Claims the American arrival is linked to the deteriorating security situation in Guinea.

ABIDJAN, 25 October (IRIN)

A team of 10 US soldiers this week began training about 60 members of the Guinean armed forces.

The US troops arrived a week ago and are to provide "basic military training skills" for the next month, a Western diplomat in the capital, Conakry, told IRIN on Tuesday.

Liberia, which has been trading accusations with Guinea over alleged support for dissidents, reported on state-run radio on Monday that the US troops were administering the training because of the deteriorating security situation in Guinea.

"It's not necessarily connected to anything that's going on here," the Western diplomat said, adding that the training exercise "has been planned for some time" and was part of routine training that US troops give to soldiers all around the world.

There have been several cross-border attacks into Guinea over the past seven weeks by armed men based in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Liberian government has denied any involvement. It is unclear who is behind the attacks.



[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. ]

Contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org
Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN


Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000

UK Joint Task Force in S.Leone - Activities Update to 22 Oct 2000
Posted October 26, 2000 - 17:47 by newsdesk

SIERRA LEONE

SUMMARY OF MILITARY ACTIVITY - WEEK ENDING 22 OCT 00


  GOVERNMENT FORCES

• Government forces, comprising SLA and CDF are deployed forward in defensive positions in a number of areas. Some of the SLA battalions include units that have completed the training at Benguema and are now considered operational and ready to take their place in the front line.



• Pay - In response to recent problems over pay, a new Army Personnel Centre has been formed to address the issue. Considerable work is being done to reduce the bureaucracy and streamline the efficiency of the process. We are confident that pay difficulties will be sorted out, but this will take some time.



• Food - Regular deliveries of food are now getting through to the front line troops and that situation is expected to improve with the delivery of further logistical support from the UK.



• Spares for government vehicles have also now been released which will further improve the logistical effort.



• SLA and CDF forces have also received supplies of ammunition, although this area will be the subject of further attention.

• Brigadier Richards and the JTFHQ staff were honored to receive a visit from The President on Wednesday 18 Oct.



• Training at Benguema has continued well, with the current 1000 trainees expected to "pass out" in early November. Last weeks training focused on specialist skills, including jungle training, live fire exercises and relatively complex co-ordinated attacks. The instructors reported that they were very pleased with the skills shown and with the general progress of the trainees.



• The training of the next battalion will be undertaken by the 1^st Battalion of The Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment, who begin to arrive in Sierra Leone shortly.



• The UK has now committed itself to completing at least three more training courses, which will run until April 2001.



• The first ship bringing equipment promised as part of the £27 million package to Sierra Leone will arrive at the end of this week. This is in addition to some that has been flown in during the week.

• Fighting continued last week between the RUF and Guinean forces in two areas. Along the SL/Guinea border near Pamaleo, the RUF attack failed and was pushed back by Guinean forces. On the Liberian/Guinea border the RUF are assisting Charles Taylor’s and the FLRN with attacks into Guinea. Here the Guineans shot down a Liberian helicopter, forcing Taylor to withdraw his other helicopters.



• Radio France International reported last week that the RUF had bought a helicopter gunship. The report probably refers to Liberian helicopters that fly into Kono bringing supplies and personnel from Liberia and undertaking the illegal export of Sierra Leonian diamonds, or the use Liberian helicopters in Guinea. The RUF do not have any helicopters.



• On 19 Oct some reports stated that Liberia has accused Guinea of backing rebels (ULIMO J and K and LURD) attacking its towns and villages. It is common knowledge that those groups have been operating against Charles Taylor inside Liberia for some time. However, Guinea reports indicate Liberian activity inside Guinea. The overriding issue here is that Charles Taylor is conducting military operations inside both Guinea and Sierra Leone in order to direct attention from his own problems. If there is to be a useful dialogue between the countries of this region that can bring about a lasting peace, then Charles Taylor must stop interfering in the internal affairs of both Sierra Leone and Guinea.

British defense chief says Sierra Leone rebels will be defeated
Posted October 26, 2000 - 12:33 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

Sir Charles Guthrie

FREETOWN, October 25, 2000 (AP)

The head of Britain's armed forces said Wednesday that "great strides have been taken" to train Sierra Leone's army, and that the country's rebels face certain defeat unless they lay down their arms.

"The Sierra Leone army is going to be a force to reckon with ... great strides have been taken," Sir Charles Guthrie, chief of the defense staff, told reporters.

Britain, Sierra Leone's former colonial ruler, sent troops to Freetown in May to help the government beat back a fresh assault by the country's feared Revolutionary United Front rebels.

Most of the British troops withdrew after conditions stabilized, but between 250 and 400 remain.

"The RUF must realize that sooner or later they will be defeated," Guthrie, capping a two-day visit, said.

"Defeat for them is inevitable if they do not take the opportunity for peace while it still exists. The sooner they realize this and proper peace is established the better it will be for all. There is no future for them."

Guthrie met with President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah on Tuesday and visited a military training center east of Freetown.

"What I have seen has given me the confidence that we are training an effective Sierra Leone army that will be able to look after the security of the country and be accountable to the democratically-elected government," he said.

On his return to London, Guthrie will report to Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss British strategy in Sierra Leone.



Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UK faces new Sierra Leone appeal
Posted October 26, 2000 - 12:28 by newsdesk

Related Source: Evening Standard

UK troops helped to secure the Freetown peninsular earlier this year

by Charles Reiss, Political Editor

25 October 2000

Britain is facing a new appeal to send large numbers of troops to Sierra Leone, amid fears that the UN peace-keeping effort is on the point of collapse.

The UN was today reported to be calling for the Government to put in troops not just in the advice and control role which is already under way but at "operational and tactical level".

That would mean direct combat with the rebel forces threatening the country's government.

The problem has been made more urgent by the decision of two of the key contributors to the peacekeeping force to pull out.

India, with 3,000 troops, and Jordan, with 1,800, have decided to withdraw their forces, who are among the most reliable and well-trained in the faltering UN contingent.

Senior sources said today that the problem was "high on the agenda" of both Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Charles Guthrie, was in Sierra Leone today accompanied by senior Foreign Office officials.

The Government announced earlier this month that it is to set up a 100-strong Brigade headquarters in the West African state, headed by a senior British officer, effectively taking control of Sierra Leone's army.

Ministers have been urging other countries to help plug the gap left by the Indians and Jordanians.

However, so far, no deal has been agreed and there were suggestions that other countries would only send combat troops if Britain was prepared to play its part.



© Associated Newspapers Ltd

More British troops not enough to keep Jordanians in Sierra Leone
Posted October 26, 2000 - 12:26 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

"Can the [Security] council adopt resolutions that requires us to deploy troops and those in the council do nothing ..?"
- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

UNITED NATIONS, October 25, 2000 (AP)

Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Jordan on Wednesday to be flexible in withdrawing its troops from Sierra Leone, saying he was trying to find replacements but needed time to get them on the ground.

At a press conference, Annan confirmed that Jordan wanted to pull out its 1,800-strong contingent because its calls for developed countries, particularly from NATO, to join the force went unheeded.

Britain has announced an increase in its number of troops in Sierra Leone, but those forces aren't part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, which has an authorized strength of 13,000 soldiers. The British troops are helping train the Sierra Leone army to counter rebel attacks.

Annan said Jordan had hoped others would step in to join them in the actual U.N. force.

"And they did not believe that the British offer was sufficient," he said.

Annan said the Jordanian position raised a very serious question for the United Nations, and particularly the Security Council, which authorizes peacekeeping missions.

"Can the council adopt resolutions that requires us to deploy troops and those in the council do nothing -- particularly those major countries with large forces?" Annan asked.

The United States has refrained from sending ground troops for U.N. peacekeeping operations in Africa since 18 American servicemen died in Somalia in 1993.

The Jordanian announcement, made in a letter to Annan on Friday, marked the second major setback to the force in a month after India announced it was pulling out its 3,059-strong contingent.

Annan said he had asked both governments to be flexible in the withdrawal timetable to give the United Nations a chance to come up with replacements for the force, and to field the troops for a planned increase to 20,500.

"It's a sovereign decision and it's their decision," he said. "But in its application, if they were to show some flexibility, (it would) give us time to replace those who are withdrawing."

Diplomats have stressed the importance of establishing a smooth transition for any new forces or command to move into Sierra Leone to avoid any more upheavals in the beleaguered mission, which began a year ago to monitor a peace agreement between the government and rebels that was to have ended eight years of civil war.

The rebels of the Revolutionary United Front reignited the war in May by taking 500 U.N. peacekeepers hostage, robbing them of their weapons and in some cases of their uniforms.

The incident was a major embarrassment to the United Nations, which responded by calling for better trained and equipped forces and clearer peacekeeping mandates to allow peacekeepers to counter such attacks.



Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Ukraine pledges support for UN mission in S.Leone
Posted October 25, 2000 - 11:10 by newsdesk

Related Source: CNN

UN is searching for troops to bolster its mission in S.Leone

Tuesday, 24 October 2000

Ukraine's foreign minister said Tuesday his country has plans to send peacekeeping troops to join United Nations efforts in Sierra Leone, as well as Congo, a news agency said.

"We have the power, the possibility and the trained people to conduct peacekeeping missions," Foreign Minister Anatoliy Zlenko said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Zlenko didn't specified number of soldiers to be sent, how long they would serve, or when they would go.

He said that more than 12,000 Ukrainian troops had taken part in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Tajikistan, Macedonia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo and Lebanon over the last eight years.

During those operations, 18 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than 50 wounded since 1992.

Currently, 337 peacekeepers from Ukraine serve in Kosovo in Yugoslavia, and 650 bomb and mine disposal experts are in South Lebanon.



© 2000 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.

UK Chief of the Defense Staff visits Sierra Leone
Posted October 25, 2000 - 11:05 by newsdesk

Related Source: CNN

Sir Charles Guthrie on an earlier visit to S.Leone

Tuesday, 24 October 2000

British Chief of the Defense Staff General Sir Charles Guthrie arrived in Freetown Tuesday on a two-day visit to meet with Sierra Leone's leadership and British forces stationed in the war-shattered African nation.

Guthrie held a closed-door meeting with President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah before driving 24 miles (38 kms) east of Freetown to the Bengwema Military Training Center, where British troops are training members of the government's ragtag army.

Details of the meeting were not disclosed. Guthrie is scheduled to give a public briefing Wednesday before he departs.

Guthrie later went to Port Loko, where more of the government's forces are based. There he held informal meetings with "people on the ground" to gain firsthand information to be included in a report to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said British army spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tony Cramp.

Britain sent troops to Freetown in May to help the government beat back a fresh assault by the country's feared Revolutionary United Front rebels.

Most of the British troops withdrew after conditions stabilized, but between 250 and 400 remain. British forces do not fall under the command of the United Nations' beleaguered peacekeeping operation in the country.

The United States has essentially ruled out ground troops for African peacekeeping missions following the slaying of 18 servicemen in Somalia in 1993. Britain has troops in Sierra Leone to help train the army, but they aren't part of the U.N. mission.



© 2000 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.

Jordan to pull out from Sierra Leone
Posted October 25, 2000 - 10:47 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

Jordan is the third-largest contributor to UNAMSIL

UNITED NATIONS, 24 Oct 2000 (AP)

Jordan has said it intends to withdraw its 1,800-strong contingent from the U.N. peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone — the second setback in a month for the world body's peace mission there.

Jordan officially informed Secretary-General Kofi Annan of its decision in a letter Friday, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Tuesday. The head of the U.N. peacekeeping department, Jean-Marie Guehenno, was meeting Tuesday with the Jordanian ambassador to ask that Jordan be flexible about the timing of the pullout, Okabe said.

Jordan had been the third-largest contributor to the 13,000-person force. It had 1,753 troops and other staff on the ground and had been considered one of the better-prepared and equipped battalions.

Last month, India announced it was withdrawing its 3,059-strong contingent — the second largest after Nigeria — but said it would pull the troops out in phases to avoid a security vacuum as the United Nations tried to find replacements.

Okabe said she didn't know the Jordanians' reasons for pulling out, but Jordan was known to have wanted NATO countries to field troops in the Sierra Leone mission to help share the peacekeeping burden. Calls to the Jordanian mission were not immediately returned Tuesday.

The United States has essentially ruled out ground troops for African peacekeeping missions following the slaying of 18 servicemen in Somalia in 1993. Britain has troops in Sierra Leone to help train the army, but they aren't part of the U.N. mission.

The announced troop withdrawals have left the United Nations scrambling to find replacements and has already delayed plans to beef up the force to 20,500 personnel.

The peace mission in Sierra Leone has been a beleaguered one.

It began a year ago to monitor a peace agreement between the government and rebels that was to have ended eight years of civil war. But the rebels reignited the war in May by taking 500 U.N. peacekeepers hostage, robbing them of their weapons and in some cases of their uniforms.

The incident was a major embarrassment to the United Nations, which responded by calling for better trained and equipped forces and clearer peacekeeping mandates to allow peacekeepers to counter such attacks.


Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Renewed Civil War fears in Guinea
Posted October 24, 2000 - 10:45 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC

A turbulent sub-region

By BBC regional analyst Elizabeth Blunt

Monday, 23 October, 2000 (BBC)

Following a series of border attacks from rebels, the West African republic of Guinea may now be threatened with the kind of civil war faced by neighbours, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Since the beginning of September, raiders have struck from the two both countries killing civilians and burning villages.

The attacks were mainly from across two parts of the Sierra Leone border, and also from Liberia near the town of Macenta.

Nearly 360 people have been killed in the raids though a local member of the parliament for the Forest region around Macenta says the death toll in the Liberian border region alone could be as high as 1,500.

Dissidents

The attacks have been claimed by a dissident movement known as the 'Rassemblement des Forces Democratiques de Guinee'.

Someone calling himself Mohamed Lamine Fofana and describing himself as their spokesman has been calling international radio stations on their behalf.

But no-one has heard of a Mr Fofana before, and the Guinean Government refuses to accept that Guinean dissidents have anything to do with the raids.

The government's version is that the country is suffering a foreign invasion, from Liberia, and by Liberian-backed RUF rebels from Sierra Leone.

In fact two different things seem to be going on at the same time.

In the Forest region, around Macenta, the fighting is mostly a Liberian affair, with President Charles Taylor's forces mounting cross-border raids against Liberian rebel bases.

The presence of these rebels is an open secret in Guinea.

In the capital, Conakry, the Liberian oppositon is discreet, but in Macenta Ulimo-K fighters are there for all to see, manning road blocks, and playing an active part in the defence of the city.

Mutineers

But on the Sierra leone border, Guinean dissidents do seem to be involved.

There have been persistant reports of a rebel group training inside Liberia with, at its core, Gbago Zoumanigui and the army mutineers who fled after narrowly failing to overthrow the government in 1996.

After training, the rebels are reported to have moved across the border to Sierra Leone and linked up with the Liberian backed movement there, the RUF.

This alliance seems to be responsible for the attacks near Kindia and Forecariah.

So far the assailants do not seem to have taken ground, and the attacks have been pushed back. But they could still cause serious trouble for Guinea.

They have put pressure on the army, which already has a history of mutiny and coups d'etat.

In the Forest region, fighting between Liberian dissidents - mostly Mandingo - and Liberian Government forces (substantially Gio or Mano) has stirred up resentments between the same tribes within Guinea.

Fate of refugees

Caught in the middle are the refugees- nearly half a million of them, some of whom have lived in Guinea for as long as 10 years.

Shortly after the attacks started President Lansana Conte spoke on the radio, not in French, but in his own language, Soussou, saying that the refugees had been there long enough, and they should go home, or at least be confined to camps.

Some Guineans took this as an open invitation to express their resentment against foreigners.

Liberians and Sierra Leoneans were arrested, abused, threatened, evicted from their lodgings and in some cases beaten or raped.

Now the government and the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, are negotiating their future.

The situation in Sierra Leone in particular is still too dangerous for many of them to go home, though the government is insisting that they at least be moved well away from the border.

But moving several hundred thousand people in a country like Guinea will be a monumental task.


(c) 2000 BBC News

War Court plans for Sierra Leone criticised
Posted October 23, 2000 - 0:29 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC News

Thousands of child soldiers were recruited in S.Leone

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

Saturday, 21 October, 2000 (BBC)

The human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has said that all those who recruited child soldiers for the civil war in Sierra Leone should be put to trial.

A statement said the draft statute of the Special Court for war crimes in Sierra Lenone allows only for the trial of those who acutally abducted children and forced them into recruitment.

Amnesty says recruitment of children under the age of fifteen is a crime under international law, and therefore any form recruitment -- whether forced or voluntary -- should be prosecuted.

A decision by the United Nations on the draft statute of the Special Court is expected in the coming weeks.



(c) 2000 BBC News

Threat of Widening War in West Africa
Posted October 20, 2000 - 11:24 by newsdesk

Related Source: US Committee for Refugees

400,000 Refugees in Guinea Are Vulnerable, says USCR

19 October 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The West African country of Guinea - which has hosted more refugees than any other country in Africa for much of the past decade - finds itself edging closer to the brink of war.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) calls on the international community to respond with greater urgency to the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Guinea, and to take all necessary steps to protect an estimated 400,000 refugees from other countries who live in Guinea and face special protection problems. A USCR policy analyst is currently in the region to assess the growing dangers.

Guinea, bordering the war-ravaged countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia, has suffered 15 insurgent attacks that have killed some 360 people during the past year, according to the Guinean government. The attacks are believed to have come from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Uncounted numbers of Guineans have become internally displaced in the widening violence, and the number of uprooted people could grow if attacks continue.

Guinean troops allege that they shot down a Liberian military helicopter yesterday along the border between the two countries. Liberian officials deny the incident occurred. The governments of Guinea and Liberia have regularly accused each other of supporting armed attacks in border areas. The newest allegations, true or not, are certain to heighten military tensions and will create greater risks for residents and refugees who inhabit border villages and camps.

The widening cross-border violence has begun to destabilize Guinea and has triggered a violent backlash in recent weeks against the hundreds of thousands of Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees who have sought protection in Guinea from years of bloodshed in their own countries. After years of relative hospitality toward refugees on their soil, Guinean authorities and segments of Guinean society increasingly blame the refugee population for bringing the violence of Sierra Leone and Liberia into Guinea.

Guinean officials currently accuse Sierra Leonean refugees of harboring Sierra Leone's notorious Revolutionary United Front rebels - a dubious accusation given that the refugees originally fled to Guinea to escape those same rebels. Refugees in Guinea have suffered a series of violent attacks, rapes, detentions, and Guinean government-sponsored anti-refugee propaganda since September. Humanitarian aid and protection for the refugees have virtually ceased since a UN relief worker was killed in Guinea Sept. 17 in a cross-border attack from Liberia.

Although tensions have risen dramatically in recent weeks, the potential for widening violence was apparent a full year ago. A USCR report in November 1999 warned that the "potential for additional security incidents remains high, particularly in border areas and refugee zones of Guinea.... Odds are high that security incidents will occur in 2000." USCR warned last November that many refugees living in Guinea "have encountered increased harassment and detention by Guinean police and military, including detentions, physical threats, and demands for bribes."

One of the largest international humanitarian agencies operating in Guinea, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), reported Monday that "hospitality toward refugees has run dangerously low" in Guinea and warned that "without immediate assistance, refugees in Guinea face widespread food shortages." IRC and other relief agencies have temporarily suspended most emergency aid programs in Guinea because of security concerns.

"We need assurances of security for refugee and local Guinean populations along the border, and safe access to refugee populations," IRC reported. "The government of Guinea has the responsibility to ensure the safety of refugee populations and humanitarian operations."

USCR concurs with the IRC recommendations. The Guinean government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should immediately identify acceptable new sites in Guinea to transfer refugee camps away from their current dangerous border locations. USCR urges the UN refugee agency to assign - immediately - additional high-level emergency staff to Guinea to augment the efforts of UNHCR's depleted relief contingent in the country.

International donors, including the U.S. State Department's refugee bureau, should immediately pledge the $13 million or more that UNHCR needs to strengthen its staff in Guinea and to establish safer new refugee camps there.

The U.S. government, which currently has U.S. military personnel in Guinea helping to train Guinean troops, should press Guinean authorities to discipline their own troops and civilian militia and should push Guinean authorities to provide proper protection to refugees on Guinean soil.


Contact: Jeff Drumtra (202) 347-3507

Copyright 2000, USCR

UN finds troops for Sierra Leone
Posted October 20, 2000 - 11:15 by newsdesk

Related Source: Financial Times

Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General

By Carola Hoyos, UN correspondent

October 19, 2000

The United Nations has secured troops and a commander for its struggling peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, averting a collapse of the 12,400-strong force charged with maintaining peace in one of the bloodiest African conflicts in decades.

Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, is expected to pick Lieutenant-General Daniel Opande, Kenya's vice-chief of general staff, as the new commander of Unamsil, diplomats said.

Mr Annan has also secured two Bangladeshi battalions to fill the vacuum that will be left when India pulls out its 3,000 troops later this year.

India's decision last month to abandon its two-year role in Unamsil, which includes pulling out the force commander, Major-General Vijay Jetley, sent the UN and UK scrambling to find replacements, in a climate in which countries are becoming unwilling to supply troops to messy intra-state conflicts.

The UN's credibility was again on the line and the UK found itself under growing international pressure to increase its role in restoring peace to its former colony.

London this month said it would send 100 extra soldiers to train Sierra Leonean forces and is discussing with the UN its role in a senior position at Unamsil headquarters.

The UN's peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone has been plagued by difficulty. In May, rebels took 500 peacekeepers hostage, deeply embarrassing the world organisation and damaging its credibility.

Mr Annan wants to balance the mission and is concerned about giving too much weight to the Nigerians, who already comprise the largest contingent.

Possibly the most important task awaiting Gen Opande if he is appointed will be to reconcile the tensions between the UN and some regional African countries, whose critical view of the UN's approach to the conflict at times has threatened to undermine Unamsil.

Strained relations between Gen Jetley and his Nigerian deputy, Muhammad Garba, contributed to India's decision to pull out and forced the UN to delay expanding Unamsil to more than 20,000 troops.



© Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2000.

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Wednesday, 18 October 2000
Posted October 20, 2000 - 10:48 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL Chief of Public Information Office Dr. Maurice Odine and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The Nigerian Battalion has donated the largest relief aid ever to the Save Our Souls (SOS) children's village in Freetown as part of Nigerian's efforts to help the people of Sierra Leone. This gesture was made as Nigeria held activities marking the country's 40th independence anniversary. In a letter to UNAMSIL Deputy Force Commander, General M. A. Garba, the Acting National Co-coordinator of SOS, Mr. Olatungie Woode, expressed profound appreciation for the donations. He said the community was aware of other military assistance provided by Nigeria for the children affected by war. Meanwhile, UNAMSIL peacekeepers of Nigerian Battalion (NIBATT I), deployed at Rokel-Magbele Bridge, have continued to assist about 2,500 displaced persons with food and medicine in the Magbele Bridge area.

Under the sponsorship of the Integrated Support Services at UNAMSIL, local residents have been undertaking a self-help initiative to raise money to buy school needs, and to build a school for needy children. The camp for internally displaced persons now has an enrollment of more than 100. A total of Le338,000 has been raised. Le646,500 was raised for a similar project to serve 125 primary school children in Mile-91. Of that amount, Le191,000 will be used for construction at Aberdeen Primary School Project.

Friday, 20 October 2000, is KENYATTA DAY in Kenya. The Kenyan Battalion contingents at UNAMSIL will observe this day with a medal presentation ceremony. This day, in 1952 in Kenya, marked a milestone in the struggle by the Kenyan people against colonialism. A state of emergency was declared to forestall the nationalist aspirations of Kenyans. Those associated with pro-independence Mau Mau Movement were detained in the thousands, while some paid the ultimate price for freedom with their lives.

You will recall that last week you were informed about bombs disposal in the Lungi peninsula area by UNAMSIL. This operation commenced on Monday 16th October and the team has successfully disposed of one unexploded bomb by burning it. The operation continues.


Questions and Answers

Q: What are the criteria in selecting the UNAMSIL Force Commander?

A: The Force Commander Major General V. K. Jetley has done a very wonderful job in Sierra Leone. You will recall that in a Press Conference by the visiting UN Security Council Members Delegation to Sierra Leone, the leader of the delegation Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock indicated that before their departure from New York, the UN Secretary-General told him that he will wish to make a decision in the next two weeks. But to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any concrete decision made as to who the next Force Commander will be. The requirements and consideration for qualification of the next Force Commander are dealt with by the Security Council in New York.

Q: How do you make contacts with all parties to the conflict and what are the results?

A: UNAMSIL continues to make contact with all parties to the conflict including the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Peaceful contacts were made in collaboration with some national agencies and governmental institutions through UNAMSIL Civil Affairs Section in Sierra Leone through the electronic media and other communication facilities. Recently, some leaflets were sent to the northern and eastern part of Sierra Leone, particularly Makeni Kambia Magburaka Daru and Kailahun. These messages which were in the local and English languages, were to encourage all parties to the conflict that the only way to resolve the situation is through peaceful means and not by aggression. These leaflets were also placed on the billboards at the various Military Observers Team Sites. These attracted a large number of the residents in the areas. Plans are also underway to disseminate these peace messages through Short-wave and FM radio stations.

Q: What is the new policy of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Programme?

A: The policy for the DDR programme is the responsibility of the Government of Sierra Leone through the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR). UNAMSIL is here to ensure the implementation of the Lome Peace Agreement, which the DDR process is part of. However, the DDR process is being reviewed, but until a policy statement is released, UNAMSIL continues to apply the existing DDR policy.

***********



(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

Kenyan may lead Sierra Leone UN force
Posted October 18, 2000 - 16:31 by newsdesk

Related Source: News24

Kenyan soldiers serving in UNAMSIL

United Nations, 18 October 2000

A Kenyan lieutenant-general with experience in two African UN missions has emerged as a leading contender to become force commander of the beleaguered UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone, Western diplomats said.

Lt.-Gen. Daniel Opande, currently the Kenyan deputy chief of staff, is considered to be a strong candidate to replace Maj.-Gen. Vijay Jetley of India, the diplomats said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

India announced last month that it was withdrawing its 3 059-strong unit in Sierra Leone, including Jetley, dealing a significant blow to the United Nations, which had wanted to increase its 13 000-strong force to better counter threats from rebels.

Kenya already is one of the largest troop contributors to the Sierra Leone mission with about 890 troops and other officials on the ground. Nigeria has the most after India, with about 3 000 troops, but UN officials have said they wanted another country to lead the force since Nigeria has the top civilian job in the UN mission.

If he is confirmed, Opande`s appointment would be a significant sign of Kenya`s commitment to the mission, despite clamoring earlier this year by some Kenyan politicians that their troops should withdraw.

Those calls came after rebels of the Revolutionary United Front seized 500 UN peacekeepers, including 25 Kenyans, in May, reigniting the country`s civil war. The hostages were released, but four Kenyans are believed to have been killed in the fiasco.

Following the hostage-taking incidents, Kenya sent a fact-finding mission to Sierra Leone in June and that same month, a legislative committee issued a report criticising Jetley for having given conflicting orders that the lawmakers said led to the Kenyans being seized.

Opande was on that fact-finding mission.

Previously, he has served as deputy force commander in the UN mission in Namibia and was the chief military observer in the UN mission in Liberia.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to name a replacement for Jetley shortly.

He is also trying to round up more troops to replace the departing Indian contingent and to bolster the force to a proposed 20 500.

There was no word on whether Kenya would be willing to provide more troops if it is awarded the force commander spot, the diplomats said.



© 2000 News24 - all rights reserved

Security Council Meets on Sierra Leone
Posted October 17, 2000 - 16:51 by newsdesk

Related Source: People's Daily

Tuesday, October 17, 2000

The UN Security Council Monday met behind closed doors to discuss a report presented by a high-ranking team of council ambassadors at the end of its October 7-15 trip to West African countries.

Eleven members of the council delegation wrapped up a four-day visit to Sierra Leone Thursday, pledging to make the UN peacekeeping force there as robust as possible.

The head of the delegation, Jeremy Greenstock of Britain, told a press conference here Monday that "the peace process in Sierra Leone has two tracks: one is military and the other is political."

"There must be military pressure on RUF (rebels) and those who back them," he said.

The international community should impose military pressure on the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to keep the rebels out of conflicts and bring them into the political process in the war-torn West African country, he said.

"(Rebel leader Foday) Sankoh is recognized by everybody to be out of it," he said.

RUF rebels took hostage some 500 UN peacekeepers in May. They were later released and former colonial power Britain sent hundreds of troops to secure the capital Freetown and help get the UN force back on its feet.

Sankoh, the RUF leader, was arrested in June and is facing the trial for the violation of the international humanitarian law and the Sierra Leonean law.

The Security Council is considering the next stage of peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone and is contemplating a possible increase in the size of the nearly 13,000-strong UN mission in Sierra Leone, known as the UNAMSIL.

In addition, there is rising concern over a series of cross border incursions involving Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian and refugee situation in the region.

Apart from Sierra Leone, the council delegation visited Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Liberia on a fact-finding mission in a bid to strengthen the UN peacekeeping operation.

India's decision to withdraw its contingent from the UNAMSIL has made it harder for the United Nations, which is seeking more troop contributors to beef up its military presence in Sierra Leone as mandated by the Security Council.


Copyright (c) People's Daily Online

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Monday, 16 October 2000
Posted October 17, 2000 - 16:48 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL Chief of Public Information Office Dr. Maurice Odine and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The general situation throughout the country remains relatively calm. UNAMSIL peacekeepers continue to carry out patrols within their areas of responsibilities.

Medical assistance, as part of UNAMSIL's humanitarian assistance to civilians in the local community, continues in areas of their deployment. In the past one week about 15 patients from the local community received medical treatment from UNAMSIL's medical units.

In the past two weeks about 21 UNAMSIL Military Observers arrived in the mission area to replace colleagues who have completed their tour of duties. These Military Observers came from The Gambia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

As an update, about 250 "West Side Boys," 137 ex-combatants of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), 16 ex-combatants of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), 74 ex-combatants of the Sierra Leone Army, who came into the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration(DDR) camp in Lungi are going through the DDR process.


Questions and Answers

Q: Can you confirm the areas of UNAMSIL's deployment?

A: UNAMSIL peacekeepers and Military Observers are deployed in Lungi general area, Port Loko, Freetown -- Goderich, Masiaka, Mile 91, Kenema and Daru, Bo and Moyamba.

Q: Although we have been getting some information from Radio UNAMSIL, how soon will UNAMSIL radio disseminate vital information throughout the country?

A: Thank you for the compliment. Radio UNAMSIL will continue to disseminate vital information and make sure that they reach out to a large extent throughout the country.

Q: What do you mean by saying -- "areas of UNAMSIL's deployment is relatively calm?"

A: This means that UNAMSIL has not had any contact or threat with any of the warring factions, particularly the RUF in areas of UNAMSIL's deployment. UNAMSIL is not here to wage war, and will continue as peacekeepers to maintain peace throughout the country according to UNAMSIL's mandate.

Q: Where are these 21 Military Observers deployed?

A: Currently, the 21 Military Observers are being briefed. Thereafter, the Military Observers will be deployed to Lungi, Hastings, Port Loko, Bo, Kenema, Daru and Moyamba Team Sites.

Q: Why is UNAMSIL not deployed in Kambia, Bombali, Tonkolili and Kono?

A: UNAMSIL will continue to perform their duties wherever they are deployed to ensure that lasting peace returns to Sierra Leone. Upon the operational assessment of certain areas, necessary deployment will be carried out.

Q: What is UNAMSIL's position as regards the safety of refugees fleeing the recent Sierra Leone-Liberia-Guinea border crisis?

A: UNAMSIL troops will continue to ensure the safety of lives and property in the areas of their deployment and would facilitate humanitarian assistance of national/international Non-Governmental Organisations to refugees as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs).



(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

ECOWAS to Jump-Start Sierra Leone Peace Process
Posted October 16, 2000 - 21:12 by newsdesk

Related Source: PANA

LAGOS, October 16, 2000 (PANA)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has outlined plans to resuscitate Sierra Leone's peace process, truncated by the recalcitrant rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), according to a top official of the sub-regional organisation.

Lansana Kouyate, Executive Secretary of the 16-member ECOWAS, told a visiting delegation of the UN Security Council in Abuja that the plans included a resumption of dialogue with the RUF and the reconvening of the Joint Implementation Committee overseeing the implementation of the peace process.

A peace agreement, signed by the government of Sierra Leone and RUF 7 July 1999 to end nine years of civil war in the country, unravelled after the rebel group reneged on the accord and took several hundred UN peacekeepers hostage in May this year.

Kouyate said ECOWAS was making "frantic efforts" to jump- start the peace process, but re-stated the commitment of the organisation to its two-track approach to resolving the conflict.

The approach involves dialogue with the rebels and the use of military option, when necessary.

Flanked by ambassadors of nine of the 16 member countries of ECOWAS, he also intimated to the delegation with the standing pledge by the member states to reinforce the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) with additional troops to enable it oversee the implementation process effectively.

UNAMSIL was deployed to Sierra Leone in April 2000 to replace the sub-regional intervention force, ECOMOG, and to help monitor the implementation of the peace accord signed in Lome, Togo.

The ECOWAS official stressed the need for the UN's assistance in the deployment of the 3,000 additional troops as well as its regional moratorium on arms importation and exportation to stop the flow of arms, which has fuelled the crisis.

Kouyate also briefed the 11-member UN Security Council delegation, led by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of Britain, on the situation along Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone borders, including the ECOWAS plan to deploy a military observer mission along the land and coastal borders of the three countries.

Responding, Greenstock pledged additional UN support for ECOWAS to enable it contribute to the resolution of the crisis in Sierra Leone and the comprehensive restoration of peace in the sub-region.

While agreeing that UNAMSIL needed to be strengthened to facilitate the realisation of its objectives, the ambassador said the sub-region must take a pre-eminent role in resolving the crisis.

The two organisations reiterated their desire to have regular consultations and strengthen their co-operation.

The UN delegation is on a fact-finding mission to the sub- region to evaluate the political, humanitarian and military situation in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The delegation had also met ECOWAS chairman, president Alpha Konare of Mali, as well as presidents Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone and Lansana Conte of Guinea, among others.



Copyright © 2000 Panafrican News Agency.

UN officials tell Liberia to stop fomenting war in Sierra Leone
Posted October 16, 2000 - 21:08 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

President Charles Taylor of Liberia

MONROVIA, October 15, 2000 (AP)

A U.N. Security Council delegation trying to bolster peace efforts in Sierra Leone sharply criticized Liberia's president Saturday, warning him to stop fomenting instability in its West African neighbor.

After meeting with President Charles Taylor in the capital, Monrovia, Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, who led the mission, said Liberia "has not worked for peace" and risked further alienating fellow nations in Africa and the West.

"There is no need to be a part of the instability in Sierra Leone because it would lead to your instability," Greenstock said.

He was referring to allegations that Liberia was supplying guns to Sierra Leone's brutal rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front, in return for diamonds dealt by the renegades.

As a result, a U.N. weapons embargo placed on Liberia since its own 1989-96 civil war would not be lifted until Taylor's government began working for peace, Greenstock said.

"The perception is very strong in the region that the flow of arms and diamonds is coming through Liberia," the British ambassador said, adding that Taylor had denied the charges.

Prior to the meeting, Taylor told journalists he would explain to the delegation Liberia's contention that it is not involved in Sierra Leone's war.

Greenstock said the U.N. delegation raised with Taylor the possibility that West African troops under the regional body ECOWAS could be sent to the frontiers of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to prevent regional instability.

Guinea has cracked down on more than 400,000 Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees, whom it claims are responsible for recent attacks on Guinean villages. Liberia has in turn accused Guinea of supporting a Liberian rebel group that has fought skirmishes with army soldiers in northern Liberia in recent months.

The Liberia visit was the last stop for the Security Council delegation, which had met with officials in Nigeria, Mali, Sierra Leone and Guinea over the conflict in Sierra Leone.

The United Nations has some 13,000 peacekeepers stationed in Sierra Leone, overseeing a fragile peace process after years of war between the RUF and government forces that has seen the killing of tens of thousands of civilians since 1991.


Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Guinea 'in a state of war'
Posted October 15, 2000 - 13:19 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC

S.Leonean refugees taking refuge at their embassy

By BBC correspondent Elizabeth Blunt in Conakry

Sunday, 15 October, 2000

The Guinean Interior Minister, Moussa Solano, says the country is effectively in a state of war following a series of attacks across its borders from inside neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.

To supplement the efforts of the regular army, Guinea has started a major recruitment drive and has begun arming village militias in the border areas.

Along the 50km road from the beginning of the Sierra Leone border road to the town of Forecariah there are now checkpoints at every village.

The journey can take hours as local defence committees check everyone entering and leaving their communities.

The roadblocks themselves are not very impressive, usually just a length of string across the road knotted with bits of old rag. But many of the men and boys manning the checks are armed.

In most of the villages we passed, even where there were no uniformed soldiers or police, someone had a gun, usually a double-barrelled shotgun of the kind now being handed out by the authorities.

Forecariah town is the administrative centre of the border district. Here, in the army camp, new recruits in fresh khaki uniforms were being put through basic drill, while other young men still in civilian clothes looked on.

Most of the efforts of the regular army are currently being concentrated on the Forecariah front, probably for the very good reason that it is dangerously close to the capital.

Tribal friction

Reports from the other region where there's been fighting, around Macenta on the Liberian border, say that much of the defence of that area is being left to various irregular forces, both Guinean and Liberian.

While the population on the Sierra Leone border is fairly homogeneous, there's a history of tribal friction around Macenta and they say the current conflict risks setting one Guinean against another.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leonean refugees in the area, some 40,000 of them, are still being confined to their camps and living in fear.

In the Kaliah refugee camp outside Forecariah, people live with their bags packed, ready to pick up their bundles and run.

Paying rebels

About a quarter of the 18,000 or so people currently living there have come from a camp nearer the border, which was destroyed by angry local people two weeks ago.

The daylight hours are now fairly quiet, but every night they lie awake, listening to gunfire from the direction of the Sierra Leone border - almost certainly Guinean army artillery firing towards where they believe the invaders to be.

The acting United Nations force commander in Sierra Leone, Brigadier Garba, blames the attacks in the area on Guinean opponents of President Lansana Conte's regime, but says that they are paying Sierra Leonean RUF rebels and others to fight on their behalf.


(c) 2000 BBC News

Exiled Sierra Leone writer finds refuge in gambling Mecca
Posted October 15, 2000 - 13:18 by newsdesk

Related Source: Times of India

Sunday, 15 October 2000

Syl Cheney-Coker stepped out onto his porch, lit a pipe and glanced at the sea of neon casinos in the distance. His sixth novel and a book of poems waited on his laptop computer to be finished.

It seems a bizarre combination - a Sierra Leone writer seeking asylum and a gambling city whose culture, if there is any, is neon, not literature. But Cheney-Coker has found refuge here in a city longing to expand its identity.

This is what he has come to Las Vegas for - the quiet, the freedom, the escape from killing.

"In an ironic way, because of its presumed tawdriness, it's just the right place for a writer to define what humanity is all about," Cheney-Coker, 55, said Friday from his new town house. "It's a fascinating study about humanity."

But Las Vegas, City of Asylum?

That's exactly what University of Nevada, Las Vegas, English professor Richard Wiley thought at first. He was having dinner in November with longtime friend Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian author and president of the International Parliament of Writers, when Soyinka mentioned that no U.S. city had expressed interest in hosting persecuted writers.

About 60 writers have found shelter in two dozen Cities of Asylum, a programme begun by the writers' group in response to death threats by Middle Eastern extremists against author Salman Rushdie.

"So, we made a kind of joke about wouldn't it be funny if Las Vegas did it because it's so counterintuitive," Wiley recalled. "It's not what you might think of Las Vegas doing."

But, sometime during the dinner, the joking stopped and, Wiley said, "it seemed like a perfect fit." Wiley took the idea to Mandalay Resort Group President Glenn Schaeffer, another longtime friend. He knew Schaeffer, a writer himself, could provide the funding the project needed.

Schaeffer agreed and the city's colorful mayor, Oscar Goodman, a former mob defense attorney, was in, too. "It's not bizarre at all. This is the new Las Vegas," Goodman said.

"Just the fact that he's here gives the city a dimension that it didn't have before," Wiley said. "The city really ... wants to have a well-roundedness."

Cheney-Coker fled Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa, in 1997 after rebels tried to smash the gates to his home in suburban Freetown. He has been a critic of military rule.

Terrorist rebels in Sierra Leone have killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians and mutilated many more since the country's civil war began in 1991.

Cheney-Coker arrived in Las Vegas last week with five novels and three books of poetry to his credit, an internationally acclaimed writer.

On Friday, Cheney-Coker contemplated his new place of residence and his country's future. Opera singer Leontyne Price's voice blared from a CD player near the empty glass of rum the writer had been sipping as a cough remedy.

"Sierra Leone will never be the same again, but as a writer I owe it to my country to go back when it's sane," he said. Cheney-Coker, who had been in New York as a writer-in-residence at Medgar Evers College, has been set up in the town house about two miles west of the Strip, given a car and a monthly stipend.

Mandalay Bay contributed $20,000 to support Cheney-Coker and Schaeffer gave dlrs 5,000.

The casino executive has also endowed a $2 million chair in creative writing at UNLV that will be filled in January by Soyinka, and is launching the Institute for Modern Letters at the university. Cheney-Coker plans to stay in Las Vegas at least a year, possibly two.

The city's mayor said hosting Cheney-Coker gives Las Vegas a cultural boost.

"Neon is our art form, but we're expanding our horizons," Goodman said. "It's a giant step for us."


Copyright © 2000 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Friday, 13 October 2000
Posted October 15, 2000 - 12:42 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL Chief of Public Information Office Dr. Maurice Odine and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


TThe general situation throughout the country remains calm. UNAMSIL peacekeepers continue to carry out patrols within their areas of responsibilities.

Today, I have Squadron Leader Mike Ryan, UNAMSIL Operations Officer and Liaison Officer for the disposal of bombs, and munition and he has an announcement to make.

Sqd Ldr Mike Ryan: At Lungi, there are a number of unexploded bombs which lie around the airport. They are a danger. The Government of Sierra Leone, assisted by the United Kingdom will remove this danger and make the area safe.

This means that there will be soldiers and vehicles moving in and around the area for ten days starting Monday, 16th October.

The villagers of Kagbeli and Rogbanti may be asked to leave their homes for a short time, but we hope that this will not be necessary as their homes and property will be safe.

The Paramount Chief, Hon. P. C. Bai Sherbro-Boyloy Komkanda II, is aware of the task and gives his support.

The residents of those areas -- Kagbeli and Rogbanti are asked to cooperate with the soldiers and not to be alarmed if they hear explosions. These are the bombs being blown up by the engineers.

As an advance notification, there will also be a second operation of the disposal of bombs and ammunition around the Lumley Beach, Freetown area starting on the 28th October.

Questions and Answers

Q: Do you have these explosives in your custody?

A: They are safely in our custody.

Q: Are you going to evacuate the villagers of Kagbeli and Rogbanti?

A: The local authorities in the area will take care but we hope evacuation will not be necessary as lives and property will be safe.

Q: How many types of bombs do you have in your custody?

A: At Lungi, there are 10 bombs.

Q: How are you going to disseminate the information about the disposal of bombs and ammunition to the local residents of those villages -- Kagbeli and Rogbanti?

A: This announcement will be made through the media including Radio UNAMSIL in the local languages and the distribution of posters to the local areas.

Q: Are you planning this same operation -- disposal of bombs and ammunition in other provincial towns and villages?

A: We express the same concern as to the possibility of the disposal of all unexploded items in various parts of the country. This is an ongoing process being carried out by UNAMSIL to ensure the safety of civilians.



(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

Security Council Delegation Press Briefing - Thursday, 12 October 2000
Posted October 15, 2000 - 12:36 by newsdesk

PRESS CONFERENCE BY VISITING DELEGATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AT UNAMSIL HEADQUARTERS, SIERRA LEONE

12 October 2000

Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As this is the final stop of our Sierra Leone Programme as Security Council Mission, we have with us on this table, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury (Bangladesh) Chairman of the Sanctions Committee in the UN Security Council for Sierra Leone, Ambassador James Cunningham (US) and Ambassador Peter van Walsum (Pays-Bas). I am Jeremy Greenstock, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom and head of the Mission.

I am going to start by reading a Statement that the Security Council mission has prepared as it leads Sierra Leone half way through its mission to West Africa looking at the problem of Sierra Leone and then we would take questions.

We had all before we arrived been moved and appalled by what has happened in Sierra Leone. We continue to be greatly disturbed by the suffering in this country; but we also take away a different impression: we have all been struck by the signs of hope in Sierra Leone, of the vibrancy and energy of the people, of the enormous efforts being made by the government, civil society, the United Nations, the international community as a whole to rise above the tiny minority insisting on violence and to put this country back on its feet.

The message we are taking with us unto the region and back to New York is one of a renewed, two-fold commitment: first, a commitment to continue to help the people of Sierra Leone rebuild their future; and second, a renewed commitment to United Nations peacekeeping. This mission will be considering its conclusions and recommendations very carefully over the next few days before we return to New York. But there are a number of observations which we would like to share before we leave Sierra Leone today.

First, UNAMSIL. This mission has been through a traumatic period of pressures and challenges this year. It has come through that crisis and moved on. We have seen first hand very impressive peacekeeping and peacebuilding work by each and every one of the units we visited. This is one of the most important messages we will be taking back with us. The Security Council has some important decisions coming up on the future shape, mandate and structure of UNAMSIL, and our determination to make this operation as effective, capable, and robust as possible has been reinforced by this visit, even if there is much work still to be done.

Second, we recognize more than ever after our time here the depth, range and complexity of the problems facing this country. These can only be addressed by a comprehensive strategy requiring substantive long-term assistance from the international community, with the United Nations in a leading role. At the same time, we all feel strongly the need and great potential for the government and people to do its part. This is a country, which has suffered enormously, but it is one whose people is its greatest resource. We would like to see Sierra Leoneans, under their Government, increasingly taking the lead in stabilizing and regenerating this country, and believe they can do it. We hope the support from the outside world which this mission represents will encourage and galvanize such leadership.

A few words about the special court. We have heard a wide range of views here from the Government, judiciary civil society and NGOs. The Security Council will want to consider the Secretary-General's recommendations before taking action. But it is not premature for us to send one clear message: we remain determined that fair, speedy and effective justice is delivered by this court, on behalf of the people of Sierra Leone. We expect that only those bearing the greatest responsibility for the crimes perpetrated should be indicted. We heard a strong plea from the children themselves, and from civil society, NGOs and agencies, that those under 18 should not be subject to the court's jurisdiction. We firmly believe that the special court's justice can work hand in hand with the reconciliation process.

We are now leaving Sierra Leone, but our mission continues on in the region. One of the clearest messages we have heard over the last few days is that the crisis in Sierra Leone is a regional crisis, both in terms of its causes and effects, but also in terms of the solutions. Rebuilding peace, stability and prosperity in Sierra Leone means rebuilding it in the region as well. We look to the leaders of the ECOWAS countries, individually and collectively, to take up that responsibility and act on it. They will find the UN and the international community fully supportive.


Questions and Answers

Q: Were you able to get assurance of the cessation of hostilities from all parties to the conflict so that the peace process can move forward and the Lomé Peace Agreement implemented?

A: Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock: We met this morning with Chairman Johnny Paul Koroma and members of his Commission which included a member of the RUF. In our view, he did not represent the military leadership of the RUF and we have had no direct contact with the military leadership of the RUF. Unless they come forward to engage in the peace process, and make it clear that they will prefer the political process to military conflict, then I do not think that there is any room for the Security Council mission to get into direct negotiations with them. So we have not entered into any direct negotiation on the question that you have asked about the cessation of hostilities. It was very clear nevertheless that all members of the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace (CCP) are interested in a unified national approach to the peace process which should in due course and under certain conditions involve the Revolutionary United Front. But we are here on a general mission to examine the problems of Sierra Leone and as a mission of 11 Ambassadors did not intend to and have not got into direct negotiations.

Q: What would happen to a fighter who joined the RUF at the age of twelve and has fought with them for eight years, who is now twenty years old? Will you try such a child? Secondly, A couple of days ago Bangladesh committed to send troops to UNAMSIL, what is the latest development?

A: Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock: I say again about the special court that we are not here to make decisions or draw conclusions. The Security Council as a whole will come to their conclusions from the Secretary-General's report so I will give you no final answer on the jurisdiction of the court. It was very clear that the Sierra Leone people from the Government to the President downwards want justice from this conflict. They also want to see an end to the conflict and political unity in the country. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the special court will be a part of that for those who bear the greatest responsibility. It is not for us to judge who may have borne the greatest responsibility. We will all come in our personal capacities, I think, to the conclusion that it is almost thinkable that any child who has been a victim of the war will be in that category.

A: Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury: I will like to mention that Bangladesh as a country is very much committed to peace in Sierra Leone, as a member of the Security Council will like to contribute to that process as much as possible. I will like to reconfirm here that Bangladesh has offered and the offer has been accepted by the UN Secretary-General of two additional Battalions to come and join the existing one here and UNAMSIL to be part of the peace process in this country. We will also be committing some additional units -- communications unit, medical units, and artillery units for the purposes of UNAMSIL.

Q: "Trying to make UNAMSIL as effective, capable and robust as possible," as has been reaffirmed by your visit, does that mean that the increase of troops is subsequently going to affect the mandate?

A: Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock: The Security Council will clearly continue to look at the mandate of UNAMSIL against the requirements been put on it by advance and that will be done in close coordination both with the authorities in Sierra Leone, with the troop contributors offering contingents to UNAMSIL and under the leadership of the Secretary-General whose job it is to run UNAMSIL through his Department of Peacekeeping Operations. What we saw in our journeys to the field and in our discussions with UNAMSIL headquarters, was an impressive operation. I personally went to Kenema and Daru and saw the huge quality of what was being done on the ground by the UNAMSIL Battalions in that region. But UNAMSIL needs time to get up to maximum capability and strength. The Secretary-General has recommended a restructuring in the military sense of UNAMSIL. Some contingents are leaving and some more are joining. The British Government has made a proposal in recent days for the strengthening of UNAMSIL headquarters. All these things are revolving at UNAMSIL which is going to be more military capable and better able to respond to the current mandate than in its early months. We are encouraged by what we see but we see that there is a lot more to do and at some time to pass before we reach the ceiling that the Secretary-General has asked for -- 20,500. The Security Council needs to take a further decision on that. But I don't think that any of these has come to a conclusion at this stage that there should be an immediate change in the mandate. The mandate is sufficient for what UNAMSIL needs to do and what it is capable of doing at the moment. And you should expect that mandate to remain in that area for several months to come.

Q: What is the US Government's reaction to financing UNAMSIL troops in Sierra Leone in the region of US$780 million per annum for 20,500 troops?

A: Ambassador James Cunningham (US): It is actually true that UNAMSIL is an expensive operation as the largest peacekeeping operation now on the way, but that is not of primary concern to us. Obviously, what we want is to make sure UNAMSIL is as effective and productive as possible. We are not at all reluctant to see its size increased. We have been strong supporters of this strong effectiveness to UNAMSIL with the clear task which supports strengthening the mandate and the force itself. We intend to see that through until there is peace in this country.

A: Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock: This morning we went again to see President Kabbah. We saw the President on Monday at the beginning of our trip in Sierra Leone and we are seeing him as the last port of call before we depart for Conakry now.

This morning we discussed that element that I read out in our Press statement that relates to the development of a coordinated strategy for peace in Sierra Leone and the President was clearly keenly interested in as far as that strategy relates to the internal situation in Sierra Leone to take forward a national and a unified strategy for developing peace in Sierra Leone. This has a number of elements. There are elements that need to draw those in the conflict who do not want to continue back into the normal life of the country-- the political, economic and social elements to that. And the President clearly understands that the incentives for coming back out of the conflict, out of the rebellion for those who are fed-up with the brutality and the violence which the rebellion represents, need to see that there is going to be a prospect of the normal economic community life for those who come out. He has told us that he wishes to develop further with all those concerned, going to all the political parties using the CCP, appealing to those who are the great majority of people who desperately want peace, to work together on a unified national strategy to develop that. Now, we are interested in, and to some extent, responsible for the international input into that strategy. There need to be a strong continuation of overseas assistance particularly, financial. In fact Sierra Leone receives as a proportion of universal overseas assistance, a very high amount for its population. That is absolutely right for what is arguably the poorest country in the world, but overseas assistance goes beyond the provision of finance. You have got agencies on the ground in many aspects -- UN agencies, the World Bank and many NGOs working hard and courageously to get access to the people who are in distress. You have got donor governments working and contributing to make the government, the Army, social, health and education system work better. All of these needs to be drawn into a strategy which allows the people's appeal for peace to be represented in what is happening on the ground in terms of the evolution of the events and economy of Sierra Leone, the communities working together which we saw working well at the local level but still looking to be drawn together at the national level. The President made it clear that he has got that message and wishes to follow it up and it is something that we will be paying a particular interest in and attention to when we take our report back to New York.

Q: How soon will the UN nominate a new Force Commander to take over from Major General V. K. Jetley?

A: Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock: The UN Secretary-General told me before we departed New York on this trip that he will wish to make a decision in the next two weeks, but the mission will meet with him when we get back.

Q: Will Britain contribute troops to UNAMSIL?

A: Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock: We have already made a statement which set outs very clearly what the British Government will be contributing. We will be contributing officers to UNAMSIL headquarters. We are concentrating on accelerated training, equipping and motivating of the Sierra Leone Army through our own short-term training team and the international military assistance training team which will be looking at the higher echelons of the Sierra Leone Army. Under a specific decision, we have dedicated a Rapid Reaction Force to be available to deal with any emergency, particularly to UNAMSIL, the purpose of which is to give UNAMSIL confidence as it upgrades its capabilities.

I thank you all.



(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

Aid agencies resume work in Guinean Refugee Camps
Posted October 14, 2000 - 13:09 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC

Saturday, 14 October, 2000

By Elizabeth Blunt in Conakry

International aid workers in the West African Republic of Guinea have been able to return to work in refugee camps near the Sierra Leone border for the first time in nearly a month.

Guinea hosts some 500,000 refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia, but the refugees are now being accused of collaborating in a series of recent cross-border raids.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees pulled its staff out of the camp after one of its representatives was murdered, and another abducted.

By the time the first deliveries were made on Thursday, some of the camps were completely out of supplies.

The first representatives of the UNHCR and the International Red Cross reached the camps around Forecariah on Thursday and started to deliver food to three camps.

Surrounded

After a series of attacks on the area by armed men coming from Sierra Leone, Guinean soldiers ringed the camp and have been refusing to let any of the refugees leave even to collect food from their farms or to buy it in the market.

The few camp residents who manage to slip out have told of severe food shortages inside and also of the fear of the refugees as battles rage nearby, and the attackers and the Guinean army exchange heavy weapons fire just across the border.

The three camps closest to the border have been completely destroyed, and that area near Pamelap is still too dangerous for civilians to enter.

The delegate of the International Federation of Red Cross societies in Guinea, Leocardio Salmeron, says no one knows where most of the residents of those camps have gone.

Some have been put into other camps - others maybe somewhere in the bush, or have fled back across into Sierra Leone.

UN military observers in Sierra Leone are reporting 10,000 people newly arrived in government-held territory on the Lungi peninsula.

More attacks feared

Mr Salmeron said the Red Cross was delivering enough food to the camp for two months as quickly as it could since, it was always possible that there would be more attacks and the area would be closed again.

Meanwhile, on Guinea's other border near Liberia where there has also been fighting, humanitarian works have resumed in most of the 150 camps in the area.

But around the town of Macenta is a no-go area, with cross-border raids and inter-factional fighting still going on.


(c) 2000 BBC News

Sierra Leone urged to forge own future
Posted October 14, 2000 - 0:40 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, UK Ambassador to the UN

By the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Guinea

Friday, 13 October, 2000

Ambassadors from member countries of the United Nations Security Council have ended a visit to Sierra Leone, with a call for its government and people to take more of a lead in stabilising and regenerating the country.

The ambassadors now plan to meet the presidents of Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Liberia before returning to New York.

Members of the 11-strong delegation have spent three days trying to get to grips with the complicated military and political situation in Sierra Leone.

They have clambered in and out of helicopters, visiting various battalions of the United Nations peacekeeping force right up to Rogberi junction on the current front line, just 4km (two miles) from the nearest rebel positions.

They have met demobilised fighters, former child soldiers, would-be politicians and President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on two separate occasions.

On the whole, it has been clear that they have been impressed by the peacekeeping forces they met.

The capture in May of several hundred of its troops was a humiliation for the United Nations.

The force has now been deployed in fewer positions but in greater strength, and it has beaten back a number of rebel attacks.

Where conditions allow, the peacekeepers are getting involved in community projects and creating the confidence for local residents to return to their homes.

But what seems to be worrying the delegation is the political dimension, where there has been little progress.

After the arrest of Foday Sankoh, the RUF rebels chose a new leader.

Issa Sessay is generally believed to be less intransigent, but so far there has been almost been no contact with him.

Outside world

His men still control more than half of the country and the peacekeepers have not been able to deploy in their areas.

After a final meeting with President Kabbah, the leader of the UN delegation, British ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, told journalists they would like to see Sierra Leoneans under their government increasingly taking the lead in stabilising and regenerating their country.

He said he hoped the support from the outside world, which the mission represented, would encourage and galvanise such leadership.


(c) 2000 BBC News

Sierra Leone ends diamond export ban
Posted October 14, 2000 - 0:32 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

Hopes that smuggling of illegal gems will be more difficult

FREETOWN, October 12, 2000 (AP)

Sierra Leone on Thursday lifted its diamond export ban, opening the way for trading of officially registered stones while attempting to restrict the flow of so-called blood diamonds dealt by the country's brutal rebels.

The announcement came after new certification documents -- which officials say will make smuggling of illegal gems more difficult -- were delivered to the war-ravaged West African nation.

Sierra Leonean Minister of Mineral Resources Mohammed Deen presented the certificates as part of a new system of certifying that diamonds come from mines in government-controlled areas.

In early July, Sierra Leone's government and the U.N. Security Council both banned the purchase of Sierra Leone diamonds without a government certificate in a bid to strangle the ability of the rebel Revolutionary United Front to finance the country's nine-year civil war using so-called "blood diamonds."

With Thursday's announcement, uncertified gems from Sierra Leone will continue to be affected by the U.N. sanctions.

The rebels have killed tens of thousands of civilians and intentionally maimed many more since fighting began in 1991.

"As long as diamonds are from Sierra Leone, they must have the new certificate of origin," Deen told officials and journalists during a ceremony to announce the lifting of the export ban.

Lawrence Myers, the general manager of the Government Gold and Diamond Office, said Thursday that between $3 million and $4 million in diamonds "are lined up for export as from tomorrow."

Myers said the diamond certification regime "had created fear in the minds" of dealers involved in illegal smuggling.

Certificates of origin -- developed with the United States, Britain, Belgium and Israel -- are made with forgery-resistant security paper. A matching numbered label on the sealed parcel of rough diamonds, with a warning that any tampering is a violation of the Security Council sanctions, must be returned by the recipient, Deen has said.

The Diamond High Council in Antwerp, the world's largest diamond trading center, has offered to design and set up a new database of Sierra Leone diamond exports, involving electronic confirmation of their arrival at the destination.

While government, U.N. and diamond industry officials insist the new regime will dramatically slow the flow of diamonds from rebel-controlled regions, diamonds traders in Freetown say it will not be very effective; that rebel gems can easily be smuggled with the help of corrupt Sierra Leonean officials and through neighboring states such as Liberia, which has a much smaller diamond mining industry.

The rebels, who relaunched the war in May, still control about 90 percent of Sierra Leone's diamond mining areas.



Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Susan Rice Outlines U.S. Policy on Sierra Leone
Posted October 12, 2000 - 17:30 by newsdesk

Related Source: US DOS

11 October 2000

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice told Senate lawmakers October 11 that there appears to be "an uneasy tactical pause" in major military operations against Sierra Leone's government by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel forces.

But Rice added in her prepared remarks before the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs that as long as the RUF-inspired instability continues in Sierra Leone, the conflict will have "serious long-term effects on political and economic development throughout the subregion. The conflict has drawn in several neighboring countries and threatens West Africa's stability while draining it of precious resources. The stakes are therefore high, not only for Sierra Leone's own long-suffering people, but also for all of West Africa."

Rice said that the RUF now maintains control over large portions of Sierra Leone. The rebels also have imposed a "reign of terror" over thousands of innocents and have stifled government efforts "to extend its authority into these areas of lawlessness and terror. Only under accountable, responsible, democratic governance can these human rights abuses be curtailed and minimal living standards reintroduced. Only when the rule of law is extended to all of Sierra Leone's territory and those most responsible for the horrendous atrocities are held accountable before a court of law will the population experience the freedom and the confidence necessary to rebuild their war-ravaged country."

Rice said that it is essential to stop the "diamonds-for-guns" trade between the RUF and Liberian President Charles Taylor and others that is fueling the conflict. She noted that President Clinton on October 11 signed a proclamation imposing travel sanctions to the United States on Taylor and other government officials (and their families) who "impede the peace process" in Sierra Leone.

Critical to achieving peace in Sierra Leone, Rice said, is a strengthening of the U.N. peacekeeping mission mandate while also increasing its (UNAMSIL's) numbers.

"Thus, we will continue to work for a new UNAMSIL resolution that provides a mandate to support the Sierra Leone army in compelling RUF compliance with its obligation to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate into society," Rice said. "UNAMSIL's U.S.-trained and equipped West African battalions, once deployed, will form a key component of the enhanced UNAMSIL, and we expect will play an assertive role in countering the RUF."

As for the RUF, she said the administration believes that it "must cease to function as a military force. There must be early and full disarmament of the RUF through a credible and effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process." UNAMSIL also must have "freedom of movement" as it assists government in gradually establishing "authority throughout the country." And, she said, the RUF must "relinquish control of all diamond areas and key transportation and communication routes" to the government. Nor should the RUF "be rewarded by being guaranteed a place in the government," Rice said.

Given RUF's failure to fulfill its obligations under the Lome Peace Accords, she said, "only increased pressure on the rebels can reliably end this conflict and the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone."

Following is the text of Rice's statement as prepared for delivery:

(begin text)

Susan E. Rice, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on African Affairs Washington, DC, October 11, 2000


U.S. POLICY TOWARDS SIERRA LEONE

Achieving Peace and Justice in Sierra Leone

Mr. Chairman, Committee Members, thank you for inviting me today to testify on Sierra Leone. There have been few civil conflicts during the past decade as brutal and complex as this one, and I commend you, Mr. Chairman, and the members of your committee for our shared interest in trying to bring peace and justice to this tragic country. As I have said on previous occasions, we remain fully committed to working with Congress to help ease the suffering of the Sierra Leonean people and help them find a lasting solution to this crisis.

The Threat of Regional Instability

Mr. Chairman, we have important interests in achieving peace in Sierra Leone. Continued instability in Sierra Leone will have serious long-term effects on political and economic development throughout the sub-region. The conflict has drawn in several neighboring countries and threatens West Africa's stability while draining it of precious resources. The stakes are therefore high, not only for Sierra Leone's own long-suffering people, but also for all of West Africa.

Currently, Sierra Leone is divided. Effective government control is limited to Freetown and the Lungi peninsula and other areas in the South -- thanks mainly to the presence of troops from the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and the United Kingdom in those areas. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) continues to launch numerous small-scale attacks. UNAMSIL patrols roads between its peninsular bases and its positions at Kenema, Bo, and Daru. There appears at present to be an uneasy tactical pause in RUF military operations.

But as long as the conflict continues, there is a risk that it will spill over even more dramatically into neighboring countries and create more instability and human suffering. Liberia has been involved in this conflict almost from the beginning, and now Guinea is victim to cross-border incursions by RUF elements and their allies. This has led to increased domestic instability within Guinea, which is already hosting nearly half a million refugees from both Sierra Leone and Liberia. An estimated 5,000 of these refugees have crossed into Guinea since renewed violence erupted in May.

Dire Humanitarian Conditions

With the RUF still in control of large portions of Sierra Leone, a significant percentage of the population remains subject to its reign of terror. This continued control makes it impossible for relief organizations to provide food and assistance to thousands of victims of the RUF, including those who have been raped and mutilated. The people under the RUF's power also do not have access to the most basic social services, including health care and education. As a result, they are condemned to lives of fear, sickness, and poverty. We cannot allow these abominable conditions to endure.

Extending Democratic Governance

That is why it is so important that the United States continue to support the elected democratic government of Sierra Leone's efforts to extend its authority into these areas of lawlessness and terror. Only under accountable, responsible, democratic governance can these human rights abuses be curtailed and minimal living standards reintroduced. Only when the rule of law is extended to all of Sierra Leone's territory and those most responsible for the horrendous atrocities are held accountable before a court of law will the population experience the freedom and the confidence necessary to rebuild their war-ravaged country.

It is also essential to choke the diamond revenues fueling the conflict, as the RUF continues to trade diamonds for guns with Liberian President Charles Taylor and others. The United States has a keen interest in successful implementation of UNSC Resolution 1306, which we sponsored, in order to ban trade in rough diamonds from Sierra Leone except those that have a certificate of origin issued by the Government. We also remain committed to the return of full control of the diamond mines to the elected government of Sierra Leone.

Supporting the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone

Critical to achieving a lasting peace in Sierra Leone is ensuring that the UN peacekeeping mission, UNAMSIL, succeeds. But for UNAMSIL to succeed it must be strengthened. To this end, we are prepared to support a substantial increase in the size of the force and the strength of its mandate. We support increasing its forces from the current level of approximately 13,000 troops, to at least 20,500 and are working hard to obtain the necessary commitments from potential troop contributors.

Equally critical is ensuring that UNAMSIL has the mandate, as well as the means, to accomplish these goals. An increase in the number of troops without any strengthening of its mandate, will not produce results. Thus, we will continue to work for a new UNAMSIL resolution that provides a mandate to support the Sierra Leone army in compelling RUF compliance with its obligation to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate into society. UNAMSIL's U.S.-trained and equipped West African battalions, once deployed, will form a key component of the enhanced UNAMSIL, and we expect will play an assertive role in countering the RUF. The United States is committed to the success of this mission. Furthermore, since Britain's direct military role in Sierra Leone and its training of the Sierra Leone Army are critical to stabilizing the situation in that country, support for British training efforts is also a high priority.

We have also begun to help train and equip seven battalions of West African troops to bolster the UN forces already deployed there. With increased capacity, UNAMSIL should be able, together with the Sierra Leone army now being trained by the British, to help the legitimate government extend its control over all major population centers, its borders, and the diamond producing areas.

Dealing With the RUF

We believe that the RUF must cease to function as a military force. There must be early and full disarmament of the RUF through a credible and effective Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process. A renewed DDR program should include immediate, permanent physical separation of RUF combatants from their commanders.

The RUF must not interfere with the Government of Sierra Leone's and UNAMSIL's freedom of movement in Sierra Leone as UNAMSIL assists the Sierra Leone Army in the progressive extension of the GOSL's authority throughout the country. The RUF must also relinquish control of all diamond areas and key transportation and communication routes to the GOSL.

Furthermore, we believe the RUF should not be rewarded by being guaranteed a place in the government. However, as an incentive to end the conflict, individual, disarmed/demobilized members of the RUF who are not guilty of war crimes or atrocities should not be prohibited from entering the political life of the country. But the RUF must also respect the authority of the Special Court.

The Origins of the Crisis in Sierra Leone

It is important to understand the history of the conflict in Sierra Leone prior to the Lome Agreement of July 1999.

The Revolutionary United Front began its assault against the central government of Sierra Leone in March 1991 with a two-pronged cross-border incursion from Liberia. With interruptions, fighting has continued ever since.

In May 1997, President Kabbah's democratically elected government was overthrown by a military coup and moved to Conakry, Guinea. The leaders of the military coup invited the RUF to join them in ruling the country under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). President Kabbah and his government were only able to return to Freetown in March 1998 after being restored to power following the military intervention by the Nigerian-led regional peacekeeping forces (ECOMOG) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Over the course of 1998, the RUF and its rebel allies, the former members of the AFRC and of the Sierra Leone Army who supported them, regrouped and with external assistance funneled primarily through Liberia, avoided full defeat by ECOMOG and instead regained the initiative.

The United States was able to provide ECOMOG with logistics assistance through an initial $3.9 million contract with Pacific Architects and Engineers (PA and E) and their sub-contractor International Charters Incorporated (ICI). The Netherlands provided 80 trucks that were transported from Liberia, where they had been initially delivered to ECOMOG.

The European Union at the time was reluctant to assist ECOMOG while Sani Abacha was still president of Nigeria. The financial burden for combatting the RUF in Sierra Leone thus fell largely on Nigeria, with a reported cost of about $1 million per day.

From mid-1998 until late 1999, the RUF and its insurgent allies swept back from the east through the north and then parts of the west of Sierra Leone before attacking Freetown itself in early January 1999. While the forces of ECOMOG eventually drove the RUF back out of Freetown, it was also clear that the RUF were a force that could not be defeated by ECOMOG alone. Nor did the international community appear to have both the will and the ability to defeat the RUF militarily.

For our part, we had already spent our entire allotted voluntary peacekeeping budget for Africa on Sierra Leone. In fact, since 1991 we have spent well over $110 million supporting ECOWAS peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The United States was far and away the largest donor to ECOMOG. Moreover, there was also considerable skepticism among some in Congress about providing further assistance to ECOMOG under the military regime then governing Nigeria, which had provided the bulk of the West African troops trying to keep the rebel forces in check.

Even after the brutal RUF attack on Freetown in January 1999, several holds were placed on our notifications of intent to program voluntary peacekeeping funds intended to support the ECOWAS troops. Later in 1999, the newly elected democratic government in Nigeria, now accountable to its people, decided to withdraw its troops absent a massive infusion of resources from the international community. This meant that a military solution -- the effective defeat of the RUF -- was no longer a realistic option. To stop the killing, a negotiated solution became essential.

Against this backdrop, the regional states sponsored the Lome discussions that led to a cease-fire in May 1999. Representing the United States, Reverend Jesse Jackson spent one day in Lome and on that day, May 18, 1999, succeeded in helping achieve a cessation of hostilities agreement. The Lome peace agreement that followed two months later in July 1999 was the result of regional peace negotiations sponsored by the Economic Community of West African States between the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF, which were supported by the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Organization of African Unity, the United States, Great Britain, and others. The Foreign Minister of Togo oversaw these negotiations.

Following the Lome Agreement, ECOMOG remained in Sierra Leone to maintain security, but Nigeria, under the democratically elected government of President Obasanjo, signaled that it could not continue bearing the cost of this mission alone. In the absence of a great deal more direct assistance to ECOMOG, the United Nations would have to take ECOMOG's place. The United States was unable to assume that burden alone since we have available less than $15 million a year to fund non-UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. No other donor was willing to make any significant contributions to ECOMOG.

The UN Security Council in October 1999 authorized a 6,000-strong peacekeeping mission for Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to replace the very small military observer group (UNOMSIL). Nigeria agreed to contribute troops to UNAMSIL and continue to play a leading role in UNAMSIL leadership.

Unfortunately, the RUF [flouted] its commitments and violated in the most horrific ways the Lome agreement. Their reprehensible actions left Sierra Leoneans still searching for peace. We welcome the capture of Foday Sankoh and look forward to the day he stands before justice in a court of law. But we also recognize that his trial alone will not bring peace -- there is much work that must still be done on the ground -- by a strengthened UNAMSIL and by the government and army and people of Sierra Leone.

The Lome accord was a peace agreement widely welcomed by the people of Sierra Leone. As many members of Sierra Leonean civil society stressed to Secretary Albright a year ago, the people of Sierra Leone were desperate for peace -- even if it meant justice were to be deferred. Peace meant to them that the horrors would finally stop, lives could be rebuilt, and that the diamond mines could revert to the control of the government. For the RUF, it was their best chance to lay down their arms, become a constructive political player in Sierra Leone, and escape further world ostracism. While the agreement established a domestic, but not international amnesty, and allowed limited RUF non-elected representation in the government, it was an agreement that was freely and willingly negotiated by the Sierra Leonean parties themselves. If the Lome agreement's provisions had been respected by the RUF, Sierra Leoneans would be well on their way by now to rebuilding their impoverished and war-ravaged country.

The Lome agreement, like many others elsewhere before it, was a calculated risk that didn't play out as the people of Sierra Leone, the international community, or the United States would have hoped. Some may now second-guess the inclusion of the rebels in any kind of peace process, given their grisly record. But this would not be realistic, given the circumstances. Nor was it the first time that rebels have taken part in peace talks after committing atrocities. Mozambique, Guatemala, and El Salvador, to name just three countries, have stable democratic governments following peace arrangements worked out between one or more sides once employing terror tactics against civilian populations.

The people of Sierra Leone would not have us forget that for almost one full year the atrocities largely stopped, some inaccessible areas were opened, and more than 20,000 combatants were disarmed.

When the RUF then attacked the UN peacekeepers sent to oversee the implementation of the Lome peace accord, they violated the will of the Sierra Leonean people and squandered the opportunity for peace.


Current U.S. Policy Goals

Help the Government of Sierra Leone gain control of territory

We support a UN Security Council resolution that would forge a robust UNAMSIL operation. This resolution will likely come up in December. In the interim, we are working with current and potential troop contributors to secure adequate and capable troops to help restore peace and stability to Sierra Leone. An augmented UNAMSIL must have the mandate and the means to support the Sierra Leone Army in compelling RUF compliance with its obligation to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate into society. U.S.-trained and equipped West African battalions will form a key component of the enhanced UNAMSIL mission and will be expected to play an assertive role in countering the RUF. In addition, we place a high priority on supporting the direct military role of the United Kingdom in Sierra Leone and its training of the Sierra Leone army.

Promote Accountability

The Sierra Leone Independent Special Court, whose establishment we championed, must now become an instrument for swift and exemplary justice for those members of the RUF and related insurgent groups who bear the greatest responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law and related Sierra Leonean law.

Other Sierra Leonean transgressors could be tried in Sierra Leonean domestic courts or appear before the truth and reconciliation commission.

Liberia and the RUF

Liberian President Charles Taylor's support and patronage of the RUF is intolerable and must end. In July, Under Secretary Pickering put Taylor plainly on notice that he must sever his support for the RUF and the illicit diamond trade or face the consequences. He made plain to President Taylor that we will take the necessary measures, including sanctions, to ensure that the Government of Liberia ceases aiding the RUF.

Today, the President announced that we will impose travel sanctions on President Taylor, other Liberian government officials, and their family members for their support of the RUF. Further sanctions, should they be necessary, are under active consideration. We call upon the international community and, in particular, Liberia's regional neighbors to join in this effort to maximize its effectiveness.

Our intent is to raise the costs to Taylor of his support for the RUF by limiting his freedom of action, denying him resources, and exposing as widely as possible to world opinion his destructive role in the region. There should be no mistaking our position: we recognize the corrosive role that Taylor is playing in the tragedy of Sierra Leone and the spreading instability in the region, and we are committed to bringing his destructive influence to an end.

Strategy and Implementation

Our strategy to bring peace and stability to Sierra Leone involves ongoing consultation and coordination with the UK, the GOSL, key regional states, and others at the UN in order to project and win support for our goals. Accordingly, our approach holds the RUF to its Lome Agreement obligations to disarm and demobilize while denying the RUF the political benefits it would have enjoyed had it honored the original agreement.

We should expect bids from the RUF for a cease-fire or even a new negotiated settlement, but any such bids must be treated with the greatest skepticism. There should be no further concessions made to these rebels and their allies. Although it may be impossible to defeat the RUF purely by military means, we must insist that the Government of Sierra Leone and all others hold firm against cease-fires or negotiated settlements that leave the RUF in control of any territory or give it a material basis for again challenging the Government of Sierra Leone's authority.

As I have noted, our primary "tools" in this effort are to harden and augment UNAMSIL, equip and train West African troops, support the United Kingdom's training mission for the Sierra Leone Army, curb the illicit diamond trade, increase pressure on Liberian President Taylor to stop supporting and directing the RUF, establish the Independent Special Court, and help the Government of Sierra Leone in the reconstruction of Sierra Leone's institutions.

A New Approach

The regional states, most in the international community, and the United States recognize that, given the failure of the RUF to fulfill its obligations under the Lome peace accord, only increased pressure on the rebels can reliably end this conflict and the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone. We call upon Congress to make adequate funding available to support the United Nations peacekeeping force already deployed in Sierra Leone.

We have already notified Congress of our intention to support a Security Council resolution that would strengthen UNAMSIL's mandate and increase its size from 13,000 to 20,500 troops. To this end, we are actively engaged in supporting United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's efforts to identify and recruit additional troops for UNAMSIL. In addition to asking Congress to support this strengthened UNAMSIL, we need Congressional support for equipping and training up to seven West African battalions for effective service in UNAMSIL.

We are also working with our British allies to assist their training mission for the Sierra Leone Army. Finally, we will seek Congressional support for the necessary resources to build accountability through the creation of the Independent Special Court for Sierra Leone to bring to justice those most responsible for the atrocities perpetrated on its people. It will be critical in establishing and operating the Independent Special Court for a number of years, that sufficient and sustained voluntary funding be contributed by the international community, including the United States.

Mr. Chairman, we in the Administration are committed to using all the means that are available to us to help the people of Sierra Leone break the cycle of violence and impunity plaguing their country. We must stand together with the West African regional states and the United Nations to achieve that goal.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

5,000 British Troops Placed On Sierra Leone Alert
Posted October 12, 2000 - 17:25 by newsdesk

Related Source: PANA

UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook

London, October 11, 2000 (PANA)

Britain has placed 5,000 troops on standby to intervene in war-torn Sierra Leone if UN peacekeepers there fail to hold the line against rebels of the Revolutionary United Front.

The Joint Rapid Reaction Force will be based in the UK, and it will be under the direct command of Prime Minister Tony Blair and not the UN.

The deployment of such a force was included in a memorandum Britain signed with the UN in 1999 to support peacekeeping operations.

"We have offered a rapid reaction capability based in the UK, but able to deploy very rapidly in response to changing situations in Sierra Leone as we did most effectively in May when rebel troops threatened Freetown," Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said.

"British forces were successful then in restoring stability. If necessary, this force will be able to do so again," he added.

Apart from making the force available, Britain is also stepping up its military activities by sending extra soldiers to provide further basic training for 3,000 fresh troops of the Sierra Leone Army.

Britain will also send officers to work at the Freetown headquarters of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone.

There will also be in place an operational level headquarters to co-ordinate British involvement in Sierra Leone and to effectively take charge of running the Sierra Leone Army.

This will bring to about 500 the number of British troops in the country.

"This will enable us to continue our policy of assisting the government of Sierra Leone and underlines Britain¹s commitment to training the Sierra Leone Army at a time when the country still faces a period of instability," Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said.

However, the opposition Conservative Party has been expressing concern about Britain being gradually drawn into the conflict in Sierra Leone.

"We need some clarity," shadow Defence Secretary Iain Duncan-Smith said. "What is the endgame here of the Foreign Secretary? The Chief of Defence Staff told me personally two weeks ago that all the British troops would be out by Christmas."

He added: "But Robin Cook has committed himself to sorting out Sierra Leone and he dare not let the British troops pull out because he knows that the UN force and the Sierra Leone Army will collapse."

Foreign Secretary Cook responded by saying this is the right response to build on progress already made.

"Britain will not abandon the people of Sierra Leone to the mercy of murderous thugs who hack off the limbs of children," he said.

"Britain is standing up for democracy and standing by our friends in Sierra Leone," he added. "By this action, we are acting in support of UN Security Council Resolutions. It is our duty as a permanent member of the Security Council to do to. It is in our national interest."



Copyright © 2000 Panafrican News Agency.

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Wednesday, 11 October 2000
Posted October 12, 2000 - 17:21 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL spokesman Hirut Befecadu and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The general situation throughout the country remains relatively calm and quiet. UNAMSIL peacekeepers continue to carry out patrols within their areas of responsibilities.

The delegation of United Nations Security Council members continue their visit to Sierra Leone today. They visited UNAMSIL peacekeepers at the Lungi general area. The delegation will meet international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Sierra Leone's civil society, political parties, National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR), National Commission for, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement (NCRRR), the Sierra Leone Army Chief of Defence Staff, and the Sierra Leone Inspector General of Police. Earlier today, the delegation met with members of the Diplomatic Corps.

Yesterday, one female Revolutionary United Front (RUF) combatant presented herself for disarmament with one AK47 rifle and some ammunition to UNAMSIL Military Observers in Daru. UNAMSIL invites the RUF combatants to come forward with their weapons and join the DDR programme.


Questions and Answers

Q: Is it possible for UNAMSIL to handle only the Disarmament and Demobilization of ex-combatants and the reintegration process be handled by the Government of Sierra Leone?

A: In the Lomé Peace Agreement, all parties to the conflict including the Government of Sierra Leone agreed on the basis of the Agreement as well as the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration. Based on this premise all parties have a role to play. UNAMSIL's mandate is to assist in the implementation of the Lomé Peace Agreement.

Q: Is the visiting delegation of the UN Security Council meeting any member of the RUF?

A: On arrival, the head of the visiting delegation, speaking to the Press, "ruled out a meeting with RUF leaders and said that the mission is not here to negotiate." The delegation will meet with UN Agencies, international NGOs, Sierra Leone Civil Society, the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, National Commission for Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement, the Chief of Defence Staff, Sierra Leone Army, and the Inspector General of Police and other senior officials of the Sierra Leone Government.


(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

U.N. official backs trial for 15-year-olds in Sierra Leone
Posted October 12, 2000 - 17:14 by newsdesk

Related Source: Ap

UN Undersecretary-General Olara Otunnu

UNITED NATIONS, October 11, 2000 (AP)

Declaring that 15-year-olds who kill and maim should not escape justice, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday that child soldiers in Sierra Leone should be tried for atrocities just as they are facing trial in Rwanda.

Undersecretary-General Olara Otunnu said it is very important for reconciliation and deterrence in Sierra Leone that young people aged 15 to 18 be held responsible for their actions if they haven't been forced to commit atrocities -- because they know the difference between right and wrong.

The issue of whether child soldiers should face trial in Sierra Leone has divided the United Nations and held up the release of a report last week by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the creation of a special war crimes court for Sierra Leone that would be dominated by international judges.

Annan laid out a plan to bring children as young as 15 under the court's jurisdiction, but left the ultimate decision on whether to proceed with such trials to the Security Council after children's rights advocates voiced outrage and concern.

Under his plan, children would have their own trial chamber and be ensured privacy just as they have in many juvenile justice systems. No child would be imprisoned, but any child convicted of atrocities would have to undergo some form of rehabilitation.

Otunnu, the secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, said he supports Annan's plan, which is similar to the procedure being used by the Rwandan government to try children aged 15 to 18 for alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide.

The U.N. war crimes tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda do not have provisions to try children, he said.

"My view is very, very clear," he told a news conference. "It's the same position I took with regard to Rwanda and tomorrow the same position I will take in regard to Congo, in relation to Uganda, in relation to Sri Lanka, and any other situation where we want young adults to be made accountable for what they do."

He said it is important to distinguish between very young children who do not know right from wrong, and older children who do. While he has pushed hard to protect children under the age of 18 from abuse and exploitation, Otunnu said young people must recognize this does not give them license to kill and maim.

But the United Nations Children's Fund and child rights advocates argue that the estimated 5,400 child fighters in Sierra Leone are themselves the victims of abusive commanders who abducted them, drugged them and forced them to kill.

The issue came up again Tuesday when an 11-member Security Council delegation visited a camp in Sierra Leone housing hundreds of child soldiers. Al Haj Baba Sewane, 14, who spent three years in the jungles and arrived at the camp nine months ago, asked the council members to exclude children from the court, U.N. deputy spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva said.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, who is leading the delegation, told him that any child regarded as a victim of the war would not be taken before the proposed court -- only those bearing the greatest responsibility for abuses, Almeida e Silva said.

Otunnu said a large number of young people were involved in atrocities, and some commanded units that killed and maimed.

"My own guess is that ... it is only a handful of young people who may be selected to stand trial," he said. "But the message is given that if you're a young adult, you are protected from abuse and exploitation, but you are not being allowed to have license with regard to committing atrocities against other people."


Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Tuesday, 10 October 2000
Posted October 12, 2000 - 17:02 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL spokesman Hirut Befecadu and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The team from the United Nations Security Council mission arrived in Sierra Leone yesterday, Monday 9th October. The team is led by the British UN Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock. Prior their coming to Freetown, however, the team went to Conakry, Guinea. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji went to Conakry to meet the team and together they held a meeting in Conakry with the Guinean Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security. The members of the Security Council emphasized that there is close need of cooperation between the United Nations, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and members of the Mano River Union (MRU) in addressing the problems affecting the sub-region. On their part, the Guinean Ministers reaffirmed Guinea's commitment to promoting peace, security and stability in the region. As regards the refugees from neighbouring countries, they also indicated that providing hospitality and protection from neighbouring countries will also be a priority. They also indicated that these refugees should respect their asylum obligations. The Guinean Ministers pledged to facilitate the resumption of work of humanitarian agencies in the refugee camps. They also called on the international community particularly the United Nations to assist in the deployment of ECOWAS Military Observers along the borders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In Guinea, the Security Council delegation was met by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Director for the West and Central African regions, Mr. Abu Musa, who briefed the delegation on the refugee situation in the region. This briefing included the security, political and humanitarian implications of recent problems along the borders and access of humanitarian operations to the refugee locations.

Yesterday, the team arrived in Freetown and was met by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Sierra Leone, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and other officials of UNAMSIL. They had a briefing session at UNAMSIL headquarters in Freetown with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji on all developments since the May crisis and UNAMSIL's current deployment and future deployment possibilities including the coordination between UNAMSIL and ECOWAS on various efforts to create conducive security and political environment to restart the peace process.

Furthermore, the representatives went to a separate meetings with His Excellency the President Dr. Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and the Attorney-General Mr. Solomon Berewa. The representatives had a two-hour meeting with the President. It was indicated by the UN Security Council mission's Chairman that the mission was in Sierra Leone to set up the objectives of the Security Council Mission and to establish a momentum on the solution to the crisis in Sierra Leone. The representatives also discussed the programmes which the Government has set up to look into the various aspects of the crisis as follows:
- the political aspect
- the military aspect
- the humanitarian aspect
and what needs to be done as of now.

Today, the team of the UN Security Council, divided into two groups left for Kenema, Daru, Port Loko, Mile 91, Masiaka and Rogberi Junction. The first group of the Ambassadors of China, Russia, The Netherlands, Bangladesh and Mali led by the British UN Ambassador left for Kenema and Daru. The second group of Ambassadors of Canada, Ukraine, United States of America and France led by the Jamaican UN Ambassador left for Port Loko, Mile 91, Masiaka and Rogberi Junction.

A team of three police officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police visited UNAMSIL Civilian Police from the 5-9 October. The purpose of the visit is to explore the possibilities of deploying Canadian police officers to the UNAMSIL Civilian Police Section.

It has been indicated by the UNAMSIL Kenyan Battalion that are deployed at Babara and Barlo Wharf that there has been continued shelling on Kassiri, Tombo, Kechum and other places around that area on the night of the 8-9th October. This information collaborates with earlier reports that the Guineans might have placed guns inside Kambia. But this needs to be clarified.

In Port Loko, the Commander of Nigerian Battalion (NIBATT I) on behalf of the Nigerian Contingent Commander, UNAMSIL's Force Commander Major General Mohammed A. Garba, donated one million Leones to the Headmaster of a community school at Rokel Bridge on the 9th October. This gesture was highly applauded by the local residents.

It is reported that the Sierra Leone Port is to be rebuilt after it was destroyed during the country's civil war. The Sierra Leone Ports Authority General Manager has indicated that he is very delighted that the UN World Food Programme has decided to sponsor the Port's reconstruction.

The overall security situation throughout the country remains calm and quiet.


Questions and Answers

Q: Can you give us a resumé of the meeting between the 11-man UN Security Council mission and the Attorney-General particularly as it relates to the setting up of the Special Court?

A: The detail of the meeting has not actually been reported to us.

Q: Is the One Million Leones donated by the UNAMSIL Force Commander on behalf of UNAMSIL or the Nigerian Battalion or as a personal gesture?

A: The donation by the Nigerian Contingent was collected during the 40th Nigeria Independence Day celebration. This was donated to one of the community schools around the Port Loko area. UNAMSIL's contingent is participating in a lot of civic activities.

Q: Do you think that the Tribunal is timely when there are still some combatants in the bush wishing to join the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme?

A: The question of the Tribunal is both a Sierra Leonean and international interest. The court would incorporate elements of Sierra Leonean and international law and include Sierra Leonean and international jurists. This court is to charge all war criminals. For example, the ex-combatants are screened and if the need be, are sent for further investigation to the police.

Q: Why is it only now that the UN has found it necessary to try child combatants?

A: More and more child-combatants have been found with arms and have come into the DDR camps. They have been separated according to their age. The question presently is the classification of the age of child-combatants who should be charged.

*****


(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

Rebels launch fresh attacks in Liberia, Guinea
Posted October 11, 2000 - 10:14 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC

Tuesday, 10 October, 2000 (BBC)

Thousands of civilians are fleeing the latest fighting in northern Liberia.

Rebels shelled the regional capital, Zorzor, over the weekend and civilians have fled as far as the central town of Gbarnga.

A rebel group has been fighting in Liberia's northern Lofa County since July.

Aid workers returning from the area told journalists in the capital, Monrovia, that as many as 12,000 civilians had arrived in Gbarnga, the former stronghold of President Charles Taylor during Liberia's civil war.

Sources in Lofa County told a BBC correspondent the shelling had been from Yeala, a town near Liberia's border with Guinea.


Militarisation - Troops have been sent to the north

They said the local military authorities had told women and children in surrounding towns to leave the area. The military also advised aid workers not to travel outside Zorzor town.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has postponed a food convoy destined to feed more than 10,000 internally displaced people in Lofa.

There has been no official comment from the Liberian Government on the latest fighting although some reports from official circles at the weekend said rebels had reached Zorzor despite strong resistance.

The Minister of Defence, Daniel Chea, and the head of the armed forces went to Gbarnga to meet President Taylor on Monday.

The Liberian Government has recently rushed additional troops to the border area, and is mobilising able-bodied men. Eyewitnesses from Lofa County report the towns of Foya and Kolahun are heavily militarised.


Unknown rebels

The rebels' identity is unclear, though they are reported to be fighters loyal to two former Liberian civil war faction leaders, Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson.

Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson both fought against Mr Taylor during the civil war, which ended in 1997 with Mr Taylor's election as president.

The government says the rebels are supporters of two former war lords from Liberia's seven-year civil conflict, Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson. It says the fighters are based in neighbouring Guinea.

Guinea denies any involvement, and a previously unheard of rebel group called Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) has claimed responsibility for attacks in the area.

At the beginning of this year, Mr Taylor invited Mr Kromah and another rival leader, George Boley, to return from exile - but made no reference to Mr Johnson.


NEW ATTACK ON GUINEA BORDER TOWN

The authorities in Guinea say there's been another attack by insurgents near the southern town of Pamelap on the border with Sierra Leone.

They said the raid took place early on Tuesday and that the army had eventually driven the attackers out of the area.

But Conakry said several of its soldiers were seriously wounded, including a commander. One soldier was missing.

Pamelap was one of the Guinean border towns attacked by rebels last month -- Conakry accused Liberia of being behind the raids, and said refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia were giving the rebels support.


From the newsroom of the BBC World Service


(c) 2000 BBC News

Sierra Leone - Thorn In The Flesh Of West Africa
Posted October 11, 2000 - 10:11 by newsdesk

Related Source: PANA

'people use any pretext to commit crimes and cause terror'

Available data indicate that nine years of terror has caused 75,000 deaths and at least 20,000 mutilated civilians.

By Sidy Gaye

Dakar, 9 Oct 2000 (PANA)

Senegalese first President Leopold Sedar Senghor often said when confronted with some of his most sensitive mediation efforts that "once we succeed in identifying the real nature of a problem, we have at least partly succeeded in solving it."

The civil war in this country has turned out to be one of the most barbaric and explosive conflicts experienced in the West African sub-region, since Senghor retired from the presidency 20 years ago.

The war broke out 23 March 1991, close to the Liberian border. It initially involved a group of less than 400 rebels, "often under the influence of drugs," according to accounts given by their first victims.

Under a Revolutionary United Front or RUF, led by Foday Sankoh, a former army Corporal, the insurgents, who neither issued a manifesto nor did declared any political platform, were initially armed with machetes and axes.

However, the coming of the RUF has turned the country upside-down.

Sierra Leone is the home of the first university in West Africa which dates back to 1827. Presently thousands of its children and adolescents are uneducated. Instead of going to school, they wield automatic machine guns, mines and some of the most deadly arms, which area available just for the asking.

The Indian contingent of the United Nations mission to Sierra Leone, which in mid-September announced its withdrawal from the country, displayed a surface-to-air missile seized from a RUF rebel during a clash in Kailahun, a diamond-rich province sandwiched between Liberian and Guinean territories.

This kind of missile is easy to handle once set on any soldier's shoulder, and specialists say it can easily bring down a C130 plane.

The war is considered as the most savage in independent Africa. Available data indicate that nine years of terror has caused 75,000 deaths and at least 20,000 mutilated civilians, with one or two limbs cruelly amputated.

Over half of Sierra Leone's population of 4.5 million was forced into exile. These displaced persons, mostly settled in Guinea (Conakry) are being systematically driven from that country today by untrained rebels, armed to the teeth.

Their Guinean hosts regret having offered them hospitality, in view of the risks of the eruption of war in the south of the country, following the bloody attacks on the neighbouring villages of Macenta, Kindia and Forecariah, in Guinea's forest area.

The rest of these displaced Sierra Leoneans are still scattered inside Liberia, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. They can also be found in Gambia, Guinea Bissau and southern Senegal.

With the first batch of Liberians also fleeing the civil war that had torn their country apart, they contributed in turning West Africa into "the most important African refugee spot."

With its 1,976,680 displaced people, according to UNHCR statistics in December 1999, the number of refugees and displaced persons in this sub-region now outnumbers that of the Horn of Africa (1,465,990) and even the Great Lakes region (1,700,660).

Instability, organised crime and criminality, which today prevail in most borders of the sub-region, have shown the Economic Community of West African States, Organisation of African Unity and United Nations the extent to which the spectre of such a conflict can spread in the sub-region.

Unfortunately, they have not succeeded in finding a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The hopes raised by the 30 November Peace agreement in Abidjan and Conakry (23 October 1997) were soon shattered, as they failed to end the war.

The controversial formula whereby power was shared "between tormentor and victims", combined with a general amnesty, as agreed in the Lome agreement (27 July 1999), also did not succeed in restoring lasting peace in the country.

On the contrary, people use any pretext to commit crimes and cause terror, with such hysterical cruelty, that the regional and international community has progressively realised they have a vicious cycle to deal with.

Now, was this major crisis handled the right way? Was the Sierra Leonean problem, which has lasted for the past nine years, "examined in all its aspects" as Senghor would have done?

A large segment of the international community no longer thinks so. They have thus decided, especially this past two months, to radically revise their approach to this tragedy.

Reports by governments interested in the region as well as data collected from interviews with the victims and on the spot investigations conducted by members of the American congress have shed light on the conflict, especially the role played by "blood diamonds".

A fresh understanding of the conflict is emerging. Its initiators recommend that we "leave aside the symptoms to strike at the real roots of the problem."

This new approach greatly influenced the recent dispatch of a UN mission to the area, under the aegis of the United Nations Security Council. But whether it would make the right impact remains a moot point.



Copyright © 2000 Panafrican News Agency

'Don't put Sierra Leone's children on trial' - UNICEF
Posted October 11, 2000 - 10:00 by newsdesk

Related Source: AFP

Child soliers - 'predicament of double victimisation'

Geneva, October 10 2000 (AFP)

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Geneva has voiced concern over a proposal that an international court for Sierra Leone be allowed to try child soldiers for war crimes.

Officials from the UN agency met a delegation of some UN Security Council member states on the subject, said a Unicef spokesperson, Lynn Geldof.

The United Nations has recommended that child soldiers aged between 15 and 18, who allegedly committed the worst atrocities in Sierra Leone, be brought before the international court.

Geldof said a UN mission was due to visit children who could be made to stand trial on Tuesday. She hoped that the delegates would see the young people's "predicament of double victimisation" and come "to a just decision on this issue".

But Unicef believed that the United Nations should hear civil society in a broader context.

Geldof said trying minors in a special war crimes tribunal would be "a step backwards" from international law as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.


Copyright © 2000 AFP. All rights reserved.

UN delegation meets peacekeepers, local leaders in Sierra Leone
Posted October 10, 2000 - 23:21 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNDPI

10 October 2000

Officials from the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone today told a visiting delegation of Security Council members that the situation in the country is "complex, unpredictable and volatile."

The Security Council delegation which is on the second leg of a five-nation trip to West Africa, was briefed in the eastern town of Kenema, Sierra Leone's third-largest city. A UN spokesman told reporters in New York that although there have been no fights with rebels in the area over the past few months, "concerns include the issue of border security and the need to close the porous borders to the outflow of diamonds and to stop external support for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)."

The delegation drove through Kenema streets which are lined by diamond dealers, to meet with local leaders, visit a Jordanian field hospital and Ghanaian contingent, and enter a camp for some 11,000 internally displaced persons, many of whom sang local songs and chanted, "We want to go home."

Before travelling to Kenema today, the 11-member Security Council delegation had split into two groups. Those who went to Kenema also visited Daru, on the fringe of rebel-held territory, where they were greeted by a Gurkha honor guard. The other group went to the towns of Port Loko and Mile 91 in the west.


REFUGEES CONTINUE TO RETURN

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today reported that refugees are continuing to return spontaneously to Sierra Leone as a result of trouble in camps where they were housed in neighbouring Guinea.

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva that since the latest spate of attacks began in early September in the border area, some 6,000 Sierra Leonean refugees have returned to their home country. UNHCR and the Government of Sierra Leone have agreed that the refugees will be relocated to a cluster of about 50 villages in a safe part of the Lungi peninsula and hosted by the local population.

Another group of several thousand returnees is reportedly blocked in Sierra Leone's RUF-controlled Kambia district, where UNHCR has no access. "Returnees have also informed us of significant spontaneous repatriation overland from Gueckedou to the RUF-controlled Kono district, where UNHCR also has no access," Mr. Redmond said.


(c) 2000 UNDPI

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Friday, 6 October 2000
Posted October 10, 2000 - 10:00 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL spokesman Hirut Befecadu and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The overall security situation in the country is calm and quiet with the exception of the problems which occurred on the borders with neighbouring countries -- Guinea and Liberia.

Yesterday, 5th October, UNAMSIL peacekeepers of Sector II conducted a joint air, sea and land patrols in the general area of Lungi to dominate the area. On the 3rd October, during a cordon-and-search operation within Freetown conducted by UNAMSIL peacekeepers and the Sierra Leone Civil Police in Blackhall Road and UpGun general area, about thirteen suspects were arrested and handed over to the Police for further investigations.

The military activity going on between Sierra Leone and Guinea borders has caused a renewed influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the Lungi general area. Reports from some of the IDPs indicate that there were persistent shelling of the villages north of Little Scarcies River. In the past week, the International Islamic Youth League in conjunction with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees have registered 1759 IDPs. These IDPs require urgent humanitarian assistance from national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

In the past two months about 150 new military observers arrived at the mission area to replace colleagues who have completed their tour of duties and are returning to their respective countries. The same number of Military Observers left the mission area. Within this week the Uruguayan Military Observer team led by Lt. Col. Hugo Aguilera will be leaving Sierra Leone for home after a meritorious service to the people of Sierra Leone. UNAMSIL wishes them all a farewell.

Two UNAMSIL MI-26 helicopters transported 400 bags of rice, 200 cans of oil and 100 bags of salt to Daru on 5th October. This is as a humanitarian aid package as promised by His Excellency the President Dr. Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah during his visit to Daru on the 8th September.

In Freetown on the night of 5th and early hours of 6th October, there was a shootout between a group of Special Security Division (SSD) and armed robbers that took place at Bai Bureh Road in an attempt to loot drugs from a drugstore.

At Mile 91, World Food Programme (WFP) is reported to be registering internally displaced persons (IDPs) between the areas of Mile 91 and Kontakuma.

The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the Civil Defence Force (CDF) carried out joint patrols at Kenema on the night of 4th and 5th October and they were able to apprehend 20 curfew breakers. These curfew breakers have been handed over to the Civil Police. This joint patrol is a significant move of Sierra Leoneans in their respective areas of duties.

The humanitarian section of UNAMSIL met with the national institutions and the Sierra Leone Bar Association to discuss the expansion of the national legal community's role in judiciary and jurisdiction reform. These specialists have encouraged the Sierra Leone Bar Association to play a prominent role in planning and preparing for the forthcoming national Rule of Law conference scheduled for November.

The National Forum for Reconciliation (NFR) and the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace (CCP) have attended a meeting whereby they have agreed in consultation with UNAMSIL Civil Affairs Section to send peace promotional material to Makeni. In the team of the National Forum for Reconciliation, there are representatives of the Revolutionary United Front. The representatives of the RUF have been designated to forward these pamphlets to Makeni and this is in line with the Polio Immunization programme which the country is trying to get all concerned including residents in the Makeni area to be involved. In this regard, the CCP together with the National Forum for Reconciliation is launching this peace programme.

At Wilberforce Barracks, two Civil Defence Force (CDF) presented themselves for disarmament with their weapons -- one FN rifle and 14 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bombs.

Seven West Side Boys and one RUF ex-combatants were demobilized on the 4th October. Sixty Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and one Armed Forces of the Revolutionary Council (AFRC) ex-combatants were screened at Daru on the 5th of October.

The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan has released the document on the Tribunal for Sierra Leone and has been presented to the Security Council on the 4th October. It indicates that the court would be composed of two trial chambers, three judges each, and an appeal's chamber with five judges. The Secretary-General would appoint an international prosecutor and court registrar, while the Sierra Leone Government would appoint a deputy prosecutor. The court would incorporate elements of Sierra Leonean and international law and would include both Sierra Leonean and international jurists.

UNAMSIL Human Rights officers have conducted training sessions and introductory briefings with various groups as part of the Section's capacity-building mandate. This training goes to national Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) of Human Rights monitors -- e.g. Movement Network for Democracy and Justice. At the same time this team would also be briefing UNAMSIL Military Observers.


Questions and Answers

Q: What mechanisms are you putting in place as UNAMSIL peacekeepers to stop the alleged shelling from Guinea?

A: This is a cross-border problem. This question has been dealt within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Secretariat. The ECOWAS Foreign Ministers -- the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council has been meeting in Abuja from the 4th October. They have decided to immediately deploy a military observer mission along the borders of Guinea and Liberia. The Council has got pledges from The Gambia, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal to contribute troops to the ECOWAS Military Observers' mission which will be deployed between the Sierra Leonean border and the two countries -- Liberia and Guinea.

Q: How does the CDF travel to Freetown -- Wilberforce Barracks with the arms and ammunition when Freetown is supposed to be a weapons-free zone?

A: We are continuing our cordon-and-search with the Sierra Leone Civil Police. There is a probability that there are lots of arms still in the city. UNAMSIL welcomes whoever wishes to come in and hand over their weapons. As far as the two CDF personnel who came in to disarm, UNAMSIL welcomes this action and the call goes to each and everyone who can even indicate the presence of arms and help make Freetown a weapons-free zone.

Q: You stated that the National Forum for Reconciliation and the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace (CCP) are sending pamphlets to Makeni to sensitize the RUF for the imminent polio immunization. Are you going to take the cue to send messages of goodwill to the residents of Makeni and other areas?

A: This initiative was put together with UNAMSIL's full support and participation and this will continue. This is a positive step and UNAMSIL Civil Affairs Section in conjunction with the National Forum for Reconciliation and the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace will continue to extend this peace message to all parties to the conflict in Sierra Leone.

Q: The RUF in Makeni are enthusiastic to disarm. Don't you think that the delay in the deployment of UNAMSIL peacekeepers in Makeni since the withdrawal of the Indian contingent, will affect the disarmament process?

A: UNAMSIL will like to inform you that the Indian contingent plans to carry out a phased withdrawal. We encourage all combatants to present their arms willingly. You will recall that recently some UNAMSIL's equipment and one helicopter were released by the RUF. UNAMSIL believes that this is a positive step in relation to the promises made by the RUF that they want to join in the peace process.

Q: Why were UNAMSIL peacekeepers not deployed in areas where there are no presence of the Sierra Leonean Army?

A: UNAMSIL troops will continue to perform their duties wherever they are deployed. Upon the operational assessment of certain areas, necessary deployment will be carried out.

Q: Has the "high-command" of the RUF in Makeni been informed of the launching of the peace programme being organized by the National Forum for Reconciliation and the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace in conjunction with UNAMSIL Civil Affairs?

A: The actual people who will be going to Makeni are RUF representatives and the high command has been contacted.

Q: You reported that the document on the Tribunal on Sierra Leone has been presented to the Security Council by the Secretary-General. Is it a proposed draft?

A: The Security Council passed a Resolution establishing a team to study the perspective of this Tribunal. The team was in Sierra Leone twice, the last one being led by the UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of Legal Affairs Ralph Zacklin. The team have collected their findings and have presented their final report to the Secretary-General and he has passed the report to the Security Council. The Security Council has to look at it and give its approval before the mechanism can be put in place.

Q: Will the Tribunal cover the period 1991 to the date of the signing of the Abidjan Peace Accord?

A: According to the Press Conference that the UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of Legal Affairs Ralph Zacklin had at UN Headquarters, the report proposed temporal jurisdiction ranging from November 1996 to the date of the signing of the Abidjan Peace Accord.

*****


(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

New S.Leone deployment 'risks lives', says UK Opposition
Posted October 9, 2000 - 10:02 by newsdesk

Related Source: The Independent

Iain Duncan Smith, UK Tory Defence Spokesman

By Colin Brown, Political Editor

Sunday, 8 October 2000

The UK Government was accused by the Tories [Opposition] of putting more British troops at risk last night after the disclosure that a rapid deployment force is to be sent back to Sierra Leone.

The Tory defence spokesman, Iain Duncan Smith, warned against increasing British involvement without clear objectives. "Leaving small numbers of troops out in Sierra Leone could lead to serious problems," he said. "The Government is in a mess."

Sending more troops could cause public concern after the recent hostage crisis. An SAS soldier was killed during a daring rescue of British troops held by rebel forces.

The rapid deployment force will be sent to Sierra Leone to protect the British troops left there to train the government army against rebel forces.

But the British troops will not form part of the UN's Unamsil peace-keeping force. A Foreign Office spokesman said that, while Britain would "play its part" in supporting the UN on the ground, there would be no direct UK contribution.

The Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, Menzies Campbell, said: "If the Government is serious about stability, strengthening the UN is the only way to go about it."



© 2000 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd.

Britain to send more soldiers to Sierra Leone
Posted October 9, 2000 - 9:51 by newsdesk

Related Source: The Telegraph

Several hundred British troops are already in Sierra Leone

By James Allan

Sunday, 8 October 2000

BRITAIN is to send hundreds of extra soldiers to the troubled west African state of Sierra Leone as part of a reorganisation of international forces following the withdrawal of 3,000 Indian peace-keepers.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday that Britain has had talks with countries contributing forces to the United Nations peacekeeping operation (Unamsil) and said that an announcement would be made to Parliament this week. A spokesman refused to disclose what would be announced but stressed that Britain would not be contributing troops to Unamsil.

Several hundred British troops are already in Sierra Leone training government forces. They liaise with Unamsil troops on the ground, but are not formally part of the UN operation. It is thought that the extra troops could either form an offshore rapid reaction force for deployment in emergencies or be based on land to defend the British training detachment and offer support to Unamsil.

A Foreign Office spokesman said that while Britain would "play its part" in supporting Unamsil, no contribution to the multi-national force was planned and no change in policy was due to be announced.

Iain Duncan Smith, the shadow defence secretary, complained that the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office appeared to have different policies on Sierra Leone. The Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, had told him in July that British troops would be out of the country by early autumn, Mr Duncan Smith told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He said: "It appears since then that the Foreign Office, from what Robin Cook is saying, has a different agenda, which is to keep the troops out there. The Indians were the only troops well-organised and capable enough. My worry is that with the Indians gone, what you will have is a complete reliance on the British presence, which will lead them to want to put more and more troops out there."


© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2000.

US legislators concerned about UN peacekeeping
Posted October 7, 2000 - 10:27 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

The UN now has 37,000 personnel deployed around the world; projected cost for the next 12 months is US$2.7 billion

By David Briscoe

WASHINGTON, 5 October 2000 (AP)

Concerned over rapid expansion of UN peacekeeping operations, congressional Republicans are pushing budgets that would fall far short of even the reduced share the Clinton administration seeks to pay.

The Congressional Black Caucus is cautioning there would be dire consequences for Africa, which the Republican-supported House version of the budget for the new fiscal year would exclude from any US peacekeeping assistance.

''The world can't go around without a police department,'' said Representative Donald Payne, Democrat of New Jersey, head of the group's foreign affairs task force.

He spoke at a House International Relations Committee briefing yesterday on a congressional investigation into how the Clinton administration is determining US support for 14 current UN peacekeeping operations.

The caucus, which has 38 members, all Democrats, wrote a letter Sept. 28 to other members of Congress pleading for more support for UN peacekeeping. It said such operations are critical for fighting AIDS and promoting economic development and political stability in Africa.

With US arrears now approaching $2 billion in UN administrative and peacekeeping dues, House and Senate versions of the budget for fiscal 2001, which began Oct. 1, call for about $500 million. The Clinton administration is asking for $840 million.

The administration proposal would fund 25 percent of peacekeeping. The US share has been just over 30 percent, but Congress required that the share be reduced before payment of the US arrears.

On Tuesday, the European Union indicated a willingness to negotiate a slight cut in the US share for peacekeeping, but opposed any cut in US payments for UN administration.

Last month, the Security Council pledged an overhaul of UN peacekeeping operations so troops could respond more quickly and effectively to world trouble spots. The world body now has 37,000 troops and civilian police deployed from East Timor to Cyprus and Sierra Leone. The cost is expected to reach $2.7 billion for the next 12 months.

Congress' investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, is preparing a report on US support for peacekeeping, but investigators told the International Relations Committee yesterday they are having difficulty getting the necessary documents from federal agencies.

Henry L. Hinton, a GAO investigator, said UN peacekeeping has grown rapidly from 15,000 troops and an annual budget of $800 million in June 1999.

The inquiry addresses whether the Clinton administration is giving enough consideration to a presidential directive requiring that any US-supported peacekeeping advance American interests and have clear objectives. It also requires a statement of whether there are sufficient funds and military resources available to sustain an operation.

Hinton complained that the State and Defense departments and the National Security Council have failed to supply documents on their deliberations, despite the fact that GAO investigators have the necessary security clearances.

Representative Sam Gejdenson, Democrat of Connecticut, said he has the impression that peacekeeping operations in Africa are given more critical scrutiny than those in Europe or the Middle East, suggesting some kind of bias in US policy.



© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

U.N. to decide on prosecution of Sierra Leone child soldiers
Posted October 6, 2000 - 13:16 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

An estimated 5,400 child fighters were abducted, drugged and forced to kill

UNITED NATIONS, October 5, 2000 (AP)

The United Nations on Thursday outlined proposals for a special war crimes court for Sierra Leone to prosecute those most responsible for killing and maiming tens of thousands of people -- including a controversial provision to put child soldiers on trial.

In a report, Secretary-General Kofi Annan laid out a proposed plan for prosecuting young soldiers, but left the ultimate decision on whether to proceed with such trials to the Security Council.

Annan's legal advisers and the Sierra Leonean government, who negotiated the creation of the joint court, had earlier concluded that because of the brutality of some of the crimes committed, 15- to 18-year-olds should be brought under the court's jurisdiction. The draft statute that would establish the court includes that provision.

But Annan passed to the council the final decision on whether to accept that provision after children's rights advocates, including those within the United Nations, voiced outrage and concern.

They argued that the estimated 5,400 child fighters in Sierra Leone are themselves the victims of abusive commanders who abducted them, drugged them and forced them to kill.

Subjecting the teens to public accusations and putting them on trial, even with special protections, "is potentially making these children a victim a second time," said Joanna Van Gerpen, UNICEF's representative in Sierra Leone.

What these children most need is to be free of fear to come out of the bush so they can enter rehabilitation programs, undergo counseling and be reunited with their families and communities, she said in a telephone interview from the capital, Freetown.

She noted that the statute creating the International Criminal Court exempted minors from prosecution and that the trend of international law is away from putting children on trial.

The dispute over the provision held up release of the widely awaited report for a week as U.N. legal officers debated the issue repeatedly before making their final decision.

In his report, Annan stops short of recommending the council approve the provision of the statute that says the court has jurisdiction over 15-year-olds.

He said if the council decides to approve the provision, that the children should have their own trial chamber and be prosecuted separately from adults. The teens' privacy should be ensured, he said, and no child should be imprisoned, but rather given "alternative options" for sentencing.

The court, which would have its seat in the Sierra Leonean capital, would handle the most serious breaches of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity dating back to 1996 from one of Africa's most brutal conflicts.

Unlike the U.N. tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Sierra Leonean court would be a hybrid, using both international judges and prosecutors and Sierra Leonean-appointed officials.

One of the first candidates to be tried by the tribunal is expected to be Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front, which reignited Sierra Leone's eight-year civil war in May after taking 500 U.N. peacekeepers hostage.

Sankoh was detained by the government during the hostage crisis.

He along with his rebel fighters had been granted a sweeping amnesty by the government as part of a peace deal signed in Lome, Togo in July 1999 to end the war. At the time, the United Nations entered a formal reservation that the amnesty did not apply to crimes that violated international norms -- a move that will allow prosecutions for crimes that predate the Lome agreement, the report said.

A majority of international judges would preside over both the trial and appeals proceedings, which are expected to be limited to only about 25 or 30 of the senior political and military leaders on all sides of the conflict who were most responsible for the bloodshed, said Ralph Zacklin, undersecretary-general for legal affairs.

There would be no death penalty.

Annan recommended that the Security Council consider allowing the resolution that creates the court to be militarily enforced to allow for suspects who flee Sierra Leone to be apprehended.

The report said one of the biggest challenges now facing the United Nations is financing the court, which will need at least $22 million for the first year. The Security Council has said it would be funded by voluntary contributions, but Annan said the only "realistic solution" was to bill member states for it.



Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Sierra Leone may restart diamond exports next week
Posted October 5, 2000 - 17:59 by newsdesk

Related Source: Reuters

The government banned diamond exports in mid-July

FREETOWN, October 4, 2000 (Reuters)

Sierra Leone has taken delivery of specially printed certificates for authorized diamond exports and exports could restart next week, mining ministry sources said on Wednesday.

Mineral Resources Minister Mohamed Deen told Reuters the certificates, printed in Britain, had arrived on Monday, but the ban would not be lifted until next week.

This would give Belgian diamond experts time to set up an electronic data and communications system able to monitor the sale of diamonds in trading centers round the world, he said.

The government banned diamond exports in mid-July to back up efforts by the United Nations and world diamond traders to stem the illegal sale of gems by Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

The RUF is accused of using diamonds mined illegally in areas under its control to fund its rebellion.

Internal trade in diamonds was not covered by the ban but legal trading has slowed considerably and dealers said this week they were looking forward to the resumption of normal business now that the certification process was ready to start.


© 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Wednesday, 4 October 2000
Posted October 5, 2000 - 17:54 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL spokesman Hirut Befecadu and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji is expected back this evening from vacation in his home country -- Nigeria.

The new United Nations Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Jean Marie Guéhenno gave the Security Council an overview of recent developments in Sierra Leone in advance of the Council's mission which is due in Sierra Leone on Monday, 9th October.

The new United Nations Military Adviser, Major-General Timothy Ford, has also briefed the Security Council on UNAMSIL's military operations.

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Behrooz Sadry met with the representative of the Organization of the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA). This meeting is as a result of a request from the Representative of OCHA for UNAMSIL to continue its assistance to airlift food to Bumbuna, Daru and especially to Kabala which has the most urgent need at present.

UNAMSIL peacekeepers continue with their mobile and foot patrols within their areas of deployment. The cordon-and-search operations also continue.

UNAMSIL peacekeepers and the Civilian Police (CIVPOL) conducted a cordon-and-search operation yesterday 3rd October along Blackhall Road, Ashoebi Road, Quarry Road and Upper Benz Garage Road in the eastern part of Freetown. During the cordon-and search operation, fourteen suspects were arrested and handed over to the Police for further investigation. As Freetown is declared a weapons-free zone, any persons found with arms and ammunition without proper identification after curfew hours will be apprehended and handed over to the Police. Accordingly, one Sierra Leonean Army (SLA) soldier was arrested with one riffle and four rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. One civilian who claimed to be an SLA was also arrested at Calaba Town checkpoint in Freetown with 24 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

UNAMSIL peacekeepers also continue with their routine road convoys within their respective areas and two logistic convoys will be leaving Hastings for Port Loko and Lungi.

One 12-year old boy presented himself to the Jordanian Battalion in Masiaka and indicated that he would like to join the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme. He being a child combatant will be screened and demobilized.

As you are aware, Radio UNAMSIL in collaboration with CARITAS is scheduling a Family Tracing Programme. Among the list of 200 children, 11 children were recently reunified with their families.

The Officer-in-Charge of UNAMSIL Human Rights Section, Mr. Richard Bennett delivered a keynote address at the Network Movement for Justice, Development and Human Rights Workshop. The Workshop will run from the 4-6 October at the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) at Kingharman Road, Freetown.

In his statement, he emphasized on the Human Rights Manifesto of Sierra Leone and insisted that the Manifesto provides a strong foundation for addressing the current human rights situation in the country. He indicated that although the Manifesto was conceived prior to the Lome Peace Agreement, it clearly stresses the element of justice along with the necessity of developing human rights culture that will contribute in the promotion of peace and social stability in Sierra Leone. The Manifesto, he also indicated, is one of action and intent for concrete and sustainable progress in the promotion of human rights in Sierra Leone.

As an overall attempt to eradicate Polio worldwide, the Child Protection Section of UNAMSIL has been requested to provide support to the general immunization of Sierra Leone from the 16-20 October.

In pursuance of the peacekeeping and peace-building efforts, UNAMSIL is proposing to organize a symposium "to identify strategies for lasting peace and development in Sierra Leone" at the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood (SLMB) school at Mile 91 on 6th October. The focus of the Symposium is as follows:

(a) The Role of the Community in Peace and Development.

(b) The Role of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Peace and Development.

(c) The Role of Government in Peace and Development.

(d) The Role of UNAMSIL in Peace and Development.

The Symposium's intention is to gather valuable suggestions from the community of Yonni, Mabang, Malal and Masimera Chiefdoms. UNAMSIL has sent messages that all Religious heads, Women leaders and Civil Defence Force (CDF Commanders of Yoni, Mabang, Malal and Masimera Chiefdoms are requested to attend.

*****


(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

Renewed fears for refugees in Guinea
Posted October 4, 2000 - 14:58 by newsdesk

Related Source: AP

Guinean President Lansana Conte. Similar remarks sparked off attacks on refugees recently.

GENEVA, October 4, 2000 (AP)

New claims by Guinean President Lansana Conte that refugees are causing crime, disease and other problems in the West African country may lead to fresh attacks against them, a U.N. official said Tuesday.

"Needless to say we are worried that this could lead to more violence against refugees in Guinea, which we had already seen several weeks ago following a similar statement nationally televised by President Conte,'' said Kris Janowski, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

UNHCR said it received reports of beatings, rapes and other abuses against refugees after Conte accused them in the Sept. 9 speech of harboring anti-Guinean dissidents.

Thousands of refugees from neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone detained at the time were subsequently released, UNHCR said.

Janowski said the latest cause for concern was in Conte's annual independence commemoration speech Monday, in which he "alleged that the refugee presence boosted crime, arms and drug trafficking as well as AIDS in Guinea. He also implied that refugees attracted rebel incursions into Guinea.''

Janowski said rebel attacks along the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone have continued, driving 4,000 refugees out of the U.N. camp at Farmoriah, east of the capital, Conakry, near the Sierra Leone border.

The Guinean military has asked residents and other refugees to leave the area as well, he added.

Some 32,000 refugees, mostly from Sierra Leone, were in the area before the attacks, but many have left in recent days, Janowski said.

"Some refugees from Farmoriah are reported to have spontaneously returned to Sierra Leone and our office in Freetown has already reported several thousand returns around Lungi and Port Loko,'' he said.

But the office says some 5,000 returnees are presently trapped in an area which is inaccessible because of the presence of Sierra Leonean rebels.

Guinea hosts 480,000 Liberians and Sierra Leoneans, one of the largest refugee populations in Africa.



Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UNAMSIL Press Briefing - Monday, 2 October 2000
Posted October 3, 2000 - 21:03 by newsdesk

Related Source: UNAMSIL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of a briefing with UNAMSIL spokesman Hirut Befecadu and military spokesman Lt. Commander Patrick Coker


The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG), Mr. Behrooz Sadry visited Mile 91on Saturday, 30th September. He was accompanied by senior officials of the Political Affairs, Military and Public Information Section of UNAMSIL. On his arrival, he was received by the UNAMSIL Sector Commander in Mile 91. The Deputy SRSG was briefed on the security and humanitarian situation in Mile 91 wherein the population of internally displaced persons has increased. He was able to see the humanitarian activities, agricultural and educational projects being carried out by the population with the assistance of the UNAMSIL peacekeepers of the Indian Battalion in Mile 91. Assistance is also being rendered to 25 blind people who are being fed on a daily basis.

The Deputy SRSG also visited the Mabang Bridge to see the progress of work being done by UNAMSIL’s engineering contingent.

In Port Loko 13 civilians -- 5 men, 3 women and 5 children arrived at the Nigerian Battalion (NIBATT I) location from Makeni through Lunsar and handed in a letter from the RUF Commander in Lunsar. According to the letter, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Lunsar is requesting that the road from Rogberi Junction unto Lunsar be opened to enable civilians to use the road. These 13 civilians were taken to the UNAMSIL headquarters Sector Commander of Nigerian Battalion (NIBATT I) for screening and later released.

UNAMSIL peacekeepers in Nigerian Battalion (NIBATT II) yesterday, 1st October handed over five "West Side Boys" commanders namely -- Corporal Osman Sesay, Mohamed Sidique, Mohamed Savage, Mohamed Bangura, and Samuel Kargbo to the Sierra Leone Police after screening and found to be criminals. On the other hand 188 "West Side Boys" were also screened and sent to the DDR camp.

An international meeting of advisers and Commonwealth Police Development Task Force, and members of the Sierra Leone Police Force including the Inspector General of Police was organized on the 28th September at UNAMSIL headquarters. The Civilian Police team leaders and assistants from Kenema, Bo, Moyamba, Lungi and Port Loko also attended the meeting.

The main purpose of the meeting was to get feedback from the team leaders in the various areas and address some of the difficulties faced by the advisers of Police to the Inspector General of Police. It also focused on the joint working of advisers and the local police of the provinces. The brief of the Team leaders ranged from the local political scenario to the Disarmament, Demobilization and Disarmament (DDR) activities, refugee, logistical support and hardship encountered by the local police.

On 29th September, the UNAMSIL Military Observer team in Bo disarmed two Civil Defence Force (CDF) combatants at the Office of the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR). They surrendered one G3 rifle with 12 rounds of ammunition and one FN rifle with 19 rounds of ammunition. These CDF combatants have expressed their eagerness to join the NCDDR training and education programme.

At Daru one ex-Sierra Leone Army (SLA) reported to the DDR camp for disarmament with one shot-gun, one magazine and 23 rounds of ammunition.

Just after the visit of His Excellency the President of Sierra Leone, Dr Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah to Daru, 55 RUF combatants came in over the weekend and joined the Daru DDR camp without their weapons. We would like to think that the visit of the President to various DDR camps is of great significance to confidence-building.


Questions and Answers

Q: Is the screening process of ex-combatants done by the Sierra Leone Police or UNAMSIL?

A: You will recall that after the "West Side Boys" surrendered themselves to UNAMSIL at Port Loko, UNAMSIL was informed that some of them have criminal records. After due process, questionnaires for screening were made available for completion of each combatant before allowing them to join the DDR programme. It was after this process that five of the West Side Boys were invited out of the camp and brought to Freetown Police. About 188 other combatants -- ex-West Side Boys however went through this same process and they are now being demobilized.

Q: Do you have any information as regards the return of the Force Commander Major V. K. Jetley?

A: We were informed by the Force Commander that he will be going to his home country from New York.

Q: What do you consider as criminal records -- is it for previous crimes committed before joining the West Side Group?

A: This is not a position for UNAMSIL to determine.

Q: Do you foresee a semblance of peace in the area of Makeni considering the request from the RUF Commander in Lunsar that civilians should start using the Rogberi Junction road and your recent visit to Makari which is 6km to Makeni over the weekend?

A: The security situation at the general area of Makari and considering the request that civilians should start using the road, by my assessment, is foreseen as a semblance of peace around the general area. The civilians in the area were very happy to see UNAMSIL personnel in the area and the RUF commander indicated their willingness to work with the Government of Sierra Leone in bringing peace to Sierra Leone. The 55 RUF ex-combatants who came in to join the DDR camp and also the letter from the RUF commander are indications of their wish to joining in the peace process.

Q: There was a "shoot-out" at the Magbele Bridge over the weekend in which a Sierra Leonean Army soldier was killed and three wounded. UNAMSIL troops in Port Loko arrested some CDFs. Are these CDFs still in the custody of UNAMSIL or have they been handed over to the Police?

A: Your observations are correct. UNAMSIL troops made some arrests and have handed these persons to the police at Port Loko.

Q: Since a new RUF leader has been named, what is the "stumbling block" of the peace process?

A: The peace process is slow but I would not say there is a "stumbling-block" because you must realise that even though General Issa Sesay has been named as the interlocutor for the RUF, his position has to be consolidated. But we have seen positive signs as the RUF is trying to return United Nations equipment. At the same time a letter has also been received from the RUF requesting roads to be open so that civilians should start using them. We have unconfirmed reports that the RUF are trying to make Makeni a weapons-free zone. We are making contacts with the RUF and we will continue to do so.

*****


(c) United Nations 2000
For information purposes only; not an official document of the United Nations.

Sierra Leone rebels suspected of slaughter in Guinea
Posted October 2, 2000 - 17:52 by newsdesk

Related Source: The Independent

By Alex Duval Smith

Monday, 2 October 2000

The weekend killings of up to 70 civilians in Guinea – whose large territory wraps around Sierra Leone and Liberia – prompted new fears yesterday that the impact of brutal rebel activity is spreading across borders in the diamond-rich west African region.

Government sources in Guinea's capital, Conakry, claimed at the weekend that "unidentified gunmen" had staged raids on three settlements in the Macenta area, near the country's border with Liberia.

The government, which faces elections at the end of next month, has recently clamped down on refugees from the fighting in Sierra Leone and Liberia – said to number 500,000 – who are deeply unpopular in impoverished Guinea.

While the identity of the gunmen who staged the raid is not known, observers believe the recent Guinean clampdown on refugees has heightened tension in all border areas.

Liberia claims Guinea is overly tolerant of rebel organisers. It claims they plan their cross-border raids from within the safety of Guinean refugee camps. Guinea says Liberia's rebel-refugees have exported their war.

The government of Sierra Leone – which is protected against rebels by a British military mission and some 13,000 United Nations soldiers – wants more peacekeepers to be sent to the region, specifically to police the borders of the increasingly tense triangle of countries. On Saturday during a visit to Liberia, Sierra Leone's Vice-President, Albert Joseph Denby, said the 16-member Economic Community of West Africa was "working on" plans for a force to guard the borders.

Crucially, it could mark the first effective initiative to isolate the thriving diamonds-for-arms trade which is the key to the nine-year war in Sierra Leone and the instability throughout the region.

The weekend raids – which according to Guinean sources happened after nightfall on Friday at settlements named as Khoryama, N'delenou and Macarbou – are just the latest evidence that the three west African countries are increasingly at the mercy of ruthless rebel warlords who, in their search for wealth, prefer anarchy to democracy.



© 2000 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd.

Bangladesh offers 1,800 troops for Sierra Leone
Posted October 1, 2000 - 14:32 by newsdesk

Related Source: Times of India

The proposed withdrawal of Indian troops has created a virtual crisis in S. Leone

UNITED NATIONS, 1 October 2000

Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest nations, has offered sufficient troops to replace a large part of the Indian contingent pulling out of the beleaguered UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone.

Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh told IPS that his country has formally offered two additional battalions of about 800-900 troops each to fill the vacuum left by the Indians.

The proposed withdrawal of Indian troops - numbering over 3,000 - created a virtual crisis in Sierra Leone as the UN last week began scrambling for new troops to prop up its peacekeeping mission in the west African nation.

Currently, Bangladesh has nearly 800 troops with the UN mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). If Secretary-General Kofi Annan accepts the offer, Chowdhury said, the two additional infantry battalions could bring the total number of Bangladeshi troops in Sierra Leone to about 2,600 making it the second largest contingent after Nigeria.

Since India decided to withdraw its troops about two weeks ago, Annan has been appealing to member states for more soldiers. The Indian withdrawal was primarily blamed on the growing tension between the UNAMSIL commander, Major General Vijay Jetley of India and his deputy, Brigadier General Mohammed Garba of Nigeria. But India's official position is that the withdrawal is a routine rotation of its troops.

The search for new troops also comes at a time when the UN Security Council has asked for an increase in troops in Sierra Leone, from 12,440 to an estimated 20,500. But this has been deferred until Annan can find troops to replace the Indians.

Currently, there are 32 countries providing troops to UNAMSIL, the five largest contributors being Nigeria (3,205 troops), India (3,073), Jordan (1,830), Bangladesh (792) and Guinea (789). Chowdhury said that Bangladesh has continued to play a key role in un peacekeeping operations and its troops have been exemplary.

''We are willing to do our part,'' he said, ''Despite the fact that some of the major powers have indicated their unwillingness to risk their soldiers in UN peacekeeping missions.''


(c) 2000 Times of India

Troubled West African triangle may get peacekeepers
Posted October 1, 2000 - 14:26 by newsdesk

Related Source: Associated Press

Nigeria has led past regional peacekeeping

MONROVIA, Liberia, Sep 30, 2000 (AP)

West African peacekeeping troops may soon be deployed along the borders of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to prevent war in the volatile triangle, Sierra Leone's vice president said Saturday.

Albert Joseph Denby said presidents of the 16-member Economic Community of West African States were "working on" stationing peacekeepers in the region to halt sporadic cross-border raids and prevent an escalation of hostilities. No final decision had been taken yet, he added.

Denby made the remarks to journalists in Monrovia following private talks with Liberian President Charles Taylor in Gbarnga, some 125 miles to the northeast.

Relations between the three nations have chilled in recent weeks and military activity along the borders have increased following a crackdown by Guinea on hundreds of thousands of refugees who have taken shelter in that country from wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Denby did not reveal details of his discussions with Taylor but said he delivered a special letter from Sierra Leone President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.

"Nobody is satisfied with events in the subregion," Denby said, adding that Taylor was "happy to see me."

Guinea accuses the refugees of being behind dissident attacks on several Guinean villages while Liberia counters that one of its own rebel groups uses rear bases in Guinea to stage attacks on northern Liberia.

The Economic Community of West African States has sent peacekeepers to the past in both Liberia and Sierra Leone, where some 13,000 U.N. troops are stationed to salvage a lapsed peace agreement involving Sierra Leone's government and a notoriously brutal rebel group.


Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

New attack in Guinea kills nearly 70
Posted October 1, 2000 - 13:41 by newsdesk

Related Source: BBC

Tensions persist in the volatile border area

Saturday, 30 September, 2000 (BBC)

Reports from Guinea say at least 67 people have been killed in an attack by an armed group on two villages near the border with Liberia.

Security officials say three government soldiers were among those killed on Friday night in the southern Macenta region.

The officials say eight of the attackers were captured, while the rest escaped with some communication equipment and weapons.

Correspondents say this is the fourth such attack in Guinea since the beginning of the month.

Thirty-five people were killed in a similar incident in the same area last month, including an aid worker for the United Nations refugee agency.


Regional tensions

The government says the rebels are operating from Liberian territory with the support of guerrilla groups from Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.

The Liberian Government has denied the accusations, which have set off tensions around the region.

Guinea hosts about 500,000 refugees who have fled conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

But earlier this month, President Lansana Conte accused them of aiding the rebels and has told them to leave

Guinean civilians joined enthusiastically in hunting down refugees, in what correspondents described as an outpouring of resentment against foreigners, which had been building up for years.


(c) 2000 BBC News

END