Weekly anb07134.txt #5

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-07-2000  PART #4/5

* Nigeria. Internal violence - 6 July: The authorities have
imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the south-western town of Ikare
Akoko, after a dispute between two local chiefs turned violent.
After a number of deaths and the widespread destruction of
property, police reinforcements were sent there from Lagos, in an
attempt to restore law and order. 7 July: The first night of
curfew in Ikare Akoko passes peacefully. 20 July: At least 32
people died in a clash between police and villagers in Nigeria's
Niger Delta Region which produces much of the country's crude oil.
The clashes took place in Warri. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 July 2000)

* Nigeria. Explosion d'un oléoduc - Environ 250 personnes sont
mortes, brûlées vives, et des dizaines ont été blessées ou portées
disparues dans le sud du Nigeria après l'explosion d'un oléoduc,
selon des sources concordantes le 11 juillet. L'incident a eu lieu
dans la nuit du 9 au 10 juillet dans le village d'Adeje, près de
Warri, la capitale de l'Etat du Delta. L'explosion s'est produite
alors que les villageois siphonnaient du carburant pour le vendre
illégalement. Des explosions identiques ont déjà eu lieu dans le
passé. La plus meurtrière, en octobre 1998, avait fait plus de
1.000 morts dans la ville de Jesse, au nord de Warri. ? D'autre
part, au moins 30 personnes, dont 5 policiers, ont été tuées à la
fin de la semaine dernière près de Warri, au cours de violents
affrontements entre des policiers et des jeunes de la communauté
d'Evreni. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 juillet 2000)

* Nigeria. Oil inferno - More than 100 people are reported to have
been burnt to death in an explosion at a petrol pipeline in
southern Nigeria. The death toll is expected to rise as about 100
others are seriously injured and a similar number are believed to
be missing. The explosion happened on 10 July while people were
using buckets to collect petrol flowing from the pipeline after it
had been punctured by thieves on Sunday night, 9 July. The
incident occurred at Adeje village, near the town of Warri in the
oil-rich delta region. Villagers said they feared as many as 250
people have died in total. The governor of the Delta State has
appealed for the wounded to come forward for hospital treatment.
Most of the injured have sought help from traditional doctors
because they fear arrest on suspicion of stealing oil if they
attend hospitals. The Governor has pledged they would not be
arrested. (BBC News, 11 & 13 July 2000)

* Rwanda. Réparations financières - Le rapport d'une commission
d'enquête indépendante de l'Organisation de l'unité africaine
demande des réparations financières pour le génocide rwandais. La
Belgique, les Etats-Unis, la France et le Conseil de sécurité de
l'Onu sont accusés de ne pas avoir empêché le génocide alors
qu'ils en avaient les moyens. Le rapport demande au secrétaire
général de l'Onu, Kofi Annan, de définir les modalités des
réparations. (Le Soir, Belgique, 8 juillet 2000)

* Rwanda. Scathing indictment to halt the genocide - 7 July: In a
scathing indictment of the failure to halt the worst genocide
since World War II, an international panel blames the UN Security
Council, the USA, France and the Catholic Church for failing to
prevent the slaughter of more than 500,000 Rwandans. The seven-
member panel created by the Organisation of African Unity called
for the international community -- especially those countries that
failed to prevent or help stop the 1994 genocide, to pay
reparations to Rwanda "in the name of both justice and
accountability". 9 July: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
says the international panel was wrong to blame the USA for
failing to prevent the slaughter. She also says she has opposed US
inaction against genocide in Rwanda. 10 July: President Kagame
(Rwanda) has expressed satisfaction with the OAU report. He says:
"It is a good report. We will discuss it with other African
leaders and foreign dignitaries and see how usefully we can
exploit it". (CNN, 7&9 July; IRIN 10 July 2000)

* Sénégal/Guinée-Bissau. Tensions - Le 7 juillet, le Conseil de
sécurité de l'Onu s'est dit préoccupé des tensions à la frontière
de la Guinée-Bissau et du Sénégal, où des attaques contre des
villages ont été signalées. Les membres du Conseil ont appelé les
deux pays à faire montre de retenue et à prendre des mesures pour
faire baisser la tension. D'autre part, au sud du Sénégal, sept
personnes au moins ont été tuées lors de nouveaux combats entre
l'armée et les rebelles séparatistes de la Casamance, ont rapporté
les agences de presse. (IRIN, Abidjan, 10 juillet 2000)

* Sénégal. Navire suisse coulé - Le 11 juillet, la marine du
Sénégal a coulé l'Orient Flower, un navire suisse de transport
d'acide sulfurique qui mouillait depuis dix mois dans les eaux
territoriales sénégalaises. L'opération a eu lieu à 27 km des
côtes. Le bateau "dans un état de dégradation avancé" était vide,
assure son commandant. Les autorités ont voulu montrer que le
Sénégal "ne saurait tolérer que son espace maritime serve de
dépotoir". (Libération, France, 13 juillet 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Reactions to diamond ban - (On 5 July, the UN
Security Council imposed a worldwide embargo on the sale of
diamonds from Sierra Leone for 18 months. The embargo makes it
illegal to buy Sierra Leone diamonds except those that have a
certificate of origin from the government. The following are some
reactions to the ban): Belgium: On 6 July, Belgium said it had
taken immediate action to enforce the UN embargo, but warned its
effectiveness would be limited by the flow of diamonds through
neighbouring countries. The Belgian port city of Antwerp is the
world's largest diamond trading centre with a $20 billion annual
industry that handles 80$ of the world trade in rough diamonds,
and 50% of trade in polished gens. Great Britain: Britain praised
the UN decision. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, says: "I
have seen for myself the misery and brutality of the civil war in
Sierra Leone, which the rebels fund through illegal diamond
sales". India: India's diamond industry is introducing (from 6
July) new measures to stop the import of diamonds from countries
where the trade is thought to fund rebel movements. The diamond
industry's main body, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council,
will require all exporters of rough diamonds to declare the
stones' countries of origin. Russia: Russia welcomed the UN ban
and said the terms of the ban were a good sign for making
sanctions more effective in future. Sierra Leone: The Government
welcomed the UN ban, calling the measure a "two-pronged happiness"
that would limit the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF)'s
ability to buy arms, and also help stem petty smuggling that has
drained a potential source of government income for years. (ANB-
BIA, Brussels, 7 July 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Casques bleus encerclés - Le Front révolutionnaire
uni (RUF) a refusé d'accéder à la demande de la Minusil de
réapprovisionner par hélicoptère le personnel des Nations unies de
la région de Kailahun, à l'est du pays, a signalé l'Onu le 11
juillet. Depuis tout un temps déjà, 233 casques bleus et
observateurs militaires y sont bloqués par le RUF. "Ils n'ont plus
aujourd'hui que pour 10 jours de rations", a déclaré un porte-
parole. Leur approvisionnement est d'autant plus difficile que les
routes sont en mauvais état du fait de la saison de pluies; et le
7 juillet, un hélicoptère s'est vu refuser l'accès à la région.
Par ailleurs, la situation militaire générale en Sierra Leone
était calme, a déclaré l'Onu, ajoutant que les troupes de la
Minusil avaient découvert une importante cache d'armes près de
Lungi et qu'une enquête était en cours. (IRIN, Abidjan, 11 juillet
2000)

* Sierra Leone. Security issues - On 11 July, US Ambassador
Richard Holbrooke rapped UN peacekeepers for doing a bad job, but
rejected an increase in troops for Sierra Leone without further
study. "Our government is of the view that these issues are of
such consequence that we have to get them right. We are not happy
with the UN mission in Sierra Leone right now. It has not done a
good job", he said. On 12 July, Human Rights Watch appealed to
Britain to stop the Sierra Leone Government army from killing
civilians in its war against rebels. On 19 July, West African
states will meet to discuss deploying troops to join UN
peacekeepers in Sierra Leone. The three-day meeting will be held
in Accra, Ghana, and will inaugurate a new regional Defence and
Security Commission made up of key defence officials from member
states. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 July 2000)

* Somalia. Opposition to peace process - An editorial in the 4
July edition of the Somaliland newspaper Jamhuuriya, which
reflects the views of the Somaliland administration, said the UN
appeal for support of the Somali peace and reconciliation
conference in Djibouti, was part of a process of blindfolding the
world community. It said the real aim of Djibouti President Ismael
Omar Guellah, who initiated the talks, was to destroy the
Somaliland and Puntland administrations, which had achieved
security in their regions. It said Guellah was hosting military
officers at Arta, location of the Somali talks, especially those
who had helped destroy the Somali nation. "Therefore, no one was
obliged to attend or not to attend, and President Guelleh is
responsible for that". The editorial said "there are those regions
which, through their own efforts, have established their own
administration structures in Somalia. Are they not the right
people to be consulted on the future of their people and country".
(IRIN, East Africa, 5 July 2000)

Weekly anb0713.txt - End of part 4/5