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WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-Up 410 for 5-11 January 2008
12 Jan 2008 10:18:09 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Guinea unrest

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DAKAR, 11 January 2008 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

CHAD: Dual peacekeeping mission seeks to dispel confusion LIBERIA: Truth commission seeks answers to 1979-2003 strife NIGER: Mine explosion in Niamey GUINEA: Support for civil protests wavering MAURITANIA: Heightened insecurity not hindering aid operations

CHAD: Dual peacekeeping mission seeks to dispel confusion With Chadian rebel groups constantly changing, inter-communal fighting frequently breaking out, and tension with neighbouring Sudan increasing, some humanitarian officials in Chad fear the planned presence of simultaneous UN and European Union (EU) police and military forces will only add to the confusion. "We have our questions about the deployment," said Guinlhelm Molinie, head of Médecins Sans Frontières Luxembourg, which works in northeastern Chad. "We don't know if it's to protect humanitarians, refugees, the areas of return, the east of Chad. The official line varies." "We are waiting to see how this force will act on the ground and whether it will do any good. We have some doubts about it, that's for sure." The concerns about confusion are understandable, according to Lt-Col Jan Vall, deputy chief of the military liaison officers of the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT). Vall is charged with coordinating between the UN mission and the other forces on the ground. "It will be very complicated for the [local] people to manage and for humanitarians - for everyone - to know the difference," he agreed. "I will be there in uniform, without arms, with a UN logo. The EU will be there with arms, with the EU logo. The French [troops stationed in Chad for more than two decades and who support Chadian President Idriss Déby] will be there, with the same uniforms as the French working for the EU, but with a French logo, and with a different interest, etc., etc," Vall told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76196

LIBERIA: Truth commission seeks answers to 1979-2003 strife Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has started the final public stage of hearings in a two-year process designed to determine which individuals and institutions were responsible for coups, instability and war from 1979-2003. Unusually for a truth commission, Liberia's TRC is permitted to recommend for prosecution individuals deemed responsible for the most serious rights violations. But officials say the most important part is the process itself. "The public hearings are meant for victims to recount their stories and identify those who committed atrocities against them," said TRC spokesperson Richmond Anderson. "Subsequently those perpetrators will be called in by the TRC to face their accusers in a forum where, if necessary, the perpetrators could seek forgiveness." http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76174

NIGER: Mine explosion in Niamey A landmine that exploded under a car in the Nigerien capital Niamey on 8 January killed one civilian and wounded another, agencies report. According to the BBC, the explosion occurred in the Yantala district of the city where many top army officers live. The Niamey explosion marks the first time an 11-month-old campaign of steadily escalating violence in the remote north of the country has reached the capital. Landmine explosions, ambushes and skirmishes with the army have already displaced at least 11,000 people and cut off large parts of the northern region from humanitarian aid. In mid-December, two landmines exploded in the centre of the southern town Maradi and the central town Tahoua. Both of those explosions also caused civilian casualties. No group has claimed responsibility for any of the explosions. A rebel group, the Nigerien Movement for Justice (MNJ), which claims to be fighting for political and economic autonomy for the mineral-rich, Touareg-dominated north of the country, has been accused by human rights groups of laying mines indiscriminately. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76158

GUINEA: Support for civil protests wavering The sacking of a key reformist politician, and moves by President Lansana Conté to reassert control over the government, have confirmed fears that political reform is stalling. At the same time a widespread reluctance among Guineans to endure another strike planned by unions to start on Thursday 10 January suggests support for civil protests is wavering. Guineans have already endured four nationwide union-led strikes in the last 13 months in protest at high food prices, corruption and Conté's continued leadership. The strikes were initially seen as highly significant as they shattered the country's image as an authoritarian, but stable, West African state, and raised expectations that a long-awaited transition away from Conté's 23-year presidency might be coming. However, faced with the prospect of more disruption for seemingly little reward, many Guineans say they would rather find a more peaceful and less disruptive way to show their concern. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76154

MAURITANIA: Heightened insecurity not hindering aid operations Aid operations in Mauritania are able to continue despite heightened concerns about the threat posed by terrorists associated with al Qaeda. On 24 December, suspected al Qaeda militants shot dead four French tourists in Aleg, 250 km south of the capital Nouakchott and close to the Senegal border, prompting a regional manhunt. Three days later on 27 December, three army soldiers were killed in an attack further north. "There has been no impact. We've maintained our existing security levels in country," Gian Carlo Cirri, World Food Programme (WFP) representative told IRIN, stressing that the agency already had good security mechanisms in place in the country. "We don't know what will happen. We are in a wait and see position." http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76147

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


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