SIERRA LEONE: Peace talks begin
LAGOS, 10 November (IRIN) - The Sierra Leonean government and the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) began talks on Friday in the Nigerian
capital, Abuja, with the aim of achieving peace in Sierra Leone.
The discussions, which also involve the United Nations and the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), were to have started on Thursday.
They were delayed by the late arrival of the RUF, which had to be flown from
the Liberian capital, Monrovia, to Abuja late on Thursday by a Nigerian
plane.
Key issues on the agenda include disarmament, the return of seized UN
weapons, a ceasefire, restructuring Sierra Leone's armed forces and free
movement of people, according to officials close to the talks. "It is
expected that considerable progress will be made during the talks
towards ending this needlessly running conflict," an ECOWAS official to
IRIN.
Members of the ECOWAS mediating committee include Ghana, Guinea, Liberia,
Mali, Togo and Nigeria. Their foreign ministers had met on Thursday to
work out the final agenda for the peace talks.
As the dominant member of the ECOWAS regional force, ECOMOG, Nigeria played
a leading role in Sierra Leone, backing President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's
government against the rebels, restoring him to power after he was
overthrown in 1997 and defending the capital, Freetown, against rebel
invasions.
Part of the ECOMOG contingent was incorporated into the UN Mission in Sierra
Leone (UNAMSIL), which took over peacekeeping operations this year.
UNAMSIL's deployment was a result of the mid-1999 Lome peace agreement that
was to have ended a civil war that began in 1991. However, the RUF broke the
agreement in May.
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