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Security Council Urges End to S. Leonean Rebels Attacks Into Guinea
The UN Security Council Tuesday called upon all countries to refrain from providing military support to Sierra Leonean rebel groups responsible for cross-border attacks into Guinea.
The 15-nation council also called on all UN member states to refrain from "any act that might contribute to a further destabilization of the situation on the border between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone."
The appeal came in a press statement read by Ambassador Kishore Mahbuhani of Singapore, which holds the council's rotating presidency for the month of January. Earlier, the council was briefed on the recent contacts between the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and the Sierra Leonean rebel group -- the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) -- by Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.
The statement expressed the council members' concern over the " continued attacks by the RUF on the border with Guinea."
Council members called for the early implementation of the Abuja agreement and urged all states -- particularly Liberia -- to abide by the council's December 20 presidential statement to stop providing military support to the rebels carrying out such attacks.
In a separate press statement that followed an update on the refugee situation in Guinea by the new U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ruud Lubbers, council members said that they shared "deep concern" expressed by Lubbers over the plight of the refugees in the region and expressed their full support for his efforts to ameliorate the situation.
They also noted with appreciation the efforts of the Guinean government and the people of Guinea in hosting the large number of refugees from the region and asked for their continued assistance to ensure the safety and security of the refugees and all U.N. personnel, said the statement.
The council members voiced their support for the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), saying that they agreed that the crisis in Guinea required a regional coordinated response, the statement said.
At a press conference following the council's closed-door consultations, Lubbers said his main message to the Security Council had been "a plea for assistance."
"In the border area, the initiative of ECOWAS is the key," Lubbers said. "But UNHCR's impression is that it will not be implemented only by the will of this regional institution -- they need support in terms of money and logistics to make it effective. "
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