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Sanctions on Liberia Not to Solve Regional Crisis: Nigerian President
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo Tuesday said threats by the United Nations (UN) to impose sanctions on Liberia will not solve the crisis along the borders of countries in the Mano River Union.
In a statement issued in the capital Abuja at the end of his one-day visit to Guinea, Obasanjo said that in respect of the pending sanctions on Liberia because of its alleged involvement in "bloody diamonds from Sierra Leone", the central issue is not sanctions, but peace in the area.
"If we can get peace, there will be no need for sanctions," Obasanjo said, adding that sanctions against Liberia should only be imposed if the country fails to meet the UN's demands.
He noted that Nigeria is ready to do all it can to bring peace to the west African sub-region.
Meanwhile, Obasanjo invited his Liberian counterpart Charles Taylor to pay one-day visit on Wednesday for talks aimed at ending a simmering border conflict with Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Earlier on Monday, the Liberian government ordered the ambassadors of neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone to leave the country within seven days and closed its border with Sierra Leone.
The three member countries of the Mano River Union, which was established to promote cooperation and economic development, have been increasing conflict risks along the countries' common borders since early this year.
Sierra Leone and Guinea both accused Liberia of backing rebels operating within their borders. Liberia, in turn, charged the two neighboring countries with harboring dissidents in a bid to overturn its government.
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