Three West African Leaders Meet Over Regional IssuesThe presidents of Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Mali Tuesday met in Nigeria's capital Abuja to discuss situation in the West African sub-region, expressing optimism for the peace process in Sierra Leone.President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone and Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali said that they welcome the progress made in the peace process in Sierra Leone at the end of their more than two-hour talks. A ceasefire put in place between the government forces and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels is moving forward, the presidents said in a joint statement. They noted the fact that "the ceasefire has continued to hold, that the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration program remains on course and the deployment of UNAMSIL (the United Nations mission in Sierra Leone) deep into RUF-held areas including the diamond-mining areas". However, the three leaders expressed concern at the situation in Liberia, particularly continued fighting in the northern Lofa county region in terms of displacement of the population and devastation to life and property. They expressed further concern at what they called the " continued instability in the Mano River region" and commended plans for a summit meeting of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, which was initiated by Kabbah. The crisis in Sierra Leone was pricked up by the incessant border crisis among the three countries of the Mano River Union, where rebels from one country will cross into the other to cause intensifying fighting. Kabbah said earlier on Monday that he was trying to convene a summit meeting among the three neighbors on the conflict to restore peace in the sub-region, adding that he had sent his foreign minister to Guinea to complete arrangements for the summit in Freetown. Guinean President Lansana Conte has in the past refused to meet Liberian President Charles Taylor to discuss the crisis, accusing him of fomenting war in the sub-region. The three members of the sub-region group, which is intended to promote cooperation and economic development, have seen increasing conflict on the countries' common borders since early this year. Sierra Leone and Guinea blamed that Liberia is supporting Sierra Leone rebels as well as armed rebel groups in Guinea. Liberia, in turn, accused the two neighboring countries of harboring dissidents in a bid to overturn the Liberian government. |
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