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Nigerian President Leaves for S. Leone to Visit Diamond-Rich District
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo left Abuja earlier Monday for a one-day visit to Sierra Leone at the invitation of Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General Oluyemi Adeniji.
Obasanjo and his Mali's counterpart Alpha Oumar Konare, also Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), are due to visit eastern Kono district, the main stronghold controlled by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels during more than ten-year-long civil war.
Earlier on Saturday, when he visited Nigeria, Adeniji appealed to heads of state and government of the ECOWAS to visit Kono district, the heart of the diamond zone, and "see the progress that has been made".
Adeniji said the peace in Sierra Leone is on its way with the handover of Kono district, adding that there seem to be high hopes that peace may now return to the war-ravaged country.
In his remarks on the two leaders' visit, Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Ramadan Dumbuya said the visit is to see the devastation in Kono district as a result of the rebel war against the successive governments, which has witnessed tens of thousands of civilians mutilated, raped or displaced.
"For symbolic reasons, Kono is very important and that is why our biggest benefactors in the peace process in Sierra Leone are going there," Dumbuya was quoted as saying by a report reaching here from Freetown.
During the one-day stay in the war-ravaged country, Obasanjo and ECOWAS Chairman Konare will also hold discussions with RUF senior members and traditional leaders, including paramount chiefs from the district.
As the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world, the UN mission in Sierra Leone, which the Security Council on March 30 has agreed to increase to 17,500 troops from a strength of more than 12,000, is trying to strengthen its deployment aimed at lasting peace in the West African country.
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