POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: ECOMOG Searches For Arms in the Capital

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, May 5 1998 (IPS) - A search for arms, ammunitions and explosives by the West African Peacekeeping Force (ECOMOG) in the Sierra Leone capital city of Freetown has caused a wave of panic among the population of a little over a million.

Colonel Maxwell Khobe, the commander of the West African intervention force and head of Sierra Leone’s national security, says the exercise, which began last week, is aimed at recovering arms and ammunitions which may have been hidden in parts of the city by supporters of the deposed military junta.

“We have to ensure that this capital is arms free,” Colonel Khobe told IPS Tuesday. He appealed to the civilian population to remain calm and cooperate as the hunt for weapons continues.

Hundred of armed ECOMOG soldiers are combing residential neighbourhoods in the city and run-down slum areas along the sea. “We have recovered hundreds of arms and an assortment of ammunitions which were stashed away in hideouts, in unsuspecting slum dwellings,” an ECOMOG official who is a part of the search team said.

The arms’ swoop also comes in the wake of a spate of armed robberies and several bomb scares that have gripped this war-weary city.

Last week, a bomb was discovered at Wilberforce, where the ECOMOG Task Force headquarters is located. It was quickly detonated by experts before the area was thrown into a panic.

And on Workers’ Day (May 1), a bomb exploded at a residential home in Murray Town, west of Freetown, ripping a two-storey building apart and killing a middle-aged woman.

ECOMOG troops were in the area at the time of the bomb blast to search for arms that reportedly had been hidden in the building destroyed by the bomb.

An unspecified quantity of arms also have been found at the Wellington Wharf in east Freetown. The ECOMOG forces also are moving along streets in the city searching homes.

“I am now really nervous about armed soldiers, be they ECOMOG or Sierra Leone military,” said Fatu Jah, a long-time resident of Kissy Road, where the search has been conducted. “These searches just remind me of the days of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).”

The AFRC, which seized power from the civilian government of President Tejan Kabbah’s government in May 1997, was itself forced out of office in February this year.

The junta and its rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) allies retreated to the countryside and have since been causing large- scale atrocities and human rights violations. Villagers in the eastern districts of Kailahun and Kono have reported cases of arson, murder and rape by the retreating junta and RUF forces.

There are also unconfirmed reports that some of the ousted junta forces have infiltrated back into the capital to stage a comeback.

Dozens of roadblocks have been mounted in various parts of the city, and cars and vehicles are being thoroughly searched for concealed weapons. There is also an ECOMOG imposed curfew from midnight to dawn.

Some Freetown residents however welcome the moves by ECOMOG and the government to ensure that peace and stability returns to the West African nation.

“I think the move by ECOMOG is well in place. We should be on red alert so that those bandits (the AFRC) don’t resurface and resume their planned genocide against the people,” said Tommy Kalawa, a school teacher.

President Kabbah’s government, which returned to power in March, also has appealed to the people to show understanding with the ECOMOG force.

“ECOMOG is doing all it can to ensure the security of this capital and indeed the entire country. Let’s help them accomplish this mission,” said Momodu Koroma, the Minister for Presidential Affairs.