POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Foreigners Flee As Rebels Advance

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Dec 29 1998 (IPS) - Foreigners, mostly Britons and Americans, are fleeing Sierra Leone as rebels seeking to overthrow the government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah are advancing towards the capital Freetown.

Britain, which ruled Sierra Leone until independence in 1961, has evacuated 100 Britons to Senegal before flying them over to the United Kingdom (UK) this week.

The United States also flew out an undisclosed number of its nationals and warned others not to travel to Sierra Leone, which it declared “unsafe”.

A number of international non-governmental organisations (ngos) like Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), World Vision, Concern Universal, Africare, Action Aid and the French agency ‘Action Contre La Faim’ (AICF) have also pulled out of the strife-torn West African country.

The agencies point at the deteriorating security situation, especially in the north and the Freetown peninsula, as hampering their operations.

“The evacuation of expatriate aid workers spells a looming disaster,” said a UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) spokesperson on Tuesday.

“The evacuation will limit the rapid response by aid workers to the deplorable humanitarian situation in the country,” he told IPS.

He warned that if the aid workers were not replaced, the implementation and maintenance of relief food and health structures in the West African country will collapse in the near future.

The pull out follows the capture of the eastern diamond capital of Koidu by the rebels earlier this month and the dislodging of the Nigerian-led West African peacekeeping force ‘ECOMOG’ from the northern regional capital of Makeni, about 160 kilometres from Freetown, last week.

The rebels launched a series of attacks on towns and villages, including areas around Freetown, sending shockwaves among the city’s population, last week.

Even the UN Military Observer Mission (UNOMSIL) personnel in Makeni were forced to relocate to Freetown.

West Africa’s Committee of five on Sierra Leone (Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana) held an emergency meeting on the worsening crisis in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan over the weekend.

In their final communique, the leaders condemned rebel atrocities and continued military activities, urging them to stop hostilities, take advantage of the Freetown government’s offer of amnesty to combatants and enter dialogue.

The rebels were not invited to the Abidjan talks but back home, they insist on the release of their leader corporal Foday Sankoh, who was recently sentenced to death, in a Freetown High Court, for helping the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) stay in power.

The AFRC was the junta that toppled the civilian government of President Kabbah in May 1997, but was itself ousted from power by ECOMOG in February.

In New York, UN Secretary General Kofi Anan condemned the rebels for attempting “to overthrow the elected government” of President Kabbah.

He urged the rebels to lay down their arms and stop killing civilians and enter dialogue with the government.

Information minister, Julius Spencer, described the fall of Makeni, where more than 10,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting, as “a big blow to us”, but warned that Sierra Leone will “not give in to the rebels.”

Anti-rebel feelings have been running high in Freetown, where tens of thousands of militia have been recruited to halt rebel advances. Over the weekend, a huge demonstration was held in the capital, by civic groups and youth activists, in which two alleged rebel sympathisers were publicly lynched.

Despite the excitement in Freetown, ECOMOG, which is leading the pro-government forces, seems to have serious manpower and logistical handicaps. Its field commander, General Timothy Shelpidi, renewed calls, at Monday’s meeting in Abidjan, for ECOMOG countries to contribute troops, to the multinational force.

Only Nigeria and Guinea have large number of troops fighting in Sierra Leone, with a token force from Ghana. Until these troops are beefed up, the prospects of ending the war militarily, which the Freetown government favours, may be a wild cry.