AU leaders call for arms embargo on Cote D' Ivoire
From: Madu Onuorah (Abuja)
AN emergency summit of African leaders was yesterday held at the Federal Government Guest House at the Presidential Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja to discuss current spate violence in the troubled nation of Cote D'Ivoire.
The meeting, hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo, the current chairperson of the African Union (AU) had in attendance the chairman of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), President John Kuffour (Ghana), President Blaise Campaore (Burkina Faso), President Abdullahi Wade (Senegal), President
Omar Bongo (Gabon) and Gyassingbe Eyadema (Togo) and the Chairman of the AU commission, former President Alpha Konare.
Also present were the representatives of the Libyan leader, Moumar Ghadafi and that of the embattled Cote D'Ivoirean President, Laurent Gbagbo; and the` Special Representative of the UN Secretary General. South African President, Thabo Mbeki who has been mediating
in the crisis since it broke two weeks ago was not at the meeting.
President Obasanjo, who briefed journalists after the four-hour meeting said that the leaders wants the arms embargo imposed on the government and rebel groups to
be implemented immediately. This, he said, is because both camps plans to go on arms buying spree.
He noted that the present crisis started because of the inability of the combatants to fully implement earlier agreements on ending the protracted crisis.
According to President Obasanjo, "for about four hours, we've gathered together here. Sometime last week, after consultations, I requested Mbeki to visit Cote D'Ivoire to find out what measures can be taken to first stop the deteriorating situation and reverse it. Mbeki was kind enough to undertake this journey.
As he was leaving Cote D'Ivoire, he sent me a report and we elected to have consultations among ourselves. We are fully briefed on the situation on the ground. In addition to the report presented by Mbeki, he spoke to me by 1.00pm today on follow-up. He met Campaore
and one or two other leaders, also contacted two other political leaders in Cote D'Ivoire. And with the briefing from the Speaker of the Cote D'Ivoirean parliament, the UN Representative in Cote D'Ivoire, we took certain decisions which we believe will help bring normalcy back to the country.
"We received report that electricity and water have been cut off from some towns in the North of the country. Both parties in the conflict should not start anything that will amount to retaliatory attack. We support the proposed UN resolution particularly the arms embargo in Cote D'Ivoire. This should be immediate. What we are getting is that all sides are trying to get new offensive weapons.
We call on the international community not to allow any form of arms trafficking in the next 12 months by the sides in the conflict. We also call on all parties concerned to respect earlier agreement. Those earlier agreements should be implemented forthwith. We will remain
constructively engaged".
And to bring more bite to its efforts to bring peace to the country, President Obasanjo announced that in the next three weeks, there would be a meeting of the AU Commission on Peace and Security to deliberate on the issue.
Last week, foreign nationals especially from Europe and America were massively evacuated out of Abidjan following he destruction of the Ivorian airforce by
French forces in retaliation to an earlier attack of a French base and the death of nine peacekeepers in Abidjan by Ivorian troops.
The Abuja talks is holding apparently as a follow-up to Thursday conference in Pretoria convened by President Thabo Mbeki after a visit to Abidjan last week.
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