TUESDAY, 4.00PM
THE Organisation of African Unity on Monday appealed to the United Nations Security Council to speed up the deployment of an inter-African Force in Brazzaville, the capital of Congo, where fighting resumed on Monday, ending a week-long ceasefire.
In a communique issued in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa at the end of the 44th session of the OAU Central Organ for conflict prevention, management and resolution, the meeting’s chair, Zimbabwean ambassador to Ethiopia and the OAU, TAG Makombe, appealed for the establishment and maintenance of a lasting ceasefire and called on the warring parties “to exercies maximum restraint.”
The central organ appealed to all African states to give contingents which can serve as part of the proposed inter-African Force or provide logistical support for such a force. It also requested OAU secretary general Salim Ahmed Salim and his UN counterpart, Kofi Annan, “to undertake urgent consultations within and outside Africa to ensure the maximum support for the implementation of this initiative.”
The crisis in Brazzaville erupted early this month when government troops tried to neutralise former dictator Sassou-Nguesso’s militiamen, ahead of general elections, which were supposed to be held in July.