/ 25 April 1999

NEW WEST AFRICAN PEACEKEEPER

WEST African defence ministers agreed to form a new peacekeeping force after a meeting of signatories of a non-aggression and defence accord (Anad), a statement said on Friday.The final communique after a two-day meeting here noted that a protocol on establishing the force would be submitted to the heads of state of Anad members Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The ministers also decided to create a fund of 180-million CFA francs ($290000) to finance Anad defence, security and humanitarian activities, according to sources close to the talks.Regional peacekeeping duties are currently carried out primarily by the multinational Ecomog force originally set up by the 16-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to intervene in the Liberian civil war in 1990.