UN, West African States meet in Abuja to review Sierra Leone ceasefire accord

The head of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Oluyemi Adeniji, was in Abuja, Nigeria, today to take part in a review of the progress in implementing a ceasefire accord for Sierra Leone.

According to the UN Mission, representatives of the Government of Sierra Leone, the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and UNAMSIL, in the presence of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), gathered in Nigeria to conduct an assessment of the implementation of the Abuja Agreement signed on 10 November 2000.

Yesterday in Abuja, Mr. Adeniji attended the Fourth Meeting of the Coordination Mechanism among the UN, ECOWAS and the Government of Sierra Leone. The meeting, in which the Organization of African Unity participated as an observer, involved consultations on the peace process.

The conflict in Sierra Leone dates back to March 1991 when RUF fighters launched a war from the east of the country to overthrow the government. UNAMSIIL was set up by the Security Council in October 1999 to cooperate with the Government and the other parties in implementing the July 1999 Lomé Peace Agreement and to help carry out the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration plan. The Council revised the Mission's mandate in a series of subsequent mandates, most recently in March.