In Guinea, delegation meets leader of Liberia’s main rebel group

A United Nations Security Council delegation met in Guinea with the leader of Liberia’s main rebel faction on the final leg of an eight-day mission exploring new opportunities for peace and stability in the troubled West African sub-region.

Arriving in the Guinean capital Conakry yesterday evening, the Security Council Mission to West Africa met with Seku Conneh, the leader of the rebel movement Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

The delegation had scheduled meetings today with President Lansana Conte and/or Prime Minister Lamine Sidime, and Foreign Minister Francois Lonceny Fall.

The mission, led by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom, is scheduled to depart today for Freetown, Sierra Leone, its last stop before returning to New York on Saturday.

In Accra yesterday, following a series of meetings with participants in the Liberian peace talks that began in June, Ambassador Greenstock outlined a number of points the mission had made clear to the parties. Those points included full respect for and implementation of the ceasefire that has been agreed between the parties in conflict, urgent progress towards a comprehensive political settlement, and full respect on the ground for international human rights and humanitarian law.