Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Monrovia (Fides Agency) - “I can assure you that by the end of our mission to Liberia we will have collected all weapons, but Liberia remains a Country in danger if weapons are left in the wrong hands in Cote d’Ivoire” said Kenyan General Daniel Opande, commander of the UN forces in Liberia, facing the international press. Liberia is slowly coming out from the consequences of its bloody civil war. The UN dispatched a unit of Blue Helmets whose task, among others, was to recover all weapons in the hands of the militias which fought against one another during the civil war.
In nearby Cote d’Ivoire though, the situation remains quite uncertain. This Country is divided into two parts, the north-western part, in the hands of the rebels of the “New Forces”, and the rest of the Country, controlled by the governmental army. In Cote d’Ivoire there is a unit of UN forces and a 4,000 strong French military mission.
In spite of the presence of international forces along the border between Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire there has been a flow of arms and fighters threatening to destabilize both Countries. A disarmament project initiated in Cote d’Ivoire as well, but while in Liberia every fighter giving up his weapon is given 300 dollars, in Cote d’Ivoire guerrilla soldiers returning their weapon receive 900 dollars. “Arms dealing has started between Liberia and Cote d’Ivore” is written in the Fides dossier on arms in Africa, to be published on July 24th. “The Liberians are trying to earn double money, by taking part in the disarmament program in their own country and in Cote d’Ivoire. The Liberian either pretend they are Ivorian fighters, or they sell their weapons to Cote d’Ivoire guerrilla fighters in exchange for a percentage of the 900 dollars paid upon delivery of their weapon”. (L.M.) (Fides Agency 21/7/2004 28 lines, 350 words)
