Full Coverage: West Africa

29.04.2005 Nonostante la fine degli scontri, resta alta la tensione a Lomé dopo l'annuncio martedì scorso dei risultati delle elezioni. Fonti diplomatiche occidentali contattate dall'agenzia Misna puntano il dito contro gruppi di sostenitori del partito di governo (Rpt), che accusano la Germania di essere troppo vicina all'opposizione. Continua a crescere il numero di persone in fuga dal Togo: lo rifesisce l'Alto Commissariato delle Nazioni Unite per i Rifugiati, secondo il quale complessivamente 5.754 rifugiati sono arrivati nel vicino Benin, mentre in Ghana sono stati registrati altri più di 600 nuovi arrivi. Le presidenziali di domenica scorsa «non si sono svolte regolarmente e vanno annullate» - riporta Nigrizia citando fonti togolesi. E Lettera 22 pubblica un'approfondita analisi del giornalista Jean Leonard Touadi.

29.04.2005 Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has agreed to let rival candidate Alassane Ouattara run in elections in October, reversing his stand that a referendum be held to decide the issue and paving the way for rebels to return to the negotiating table and bring an end to the country's three-year conflict.

28.04.2005

28.04.2005 Charles Taylor, the former despotic ruler of Liberia nicknamed the "Murderer of Monrovia," is already manipulating the country's elections set to take place in October to avoid standing trial for war crimes, writes Douglas Farah, a former West Africa-based U.S. journalist.

28.04.2005 LOME, Apr 27 (IPS) - Emmanuel Akitani-Bob, an opposition candidate in the presidential election held Sunday in Togo, declared himself winner of the poll Wednesday. This came a day after the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) announced that Faure Gnassingbe, son of deceased head of state Gnassingbe Eyadema, was the provisional winner.

27.04.2005 Despite the criticism aimed at many water privatisation schemes across Africa, Senegal has provided a successful model of a public/private partnership in water management. Senegalaise des Eaux, a subsidiary of the French firm Saur, the fourth largest water company in the world, has contributed in reconstructing Dakar's ailing water system, with the government claiming that the city's needs are met until 2015.

27.04.2005 There are fears that the annual pilgrimage of over a million Muslims to Touba, a town affected by a serious cholera outbreak, may cause the disease to spread to neighbouring countries.

27.04.2005 A bargaining session Monday in Nigeria, where both parties agreed to form a government of national unity, did little to pre-empt violence in the tiny West African country of Togo Tuesday once the ruling party was declared the winner of the weekend's elections. The opposition has urged the country's five million people to resist, and tensions remained high overnight.

27.04.2005 Ennen kuin Togon presidentinvaalien tulokset on julkaistu, eri puolueet ovat lupautuneet voittaessaan korostamaan maan kansallista yhteisyyttä ja väkivallan välttämistä. Kriisiherkkää tilannetta on ollut sovittelemassa Nigerian presidentti ja Afrikan Unionin puheenjohtaja Olusegun Obasanjo. Viikonloppuna pidettyjen presidentinvaalien kahakoissa kuoli ainakin kolme ihmistä.

26.04.2005 Confusion seems to be reigning in Togo after Sunday's hastily organized presidential election, which was supposed to determine a legitimate successor to Gnassingbe Eyadema, Africa's longest-serving ruler who died in office in February. But both sides have claimed fraud, and while the parties nominally agreed to a government of national unity Monday, Tuesday's announcement that Eyadema's son won the poll has sparked fresh violence.

26.04.2005 EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson demonstrates his old mastery of presentation in telling West African cotton producers that the EU cotton trade regime "has no distorting effect on the international market". The response is not recorded.

26.04.2005 Nigeria is in financial crisis and close to default on its international debt. The recent IMF spring meetings provide a reminder that headline promises of debt relief are more selective than they sound. Nigeria does not fulfil IMF conditionality and is excluded from the HIPC debt initiative.

25.04.2005 Länsi-Afrikassa sijaitsevassa 5,5 miljoonan asukkaan Togon tasavallan vaaleja edelsi pelokkaan jännittynyt tunnelma. Togo on kokenut tämän vuoden aikana jo kaksi vallanvaihtoa ja väkivaltaisia kahakoita on ollut vaalien alla lähes päivittäin. Maan vaalijärjestelyjä on moitittu puutteellisiksi, vaalitarkkailijoiden määrää vähäiseksi ja tiedotusvälineiden vapautta riittämättömäksi.

22.04.2005 Togo's last and only president served 38 years until he died in office earlier this year. While his son is expected to win Sunday's election--although allegations of fraud are already circulating--the country's citizens all appear to be eagerly anticipating any change after decades of economic and political stagnation.

15.04.2005 The only remaining rebel group in Burundi said this week it would join the peace process ahead of elections scheduled for later this month. In the Congo, one militia group announced an end to its armed struggle while another sent the last of its conscripts to hand in their weapons. Meanwhile, Ivorians are waiting to see if their president will accept mediator Thabo Mbeki's ruling that the main opposition candidate should be allowed to stand in elections later this year.

13.04.2005 Sato Länsi-Afrikan Nigerissä menetettiin, kun valtavat heinäsirkkalaumat valtasivat hirssipellot, raportoi Unicef. Nigeriläisten perheiden ruokatilanne on kriittisen heikko. Lähes neljällä miljoonalla ihmisellä ei tällä hetkellä ole tarpeeksi ruokaa; heistä puolet on lapsia. Suomen Unicef ilmoittaa lähettäneensä tiistaina 50 000 euroa lisäravintoa varten.

13.04.2005 The leader of Nigeria's Senate has resigned after being accused of bribe-taking. He quit less than 24 hours after President Olusegun Obasanjo sacked his housing minister for trying to sell off government houses cheaply to people of power and influence.

08.04.2005 The government and rebels of Cote d'Ivoire declared an "immediate and definitive" end to hostilities on Wednesday after three days of negotiations in South Africa. However, the crucial matter of whether opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara can stand in October elections has been left to South African President Thabo Mbeki, who expects to rule within a week. Stay tuned.

06.04.2005 Onnistunut ohjelma Senegalissa on johtanut tyttöjen ympärileikkausten loppumiseen jopa 1527 kylässä. Sanan levitessä useat lähikylätkin ovat kopioimassa käytäntöä. Avain asennemuutokeen on löydetty ihmisoikeuskoulutuksesta ja valinnan vapauden kunnioittamisesta. Myös YK:n lastenjärjestö UNICEF on osoittanut kiinnostuksensa menestyksekästä ohjelmaa kohtaan.

06.04.2005