Ghana consults Nigeria and Guinea over Sierra Leone

Accra, (Greater Accra) 10 Jan. '99,

Accra, (Greater Accra) 10 Jan. '99, Ghana is consulting with other countries in the sub-region to restore sustainable peace and consolidate democracy in troubled Sierra Leone, a senior government official said in Accra over the weekend. As part of the collaborative effort, a special delegation led by Mr James Victor Gbeho, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has left Accra for Abuja, Nigeria, to hold discussions with the authorities there over recent developments in Sierra Leone. Another delegation led by the deputy Minister of Defence, Lt. Col. E.K. T. Donkor left for Guinea. President Jerry Rawlings, reiterating the need for a negotiated settlement, has appealed to countries supplying sophisticated weapons to the rebels to fight ECOMOG, to desist from it. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and rebel leader Foday Sankoh on Thursday said they had agreed to an immediate seven-day cease-fire. Kabbah promised he would free Sankoh at the end of the period. They said in separate broadcasts that they would return to the 1996 Abidjan Peace accord but Kabbah cautioned that "this time round we must be sincere". There was jubilation in Freetown last night, when the residents heard the cease-fire announcement. They chanted, "we want peace" and "we are tired of war." Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and their allies, remnants of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) broke through ECOMOG defences last Wednesday, taking the eastern part of the city and State House. ECOMOG controls the western part of the city, Wilberforce Barracks and Lungi airport. GRi