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6 Other Conflicts in the Sub-Region Apart from the better-known conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, there were also other pockets of conflicts, which created problems for peace and security in the West African sub-region. These include the conflicts in Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, in the Casamance region. Of interest, is the fact that many of these conflicts were internal in nature or domestically contained, revolving around issues of access to power, marginalization, citizenship and identity and resource allocation. Even Nigeria, the regional bridge builder, also has to contend with a myriad of conflicts within the territory. This has been able to do so far as failure to do so has serious implications for peace and stability in the sub-region. Guinea Bissau Take the Guinea-Bissau civil war for instance, which lasted from June to October 1998. The war basically concerned the distribution of institutional political power against the background of the perceived illegitimacy of President Nino Viera’s rule. The immediate cause of the war however, was the dismissal of Army Chief of Staff General Ansumane Mane, which led to an uprising by army officers on 7 June 1998. Viera had suspended Mane in January that year on the accusation that he had been involved in supplying arms to the Casamance Separatists fighting the Senegalese government. Mane maintained his innocence, and the government set up a parliamentary inquiry into the accusation . However, before the inquiry could make its findings known, Vieira replaced Mane with General Humberto Gomes and the army staged a coup d’état in retaliation.1 Citing bilateral defence accords, Guinea and Senegal intervened militarily in Guinea-Bissau in support of Viera, thereby exacerbating the conflict. Whilst the Casamance dimension prompted Senegal’s interven- Osita Agbu 56 tion, Guinea may have been concerned about the implications of refugee influx into its territory, apart from the observation that the Guinea president, Lansana Conteh, is said to be a close friend to Veira.2 It is interesting to recall that both Nino Viera and Ansumane Mane were comrades in arms against Portuguese colonial rule in the 1970s, though they represented two different factions in the struggle for independence.3 The conflict between Viera and his supporters and Mane and his supporters who were predominantly from the Guinea-Bissau Army continued until August 1999, when under the joint aegis of ECOWAS and Communidade Dos Paises de Lingua Portuguesa (CPLP), a cease-fire agreement was brokered in July 1998. The ceasefire called for the deployment of observation and inter-position forces.4 Also, there was a National Reconciliation conference in August 1999, which brought together some 300 representatives of political and civil society groups calling for the demobilization of the military and free and fair election.5 In the November 1998 Abuja Accord, Viera and Mane agreed to the total withdrawal of foreign troops from Guinea-Bissau. The Peace Agreement at Abuja also called for a 600-man ECOMOG force to police the withdrawal of Guinean and Senegalese soldiers and the subsequent elections. Prior to this period, Guinea and Senegalese forces were stationed in Guinea-Bissau. After the coup, which deposed President Viera, Portugal which had been more sympathetic to the rebel cause,6 offered him asylum and he was allowed to leave Guinea-Bissau. The Prime Minister designate who was appointed to head the transitional government of national unity reportedly claimed that the presence of Guinean and Senegalese troops endangered the fragile peace in the country. In fact, the final withdrawal of Guinean and Senegalese troops was only completed at the end of March 1999.7 In terms of the conflict resolution efforts, the UN Security Council condemned the coup in Guinea-Bissau and strongly opposed the use of force for non-constitutional purposes. The UN also commended the efforts made by ECOWAS to restore peace in Guinea-Bissau. It subsequently set up the United Nations Peace Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS), 8 to enhance reconciliation, strengthen democratic institutions and develop an integrated approach to peace building programmes. In October 2001, the mandate of UNOGBIS was extended until December 2002. The Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) also condemned the May 7 military coup and demanded for the restoration of constitutional legality and respect for the Abuja Agreement.9 Basically, ECOWAS took the leading role in the mediation of the Guinea-Bissau conflict. Its plan called for a cease-fire, the establishment of a government of National Unity and the withdrawal...

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