ABUJA, May 17 (AFP) - West African defence chiefs meet in Abuja
Wednesday for talks on reinforcing troops in Sierra Leone with
Nigeria demanding command of the UN operation and calling on the
West should foot the bill.
Defence ministers and chiefs of staff from the 15 member
countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
have been invited to the meeting ordered by a summit of regional
heads of state last week.
The ministers were called on to review arrangements should any
decision be taken to return the regional intervention force ECOMOG
to the war-ravaged west African country.
However, Nigerian defence officials and diplomatic sources said
here it was more likely that the ministers would be asked instead to
upgrade their contribution to the troubled UN mission in the
country, where 350 peacekeepers remain hostages of rebel forces.
Nigeria, the largest power in the region, has been holding
several days of detailed talks with British and US officials over
increasing its own deployment in the region.
On Tuesday, Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar met the
British chief of defence staff, General Charles Guthrie, and pledged
to send more Nigerian troops, but on condition that the
international community "fully foot the bill" and that Nigeria be
given command of the UN operation, his office said.
Currently, Nigeria supplies around 3,500 of the 8,700 UN troops
in Sierra Leone, making up the largest contingent, but the UN
mission is run by an Indian general.
Nigeria is demanding that the extra one or two battalions
sought, so far informally, by the United Nations be paid for by the
UN system, that a Nigerian run the mission and that Britain and the
United States supply logistical aid.
In a statement, Abubaka's office said Nigeria was the "rightful
peace enforcer and keeper in the west African sub-region" but needed
assistance to fulfil this role.
A senior Nigerian military official told AFP that this
assistance was the substance of discussions with London and
Washington in past days.
"We held talks Sunday and again today (Tuesday) with Britain and
the United States. We have set up a technical committee with the
British and Americans to look at all these areas," said the
official, who asked not to be named.
Nigeria currently has four battalions in Sierra Leone and could
supply two more, he said.
"We are ready to send more troops, but we are waiting for the
demand from the United Nations. Everyone needs to go in under the
United Nations. We are not going to have two commands -- UN and
ECOMOG," the official said.
But Nigerian troops would be a crucial reinforcement, he added.
"We know the ground. We know the people. We know the local language,
the way the rebels fight, the way to deal with them," he said.
The meeting in Abuja is expected to discuss both the potential
Nigerian deployment and additional regional backing and is to get
underway around 0800 GMT.
The withdrawal of the Nigerian-led regional force ECOMOG at the
end of April is given as one of the reasons for the current crisis
in Sierra Leone.

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