Guinea violated arms embargo
2003-11-05 19:49
Dakar - The US-backed West African nation of Guinea violated a UN arms embargo to supply weapons to Liberian rebels, who "indiscriminately" shelled residential areas and the US Embassy in their final assault on Liberia's capital this summer, a leading human rights group said on Wednesday.
New York-based Human Rights Watch called for a suspension of US and other foreign military assistance to Guinea, which it said in a new report was still reportedly supplying arms to the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebel group.
In the Guinean capital, Conakry, foreign ministry spokesperson Aboubacar Cisse said his government had not seen the report, and so could not yet comment on it.
In Liberia, deputy rebel chief Sekou Fofana described the rights group's accusations as "baseless and untrue."
The UN slapped an international arms embargo on Liberia in March 2001 to punish former President Charles Taylor's government for trading weapons for diamonds with neighbouring Sierra Leone's brutal rebels.
The UN Security Council, of which Guinea is currently a member, is due to review the sanctions on Liberia on Thursday, which are in force until May.
"It's appalling that Guinea, a current member of the Security Council, has flouted the arms embargo on Liberia," said Lisa Misol, arms researcher with Human Rights Watch. "The Security Council must hold Guinea accountable for this major breach."
- SAPA