Leaders want anti-terror convention ratified

2002-03-27 13:34

Abuja - Leaders of a dozen African countries meeting in the Nigerian capital on Tuesday called for an early ratification of the Organisation of African Unity's (OAU) anti-terrorism convention.

At a summit on African development, hosted by Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, the countries "condemned the menace of international terrorism ... and called for international Co-operation and collaboration to contain the scourge".

In a statement issued after the meeting, they urged "early ratification of the OAU Convention on Combating Terrorism".

Several African countries have been victims of terrorism over many years, from Algeria where more than 100 000 people have died in a civil war in the past ten years to Kenya and Uganda where hundreds died in explosions outside US embassies.

The countries attending Tuesday's meeting in Abuja were Algeria, Congo, Gabon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA