Anti-terrorism meeting

Twenty-seven African countries gathered on Wednesday for a one-day meeting in Dakar to re-affirm the continent's common stance against terrorism, media organisations reported. The meeting, convened by President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, follows the 11 September atacks in New York and Washington in which over 5,000 people died. The countries concluded the meeting with the Dakar Declaration. Having been "profoundly preoccupied" by the past weeks' developments, the Declaration said, "we vehemently condemn all acts of terrorism on the African continent or in any other part of the world". They also urged all African countries to ratify the Organisation for African Unity convention against terrorism as well as other anti-terrorism conventions and mechanisms set by the United Nations. The participants also called for an OAU extraordinary summit to review progress in the fight against terrorism and to ensure that the current developments have the least effects on the continent, media reports said. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria Sudan, Sierra Leone were among participating countries.