Nigeria to resume troops withdrawals in October

Nigeria will resume its troop withdrawals from Sierra Leone in October whether or not a UN force is ready to replace them, President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Sunday.

Speaking on nationwide television, he said Nigeria could no longer afford to maintain the troops in the war torn country, AFP reported. "It costs us a lot of money. We want to use that money for other things internally," AFP quoted Obasanjo as saying.

Nigerian soldiers account for 95 percent of the 12,000 to 15,000 ECOMOG troops sent to Sierra Leone in 1997 to bolster its elected government. Nigeria also provided the bulk of troops, money and materiel during ECOMOG's deployment in Liberia during that country's long-running civil war.

Obasanjo said he had suspended the withdrawals, which began last week, after a meeting on Friday with Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah because of the latter's concerns that the action would jeopardise the security of his country. However, Obasanjo added, if the UN wanted Nigeria to remain in Sierra Leone then it should provide the means.

Peacekeeping troops are required for the disarmament phase of the 7 July peace treaty between the Freetown government and rebel forces. On 20 August, the UN Security Council authorised the provisional expansion of the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) from 70 to 210 military observers. It also agreed to beef up UNOMSIL's political, civil affairs, information, human rights and child protection units.