Former Nigerian president to head peace talks

The International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) has selected former Nigerian head of state Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar to facilitate peace talks on Liberia, the contact group said in a statement on Wednesday. The talks, to be held under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the ICGL, had been scheduled for 10 April in Bamako, Mali, but were postponed. The new venue is expected to be announced sometime soon. Abubakar's appointment followed a one-day visit to Liberia by an ICGL delegation on April 15. The delegation, headed by Ghanaian Foreign Minister Nana Addo Dankwa, met with President Charles Taylor behind closed doors and held consultative meetings with Liberian political parties and civil society groups. The contact group said it welcomed the desire of all parties to the Liberian conflict for an end to hostilities in the country. Dankwa said the ICGL's mission was to ensure comprehensive peace in Liberia and the rest of the Mano River Union region: Guinea and Sierra Leone. Abubakar was the Chief of Defence Staff in the Nigerian army when Nigeria contributed the bulk of troops in the West African Peace Monitoring Group ECOMOG deployed during the Liberian faction war (1989-1997). He led Nigeria's transition to civilian democratic rule in 1998-1999.