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France ponders support for ECOWAS peace effort

    NAIROBI

    The French foreign ministry said in a press statement today it was evaluating how it could support the Abuja peace accord on Guinea Bissau and that Paris welcomed the decision by the Economic Community of West African states to deploy an interposition force, called ECOMOG, in the country.

    In the Gambian capital, Banjul, the French ambassador, Andre Lewin, told reporters yesterday that France was ready to help Gambia fulfill its commitment to send troops to Guinea Bissau, AFP reported. He did not say how France might help.

    An advance party of 120 Togolese troops, has already arrived in Bissau to secure and open the airport. The deployment of ECOMOG troops is one of the aspects of the Abuja accord signed in November and is a requirement for the withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops. Senegal and Guinea sent soldiers to Guinea Bissau to support the government of President Joao Bernardo Vieira who was almost toppled by the self-styled Military Junta headed by General Ansumane Mane.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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