ECOMOG Force Commander Major General Timothy Shelpidi last week visited Guinea Bissau to assess his peacekeeping troops there, the force said in a statement sent to IRIN. He held talks with President Joao Bernardo Vieira who called for the immediate reopening of the Junta-controlled international airport and loyalist-held sea port. Shelpidi also met self-styled Military Junta leader General Ansumane Mane, Prime Minister Francisco Fadul, and the ECOMOG Task Force commander, Colonel Gnakoude Berna of Togo.
Vieira called on Shelpidi to increase the 600 ECOMOG troops in Guinea Bissau and for more arms and better logistics so the force could carry out its mission fully. He also said security should not be compromised in any way “especially in view of the withdrawal of Senegalese troops”.
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