US embassy cable - 04ACCRA1960

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001960 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC, GH, MARR, MCAP, MOPS, PREF, PREL, MAS, ECOWAS 
SUBJECT: ECOWAS DEFENSE MEETING IN ACCRA:  AGREEMENT ON 
STANDBY FORCE 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1.  (U)  Summary:  On September 29-30 the Chiefs of Defense 
Staff of fourteen ECOWAS countries met in Accra for the tenth 
Ordinary ECOWAS Defense and Security Commission meeting. 
Participants pledged a total of 6,500 military personnel to 
form an ECOWAS standby force.  Participants discussed 
developments in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Cote 
d'Ivoire.  The British government suggested ECOWAS send 
military observers to Darfur.  The Commission directed the 
official to relay this request through the African Union. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  (U)  On September 29-30, ECOWAS held its tenth Ordinary 
Defense and Security Commission Meeting in Accra. 
Participants included the Chiefs of Defense Staff of Benin, 
Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, 
Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra 
Leone and Togo, as well as ECOWAS Deputy Executive Secretary 
for Political Affairs, Defense and Security Maj. General C.O. 
Ciarra, Force Commander of the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire 
(UNOCI) Maj. General Abdoulaye Fall, Force Commander of the 
UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) Maj. General Sajjad 
Akram, and the Deputy Force Commander of the UN Mission in 
Liberia (UNMIL) Maj. General Owonibi.  Chaired by Ghanaian 
Chief of Defense Staff Lt. General Seth Kofi Obeng, the 
Commission discussed the situations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, 
Guinea-Bissau and Cote d'Ivoire.  They collectively pledged 
6,500 military personnel to create an ECOWAS standby force, 
with the following configuration: 
 
   BENIN 
 
   3 x Infantry Company 
   1 x Company Gendarmerie 
   1 x Armored Squadron 
 
   BURKINA FASO 
 
   1 x Infantry Company (150 men) 
   3 x Infantry Companies (1 x Infantry Battalion) 
   1 x Motorized Squadron 
   1 x Artillery Battery 
   1 x Company Gendarmerie (120 all ranks) 
 
   GAMBIA 
 
   1 x Infantry Company (Self-sustained) 
   2 x Sections Military Police 
   1 x Platoon (36 personnel) 
 
   GHANA 
 
   1 x Engineer Company 
   1 x Level II Hospital 
   1 x Helicopter squadron of 4 helicopters 
 
 
   GUINEA 
 
   1 x Infantry Battalion (2-3 combat teams) 
   1 x Support Logistics Group 
   1 x Armored Unit 
 
   GUINEA BISSAU 
 
   1 x Composite Battalion (650 personnel) ) Breakdown to be 
given later. 
 
   MALI 
 
   1 x Infantry Company (150) 
   1 x Reconnaissance Squadron 
   1 x Engineer Unit (Company) 
   1 x Military Police Unit (Company) 
   1 x National Guard (150 men) 
 
   NIGER 
 
   2 x Infantry Companies 
   1 x Gendarmerie Platoon 
 
   NIGERIA 
 
   1 x Motorized Battalion 
   1 x Reconnaissance Company 
   1 x Engineer Squadron 
   1 x Signal Squadron 
   1 x Level II Hospital 
   1 x Fast Patrol Boat 
   1 x Landing Ship 
   1 x C-130 Hercules Transport Aircraft 
   1 x Artillery battery 
 
   SENEGAL 
 
   1 x Infantry battalion (of 500) 
   1 x Engineer Company (of 150) 
   1 x Medical level II Hospital 
   1 x Military Police/ Gendarmerie Company (of 100) 
   1 x Artillery Battery 
 
   SIERRA LEONE 
 
   1 x Infantry Company 
 
   TOGO 
 
   2 x Infantry Companies (To be confirmed) 
   Gendarmerie - Half Company (To be confirmed) 
 
3. (U)  Other Highlights from the draft meeting report 
included: 
 
-- The ECOWAS Secretariat would intensify efforts to secure 
the remaining 267 million USD pledged by the international 
community to bolster the Government of Liberia in its 
reconstruction and development efforts. 
 
-- The Secretariat would encourage the Government of Cote 
d'Ivoire to "make the necessary reforms to give effect to the 
provisions" of the Accra III Accord.  The Secretariat also 
would encourage the New Forces "to show flexibility and 
goodwill in the requirement for disarmament as per the 
Accord". 
 
--The Commission commended UNOCI for its assurances on 
contingency plans to handle any reversal of the current level 
of security in Cote d'Ivoire.  The ECOWAS Authority agreed to 
engage UNHQ regarding the outstanding aviation unit required 
by UNOCI. 
 
--A good public relations plan was to be developed by UNOCI, 
in conjunction with the Cote D'Ivoire Government and the New 
Forces, to enhance confidence building in the AO. 
 
--The ECOWAS Secretariat would take up the problems 
encountered by Liberian refugees at the Cote d,Ivoire border 
at Danane with the Heads of State and Government. 
 
-- With regard to the DDRR program in Liberia, the projection 
on the ex-combatants to be disarmed and reintegrated would be 
based on a figure of 100,000. 
 
--The ECOWAS Authority would be requested to employ its good 
offices to resolve the leadership crisis within the LURD 
faction in Liberia to avoid any conflicts that might derail 
the peace process. 
 
--The British Government proposed that ECOWAS send military 
observers to Darfur, Sudan.  The Commission asked the British 
Government to route this request through the African Union. 
 
--The ECOWAS authority would be requested to encourage the 
Government of Sierra Leone to continue its efforts to 
implement the DDRR program, schemes to resolve youth 
unemployment, and actions aimed at resolving the dispute at 
Yenga. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
4.  (SBU)  Participants in the meeting saw this meeting as 
particularly productive and cooperative.  The attendance 
level of Defense Chiefs was excellent.  They agreed on 
pledges for the standby force on the first day of the 
meeting.  In his closing remarks, General Obeng stressed the 
need for ECOWAS to have a positive influence in seeking peace 
in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire.  Given the 
goodwill expressed at this meeting, Obeng saw the possibility 
of an "over-subscribed" standby-force.  Funding and logistics 
for this force will be taken up at the November 22-23 donors 
conference in Abuja. The British official acknowledged to 
poloff that it was appropriate for protocol reasons that the 
request for forces to Darfur be routed via the AU.  A 
representative from Mali approached him privately about 
contributing to a Darfur force.  Dr. Charles Grimm, US 
Advisor for Defense and Security Affairs to ECOWAS, told 
Emboffs he was delighted with the outcome and atmospherics of 
the meeting, although he thought it unlikely ECOWAS would 
offer troops to Darfur, given the lack of available officer 
staff in member countries.  We will forward a copy of the 
final meeting report to desk as soon as possible. 
 
 
 
LANIER