Sierra Leone.

After weeks of intense fighting in Sierra Leone in February 1998, especially around the capital of Freetown, the military junta, which under coup leader Major Johnny Paul Koroma had overthrown the democratically-elected government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on 25 May 1997, was itself ousted by the military forces of the Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The military intervention by ECOMOG to reverse the situation had prompted the junta to Sign a peace agreement on 23 October 1997 in Conakry, Guinea, agreeing to restore to power the legitimate government of President Kabbah on 22 April 1998. But according to Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report of 8 December, "little concrete progress" had been made in its implementation. He stressed that, though the signing of the Conakry Agreement was a significant step towards resolving the crisis in the country, it needed to be pursued "with a sense of urgency, with pressure being exerted on the Freetown junta".

The Secretary-General on 11 February said his Special Envoy, Francis Okelo, stood ready to assist in the implementation of the agreement.

The Security Council on 13 February called for immediate humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone. The Council stated its concern over the unstable situation and the reported loss of civilian lives. Emphasizing that international humanitarian assistance needed to be upheld, the Council called for the immediate activation of such assistance, including cross border operations and unrestricted access to people in need. It also called for a guarantee of the safety and security of all humanitarian personnel in Sierra Leone.

On 10 February, expressing deep concern over the humanitarian situation and the plight of the civilian population, the Council called for an immediate end to the fighting in Sierra Leone and stressed the need for disarmament and demobilization of all fighting factions as necessary to any eventual settlement.

The Secretary-General was working to re-establish a United Nations liaison office in Freetown. In his 6 February report, he asked the Council to consider sending as many as ten military staff to Sierra Leone, but stopped short of recommending the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation in the country, saying that such a force would be premature. Instead, he called for placing the immediate focus on implementing a peace agreement which would restore the legitimate government to power.

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Sergio Vieira de Mello initiated an emergency relief operation for Sierra Leone on 13 February. He said that President Kabbah and the country's Government had promised to facilitate entry of relief assistance through cross-border operations and the use of the airport and harbour of Freetown.The United Nations Children's Fund announced on 20 February that it could resume the support of health units and immunization campaigns if security were restored in the Northern province of Sierra Leone. On 19 February, a ship chartered by the World Food Programme (WFP) arrived in Freetown with 850 metric tonnes of emergency food. The priority for food assistance were hundreds of severely malnourished children and the most vulnerable people trapped by the fighting. WFP warned on 12 February that some 500,000 people faced serious food shortages in conflict-torn Sierra Leone.

RELATED ARTICLE: UNHCR Gears Itself to Major Refugee Influx and Exodus

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in Conakry, Guinea, was prepared to receive hundreds of refugees fleeing the fighting. On 17 February, UNHCR met with representatives of the exiled Sierra Leonean Government of President Kabbah in Conakry to discuss plans for repatriation. On the following day, UNHCR and other UN agencies sent a mission to Sierra Leone to assess requirements for assistance and to re-establish contact with an estimated 14,000 Liberian refugees in Sierra Leone. There were already 250,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea, most of whom arrived after the 1991 coup. Approximately 80,000 of those refugees arrived after last year's coup.