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Africa's
insurgencies: Training on demand from Libya
Wednesday,
November 02, 2005
By
Emmanuel Abalo
The Mathaba Guerilla Training camp in Libya,
North Africa remains active even today churning out
classes of trained insurgents who have made a
long-term lucrative profession of fueling Africa’s
civil wars.
It is a sad commentary that conflict-ridden
Africa has these insurgents to thank for unleashing
untold catastrophic humanitarian toll and wanton
violations of international laws in the name of
revolution. The Libyan government, by extension
continues to support and train these insurgents at
Mathaba.
This charge is evidenced and confirmed as part
of the indictment of former Liberian President Charles
Taylor by the United Nations backed Special Court for
Sierra Leone.
“…In the late 1980's CHARLES GHANKAY
TAYLOR received military training in Libya from
representatives of the government of MU'AMMAR AL-QADHAFI.
While in Libya the ACCUSED met and made common
cause with FODAY SAYBANA SANKOH…”
The indictment further charges that”…While
in Libya, the ACCUSED formed and joined the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). At all
times relevant to this indictment the ACCUSED
was the leader of the NPFL and/or President of the
Republic of Liberia…”
Mr. Taylor remains in exile in Calabar,
Nigeria under an arrangement brokered by President
Olusegun Obasanjo to end the bloodletting between the
rebels and Taylor forces in the Liberian capital
Monrovia in 2003.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone and the
international community including Britain and the
United States are pressuring Nigeria to turn over Mr.
Taylor to the Special Court for prosecution, something
the Federal Nigerian Administration has so far
resisted. INTERPOL also wants Mr. Taylor.
In its indictment of the former Sierra Leonean
wedding photographer and army corporal -turned rebel
chief Foday Sankoh, the Special Court charged,
“…The organized armed group that became known as
the RUF, led by the ACCUSED, was founded about
1988 or 1989 in Libya. The RUF, under the leadership
of the ACCUSED, began organized armed
operations in Sierra Leone in March 1991. During the
ensuing armed conflict, the RUF forces were also
referred to as "RUF", "rebels" and
"People's Army…"
Authorities announced in October 2002 that Mr.
Sankoh had suffered what they at first called a mild
stroke.
The war crimes court later said in June 2003,
that it was pursuing a waiver on a U.N. travel ban
against Sankoh so it could send him outside Sierra
Leone for treatment. Mr. Sankoh, however, died in U.N.
custody at a hospital in the capital Freetown in July
2003, and the indictment was subsequently withdrawn.
Insurgent Recruitment Strategy
Recruitment of insurgent personnel is both
voluntary and coercive and targets mostly young men
and women who are able bodied, mentally and
psychologically pliable. Those joining voluntarily do
so for a number oaf reasons: ideological conviction
and the desire to do “something” about the
perceived persecution and discrimination against their
family members, ethnic group, nationality or religion
and attacks on their home by the government in power.
There is also the forced conscription factor,
which targets the most vulnerable - children. There
are hundreds of thousands of child soldiers who are
products of armed conflicts in Uganda, Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
Clearly, this is a violation of international
law. Local and international human rights field
representatives have documented confirmation of these
tactics among rebels and their victims. New recruits
add to the tragic picture because they are shown a
rifle and given a few hours of training and let loose!
Another example of the thriving professional
insurgent livelihood in West Africa can be found in
the longest-running conflict in the South Western
Casamance province in Senegal.
This “silent war” has raged on for over 20
years, and is prosecuted by the rebel group Mouvement
Des Forces Democratique de la Casamance in the name of
independence for Casamance. Although this low grade
insurgency is being carried out with limited weapons
and perhaps a small band, the guerillas are dedicated
to their cause and continue to harass, wound and
sometimes kill some members of the well trained
Senegalese military. Diplomatic observers maintain
that some of the rebels have had training at Mathaba.
It goes without saying that rebels who
graduate from Mathaba also leave that guerilla base
with their weapons and supplies as the first
installment on their journey to wherever and then the
black market, shady arms dealers, terrorists and
financiers are later co-opted to maintain the supplies
of arms and ammunitions. Corruption, weak borders and
poor state infrastructures in many African states
facilitate the lucrative arms trade.
International Players and Their Complicity
The impoverished West African nation of
Burkina Faso, headed by another coup maker President
Blaise Campaore is also complicit in providing
“muscle” and mercenaries especially in the
Liberian and Sierra Leonen rebel incursions. There is
clear evidence of Burkinabe nationals who were
detailed to Messers Charles Taylor and Foday Sankoh
rebel outfits. There were numerous secret meetings
among Campaore, Taylor, Sankoh and Al-Quadhafi held
frequently in Ouagadougou and Tripoli.
In an article entitled, War Against
Terrorism: Indicting Libya and Burkina Faso, written
by the Liberian political analyst Abdoulaye Dukule in
June 2002, he maintains that “…If the war crime
tribunal in Sierra Leone indicts Taylor, Burkina Faso
and Libya must be brought in as co-conspirators.
After the criminal case, civil law cases could
and should be brought forth against Libya and Burkina
Faso for the killing of over 250,000 Liberians and the
destruction of our national infrastructure. There is
no "if" and "but" about this, it
must be done. How long it would take to win the case
is another issue, but the case must be made. It would
discourage other sponsors of terrorism against
peaceful civilians…”
Certainly, this would be a welcome development
given the culpability of Presidents Campaore and Al-Quadhafi
in fuelling some of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies.
What else is there to refute? The fact is that
some of the leaders in modern day Africa, unbeknownst
to their citizens, are discreet graduates of Mathaba
guerilla training camp in Libya, and have their photos
hanging on the wall at that base. And Africa continues
to bleed!
Emmanuel Abalo is an exiled Liberian
journalist, media and human rights activist.
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