Peacekeeping Operations in West Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out if the West African countries can fulfill all the resources required for peacekeeping operations (e.g., manpower, logistics, and skills) without the assistance of the international community. A deep cooperation among all the states freed from emotion, pressure, and pride will help achieve this goal. West Africa has endured two major conflicts, one in Liberia from December 1989 to August 1997 that led to the death of President Samuel K. Doe, a lot of killing, and the spread of thousands of refugees to neighboring countries. The second crisis, in Sierra-Leone, started in March 1991 when fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) tried to overthrow the government. They failed due to a serious resistance on the part of the Sierra-Leone armed forces. The following year, these armed forces overthrew the government, but the RUF kept making attacks despite this change. They did not cooperate with the new military leaders and instability remained in the country. This study encompasses six parts. Part 1 defines the term "peacekeeping operations." Part 2 elaborates on the history of these operations in West Africa, including the Liberian crisis, in which both the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations (UN) got involved, and the Sierra-Leone Crisis, in which the Economic Community of Western African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and the UN played a part. Part 3 reviews the political and social impact of peacekeeping operations in West Africa, including the divide between Anglophone and Francophone countries. Part 4 focuses on difficulties encountered, and Part 5 examines the financial and military capabilities of the 16 ECOWAS countries. Part 6 focuses on the future of peacekeeping operations in West Africa. A concluding section discusses lessons learned and provides recommendations. (14 refs.)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA425341

Entities

People

  • Leopold Kohou

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Africa
  • Agreements
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Logistics
  • Military Capabilities
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Peacekeeping
  • Personnel Management
  • Security
  • Training
  • United Nations
  • United States Government
  • West Africa

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Systems Analysis and Design