Guinea-Bissau Civil War - Resolution of The War

Resolution of The War

Further talks held under the aegis of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria, resulted in the signing of a peace accord on 1 November. Under accord's terms, the two sides reaffirmed the cease-fire of 25 August and resolved that the withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops from Guinea Bissau be conducted simultaneously with the deployment of an ECOMOG (ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group) interposition force, which would guarantee security on the border with Senegal. It was also agreed that a Government of National Unity would be established to include rebel representatives and that presidential and legislative elections would be held no later than March 1999. In early November 1998, an agreement was reached on the composition of a joint executive commission to implement the peace accord. Later that month the commission approved the structure of the new government, which was to comprise ten ministers and seven secretaries of state. On 3 December, Francisco Fadul was appointed Prime Minister and later that month Vieira and Mané reached agreement on the allocation of portfolios to the two sides. The first contingent of 100 ECOMOG troops arrived in late December. At the same time, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1216 which called for both parties to form a government of national unity and hold elections by the end of March 1999.

In January 1999, Fadul announced that presidential and legislative elections would not take place in March as envisaged in the Abuja accord, and would be delayed until the end of the year. Also in January agreement was reached between the government, rebels and ECOWAS on the strength of the ECOMOG interposition force, which was to comprise some 710 troops. Agreement was also reached on a timetable for the withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops from Guinea-Bissau. At the end of January, however, hostilities resumed in the capital resulting in numerous fatalities and the displacement of some 250,000 residents. On 9 February, talks between the government and the rebels produced agreement on a cease-fire that provided for the immediate withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops. At a meeting held in Lomé, Togo on 17 February, João Bernardo Vieira and Ansumane Mané pledged never again to resort to armed conflict. On 20 February the new Government of National Unity was announced. The disarmament of rebel troops and those loyal to the president, as provided for under the Abuja accord, began in early March. The withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops was completed that month following an extension of the deadline from 28 February to 16 March, owing to logistical problems. In April, a report was released by the National People's Assembly, which exonerated Mané on charges of trafficking arms to the Casamance rebels. Although the report, which had been due for release in June 1998 when hostilities began, called for the reinstatement of Mané as Chief of Staff of the armed forces, it revealed that President Vieira's presidential guard had been heavily implicated in arms trafficking. The United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau was subsequently established to monitor the general elections and the implementation of the Abuja Agreement.