The News Review:
- African aircraft crash killed 113
- Aircraft crashes into sea off West Africa
- Fifteen Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in plane crash off Benin,…
- UN says peacekeepers head to Liberia rebel areas
African aircraft crash killed 113
RTE.ie – Dec 26, 2003
It was not immediately known how many people were on flight UTA 141, which could carry 141 passengers and crew. Most of those on board were Lebanese but some were from Benin, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The flight originated in Conakry, Guinea and picked up passengers in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Cotonou before heading on its way to Beirut.
Aircraft crashes into sea off West Africa
The Age – Dec 27, 2003
“They said that it all happened in five minutes. They heard a big noise and then the plane fell,” he said. Technical problems delayed the UTA flight, which originated in the Guinean capital Conakry and stopped in Freetown in Sierra Leone before Cotonou, officials said.
Fifteen Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in plane crash off Benin,…
Free with registration – America's Intelligence Wire – AccessMyLibrary.com – Dec 27, 2003
peace mission in West Africa were killed in a plane crash in Benin, the military said Saturday. The peacekeepers were returning home on holiday, the army said in a statement in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka. Thirteen of them were based.
UN says peacekeepers head to Liberia rebel areas
abc.net.au – Dec 27, 2003
“We have the resolve, energy and determination to begin stretching out and this is why we are beginning to deploy in LURD, MODEL and former government-controlled areas,” he said. “We don’t underestimate the severe challenges that will be put on us by the warring factions, but we will do what we need to do. ” LURD controls Liberia’s western frontier with Sierra Leone while MODEL controls the eastern border with Ivory Coast. LURD commander Josephy Nyumah told reporters at the Po River Bridge on Thursday local time that an advance party of UN troops had been blocked by the rebels. “The hierarchy of LURD was not informed,” he said. “We can’t guarantee their safety if they move in. ” UN forces are trying to carry out a disarmament program to rebuild the war-scarred country, which is now under a fragile peace after 14 years of civil war since then-president Charles Taylor fled to Nigeria in August.