One of the claimants to the presidency of Madagascar has called for an internationally-guaranteed ceasefire.

"I call one last time on Ravalomanana to stop all aggressive acts by his troops", former President Didier Ratsiraka said in a communique issued on Monday.

He said he was ready to respect a ceasefire only if it is guaranteed "by the entire international community".

The attempt to end the fighting is being seen as an indication of Mr Ratsiraka's growing political and military weakness, the BBC's Jonny Donovan reports from Ambilobe, in the north of the country.

The communique was released just as troops supporting his opponent, Marc Ravalomanana, said they had captured a key hill on the road to the port of Antsiranana.

Forces loyal to Mr Ratsiraka now control only two of the country's six provinces.

If the advance of pro-Ravalomanana forces continues and Antsiranana falls, Mr Ratsiraka's area of control will be limited to the eastern port of Toamasina.

He has also suffered diplomatic setbacks with the United States, Australia and Japan all recognising Mr Ravalomanana as president.

No elections

To avert the military and political threats to his political survival, Mr Ratsiraka has called for the ceasefire and for the holding of new elections.

Ratsiraka calls for ceasefire and reconciliation

A new vote has already been rejected by Mr Ravalomanana, who stood against Mr Ratsiraka in the December 2001 elections. 

The constitutional court in Madagascar ruled that former President Ratsiraka had lost the election. He refuses to accept the court ruling.

His domestic political support is also ebbing away. The national secretary of his own political party, Arema, has announced his recognition of Mr Ravalomanana's government.

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Tuesday, 2 July, 2002, 20:20 GMT 21:20 UK

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African foreign ministers say they have agreed on a powerful new security council aimed at stemming human rights abuses, conflicts or halting genocide. 

The issues of peace, security and democracy should be dealt with in a more decisive manner now because Africans cannot afford to lose any more time

Said Djinnit, OAU

Diplomats said on Wednesday that the Peace and Security Council would comprise 15 African countries and have powers to deal with conflict and security issues under the new African Union (AU), 

AU will replace the 40-year-old Organisation of African Unity (OAU) next Tuesday. 

Under its mandate, the OAU could not intervene in the internal affairs of its members and had been blamed for doing little to stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. 

The organisation was also blamed for dragging its feet in finding solutions to conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan. 

AU launch

"The issues of peace, security and democracy should be dealt with in a more decisive manner now because Africans cannot afford to lose any more time," Said Djinnit, OAU assistant secretary general for political affairs, told Reuters news agency. 

South Africa is one of the crucial backers of AU

The council, as well as the continent's economic rescue plan called the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), are the focus of the AU launch and heads of state summit next week. 

On Thursday, the ministers are expected formally to endorse the institutions, leaving it to heads of state to adopt them. 

The ministerial meetings are being held amid tight security at the Durban International Conference Centre in South Africa, which has been sealed off by armed police. 

Reuters reports that journalists have been banned from the hotel where heads of state will stay for the AU summit, and are forbidden access to the summit venue unless there is a media briefing. 

Aims of African Union

Enhanced co-operation and integration  Parliament and court of justice to be set up next year  Modelled on principles of European Union

OAU and South African officials have blamed each other for the lack of media access. 

The African Union, based in Addis Ababa like the body it replaces, will aim to unify the 53 African member states politically, socially and economically and will be loosely modelled on the European Union. 

It will replace the OAU which many critics say was merely a talking shop and waste of money throughout its 38 years. 

Its supporters, however, maintain that it has achieved its primary goal of African liberation. 

A cargo plane has crashed in a suburb of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. 

Only the pilot and a woman passenger are said to have survived from the 22 people on board the plane. 

I even saw people walking away with bits of the aircraft

Airport worker

The BBC's Joseph Benamsse in Bangui says the plane came down in a fish farming area and is not thought to have caused any casualties on the ground. 

The plane left the Chad capital, Ndjamena, and was heading for Brazzaville in neighbouring Congo when it developed technical problems, according to aviation sources. 

It crashed at 1200 local time (1100 GMT), coming down in the market district of Guitangola, four kilometres short of the airport. 

The fire brigade is attempting to pull bodies out of the mud. 

Looters

"I was afraid when I saw the plane coming down, and all of a sudden I heard a loud noise, and some parts of the aircraft flew into the air and fell in the mud," said Zara, a woman who watched the crash from her farm. 

An airport worker told the French news agency, AFP, that he was not allowed within 300 metres of the crash scene. 

"People were crying everywhere. There were thousands of people. I even saw people walking away with bits of the aircraft," the airport worker said. 

The plane was carrying a cargo of onions, and some locals who came to see the crash have been making off with bags of the vegetables. 

Hospital workers in Bangui are currently on strike. 

It is not clear whether they will continue with their action, despite the plane crash.

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By Jonathan Paye-Layleh  BBC, Monrovia

Liberia, which is already suffering under United Nations sanctions over alleged links with rebels in Sierra Leone, is now faced with another sanction - on mail leaving and coming into the country. 

International postal bodies and airlines have imposed the embargo because of Liberia's inability to pay its huge debts to those companies. 

They include the Universal Postal Union, the Pan African Postal Union, Ghana Airways and the giant Dutch airline, KLM. 

Liberia owes KLM alone around $250,000 in carriage fees. 

Two-month backload

KLM has now asked Ghana Airways, the only international airline making regular, weekly flights to Liberia, to stop picking up Monrovia's post. 

The West African aircraft used to collect postage items from Monrovia and pass them on to KLM since the European airliner does not fly to Liberia. 

On Tuesday, a consignment of posted materials, including letters and parcels which had been stuck in Ghana for more than two months, was returned to Monrovia as an apparent indication of the seriousness of the embargo. 

Decade-old debts

Liberia owes huge sums of money to the other companies, including more than $50,000 to Ghana Airways. 

These debts, which were in part incurred by President Charles Taylor's Government, have been outstanding for more than 10 years. 

They concern hundreds of items which were posted at high cost through the fast courier system of the Liberian Postal Ministry, the Expedited Mail Service. 

In May Ghana Post Company Limited informed the Ministry of Posts in Liberia about the decision that it had reached with others to impose an embargo on mail from and to Liberia. 

'Drop in the desert'

But because the public was never told about the blockade, letters have continued to pour into post offices in Liberia. 

An official at the Postal Ministry, D Zotawon Titus, said the government was addressing the situation. 

He said that since May the government has paid around $20,000 to companies it is indebted to. 

"This may sound like a drop in the desert, he said, "but if previous governments and ministers had started tackling the problem, we wouldn't be owing so much." 

Alternative delivery services, such as DHL and Federal Express, are too expensive for ordinary people. 

The United Nations has warned of renewed fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. 

A spokesman said there were "worrying" signs of a build-up of Rwandan troops ahead of a possible offensive against a local rebel commander who signed up to a peace deal with the government. 

We've heard there are between 400 and 500 Rwandan troops and rebel soldiers near Moba in northern Katanga

Hamadoun Toure UN spokesman

Meanwhile, that deal - between the government of Joseph Kabila and another former rebel, Jean-Pierre Bemba - is under threat. 

Civil society groups have pulled out of peace talks intended to iron out details of the power-sharing agreement signed in April. 

The deal was intended to end the four-year-long Congolese war but the biggest rebel group, the Rwandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), did not sign up. 

'Circus'

Patrick Masunzu left the RCD to be part of the peace deal but his forces are now under threat from RCD troops and their Rwandan backers. 

"We've heard there are between 400 and 500 Rwandan troops and rebel soldiers near Moba in northern Katanga and this is very worrying if it marks the beginning of an offensive," UN spokesman Hamadoun Toure said. 

Under the agreement signed in April, Mr Bemba was supposed to become prime minister but he has not yet come to Kinshasa to take up his post. 

The civil society groups complained that they were being ignored at the Matadi talks. 

Kibiswa Nopes, representing the civil society groups, called on the government and delegates from Mr Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) to "stop their circus". 

Last week, veteran Congolese politician Etienne Tshisekedi toured areas of the country held by the RCD in order to cement the alliance of his Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) with the RCD. 

The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has drawn in the armies of Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe on the side of Mr Kabila, while Uganda and Rwanda backed different rebel groups. 

 

By Tim Judah  Tete, central Mozambique

There has been an alarming increase in accusations of witchcraft in Mozambique. 

These frequently lead to elderly women being kicked out of their families. 

There have also been reports of murders and violent attacks linked to witchcraft accusations. 

The increase in accusations is believed to be linked to soaring rates of illness and death associated with HIV and Aids. 

While there are no statistics to support the claims, academics and field workers from aid agencies report the increased influence of traditional healers or curandeiros. They frequently make accusations of witchcraft in such cases. 

Abandoned

In Tete province, in central Mozambique, an area with a high rate of HIV and Aids - 21.2% - it is frighteningly easy to find people accused of witchcraft. 

When two of Daina Pedro's grandchildren died, a traditional healer told her son that she had bewitched them. 

Daina was accused of bewitching her grandchildren

"The healer lied," Mrs Pedro said. 

"He lied a lot and used to call up the spirits to earn money. My son told his brothers. They all left and went far away." 

Mrs Pedro now lives alone in an area hit by famine. 

She believes in the existence of witchcraft, which is part and parcel of local tradition and belief, but says she has been accused falsely. 

Unscrupulous

Zeca Chicusse, programme officer in Tete for HelpAge International, has been trying to help elderly people accused of witchcraft. 

They never say it is malaria or tuberculosis. They always accuse an elder.

Zeca Chicusse, HelpAge International

His aid agency, funded by Britain's Help the Aged charity, is trying to teach people not to believe these accusations. 

"Here we have a belief that if your child falls sick the first thing you do is go to the traditional healer. 

"The answer is always to accuse someone in your family. To say it is your mother, your father or grandfather. 

"They never say it is malaria or tuberculosis. They always accuse an elder," he said 

Traditional healers in Mozambique are supposed to be registered with an official organisation. 

But this is not believed to be enough to stop unscrupulous curandeiros taking advantage of people's traditional beliefs or colluding with them where the motive of an accusation may be to take someone's land or cattle. 

'Liars'

In June, Simon Manuel Gomes's hut was burned down by his son, who was drunk. All of Mr Gomes's possessions and food were destroyed. 

This happened after his son had visited a curandeiro. The healer had told him that his impotence was a result of him having been bewitched by his own father. 

"All I know is that most healers are liars," Mr Gomes said as he looked despondently at the charred remains of his hut. 

Necodemus Chipfupa, head of HelpAge International in Mozambique, says that the accusations of witchcraft are increasing because of Aids. 

He says it is happening in his native Zimbabwe and across the rest of southern Africa. 

Mr Chipfupa says Aids means big money for the curandeiros because people are sick for longer. 

"The healers charge for a consultation. They charge for medicine and also to 'cleanse' the compound." 

"When they do that they get paid in animals or big sums of money," he says. 

Healers can help

Not all Mozambicans believe that the influence of traditional healers is entirely malign. 

Malaria and others diseases are often blamed on "witches"

Professor Ricardo Duarte believes there are victims but, in general, the traditional healers "do more good than harm". 

When it comes to fighting disease, Professor Duarte, who teaches ethnography at Maputo University, believes that curandeiros help people. 

This is particularly the case in areas where there are few, if any, formal medical services. 

"They act on the psychological side," he explains, "giving the person the impression of fighting the disease." 

"People are convinced that they are 'armed' so the body gets more strength. It is a benefit. Some don't use the right techniques but it is not all bad." 

Marc Ravalomanana has gained the all-important public endorsement of his presidency from Madagascar's former colonial power, France. 

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin has signed four aid agreements with the new government in the capital, Antananarivo. 

Ravalomanana's inauguration was not attended by France

These documents refer to Mr Ravalomanana as "President of the Republic". 

Mr Ravalomanana was sworn in as president in May, however long-standing leader, Didier Ratsiraka has refused to stand down, demanding new elections. 

Presidential elections were held last December but neither man accepted defeat and the Indian Ocean island has been divided ever since. 

At least 70 people have been killed and recently, fears of civil war has worsened as Mr Ravalomanana's backers have taken territory from their rivals. 

The United States, Germany, Japan and Australia have recently recognised Mr Ravalomanana's government but France is Madagascar's major trading partner and a vital source of foreign aid. 

The Organisation of African Unity has however refused to allocate its seat to either party. Lobbying

The BBC's Jonny Donovan in Madagascar says that Mr Villepin was reluctant to publicly clarify the French position. 

But he says the reference to the "President of the Republic" in a communique from the French embassy can leave no doubt. 

He [Villepin] is the first minister from a foreign government to come here officially and sign an agreement

Foreign Minister Marcel Ranjeva

Mr Ravalomanana has been pushing hard for French recognition since December's elections. 

To his dismay, the French Ambassador did not attend the new president's inauguration on 6 May or his independence day speech on 26 June. 

Mr Ratsiraka last week returned home from France after lobbying there for his cause. 

But the diplomatic scales are tipping against him as France now joins the United States, Japan and Australia in recognising Marc Ravalomanana as president. 

Recognition was top of Marc Ravalomanana's agenda when he met the foreign minister. A close second was financial help from France. 

'Big symbol'

The Madagascar economy is in tatters after Mr Ratsiraka's supporters imposed a blockade on Mr Ravalomanana's stronghold in the capital. 

Observers say the four aid agreements signed on Wednesday will be a step towards restoring the economy. 

France has gone out of its way to please Mr Ravalomanana following its hesitation over recognising him. 

One of the four agreements is for the development of Antananarivo. The new president was the capital's mayor before winning the presidential election. 

And Mr Ravalomanana's officials are delighted. 

"He (Villepin) is the first minister from a foreign government to come here officially and sign an agreement. To me that's a big symbol," said Foreign Affairs Minister, Marcel Ranjeva. 

Ratsiraka has called for ceasefire and reconciliation

Marc Ravalomanana had become impatient with France's hesitation in recognising him as president - especially after the constitutional court decided he had won December's elections. 

He has accused Didier Ratsiraka of using his recent trip to France to recruit mercenaries. 

This was also an implicit criticism of France for allowing Mr Ratsiraka to use French territory to look for military allies. 

Mr Ratsiraka denied his opponent's accusations about mercenaries. 

Fighting between government and rebel forces in Liberia could destabilise the whole region, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned. 

Mr Annan said that 25,000 people had fled to neighbouring Sierra Leone since fighting intensified last month. 

He urged President Charles Taylor's forces and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) rebels to let aid agencies have access to the thousands of people in need of help. 

The rebels have been fighting the government for three years, but have recently stepped up their attacks, and fighting has been reported in five of the country's 15 counties. 

Arms issue

Mr Annan also urged donor countries to provide the resources necessary to respond to the needs of refugees and displaced people affected by the fighting. 

The UN has decided to move its offices in the capital, Liberia, close to the US embassy. 

Mr Annan's statement coincides with remarks made by a UN envoy, Adolfo Zinser, who said on Wednesday that Liberia needed the help of the international community to secure a ceasefire and a political settlement in the conflict. 

Mr Zinser also said that West African countries should make possession of weapons by civilians an offence. 

Taylor declared a state of emergency in February

As the next step after the renewal of sanctions against Liberia in May, the envoy recommended a weapons-free zone for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and said this should be respected by the international community and arms-exporting countries. 

Liberia's conflict is closely linked to Sierra Leone's decade of war, which officially declared over last January, and to a bloody insurgency in Guinea last year. 

Mr Zinser said he would tell the UN Security Council that a recent upsurge in fighting between the Lurd rebels and the Liberian army had left civilians frightened and uncertain of their future. 

The UN official was in the region to assess the impact of UN arms sanctions on Sierra Leone and the fighting in Liberia, and to come up with recommendations for the Security Council. 

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The appeals court of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has upheld the acquittal of a former mayor accused of playing a major role in the genocide in 1994. 

It's the first time the tribunal has acquitted anyone since it was set up at Arusha in Tanzania to try the most serious crimes of the Rwandan civil war. 

The court ordered the release of the accused man, Ignace Bagilishema, who'd been charged with helping to organise mass killings by Hutus of their Tutsi fellow citizens. 

He was originally found not guilty, but the prosecutors appealed on the grounds that the trial judges had incorrectly assessed evidence. Mr Bagilishema, who spent three years in detention, said he was planning to return to France. 

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

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By Hassan Barise  BBC, Mogadishu

Somali gunmen have siezed a cargo ship which was reported to have been missing for over a week. 

The vessel, the Aamir, was reportedly hijacked in a region off Puntland, which is notorious for piracy. 

There have been a number of boat hijacks in recent times of vessels carrying commodities over from the Gulf states. 

According to businessmen in Mogadishu, the Aamir started its journey in the United Arab Emirates bound for Mogadishu and the southern port town of Kismaiyu. 

$100,000 ransom

Following severe weather conditions, the ship had to break its journey on the Puntland Coast. 

The vessel, which was carrying over 2,200 metric tons of miscellaneous commodities, from foodstuffs to cosmetics, was attacked by freelance gangs in fishing boats. 

Some of the attacks take place at sea

Reports reaching Mogadishu say the gunmen numbering about 10 have demanded a ransom before they will give the boat back. 

Unconfirmed reports say the gunmen have asked for US $100,000 for the release of the vessel, and talks are still continuing. 

But it is believed that the gunmen will settle for rather less than that. 

Since Aamir is transporting local business commodities, the agreed ransom is not expected to be as high. 

I understand that elders and businessmen from Nugal region are trying to mediate in the case, but have not yet been able to secure direct talks with the gunmen. 

Other reports say the number of militiamen involved in the hijacking has now doubled after other gunmen boarded the ship. 

They have forced the captain of the vessel to move to a remote area known as Deynkudha. 

Businessmen from Mogadishu and Bossaso are said to be working together for the safe release of the vessel. 

However, the monsoon winds pounding the east coast of Africa may hamper the ship's journey to Mogadishu when it is released. 

According to the latest reports from Puntland, all of the crewmen and the captain of the vessel are in good shape - but there is concern that the vessel is running out of drinking water. 

 

By Matthew Davis  BBC News Online

The new head of the British Medical Association says parts of the NHS are verging on "third world medicine". But what is health care in a developing country really like?

My encounter with so-called "third world" medicine took place over two nights in Dunkorkrum - a town of about 5,000 people on Ghana's isolated Afram Plains. 

We had a series of visitors, one a Spanish missionary suffering from typhoid. We were pleased when he left

 

By Will Ross  BBC, Kampala

Ugandan politicians have filed a petition against new restrictions on political parties. 

It is the duty of every citizen to use all peaceful and legal means to oppose the establishment of a one-party dictatorship

Sam K. Njuba

The Political Parties and Organisations Act further restricts the activities of political parties under the country's no-party "Movement" system. 

The system was established in Uganda after Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) seized power in 1986 - and means candidates must stand as individuals rather than as representing a party. 

Sam K. Njuba, the chair of the Reform Agenda pressure group, on Monday condemned the Act as being a violation of human rights. 

He said it was not in line with the constitution which guarantees freedom of speech, association and assembly. 

Rallies ban

He criticised President Museveni's Movement System for operating like a political party and campaigning for Movement Candidates in elections - which is against the law in Uganda. 

Yoweri Museveni: Overwhelming victory last year

"It is the duty of every citizen to use all peaceful and legal means to oppose the establishment of a one-party dictatorship," Mr Njuba said. 

The new Act forbids parties from opening up branches throughout the country - restricting them to their headquarters in Kampala. 

It also continues the ban on all political rallies. 

Under the new Act, existing parties have to re-register and new ones may be formed provided they fulfil certain requirements. 

Multi-partyist MP Okumu Reagan announced that the Reform Agenda will not be registering as a political party because of the contents of the new Act. 

Instead it would spearhead opposition parties and work with those who want to see democracy succeed in Uganda. 

Uganda's Minister of Justice, Janet Mukwaya, said the new Act was aimed at cleaning up Ugandan parties which she said have no internal democracy. 

 

By Keith Somerville  BBC News Online

The death toll is mounting as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) renews its attacks in northern Uganda. 

More than 25 civilians and at least two government soldiers were killed in the Pader and Gulu districts at the end of June and beginning of July. 

Civilians have borne the brunt of the rebellion

These attacks have dampened government optimism that "Operation Iron Fist", the offensive against LRA bases in southern Sudan, has dealt a severe blow to the rebel's fourteen-year campaign against President Yoweri Museveni. 

The LRA says it wants to rule Uganda according to the biblical ten commandments. 

Thousands of people have been killed in northern Uganda since the LRA launched its campaign in 1988 and nearly 500,000 have fled their homes. 

Sex slaves

Children in their thousands have been abducted - the boys to fight for the rebels and the girls as sex slaves for the LRA commanders. 

Lillian Odokarach was one such victim. She was held for eight years by the LRA after being kidnapped from Kitgum District in 1994. 

She was one of 60 girls and women who became "wives" to the LRA leader, Joseph Kony. 

She escaped earlier this year. 

The rebel army is about 4,000 strong, according to the Ugandan army. 

Many operate in northern Uganda, the rest in southern Sudan. 

Born of the Holy Spirit

Based among the Acholi people of northern Uganda, the LRA developed from an earlier northern rebel force - the Holy Spirit Movement. 

Founded in 1986 by a former prostitute, Alice Lakwena, it represented Acholis who felt excluded from power after the overthrow of the northerner, Milton Obote, by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army. 

Joseph Kony (left) and a senior LRA commander Vincent Otti

Ms Lakwena promised her followers immunity from the bullets of the Ugandan army, but Mr Museveni's troops defeated the Holy Spirit Movement in 1988. She fled to Kenya. 

Joseph Kony, had been one of Ms Lakwena's followers and after her defeat, he founded his own rebel group. 

The LRA fought a guerrilla war in northern Uganda against the army, frequently attacking or abducting civilians. 

Amputated

It purported to follow the ten commandments but mixed Christianity with traditional beliefs. 

They became notorious for their violent opposition to bicycles, in case these were used to inform the army of the rebels' presence. 

Those caught riding bicycles were frequently killed or had their feet hacked off. 

The LRA survived repeated government offensives because of support from the Sudanese army and the use of bases and supply routes in areas of southern Sudan. 

This was intended to punish the Ugandan Government for its backing for the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in southern Sudan. 

'Iron Fist'

In 1998, the Ugandan Government coupled its offensives against with an amnesty for LRA fighters who surrendered. This had little real effect. 

The same can be said of the peace accord under which both Sudan and Uganda pledged to end their support for the LRA and SPLA, respectively. 

President Museveni continued to accuse the Sudanese of supporting Mr Kony and the LRA. 

'Operation Iron Fist' has failed to end the killing

But in March this year, the Sudanese Government, keen to distance itself from accusations of supporting international terrorism, agreed to joint action in southern Sudan against the LRA. 

Ugandan troops crossed into Sudan and launched large-scale raids against LRA bases. 

As many as 10,000 Uganda troops are estimated to have been involved in the offensive, named "Operation Iron Fist". 

The Ugandan Government claimed success following attacks on several LRA bases well inside Sudan. 

Rebels strike back

The elation of the government was short-lived. 

In recent weeks, hundreds of LRA fighters have crossed the border into Uganda, mounting a new series of attacks. 

Church sources in Sudan say that hundreds of Sudanese civilians were killed by the LRA as they were pushed north by the Ugandan army. 

Far from dealing the LRA a fatal blow, Uganda's "Iron Fist" has led to a new round of butchery and the LRA fight continues.

A UN official has said that West African countries should make possession of weapons by civilians an offence. 

Adolfo Zinser also said that Liberia needed the help of the international community to secure a ceasefire and a political settlement in the conflict between the government and rebel forces. 

There should be a permanent ban of arms to the region

UN ambassador Adolfo Zinser

Mr Zinser , of the United Nations Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone, was speaking as he ended a visit to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. 

Liberia's conflict is closely linked to Sierra Leone's decade of conflict, which was declared over in Sierra Leone last January, and to a bloody insurgency in Guinea last year. 

'Weapons-free zone'

Ambassador Zinser insisted that civilians should not be allowed to carry guns in West Africa. 

"There should be a permanent ban of arms to the region," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. 

As the next step after the renewal of sanctions against Liberia in May, he recommended a weapons-free zone for the three neighbouring countries, and said this should be respected by the international community and arms-exporting countries. 

Mr Zinser also said he would tell the UN Security Council that a recent upsurge in fighting between the rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) and the Liberian army had left civilians frightened and uncertain of their future. 

Thousands have been displaced by the fighting

"Liberia needs the help of the international community," he said. 

"We should help by all means available to us to procure a ceasefire here," he said. 

Mr Zinser would not say, however, whether he supports the idea of deploying foreign troops. 

Liberia's President, Charles Taylor, and the Lurd combatants should agree to a ceasefire and sit down to discuss a possible political settlement to the differences, he said. 

'Fear'

"I think it is unfair what both are doing to the civilian population in Liberia," Mr Zinser said. 

He said ordinary Liberians had told him of their fear. 

"Our hearts are bleeding with fear, with sorrow; we don't know what is going to happen to us and to our children tomorrow," a group of women told him. 

Taylor declared a state of emergency in February

"We are frightened by the possibility of being slaughtered at the hands of those who are fighting this senseless war." 

Mr Zinser was in the region to assess the impact of the UN arms sanctions on Sierra Leone and the fighting in Liberia, and to come up with recommendations for the UN Security Council. 

His visit coincides with the decision by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to send a mission to Liberia on 14 July to assess security in the country. 

President Charles Taylor's government recently appealed for urgent intervention to tackle the growing threat from the Lurd rebels. 

Charles Taylor, a former warlord who came to power after elections in 1997, is battling Lurd rebels who, for two years, have waged a guerrilla war reminiscent for many of the civil war of the 1990s.

The last province in Madagascar still under the control of veteran leader Didier Ratsiraka is expected to fall into the hands of the new President, Marc Ravalomanana, within the next 24 hours without military confrontation. 

White flags have been put up around the main port of Tamatave, in the east of the country, which had been Mr Ratsiraka's stronghold. 

After a six-month political crisis following disputed elections, the former president headed into apparent exile, opening the way for Mr Ravalomanana to take control of the whole island. 

Mr Ravalomanana, whose forces have gradually been taking control of the provinces, has said his main priorities now are to establish security and develop the economy. 

No resistance

Tamatave has been cut off from the capital Antananarivo for four months. 

Speaking on local radio, the Tamatave mayor - Mr Ratsiraka's own nephew - told people to go and welcome President Ravalomanana's troops at the entrance to the town. 

The provinces have been gradually coming under Ravalomanana's control

This follows the departure early on Friday of ex-president Ratsiraka and his family for the Seychelles - possibly en route to France. 

Two plane-loads of his government ministers and supporters also left. 

The United States was the first to recognise Mr Ravalomanana as the new president. 

France, the former colonial power, finally gave its backing to him this week. 

Promise of justice

In a BBC interview, the new leader said he was not immediately concerned about the refusal of the Organisation of African Unity to recognise his leadership. 

He said he felt the organisation would re-consider its position as time went on. 

Mr Ravalomanana said those responsible for harassing civilians during the six-month struggle for the leadership of the island of 16 million would be brought to justice. 

"Everyone should know that all those responsible for extortion and other terrorist acts will be pursued wherever they are found," he said. 

Following elections in December last year, neither man accepted defeat and the Indian Ocean island nation was divided with two capitals and two governments. 

Scores of people have been killed in bitter fighting between rival supporters, but Mr Ratsiraka's power had been ebbing in recent weeks.