Nigeria And Cameroon Reach Agreement Over Border Disputes In Oil-rich Peninsula

Posted 13 June 2006 @ 11:09 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

UN GEN UN Nigeria Cameroon (AP) - Nigeria agreed Monday to withdraw troops from an oil-rich peninsula to settle a long-standing border dispute with Cameroon.

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President Paul Biya of Cameroon and Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo signed the agreement at the Greentree estate in Manhasset, New York.

The accord, four years in the making, was shepherded by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who watched the signing.

Under the terms of the deal, Nigeria has agreed to withdraw troops from the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to fulfill a ruling in 2002 by The Hague-based International Court of Justice, which said the area belonged to Cameroon.

"Our agreement today is a great achievement in conflict prevention, which practically reflects its cost effectiveness when compared to the alternative of conflict resolution," Obasanjo said.

Obasanjo recalled that after the tribunal ruled four years ago, "Nigeria accepted the verdict, notwithstanding our disappointment."

"These two statesmen have demonstrated patience, tenacity, flexibility and restraint, which has enabled them to finally arrive at today's milestone," Annan said.

Under the agreement, Nigerian troops must withdraw from the peninsula in 60 days, he said.

"If it is absolutely necessary, the parties have agreed to allow me to offer a brief extension, but under no circumstances exceeding another 30 days," Annan said. The troops have a choice of being repatriated to Nigeria or remaining under the laws of Cameroon.

The two countries began marking out their border earlier this year after decades of wrangling.

The most coveted part is the Bakassi peninsula, which juts into waters prized for reserves of fish and crude oil. The two countries came close to war over the area in the 1980s.

Tensions again escalated into military confrontation at the end of 1993, when Nigeria deployed its armed forces to the peninsula.

Although the entire border has yet to be marked out on the ground, dozens of villages have changed hands following the 2002 court ruling.

With Monday's agreement, "a comprehensive resolution of the dispute is within our grasp," Annan said, in a reference to final demarcation of the border and where the people will choose to live.

The agreement also establishes an international follow-up committee to monitor implementation _ made up of representatives from Nigeria and Cameroon, as well as the U.S., Germany, France and Britain.

The first progress report, expected within one month, will report on the accord's implementation and include information relating to Nigerian offshore oil installations in Cameroonian territorial waters.

A U.N. entity know as the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission will work in tandem with the follow-up committee and present its own findings on July 5 regarding implementation of the agreement.