ECOWAS appoints Gambian as special envoy on Liberian crisis

LAGOS, Aug 5 (AFP) - A Gambian diplomat, Francis Blain, has been named to represent the west African regional group ECOWAS as a special envoy to war-torn Liberia, officials said Tuesday.

Mohammed ibn Chambas, the executive secretary of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has charged Blain, 60, with conducting the political and diplomatic aspects of the peace process in Liberia, pending the conclusion of talks in Accra.

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Ghana is the current holder of the ECOWAS rotating presidency, and is mediating the peace talks between rebels and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor which have been fighting for nearly five years.

ECOWAS, after weeks of hesitation, began deploying peacekeers to Liberia on Monday.

Taylor, who has been offered asylum in Nigeria, on Saturday repeated a pledge to step down, saying he would do so on August 11.

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