Heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) are expected to take the first concrete steps towards setting up a body to prevent and manage regional conflicts.

Foreign ministers meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, have already been working on a draft resolution which will formalise the plan.

Nigerian troops dominate the force

A West African peacekeeping force, Ecomog, already exists but it is primarily a body for military action and has intervened during crises in the past.

The new body would try to prevent conflicts from breaking out in the first place and have a wider brief for managing existing crises.

The ongoing troubles in Sierra Leone and in Guinea-Bissau are likely to be discussed, boosting the regional peacekeeping effort.

In both cases, the unrest has roots in deep-seated political problems which military action alone may not permanently solve.

Leaders of the 16-member regional body are also expected to announce measures for further economic integration of the region.

Mandela visit

The South African president, Nelson Mandela, is due to visit Nigeria during the summit. It will be the first time a leader from outside West Africa will attend the Ecowas summit.

He has accepted an invitation to Abuja from Nigeria's new leader, General Abubakar, and it will be his first visit to the country since the new government took power.

In theory, his visit is supposed to provide him an opportunity to bid farewell to West African leaders before he steps down from power but in practice, his presence will be symbolic.

It will demonstrate that the man who spearheaded an African effort to isolate the government of the late General Sani Abacha has confidence that the new government's promises of elections next year will come true.