Central/East Africa - IRIN-01: 19.Dec.97-01.Jan.98
Central/East Africa - IRIN-01: 19.Dec.97-01.Jan.98
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Department of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
for Central and Eastern Africa
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org
[The weekly roundup is based on IRIN daily updates and other relevant
information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and the media.
IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community,
but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original sources.]
Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN Weekly Round-up 1-98 covering the period
19 Dec 1997-1 Jan 1998
RWANDA: Army kills 50 rebels after fresh attack on refugees
At least 50 Hutu rebels were killed by the Rwandan army after they
attacked a transit centre at Nkamira, Gisenyi in northeast Rwanda on 18
December, news organisations reported. The centre was housing some 16,000
survivors of the earlier 10 December Mudende refugee camp massacre.
Rwandan state radio quoted an army spokesman as saying 30 Tutsi civilians,
two refugees and two soldiers were also killed in clashes at Nkamira and
around a nearby military camp at Bigogwe. The government urged people to
remain calm and cooperate with the armed forces in trying to track down
those responsible for the recent spate of attacks.
UNHCR meanwhile said 16 trucks carrying survivors of the Mudende attack
arrived safely in Bymuba prefecture after agreement was reached with the
authorities on a new site at Gihembe on 22 December. More trucks were due
to follow. The new camp is intended to offer better security for about
12,000-15,000 mainly Tutsi refugees from the Masisi area of eastern DRC.
Two human rights groups - Human Rights Watch and the International
Federation of Human Rights Leagues - called on the UN to thoroughly
investigate the Mudende massacre. They said the Rwandan government should
also look into why the army had failed to protect the refugees.
Vice-President and Defence Minister Paul Kagame vowed to defeat Hutu
rebels in the country, stressing the army had the capacity to contain the
insurgency.
UN, US react to release of genocide suspect
UN spokesman Fred Eckhard on 30 December reacted to the release of a
genocide suspect by a court in Texas, USA. He said no comments would be
made on the internal workings of a judicial system but it was hoped the
suspect, Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, would eventually be brought to justice.
Ntakirutimana was freed about two weeks ago by a federal magistrate in
Texas who said an extradition agreement between the US and the UN war
crimes tribunals was unconstitutional. Ntakirutimana, a 73 year-old pastor
who spent 14 months in a Texas jail, is accused of ordering the killing of
Tutsis hiding in a church during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. He arrived in
the US in December 1994 and was arrested some 20 months later. The State
Department expressed regret over the magistrate's decision, saying the
issue was not closed.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Aid workers pulled out of Baraka
Aid workers pulled out of Baraka in eastern DRC on 22 December as reports
reached them of an infiltration of the town by Mai-Mai rebels.
Humanitarian sources told IRIN the situation was further complicated by a
landslide on the road between Baraka and the town of Uvira which they were
trying to reach. Sources in the area confirmed that gunshots were heard
around Baraka. UNHCR decided to delay the latest group of Congolese
returnees who were due to arrive from Kigoma, Tanzania and land for the
first time directly at the newly-rehabilitated port at Baraka.
UN human rights team held up again
The UN human rights investigation team withdrew from Mbandaka and Wendji
in northwestern DRC after large protest demonstrations by local people.
Referring to the latest delays in the work of the mission, UN spokesman
Juan Carlos Brandt said on 18 December the next few days would be
"critical for establishing some kind of definite solution to this
impasse." In a report released on 18 December, Human Rights Watch
described the situation in DRC as "dangerous for the average Congolese".
Patasse denies CAR rear base for attacking DRC
Central African Republic President Ange-Felix Patasse, on a one-day visit
to Kinshasa on 30 December, denied his country was being used as a rear
base by former Zairean officials to attack DRC. Patasse told DRC
television the allegations were "just rumours". "We will never agree to
people attacking the DRC from our country," he said.
Kabila gives details of forthcoming reshuffle
DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila said a recently-announced cabinet
reshuffle was aimed at giving the government "greater impetus so that it
performs better". He told a news conference on 24 December the reshuffle,
due to take place on 3 January, was not a reflection of weakness in the
present cabinet, but a way of benefiting from the experience gained over
the past seven months. "Our government is a transition government whose
mission is to lead the country to democracy," he added. Kabila also urged
supporters of ex-president Mobutu Sese Seko to return and invest in the
country.
Kisangani declared disaster zone
The DRC government on 25 December declared the flood-hit town of Kisangani
a disaster area, DRC radio reported from Bunia. A large section of the
town was under water after the Congo and Tshopo rivers burst their banks.
The government appealed for help from humanitarian organisations. UNICEF
announced it was airlifting US $57,000 worth of relief supplies from
Kinshasa to assist an estimated 10,000 victims of the flooding. The town
has been without power and drinking water due to the floods.
UGANDA/KENYA: Food security adversely affected by floods
According to a DHA-Geneva report, flooding in Uganda has left an estimated
100 people dead and a further 150,000 displaced. Many others are
critically injured and thousands of acres of food and cash crops have been
washed away. The Ugandan government has appealed for funds to purchase
seeds of fast early maturing crops and the necessary farm tools. In
neighbouring Kenya, an estimated 300,000 people have been displaced or
affected by floods in northern, eastern and coastal parts of the country.
The report said excessive rainfall had resulted in stunted crops such as
maize and beans and difficulty in harvesting mature crops.
KENYA: Moi takes early lead in chaotic elections
Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi took an early lead in presidential
elections held on 29 December, but analysts said it was too early to
identify a trend in the results, news agencies reported. The ruling KANU
party also led in the parliamentary poll. The chaotic general elections
sparked intense controversy with politicians of all stripes trading
allegations of rigging and unanimously condemning the performance of the
country's electoral commission. At least five people died on 30 December
in political violence in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru.
Mystery disease may be anthrax
Kenyan health officials investigated the possibility that an anthrax
epidemic was responsible for the deaths of some 250 people in the
semi-arid North Eastern Province over the past two weeks. The 'Daily
Nation' reported on 27 December that Kenyan health ministry director James
Mwanzia said the deaths of hundreds of camels, goats and sheep in the same
area exhibiting similar symptoms to those in humans - that is bleeding
through the body orifices - was leading the investigation towards a
possible link between the human and livestock deaths.
BURUNDI: Bujumbura hospitals overstretched by malaria outbreak
An outbreak of malaria in Burundi caused overcrowding in Bujumbura's
hospitals and medical services were stretched, Burundi radio reported on
29 December. It quoted the director of the Prince Louis Rwagasore clinic,
Dr Tharcisse Nzeyimana, as saying the disease coincided with the rainy
season which began in October. Meanwhile, the director of Burundi's
pharmaceutical company ONAPHA denied spreading rumours of a shortage of
anti-malarial drugs. Nestor Ntibateganya said the company had adequate
quantities of chloroquine and quinine, but admitted fansidar was in short
supply. The current outbreak of malaria had increased consumption
three-fold, he added.
UN envoy calls for sanctions review
A UN envoy to Burundi on 22 December called for an urgent review of
economic sanctions against the country in recognition of the government's
efforts to improve security and human rights there, AFP reported. "The
time has come for serious consideration of the usefulness of economic
sanctions," the agency quoted UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in
Burundi, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, as saying. Following a recent visit to
Burundi, he also said both Tutsis and Hutus were victims of violence and
that in a war situation, it was very difficult to improve human rights.
TANZANIA: Minister denies rebels operating from Tanzania
Tanzania denied reports that rebel groups were operating from its
territory. Tanzanian radio quoted Deputy Interior Minister Sigela Nswima
as saying his country had never given sanctuary to any rebel group. He
accused Burundi of circulating the reports to "seek sympathy" from the
international community. The 'EastAfrican' weekly on 22 December said a
group of Ugandan parliamentarians, who recently visited Burundi, concluded
that rebels from Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda were receiving support from
Sudan and operating from Tanzania. Nswima dismissed the allegations as
"mere propaganda aimed at misleading the international community". The
Ugandan MPs also warned of rifts developing in the region over rebel
activity.
GREAT LAKES: Sahnoun calls for all-inclusive approach to regional problems
Mohamed Sahnoun, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Africa, has
called for a comprehensive approach to the problems in the Great Lakes
region, the UN said in a statement from its New York headquarters on 22
December. In an interview with UN Radio, Sahnoun noted that Burundi and
Rwanda were among the most densely-populated countries in the world,
placing great stress on scarce resources. "People feel insecure and this
is one of the reasons why they fight each other or why they align
themselves into ethnic or tribal groups," he said.
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: Party dissidents move to dismiss Lissouba
A dissident wing of ousted president Pascal Lissouba's Union panafricaine
pour la democratie sociale (UPADS) party moved to dismiss him from the
party leadership, Brazzaville's official Radio Liberte said on 30
December. The dissidents, led by Martin Mberi, a former Lissouba aide now
serving in the new government of Denis Sassou Nguesso, convened a party
conference in the southern city of Pointe-Noire to formally sack Lissouba.
Former premier Bernard Kolelas was earlier stripped of his position as
head of the MCDDI party.
France to back Brazzaville in negotiations with donors
France's new ambassador to Brazzaville said Paris was "prepared to back
Congo" in a renewed dialogue with international lenders. Ambassador Herve
Bolot, who presented his credentials on 29 December, told AFP in Kinshasa
by telephone that "Congo has every interest in resuming dialogue with the
European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank
and the African Development Bank." Congo's structural adjustment accord
with the IMF and the World Bank was derailed by the four-month civil war,
which erupted in June. The EU has said it will not resume aid until
democracy is restored. Meanwhile the Congolese authorities netted 5,000
weapons in a countrywide disarmament operation over the past week.
SUDAN: About 80,000 affected by new outbrek of river blindness
Some 80,000 people have lost their sight due to a new outbreak of river
blindness in Sudan, AFP reported a Sudanese health official as saying. The
agency said Leila Abulfutuh was quoted in the 'Al Rai Al Akher' newspaper
on 21 December as saying that 95 percent of Raga town's 400,000
inhabitants had contracted the disease and some 20 percent, around 80,000
people, were already blind. Raga is situated on a river of the same name
in Bahr Al Ghazal, some 75 km from Sudan's border with Central Africa
Republic. Abulfutuh said the Sudanese health ministry and WHO were
cooperating to fight the disease.
ANGOLA: UNITA orders halt to work of NGOs in Jamba
Angola's former rebel movement UNITA has ordered a halt to the work of
non-governmental organisations at its jungle stronghold in southeastern
Jamba, AFP quoted sources close to the movement as saying on 23 December.
UNITA took the step after the International Organisation for Migration
(IOM) said the area around Jamba was mined, and charged that UNITA was
impeding the work of humanitarian organisations.
Nairobi, 2 January 1998
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