ICRC News 36 / 21-Sep-00

** SHORT MENU....

Republic of Guinea:  Thousands flee clashes:
For the past two weeks, several Guinean towns near the borders with Liberia
and Sierra Leone have been attacked by armed groups from those two
countries.


Sudan: Release of seven detainees:
On 17 September the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) handed over to
the ICRC seven members of the Sudanese armed forces who had been detained
in the town of Kurmuk.

Sierra Leone: Red Cross assists refugees returning from Conakry:
Since last Friday, with the help of the ICRC and the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, staff and volunteers of
the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society have been assisting the returnees who
are arriving in Freetown daily on ships from Conakry.

Afghanistan: Over 3,500 internally displaced people receive foodaid:
On 17 September staff from the ICRC office in Mazar-i-Sharif distributed
food aid to over 3,500 internally displaced people currently living in
Amrach, approximately 100 km south of Mazar-i-Sharif, in a pocket
controlled by the northern alliance and surrounded by Taliban forces.

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: ICRC steps up action as needs grow:
The ICRC has been compelled to step up its activities in Serbia as
increasing economic difficulty and a deteriorating basic infrastructure, in
particular the water-supply system, imposes increasing hardship on the most
vulnerable members of society.

** STORIES IN FULL...

Republic of Guinea
 Thousands flee clashes

For the past two weeks, several Guinean towns near the borders with Liberia
and Sierra Leone have been attacked by armed groups from those two
countries. The clashes have claimed a great number of victims, including a
UNHCR employee killed on 17 September. The prevailing insecurity has also
caused thousands of local inhabitants to flee their homes and thousands of
Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees to return to their countries of
origin.

In coordination with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies and the Red Cross Society of Guinea, the ICRC has
provided the displaced with medical and other assistance. On 8 September
the ICRC already delivered emergency medical supplies to Forecariah
hospital, which was admitting many of the wounded.

So as to increase its operational capacity, the ICRC, which currently has
three expatriates working on the spot, will bolster its team by sending two
more staff members to Conakry. The Red Cross Movement is following the
situation closely and plans to step up its assistance activities in the
days ahead.

Further information: Juan Martinez, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 81


Sudan
Release of seven detainees

On 17 September the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) handed over to
the ICRC seven members of the Sudanese armed forces who had been detained
in the town of Kurmuk. With the agreement of both the Sudanese government
and the SPLA, the released detainees were then flown from the Blue Nile
state to Khartoum aboard an ICRC plane.

The seven detainees had all been registered and regularly visited by the
ICRC during their captivity. In accordance with the organization's usual
procedures, ICRC delegates spoke to each of them in private to ensure that
they were returning home of their own free will.

ICRC delegates regularly visit persons held by the SPLA in connection with
the conflict and monitor their conditions of detention in accordance with
the rules of international humanitarian law. During these visits, the
detainees are also given the opportunity to correspond with their families
by means of Red Cross messages.

Further information: Juan Martinez, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 81


Sierra Leone
Red Cross assists refugees returning from Conakry

Since last Friday, with the help of the ICRC and the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, staff and volunteers of
the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society have been assisting the returnees who
are arriving in Freetown daily on ships from Conakry.

After disembarking, the returnees are given medical care, food and water
according to their needs. "The majority - about 70 per cent - are women and
children, and about half of them need medical attention," said ICRC senior
relief officer Lawrence Golightly. The returnees are screened by two Red
Cross nurses, who give them first aid and whatever drugs they need and
refer those in extremely bad shape to hospitals for further treatment.
Everyone receives a ration of bread and sardines.

By Wednesday the Red Cross had registered 2,862 returnees and it will
continue to provide emergency assistance in the coming days. Some returnees
are reunited with their relatives on the spot; the others are transferred
to the Waterloo camp for the displaced.

Further information: Priska Spoerri, ICRC Freetown, tel. ++232 22 230 954


Afghanistan
Over 3,500 internally displaced people receive foodaid

On 17 September staff from the ICRC office in Mazar-i-Sharif distributed
food aid to over 3,500 internally displaced people currently living in
Amrach, approximately 100 km south of Mazar-i-Sharif, in a pocket
controlled by the northern alliance and surrounded by Taliban forces. It
was the first visit from a humanitarian organization in two years.

After obtaining the necessary permission from the Taliban and the northern
alliance, the ICRC conducted a cross-line operation to assess the
humanitarian situation in the area, which still shelters many people
displaced by the past fighting in neighbouring Gosfandi and Sang-e-Charak
districts. The ICRC later distributed food aid to the displaced (600
families registered in all), delivered supplies to a local first aid clinic
and gave talks on international humanitarian law for those bearing weapons.


Further information: Mario Musa, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 382 280 131
Corinne Adam, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 24


Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
ICRC steps up action as needs grow

The ICRC has been compelled to step up its activities in Serbia as
increasing economic difficulty and a deteriorating basic infrastructure, in
particular the water-supply system, imposes increasing hardship on the most
vulnerable members of society.

In August the number of hot meals prepared as part of the soup-kitchen
programme run jointly by the ICRC, the Yugoslav Red Cross and several
foreign National Red Cross Societies rose by 5,000 a day to meet growing
needs among the population. This brings to 70,000 the number of people who
come to the kitchens to collect what for most of them will be their only
real meal of the day. A further 32,000 people in both Serbia and Montenegro
who are unable to travel to the distribution points have dry food rations
delivered to them.

According to the local Red Cross staff who recently attended a seminar
organized by the ICRC and the Yugoslav Red Cross to assess the programme,
it not only meets a vital material need but also offers important
psychological reassurance to people extremely anxious about how they will
survive the coming winter. More than 18 million meals have been prepared in
115 kitchens and served at more than 300 distribution points since the
programme began about a year ago.

The ICRC has also responded to urgent calls from the water authorities to
provide spare parts and chlorination supplies as the gradual deterioration
of the country's water-supply systems - exacerbated by the summer drought -
has brought many networks, especially in southern Serbia, to the brink of
collapse. For the resident population and displaced people living in
temporary collective accommodation, this means the constant threat of
having no access to clean water. In the village of Rutevac in the Aleksinac
municipality, for example, a school was able to start its new term only
thanks to the donation of an ICRC chlorinator, which eliminated the risk of
disease among the schoolchildren.

In its renewed appeal last week to donors, the ICRC highlighted its work in
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as one of its 12 most underfunded
operations.

Further information: Gordona Milenkovic, ICRC Belgrade, tel. ++381 11 450
590
Amanda Williamson, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2678


During the weekend of 23 - 24 September 2000, for all information please
call the press officer on duty JuanMartinez, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 17