ICRC News 16 / 26-Apr-01


** SHORT MENU....

Burundi: Large-scale operation to fight malnutrition
On 17 April, the ICRC, backed by the Burundi Red Cross, launched an
extensive emergency relief operation in Ngozi and Kayanza provinces, in
north-eastern Burundi. Over 60,000 households (about 300,000 residents and
displaced persons) are to receive 3,000 tonnes of maize, beans, oil and
salt every month, enabling them to bridge food shortages until the next
harvest, in June.

Eritrea/Sudan: Ethiopian civilians repatriated
On Friday 20 April the ICRC arranged for the repatriation of two groups of
Ethiopians from Eritrea and Sudan.

Afghanistan: A long detour to deliver orthopaedic materials
A few years ago, the Panshir valley was an hour's drive from Kabul. Today,
the road is closed, with mines and road-blocks barring the route between
the Taliban-controlled zone and the area held by the Northern Alliance,
under their commander Ahmed Shah Massoud.

Yugoslavia/Kosovo: ICRC helps disinfect wells
Owing to heavy rain over the past few weeks, wells have been flooded in
various municipalities of Kosovo and high levels of bacteriological
contamination have been detected by the mobile laboratory of the water and
sanitation department of the Institute of Public Health.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: More than a thousand mine victims in peacetime
Spring is always a dangerous time in Bosnia-Herzegovina, for as the long
hard winter draws to a close people go out into the woods and fields where
mines and unexploded ordnance - the war's cruel legacy - lie in wait for
the unwary.



** STORIES IN FULL...

Burundi
Large-scale operation to fight malnutrition

On 17 April, the ICRC, backed by the Burundi Red Cross, launched an
extensive emergency relief operation in Ngozi and Kayanza provinces, in
north-eastern Burundi. Over 60,000 households (about 300,000 residents and
displaced persons) are to receive 3,000 tonnes of maize, beans, oil and
salt every month, enabling them to bridge food shortages until the next
harvest, in June. The operation was organized in coordination with the
World Food Programme (WFP) and with the agreement of the Burundian
authorities.

Following years of conflict, Burundi's precarious humanitarian and health
situation is presently being exacerbated by an acute nutritional crisis
brought about mainly by weather conditions (periods of drought several
years in a row and hail storms) and malaria. In addition, the direct
consequences of the conflict and the embargo imposed on Burundi until 1999
have made it difficult for the people to work the land, resulting in their
impoverishment (in some cases also for lack of family support) and in soil
depletion, and forcing them to move.

Several international organizations have reported alarmingly high rates of
malnutrition (close to one million people are affected), prompting a swift
reaction from the ICRC. Since humanitarian aid and nutritional centres were
unable to provide a lasting solution to the crisis, the ICRC conducted a
survey at the beginning of the year and concluded that general food
distributions were needed in some of the country's provinces.

An ICRC team continues to assess the vulnerability and specific needs of
the population in Ngozi and Kayanza provinces. The organization plans to
provide additional food aid and agricultural assistance at a later stage.

This large-scale operation constitutes an operational challenge for the
ICRC, compelling it for reasons of security to use aircraft, even over
short distances. Moreover, the political situation and security conditions
can deteriorate very quickly, and the operation's impact must be considered
from all angles.

The operation is a logistical challenge, too, for it implies an increase in
delegation staff and material resources. The entire logistic chain was set
up in record time, and relief teams put together overnight. The teams are
supervised by five delegates mobilized for that purpose on short notice.
Since the launch of the operation, the delegation has stepped up its
contacts with the Burundian authorities and humanitarian agencies
concerned, keeping them informed and obtaining guarantees of their support.

Further information: Nada Doumani, ICRC Bujumbura, tel. ++ 257 933 011


Eritrea/Sudan
Ethiopian civilians repatriated

On Friday 20 April the ICRC arranged for the repatriation of two groups of
Ethiopians from Eritrea and Sudan.

The first group of 1,002 persons of Ethiopian origin, most of whom had been
living in or near the Eritrean capital Asmara, left Eritrea at a crossing
point on the Mereb river between the border towns of Adi Quala and Rama.
They were assisted on their way to the border by ICRC delegates based in
Eritrea and beyond that point by delegates working in Ethiopia, who gave
them into the care of the Ethiopian authorities. Volunteers from the
National Red Cross Societies of Eritrea and Ethiopia also took part in the
operation.

The second group of 249 persons of Ethiopian origin had fled the Gash Barka
area of Eritrea when fighting broke out in May 2000 to seek safety across
the Sudanese border in Kassala. There they obtained food and shelter in a
UNHCR refugee camp and informed ICRC delegates of their desire to go to
Ethiopia. They left Kassala on Thursday 19 April in a convoy accompanied by
staff of the ICRC and the Sudanese Red Crescent. When they reached the
border town of Metema the next day, they were assisted by ICRC delegates
and volunteers of the Ethiopian Red Cross. Their final destination is
Shire, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

In both operations, the ICRC acted in its capacity as a neutral and
independent intermediary. The ICRC will continue to assist persons affected
by the consequences of the armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and
to promote respect for international humanitarian law, in particular the
Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Further information: Paul Conneally, ICRC Asmara, tel. ++2911 181 034


Afghanistan
A long detour to deliver orthopaedic materials

A few years ago, the Panshir valley was an hour's drive from Kabul. Today,
the road is closed, with mines and road-blocks barring the route between
the Taliban-controlled zone and the area held by the Northern Alliance,
under their commander Ahmed Shah Massoud.

The ICRC regularly sends orthopaedic material to Gulbahar from workshops in
Kabul; components for artificial limbs and orthoses, wheelchairs, walking
frames and crutches.

Recently, a major delivery had to await a lull in the fighting. A truck and
two Landcruisers made a long detour, sometimes using tracks that clung to
the cliff face. The convoy left early in the morning, arriving six hours
later in Shooki, the last Taliban-held village on the route, where the load
was transferred to about twenty donkeys, mules, horses and camels to cross
the 5 km of no-man's land. The way into the Panshir valley was blocked by
containers filled with blocks of stone, but with some encouragement from
their guides the frightened animals made their way round this final
obstacle. Finally, the convoy arrived in Kapisa, in Massoud territory,
where ICRC vehicles picked up the cargo and took it to the orthopaedic
centre in Gulbahar.

The ICRC is running six orthopaedic centres in Afghanistan, helping some
50,000 handicapped persons and amputees registered since 1988.
Video material broadcast via the EBU on 23 April at 1315 hrs GMT.
Photos available from AFP (photo.france@afp.com) and Reuters
(zurpix@bluewin.ch).

Further information: Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva,
Tel.: ++ 41 22 730 21 01
Mario Musa, ICRC Kabul, Tel.: ++ 873 761 242 260


Yugoslavia/Kosovo
ICRC helps disinfect wells

Owing to heavy rain over the past few weeks, wells have been flooded in
various municipalities of Kosovo and high levels of bacteriological
contamination have been detected by the mobile laboratory of the water and
sanitation department of the Institute of Public Health. To prevent the
outbreak of gastro-intestinal diseases, the ICRC is providing the
Institute, based in Ferizaj/Urosevac and Lipjan/Lipljan, with chlorine for
the disinfection of over 2,000 wells. The programme will be extended to
other municipalities as new cases of contamination are reported.

Since November 1999 the ICRC has been assisting the Institute's water and
sanitation department in its efforts to improve water quality control. A
gas chromatrographs, a liquid chromatographs and an atomic absorbers have
been supplied along with other equipment and the Institute's staff are
being trained in the techniques of laboratory analysis.

Last year the ICRC provided a mobile laboratory unit to be used for
testing water in remote rural areas so that health services could take
immediate action to prevent the outbreak and spread of waterborne
diseases.

Further information: Caroline Douillez, ICRC Pristina, tel. ++ 381 38 501
517
Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 24 58


Bosnia-Herzegovina
More than a thousand mine victims in peacetime

Spring is always a dangerous time in Bosnia-Herzegovina, for as the long
hard winter draws to a close people go out into the woods and fields where
mines and unexploded ordnance - the war's cruel legacy - lie in wait for
the unwary.

This month alone nine people have stepped on mines in Central Bosnia and
Sarajevo cantons, Srebrenica municipality and the Republika Srpska. Five
of the victims were killed and four were severely injured.

Warning people of the dangers they face as they go about their daily lives
is crucial. Over the last four years, the ICRC has been conducting a
massive, countrywide mine-awareness campaign with Red Cross instructors
and volunteers. This has helped to reduce the number of new victims from
over 600 in 1996 to less than 100 last year. But there is no room for
complacency, as the most recent figures all too clearly show.

On 17 April the ICRC launched its latest mine-awareness activity, a huge
publicity campaign. Seventy giant billboards depicting a swirl of yellow
tape (used to mark minefields) and a watchful eye were erected in key
towns and villages all over the country. The message at the bottom reads:
"1,263..... and how many more victims in peacetime?"

Further information: Jessica Barry, ICRC Sarajevo, tel. ++387 33 652 407
Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 24 58

During the weekend of 28 - 29 April 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Macarena Aguilar, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 64