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TAJIKISTAN: MORE VICTIMS: Fighting last week 12 km east of the Tajik capital Dushanbe claimed the lives of dozens of people, mostly civilians.
AFGHANISTAN: MORTAL REMAINS TRANSPORTED BY ICRC: On 30 April, in response to a request from the Taliban authorities, the ICRC brought back to Kabul the mortal remains of 10 combatants of the Islamic militia killed a few days earlier in clashes with Commander Massoud's troops 25 km north of the capital. Because of the poor security conditions on this front line, the operation was conducted by air..
JORDAN: ICRC ORGANIZES FAMILY VISITS TO DETAINEES: A total of 25 persons, including women and children, left Amman on 4 May for an ICRC- organized visit to relatives currently detained in the central prison in Kuwait. One other person arriving from Beirut joined the group to participate in the visit, which was coordinated with the authorities concerned in both Kuwait and Jordan.
KENYA: TRAINING COURSE FOR WATER ENGINEERS: Water - the fundamental source of life on the planet - is a vital element in the assistance provided by the ICRC and other NGOs to hundreds of displaced persons, conflict and natural disaster victims, and recipients of medical care.
KENYA: TRAINING COURSE FOR WATER ENGINEERS:Water - the fundamental source of life on the planet - is a vital element in the assistance provided by the ICRC and other NGOs to hundreds of displaced persons, conflict and natural disaster victims, and recipients of medical care. But the precious liquid is sometimes only found deep in the ground, and for this reason sophisticated drilling equipment and techniques are essential.
** STORIES IN FULL...
TAJIKISTAN MORE VICTIMS
Fighting last week 12 km east of the Tajik capital Dushanbe claimed the lives of dozens of people, mostly civilians. The ICRC acted immediately to provide assistance for the wounded at medical facilities in the city. Staff at ICRC warehouses and a limb-fitting centre in the combat zone were evacuated. Once calm had been restored, aid work resumed.
Several dozen people were also killed at the end of April in landslides caused by melting snow and torrential rain which lashed the Garm valley in central Tajikistan. Coordinating its activities with other international organizations, the ICRC distributed food and blankets to 68 stricken families. Garm hospital also received medical assistance.
The ICRC has been working in Tajikistan since the end of 1992, with the focus on assistance to detainees and medical aid to hospitals. Years of conflict between government and opposition plus an unprecedented economic crisis have brought the country to its knees.
Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 23 07
AFGHANISTAN MORTAL REMAINS TRANSPORTED BY ICRC
On 30 April, in response to a request from the Taliban authorities, the ICRC brought back to Kabul the mortal remains of 10 combatants of the Islamic militia killed a few days earlier in clashes with Commander Massoud's troops 25 km north of the capital. Because of the poor security conditions on this front line, the operation was conducted by air.
An ICRC Beechcraft carrying 1,700 kg of medical supplies for the prisoners and wounded held by the anti-Taliban coalition flew from Kabul to Bagram, a military airport in territory controlled by the coalition. On its return flight the aircraft transported the mortal remains of the Taliban combatants, which had been brought to Charikar hospital. A crowd of over a hundred Taliban militiamen and dignitaries, including the Minister of Health, had gathered to await the plane's arrival in Kabul.
Visits to the Panjshir valley
ICRC delegates have just carried out a complete visit to four places of detention in the Panjshir valley, which enabled them in particular to assess the state of health of prisoners held by the Massoud forces. During the visit nearly 2,000 family messages were exchanged. After Panjshir, the next complete ICRC visits will be to places of detention in the Taliban-held Kandahar region.
The ICRC visited some 8,865 detainees in 74 places of detention in Afghanistan in 1997. It also arranged for the exchange of 53,000 family messages between separated family members.
Further information: Juan Martinez, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 382 280 131
JORDAN ICRC ORGANIZES FAMILY VISITS TO DETAINEES
A total of 25 persons, including women and children, left Amman on 4 May for an ICRC- organized visit to relatives currently detained in the central prison in Kuwait. One other person arriving from Beirut joined the group to participate in the visit, which was coordinated with the authorities concerned in both Kuwait and Jordan.
The visit was the fourth of its kind arranged by the ICRC, two previous ones having taken place in June and September 1995, plus a third in January 1997. A total of 133 family members have thus been able to meet detained relatives, most of whom have been separated from their spouses and children since the end of the 1991 Gulf war. Through its delegations in Amman and Kuwait, the ICRC has meanwhile been forwarding Red Cross messages between the detainees and their families, as well as monitoring conditions of detention, in line with its mandate.
Further information: Mu'in Kassis, ICRC Amman, tel. ++9626 56 88 645
SENEGAL YOUSSOU N'DOUR IN ZIGUINCHOR
Top Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour has just paid a visit to Ziguinchor, the main town in the Casamance region of southern Senegal, at the invitation of the Senegalese Red Cross and the ICRC, a matter of days before World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on 8 May.
During the visit the Senegalese star presented "Music goes to war", the documentary film about the So Why? album title track, to secondary school pupils in Ziguinchor. The film traces the journey made by the six African musicians who composed and performed the songs on the album and, through the ICRC, met victims of conflict on the African continent (South Africa, Angola, Liberia and Kenya). After showing the documentary, the singer gave a performance of the song Solidariti, with the 2,000 people present immediately joining in.
In the coming months Senegalese Red Cross volunteers will be organizing further showings of the documentary in the area around Ziguinchor. At these sessions 20,000 copies of a textbook designed by the ICRC containing information on the Red Cross and its principles will be distributed to schoolchildren.
Youssou N'Dour also inaugurated a new Red Cross health centre in Ziguinchor, named after Red Cross founder Henry Dunant, the 170th anniversary of whose birth is being celebrated on 8 May. The centre, built as a result of Senegalese Red Cross-ICRC cooperation, will give the disadvantaged local population access to basic medical care.
Finally, the musician visited patients at the regional hospital in Ziguinchor, where the number of wounded increased following renewed hostilities between the Senegalese army and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance last summer. Hundreds of injured people have been treated there, and the ICRC has supplied 1,700 kg of medical equipment since November 1997. Youssou N'Dour was particularly moved at the sight of a three-year-old girl who had lost a leg in a mine explosion.
Further information: Abdou Latif M'Backe, ICRC Dakar, tel. ++221 8 241 293
KENYA TRAINING COURSE FOR WATER ENGINEERS
Water - the fundamental source of life on the planet - is a vital element in the assistance provided by the ICRC and other NGOs to hundreds of displaced persons, conflict and natural disaster victims, and recipients of medical care. But the precious liquid is sometimes only found deep in the ground, and for this reason sophisticated drilling equipment and techniques are essential.
>From 21 to 28 April the ICRC held a course in Nairobi for its water and sanitation engineers. Engineers from other organizations also took part. Two light drilling machines capable of sinking boreholes between 60 and 120 metres were used. The site chosen for the course - close to Ngong village west of Nairobi - was one where a borehole was actually needed, thus facing the 18 participants with real working conditions. After several problems caused by the complex geology of the site were solved, water was eventually struck at a depth of about 60 metres. The final depth of the borehole was nearly 90 metres, with an estimated yield of 7,000 litres per hour, enough to meet the nearby villages' needs.
The training course is one of several designed to improve water engineers' skills and increase their knowledge and experience of new equipment, thus enabling them better to protect victims' lives.
Further information: Josue Anselmo, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++2542 716 339
New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org : - Update No. 98/01 on ICRC activities in the Republic of Congo, dated 04.05.98
During the weekend of 9- 10 May 1998, for all information please call the press officer on duty Kim Gordon-Bates, on (mobile) 41 79 357 50 03