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GUINEA-BISSAU: ICRC OFFICE SET UP IN BAFATA Last week the ICRC opened an office in Bafata, the main city in eastern Guinea-Bissau. The permanent presence of ICRC delegates there will make it easier to assess the situation of displaced persons throughout the country. Since the front line passes north of Bissau, it remains difficult to use the capital as a base for action.
ETHIOPIA/ERITREA: ICRC DELEGATES VISIT PRISONERS OF WAR AND PROVIDE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR CONFLICT VICTIMS The ICRC carried out two visits to the 163 prisoners of war being held in Fiche camp, the first on 27 June and the second on 2 July. All of these prisoners have now been registered.
KENYA: DISPLACED WOMEN AND CHILDREN RECEIVE ASSISTANCE IN RIFT VALLEY This week the Red Cross completed relief distributions to over 5,000 displaced persons in Kenya's Rift Valley, most of them women and children.
INTERNET: ICRC OPENS WEBSITE IN SPANISH.
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GUINEA-BISSAU ICRC OFFICE SET UP IN BAFATA
Last week the ICRC opened an office in Bafata, the main city in eastern Guinea-Bissau. The permanent presence of ICRC delegates there will make it easier to assess the situation of displaced persons throughout the country. Since the front line passes north of Bissau, it remains difficult to use the capital as a base for action.
The surveys carried out in the last two weeks will now make it possible to launch assistance operations from Bafata to provide the population with drinking water, food and medical supplies. In the capital, Guinea-Bissau Red Cross volunteers are continuing to distribute food put at the ICRC's disposal by the World Food Programme.
Meanwhile, the ICRC is busy setting up a network for collecting and distributing Red Cross messages so that the inhabitants of Guinea-Bissau can remain in touch with their relatives abroad via various National Societies throughout the world.
Further information: Jean-Jacques Tshamala, ICRC Dakar tel. ++221 8241 293
ETHIOPIA/ERITREA ICRC DELEGATES VISIT PRISONERS OF WAR AND PROVIDE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR CONFLICT VICTIMS
The ICRC carried out two visits to the 163 prisoners of war being held in Fiche camp, the first on 27 June and the second on 2 July. All of these prisoners have now been registered.
On 26 June a visit was also made to the civilian internees being held in Fiche in order to register those who had arrived since the ICRC first went to the camp on 20 June. At the end of the second visit a total of 664 civilian internees had been registered.
All the visits were conducted in accordance with the ICRC's standard working procedures and will be repeated on a regular basis.
The civilian internees and prisoners of war who had not yet been in contact with their families wrote Red Cross messages which will be distributed via the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, the Red Cross Society of Eritrea and other National Societies.
In close conjunction with the Tigray branch of the Ethiopian Red Cross and the regional health authorities, the ICRC furnished additional medical supplies to be distributed to hospitals and other medical facilities in the northern Tigray region of the country.
In Eritrea, the National Society is continuing to provide medical facilities with ambulances and volunteers near potential conflict areas along the Ethiopian border. Such action has proved helpful in the past, particularly when fighting broke out near the town of Zalambessa and in the south-eastern border area. Local Red Cross branches are being regularly resupplied with first-aid equipment and other essential non-food items. At the same time, in cooperation with local authorities, the Eritrean Red Cross is continuing to assess the situation of displaced persons and other civilians affected by the conflict.
As part of their tracing activities, the ICRC and the Eritrean Red Cross have so far collected 16 Red Cross messages from the families of young men who were studying in Ethiopia under a bilateral exchange programme. Meanwhile, the ICRC is keeping up its dialogue with the authorities in Asmara concerning the protection of persons wounded or captured during the recent fighting.
Further information: Georges Comninos, ICRC Addis Ababa tel. ++ 2511 518 366
KENYA DISPLACED WOMEN AND CHILDREN RECEIVE ASSISTANCE IN RIFT VALLEY
This week the Red Cross completed relief distributions to over 5,000 displaced persons in Kenya's Rift Valley, most of them women and children.
It was the second round of distributions for thousands of uprooted Kenyans in the Nakuru and Laikipia districts. With support from the ICRC, the Kenya Red Cross Society had already given them emergency aid in February and March and begun to provide longer-term assistance in May.
At present calm has returned to Laikipia, but tension is still rife in some areas of Nakuru and many people are reluctant to return to their homes.
"This time the violence was worse. We will never go back. During the last troubles in 1992 none of us were killed. This time many were", said Jennifer, a 45-year-old mother of nine who lives on a dusty patch of land in one of the camps outside Nakuru.
Living conditions in these camps have been deteriorating and inadequate sanitation and overcrowding pose a constant threat of infectious diseases. "The Red Cross has already built a number of pit latrines and is handing out soap and disinfectant as well as plastic sheeting and sleeping mats for the camp population", said Emmanuel Campbell, ICRC delegate in charge of cooperation with the National Society. In Laikipia, construction materials will be provided for the homeless.
Those receiving assistance are victims of the violent clashes that broke out in the Rift Valley in mid-January, leaving thousands of people displaced. The June distribution provided a total of 3,980 people in Nakuru with maize, beans, edible oil and blankets, while in Laikipia 1,172 families were given hoes and 30 others blankets.
Further information: Nina Galbe and Christine Thuranira, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++2542 716 339
INTERNET ICRC OPENS WEBSITE IN SPANISH
The ICRC opened a Spanish version of its Website on the Internet on 7 July. The site may be accessed by clicking on "Espanol" from:
http://www.icrc.org or http://www.cicr.org
Like its English and French counterparts, the Spanish version provides information on a wide range of topics relating to conflict and conflict victims and on the role, activities and concerns of the ICRC.
The site is divided into easily identifiable sections allowing users to navigate from the latest news to information on ICRC operations in various countries and specific issues such as landmines. It also contains the texts of the main treaties of international humanitarian law and related commentaries. A search facility is available, together with the means to forward comments (Guest Book) and questions (webmaster@icrc.org) to the ICRC.
The Spanish version contains a separate section on Latin America with an overview of ICRC activities in the region, a calendar of seminars and courses, and articles by well-known specialists on international humanitarian law and humanitarian action. It also provides links to other Spanish-language sites.
New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org : - Update No 98/03 on ICRC activities in Guinea-Bissau, dated 6.07.98
During the weekend of 11 - 12 July 1998, for all information please call the press officer on duty Amanda Williamson, on (mobile) 41 79 357 15 24