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AFGHANISTAN: INDISCRIMINATE ROCKET ATTACKS ON KABUL: Several volleys of rockets fell on Kabul on 20 and 21 September, killing 76 people according to the Taliban authorities. These indiscriminate attacks concentrated in the northern part of the city and notably striking the night market were the deadliest the Afghan capital had seen in three years.
KENYA: WATER THE SOURCE OF LIFE: The ICRC and the Kenya Red Cross Society this week handed over seven bore-hole sites to the community of Ol Moran, in Kenya's Rift Valley province.
UGANDA: ENHANCING SELF-SUFFICIENCY: The ICRC has completed distribution of 141 tonnes of seed (groundnuts) to some 212,000 people in northern Uganda: 94,000 people displaced near Gulu and 118,000 displaced in the Kitgum area.
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AFGHANISTAN INDISCRIMINATE ROCKET ATTACKS ON KABUL
Several volleys of rockets fell on Kabul on 20 and 21 September, killing 76 people according to the Taliban authorities. These indiscriminate attacks concentrated in the northern part of the city and notably striking the night market were the deadliest the Afghan capital had seen in three years. The ICRC swung into action to take the victims, most of them women and children, to the two hospitals it supports in the city.
For security reasons the ICRC recently reduced its staff in Afghanistan, leaving approximately 20 expatriates working in Kabul and about the same number elsewhere around the country. Delegates based in the capital continue providing food and medical aid for civilians, visiting detainees and supporting the Afghan Red Crescent Society.
ICRC employee among victims
The ICRC was saddened to learn of the death of one of its employees, Abdul Saboor, who was killed at his home during the rocket attack on 20 September. Mr Saboor had worked for the Kabul delegation's construction service since 1990. The organization conveys its deepest sympathy to his family.
Further information: Ruben Ortega, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2454
KENYA WATER THE SOURCE OF LIFE
The ICRC and the Kenya Red Cross Society this week handed over seven bore-hole sites to the community of Ol Moran, in Kenya's Rift Valley province. This marks the end of the latest phase in a project to improve conditions for people who fled the inter-ethnic violence that erupted last January, and have now returned home. The bore-holes will ensure a lasting supply of clean water for domestic use.
"The Red Cross brings in the necessary technical assistance, but without the efforts of local people this would never have been achieved", said Vincent Nicod, head of the ICRC delegation in Nairobi. "It's simply a matter of helping people to help themselves."
The province is in a semi-arid region, where competition for scarce water has been a key source of conflict. The holes have been sunk in locations identified by local people as on undisputed neutral ground. This means that clean water will be freely available to everyone, thus lessening tension. Residents previously had to draw water from the few dammed reservoirs in the area. Used both for human consumption and to water livestock, these are heavily contaminated and there have been a number of reports of typhoid fever. In the dry season, the water in most of the reservoirs evaporates, forcing the local population to walk as far as 20 km.
The bore-holes are only one part of an extensive programme that has seen the distribution of seed, farming implements, blankets and construction materials to a community that is only just returning to often wrecked homes.
The Geneva-based organization and the Kenyan Red Cross plan to continue their aid by repairing the dams and installing troughs to be used by livestock.
As ICRC water and sanitation engineer Pascal Jansen explains, "The aim is to ensure a water supply of sufficient quality for all communities, and to leave the dams mainly for emergencies."
Further information: Josue Anselmo, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2281
UGANDA ENHANCING SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The ICRC has completed distribution of 141 tonnes of seed (groundnuts) to some 212,000 people in northern Uganda: 94,000 people displaced near Gulu and 118,000 displaced in the Kitgum area. The final round of distributions, completed on 15 September, was held at the very end of the planting season. The ICRC's aim is to make people forced to flee the conflict in northern Uganda less dependent on humanitarian aid.
ICRC operations in Uganda focus on helping the displaced, visiting detainees and aiding people wounded by the fighting.
The ICRC has been working in Uganda since the 1970s. It currently has 22 expatriate personnel in the country and 123 locally recruited staff.
Further information, Josue Anselmo, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2281
During the weekend of 26 - 26 September 1998, for all information please call the press officer on duty Josue Anselmo, on (mobile) 41 79 202 42 00