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TAJIKISTAN: RELIEF FOR VICTIMS OF FIGHTING IN KHODJENT: In the two days following the violent clashes that erupted on 4 November in the region of Khodjent in northern Tajikistan, the ICRC'S delegations in Dushanbe and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, sent teams to the area..
SOMALIA: ICRC AND SOMALI RED CRESCENT ASSIST VICTIMS OF FIGHTING OVER KISMAYO Heavy fighting for control over the coastal town of Kismayo broke out on 27October between the forces of General Mohamed Said Hersi "Morgan" and those of the Marehan clan backed by Hussein Aidid's militia.
SUDAN: DISTRIBUTION OF BASIC SUPPLIES: The nutritional situation of the people most affected by the conflict in Sudan is slowly improving, but many of their other basic needs are not being met.
KENYA: ONGOING ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF WAJIR MASSACRE: The ICRC and the Kenya Red Cross Society have just surveyed the needs of people displaced following the massacre in the north-eastern part of the country two weeks ago.
KENYA: PROMOTING RESPECT FOR LIFE: Flowers in the Morning Sun (Maua kwenye jua la asubuhi) is a play in Kiswahili aimed at fostering greater respect for life and human dignity during armed conflicts and internal disturbances.
COLOMBIA: OPINION SURVEY ON WAR BEGINS: Deep in the jungle, in sophisticated offices, atop windswept mountains, in army barracks and rebel encampments, ICRC staff in Colombia and 30 Colombian Red Cross volunteers are seeking out and listening to former hostages and hostage-takers, soldiers and guerrilla fighters, security prisoners, civilians driven from their homes by fighting, aid workers, journalists and many others.
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TAJIKISTAN RELIEF FOR VICTIMS OF FIGHTING IN KHODJENT
In the two days following the violent clashes that erupted on 4 November in the region of Khodjent in northern Tajikistan, the ICRC'S delegations in Dushanbe and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, sent teams to the area. The delegates accompanied several convoys delivering medical and emergency relief to the wounded and other victims of the fighting. Between 6and 8 November, as part of the same operation, the ICRC also evacuated 40 foreign nationals.
The ICRC has provided the five main hospitals in Khodjent and Chkalovsk with enough medical supplies to treat 300 wounded. Medical assistance was also given to the civilian and military hospitals in Dushanbe, which had admitted 94 soldiers wounded during the fighting.
In cooperation with the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan and the local authorities, the ICRC surveyed further needs. In the centre of Khodjent 20 families left without shelter were given emergency aid, but some 1,000 additional people whose homes were damaged still require assistance. Between 400 and 500 persons were wounded during the clashes.
Although calm has returned to the regions of Khodjent and Chkalovsk, fighting continues around Aini, in the Zarafchan valley, situated between Dushanbe and Khodjent. Despite several attempts, the ICRC has not yet received permission from the authorities to go to the valley and assess needs there.
The ICRC has been present in Tajikistan since 1992. It works from a delegation in Dushanbe and two offices in Garm and Khorog.
Further information: Corinne Adam, ICRC Geneva, tel: ++41 22 730 22 24
SOMALIA ICRC AND SOMALI RED CRESCENT ASSIST VICTIMS OF FIGHTING OVER KISMAYO
Heavy fighting for control over the coastal town of Kismayo broke out on 27 October between the forces of General Mohamed Said Hersi "Morgan" and those of the Marehan clan backed by Hussein Aidid's militia. To date, at least 37 people have been killed and 150wounded. Some of the wounded are receiving treatment at the hospital in Kismayo run by the Belgian branch of Medecins sans frontieres.
The ICRC is providing medical items, logistical support and shrouds to the Somali Red Crescent Society in Kismayo. Volunteers have been mobilized to take the wounded to hospital and the dead to burial sites. The ICRC is also arranging for a commercial flight to deliver additional first-aid supplies to the town.
The wounded on the Marehan side have limited access to medical care, since the nearest health facility equipped to treat serious wounds is in Mogadishu. Poor road conditions, heavy rains and flooding have made the journey to the capital hazardous, and a number of people have died on the way there. Medical assistance is therefore also being given to these wounded, some of whom have been transferred to the Shifo hospital in Mogadishu South, a facility run by a group of private doctors. Light injuries are being treated in Jamame and Sangune, towns situated about 50km north of the front line on the road to the capital, and the ICRC has provided the National Society with dressings for this purpose.
Further information: Nina Galbe, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++254 72 512 728
SUDAN DISTRIBUTION OF BASIC SUPPLIES
The nutritional situation of the people most affected by the conflict in Sudan is slowly improving, but many of their other basic needs are not being met. To address this problem, the ICRC has begun to carry out distributions of non-food supplies.
In Chotbura, in the Upper Nile region, where it conducted a survey in early October, the ICRC has already provided 10,000 people with blankets, mosquito nets, cooking pots, soap, vegetable seed, agricultural tools and fishing tackle.
In the Bahr el Ghazal region, the hardest hit by famine, the ICRC has handed out blankets and tarpaulins to 12,000 people in the village of Ajiep, and the same items plus soap to another 4,000 in Panthou. In Wau, on the basis of a survey conducted in cooperation with volunteers from the Sudanese Red Crescent, a house to house distribution has been carried out in the Lokloko area. Most of the more than 1,600 beneficiaries are internally displaced people and returnees, many of whom were unaware of relief efforts.
In Rajek, a small town a few kilometres from Juba, the ICRC has handed out blankets, tarpaulins, kitchen sets, soap and water bags to over 1,000 displaced people.
The same items are currently being provided, in cooperation with the National Society, for 5,500 displaced people in Kassala, in the eastern part of the country.
Similar distributions are expected to take place in the coming weeks.
Further information: Nina Galbe, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++254 72 512 728
KENYA ONGOING ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF WAJIR MASSACRE
The ICRC and the Kenya Red Cross Society have just surveyed the needs of people displaced following the massacre in the north-eastern part of the country two weeks ago. Some 6,500 individuals were included in the survey, 80% of whom were women and children. Most of them are living in the open or in makeshift dwellings. Food and other basic supplies have been distributed and essential drugs provided for the local hospital and dispensaries.
"Apart from food, water and medicine, these people urgently need shelter, particularly now that the short rainy season has started", said ICRC cooperation delegate Emmanuel Campbell. Even at the best of times, water is a limited resource in this arid part of the country. With so many people displaced, clean drinking water is vital to prevent the outbreak of disease. In the coming week, ICRC water and sanitation engineers plan to repair two boreholes in the Eldas and Arbajahan areas for use by both the displaced and local residents. This will meet the immediate needs of two-thirds of the displaced there. In the medium term, wells are to be cleaned up and fitted with hand pumps in the Griftu area also, and pit latrines dug to avoid any worsening in hygiene conditions.
So far 52 people have been reported missing by relatives. In an attempt to reunite separated family members, the National Society has started a tracing programme in the three areas where the displaced people have gathered.
Further information: Nina Galbe, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++254 72 512 728 Michael Kleiner, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 22 81
KENYA PROMOTING RESPECT FOR LIFE
Flowers in the Morning Sun (Maua kwenye jua la asubuhi) is a play in Kiswahili aimed at fostering greater respect for life and human dignity during armed conflicts and internal disturbances. The production, supported by the ICRC and featuring local artists, was recently launched in Nairobi and has started touring the countryside.
As its setting, the play takes an imaginary country where indiscriminate violence is rife and where no respect is shown for humanitarian values, such as the principle of sparing women, children and elderly people. In real life, these values seem to have been forgotten in many parts of the world today.
"This play serves as a reminder. We know that humanitarian values are inherent in African cultures, but respect for them needs to be strengthened", said Vincent Nicod, head of the ICRC regional delegation in Nairobi.
Emmanuel Nyabera, production manager and ICRC officer in charge of promoting international humanitarian law, commented: "The reception has been excellent. People take the play very seriously and appreciate the fact that it is touring the whole country to spread an important message".
After six performances in Nairobi, the play hit the road. It has so far travelled to Maseno, Kisumu (western Kenya) and Nakuru in the Rift Valley. The performances, which are being held in universities, town halls and churches, have attracted thousands of Kenyans.
"The play is directed at all members of society, but especially young people, since they are the ones who are most often involved in armed conflicts," added Nyabera.
Further information: Nina Galbe, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++254 72 512 728
COLOMBIA OPINION SURVEY ON WAR BEGINS
Deep in the jungle, in sophisticated offices, atop windswept mountains, in army barracks and rebel encampments, ICRC staff in Colombia and 30 Colombian Red Cross volunteers are seeking out and listening to former hostages and hostage-takers, soldiers and guerrilla fighters, security prisoners, civilians driven from their homes by fighting, aid workers, journalists and many others. Whether man, woman or child, all have a story to tell, a personal experience to share, an opinion to give on war.
"The Geneva Conventions are useless", said one former guerrilla. "They give us dignity and hope, they are one step on the road to peace", said others. "They need to be adapted to the local culture", said some. In Colombia, where people are currently being asked what they think about the limits to warfare set by humanitarian law and how compliance with the Geneva Conventions can be improved, everyone has something to say.
These discussions are the first stage of a worldwide survey that is being conducted from November 1998 to August 1999 in a dozen countries affected by armed conflict. The results will be published along with those of a parallel survey carried out in countries at peace. People on War is the name of the overall project, which aims to increase international awareness of the rules for people's protection in wartime and encourage discussion of humanitarian law in relation to modern-day conflict.
The project, marking the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions on 12 August 1999, was launched jointly by the ICRC and the British Red Cross on 10November at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Further information: Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4179 357 5003 Bea Vanhove, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 25 92
During the weekend of 14 - 15 November 1998, for all information please call the press officer on duty Corinne Adam, on (mobile) 41 79 202 36 80