U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 email: irin@ocha.unon.orgCentral and Eastern Africa IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 8 19-25 February 2000
CONTENTS: DRC: Security Council approves troop deployment DRC: Deadline for implementing ceasefire accord BURUNDI: Arusha peace process resumes BURUNDI: Tutsi parties criticise Mandela RWANDA: Prosecutor urges "genuine justice" in Barayagwiza case RWANDA: Tanzania drops genocide charges against suspect UGANDA: ADF attacks continue in the west ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Fighting flares up as peace envoys visit SOMALIA: Security Council concerned over arms flows SOMALIA: Task force reports 28 cholera deaths SUDAN: Critical conditions in northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Upper Nile SUDAN: IGAD peace talks resume in Kenya ROC: Year sees "encouraging" start ROC: Funds needed for reintegration and peace-building CAR: MINURCA mandate ends DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Security Council approves troop deployment The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved the expansion of the UN mission in DRC, MONUC, to up to 5,537 military personnel. It also agreed to extend MONUC's mandate to 31 August 2000. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for the use of force, the Council decided that MONUC might take the "necessary action" to protect UN and Joint Military Commission (JMC) personnel and protect civilians under "imminent threat of physical violence", the resolution stated. The deployment provides for the possibility of a wider, peacekeeping force at a later date when it has been established that the Lusaka ceasefire accord is being respected. DRC: Deadline for implementing ceasefire accord Regional and DRC rebel leaders meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, on Wednesday restated their commitment to the Lusaka accord, and set 1 March as a new deadline for its implementation. According to a statement from the meeting, the leaders endorsed an updated draft proposal submitted by the ministerial political committee, to which the Joint Military Commission (JMC) reports. The summit brought together the leaders of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Rwanda, Mozambique, DRC, Zambia, Uganda and the Angolan defence minister, as well as DRC rebel representatives. The statement also welcomed the UN's intention to expand the military observer force in DRC. BURUNDI: Arusha peace process resumes The Arusha peace process, under the new mediation of former South African president Nelson Mandela, kicked off in the northern Tanzanian town on Monday. Diplomats attending the talks expressed optimism over a new compromise document for peace, the text of which is yet to be released. All the sides have reportedly agreed to study the document. The talks have now entered the committee stage, after three days of plenary discussions. Diplomatic sources told IRIN there was now a "new methodology" which could facilitate the conclusion of the process. However, the main rebel groups - FDD and FNL - were absent from the talks, despite receiving invitations from Mandela after previously being excluded by his predecessor, former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere. BURUNDI: Tutsi parties criticise Mandela Meanwhile, eight predominantly Tutsi parties attending the talks have issued a statement expressing concern over comments by Mandela in which he accused the Tutsi of monopolising power in Burundi. "These conclusions tend to imply that the basis of the Burundi conflict is the political, economic and military domination of the minority Tutsi group over the majority Hutu one," the statement said. The parties warned they would not accept the facilitation team "if the plan for a compromise is founded on this theory". The statement was signed by AV-Intwari, PRP, RADDES, UPRONA, ANADDE, PSP, PIT and INKINZO. Diplomatic sources close to the facilitator told IRIN they did not believe Mandela's comments were made in a "spirit of confrontation". President Pierre Buyoya accused Mandela of "simplifying" Burundi's problems. RWANDA: Prosecutor urges "genuine justice" in Barayagwiza case Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Carla Del Ponte on Tuesday began her case for the reversal of an Appeals Court decision in November that genocide suspect Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza should be released on procedural grounds. Del Ponte argued that "genuine justice" demanded that the decision be overturned, and that the Appeals Court had paid "undue deference" to the rights of Barayagwiza, accused of playing a leading role in the 1994 genocide, news organisations reported. "If Barayagwiza can't be tried, that will amount to a violation of the rights of the victims," Associated Press (AP) quoted Del Ponte as telling the five-judge appeals panel, sitting in Arusha, Tanzania. RWANDA: Tanzania drops genocide charges against suspect Tanzanian meanwhile dropped genocide charges against a suspect, Bernard Ntuyahaga, in a bid to facilitate his extradition to Rwanda, news organisations reported. Ntuyahaga was freed by the ICTR last March in attempt to have him tried by the Belgian authorities. He was immediately re-arrested by Tanzania, and Belgium and Rwanda have both been vying for his extradition. Ntuyahaga is accused of involvement in the murder of former Rwandan premier Agathe Uwilingiyimana and 10 Belgian peacekeepers who were guarding her during the 1994 genocide. The murder charges against him still stand. "We have amended the charge sheet because genocide is not within the framework of the extradition agreement [with Rwanda]," Tanzania's State Attorney Ama Munisi told journalists. Ntuyahaga's lawyer Luc de Temmerman said he would now move to have his client released since the genocide charges had been dropped. UGANDA: ADF attacks continue in the west Rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are continuing attacks in the western Bundibugyo and Kabarole districts, according to an OCHA update. "There have been daily attacks, gun battles and/or ambushes occurring in parts of the district during the day and at night," OCHA noted. "These attacks have left several dozen civilians dead." News organisations also said that the rebels were now making more regular attacks and abduction raids inside the DRC. ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Fighting flares up as peace envoys visit Border fighting broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea on the eastern Bure front on Wednesday morning, both governments reported. The clashes coincided with the latest diplomatic effort to break the stalemate in peace efforts, stalled since the August release of a third OAU peace document, the 'Technical Arrangements'. Wednesday's "skirmishes" subsided the same day, according to Ethiopian spokeswoman Selome Tadesse, while Eritrean spokesman Yemane Ghebremeskel told news agencies the attack was "on the "extreme left flank" of the Bure front. Both sides blame the other for starting the clash which, according to Eritrea, left 200 Ethiopian troops dead. Selome declined to comment on casualties. SOMALIA: Security Council concerned over arms flows Members of the Security Council on Wednesday expressed concern over the continuing flow of arms into Somalia, in violation of the UN embargo, and condemned those supplying the weapons. In a press statement, the Council also condemned recent attacks on UN and other humanitarian personnel in Somalia. The Council was earlier briefed on the latest situation in the country by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, who covered recent peace efforts, including the Djibouti initiative, as well as humanitarian issues. SOMALIA: Task force reports 28 cholera deaths Between 1 January to 18 February, 28 people died from cholera in parts of Somalia. A total of 326 cases were reported. An update from the Somalia Aid Coordination Body's (SACB) Cholera Task Force (CTF), received by IRIN on Thursday, said the worst affected area was Qoryoley district in central Somalia, particularly Gaywarow village. There are no international NGOs in the area, the report noted. WHO has so far provided medical supplies and on-site training for case management has been given to health workers. SUDAN: Critical conditions in northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Upper Nile WFP has launched a US $58 million international appeal to feed 1.7 million people, the majority of them in southern Sudan, until the end of the year. Despite an improved nutritional situation in the country generally, "hundreds of thousands of southern Sudanese are still at risk of hunger and malnutrition" as a result of war, drought and floods, according to WFP Country Director Mohamed Saleheen. The situation was most critical in northern Bahr el Ghazal and Western Upper Nile, the agency said. Some 250,000 people in Western Upper Nile - half the population of the area - would need food aid this year, according to the WFP report. "While conflict continues, conditions for a return to famine remain an ever-present spectre," it added. SUDAN: IGAD peace talks resume in Kenya The Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) peace talks on Sudan resumed in Kenya on Tuesday, with the facilitation of Kenyan special envoy Daniel Mboya, and were expected to continue until Saturday. The talks were moved out of the Kenyan capital Nairobi to be held behind closed doors in the central town of Nanyuki, in order to avoid leaks and public statements which had not helped previous rounds of talks, political sources told IRIN. The focus of the talks was the separation of state and religion, and the right to self-determination of southern Sudan, they added. REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Year sees "encouraging" start About 400,000 internally-displaced people (IDPs) in the ROC have returned to their communities as of mid-February, leaving another 410,000 people still displaced in the country, an OCHA report said. The report, received by IRIN on Tuesday, said that this year was off to an "encouraging start" in the Congo, with a ceasefire agreement reached between warring parties, the demobilisation of militia, and improved access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The 810,000 people, or 30 percent of the country's total population, were displaced by conflict since late 1998, and most had remained unassisted last year due to lack of secure access. Tens of thousands had died of malnutrition and disease, the report stated. ROC: Funds needed for reintegration and peace-building In view of the "rapid evolution of events" in the country, the UN system would need to revise its consolidated appeal for the Congo by the middle of the year, UN Humanitarian Coordinator William Paton said on Wednesday. At a UN Headquarters press briefing, Paton said the appeal revision would reflect the increased opportunity to delivery emergency relief and support new needs for reintegration and peace-building. The original appeal for the year 2000 was for some US $20 million. Paton said that displaced persons in the Congo had last year received "the least amount of assistance per capita" compared to the rest of the world because of insecure access and "a lack of international interest", according to a UN account of the press conference received by IRIN. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: MINURCA mandate ends The UN Mission in the CAR (MINURCA) did much to restore peace and security in the country, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at the expiry of the UN peacekeeping mission's mandate on 15 February. MINURCA's success "once again demonstrates how much can be achieved by peacekeeping operations in Africa and elsewhere with the cooperation and political will of the parties, their commitment to peace and national reconciliation, a clear mandate, appropriate resources, and the strong and consistent support of the international community," Annan said in a statement. A UN Peace-Building Support Office (BONUCA) is taking over from MINURCA, which was established in April 1998 following a series of army mutinies in 1996/7. Nairobi, 25 February 2000, 11:45 gmt [IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ] [This item is delivered in the English service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . 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