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 18 29 April - 5 May 2000
CONTENTS: DRC: Intensive fighting in Kisangani DRC: Nigeria and South Africa pledge troops DRC: Security Council delegation begins mission BURUNDI: Mandela says army thinking "far ahead" of politicians BURUNDI: Buyoya seeks to reassure Burundians over peace deal BURUNDI: Number of refugees to Tanzania dwindling RWANDA: AIDS epidemic "threatening national security" UGANDA: ADF apparently active again UGANDA: Aircraft row settled to allow debt relief KENYA: Official death toll in Isiolo clashes rises to 14 SOMALIA: Peace conference underway in Djibouti SUDAN: Oil pipeline sabotaged SUDAN: Secretary-General welcomes humanitarian ceasefire CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Annan on first visit by a UN Secretary-General ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Sides trade accusations as Algiers talks continue ERITREA: Situation in three zones "fragile" DRC: Intensive fighting in Kisangani Heavy fighting between Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers broke out in the town of Kisangani on Friday morning, with a provisional casualty toll of five dead and nine injured. Lieutenant-Colonel Akram Hossain, who heads the UN observer team in Kisangani, confirmed to IRIN the Ugandan army began shelling Rwandan and rebel RCD positions at 0400 on Friday morning. The fighting was still continuing and at times was very intensive with mortars and rocket launchers being used, he said. He feared the fighting, which was concentrated around the main airport and Kisangani outskirts, would move into the town centre. A senior Ugandan intelligence officer acknowledged to IRIN there had been some fighting, but blamed the Rwandans for ambushing Ugandan troops at the Banalia bridge. Rwanda, for its part, urged regional intervention to put a stop to the fighting. "We have informed the Tanzanian and South African authorities about the situation in Kisangani, so that they intervene and end this unfortunate development," Major Emmanuel Ndahiro, the Rwandan army spokesman, told IRIN. The fighting comes at a time when Rwandan President Paul Kagame was planning a state visit to Uganda next week to try and improve relations between the two formerly close allies. "Maybe the people who started this are not interested in the normalisation of relations between the two countries," Ndahiro commented. Tension has been steadily mounting in Kisangani over the past few weeks. Fighting in the city last year between Rwandan and Ugandan troops left hundreds of people dead. [For more information, see separate IRIN stories issued Friday on the Kisangani fighting]. DRC: Nigeria and South Africa pledge troops Nigeria and South Africa have pledged to contribute troops to the proposed UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising hopes of a speedy deployment of 500 military observers and 5,000 supporting troops, news organisations reported. Their role would be to monitor compliance with the ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign troops. According to the 24 February UN Security Council resolution, security conditions must be guaranteed before the UN force is deployed. The presidents of Nigeria and South Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo and Thabo Mbeki, made the pledges at a summit on the DRC held in Algeria, which holds the presidency of the OAU, on Saturday. DRC: Security Council delegation begins mission A UN Security Council delegation, led by US ambassador Richard Holbrooke, on Tuesday began its mission to the DRC, UN spokesman David Wimhurst stated. The seven-country delegation - which also includes France, Mali, Namibia, the Netherlands, Tunisia and the UK - will explore ways of bringing peace to the region between the signatories of the Lusaka peace accord. It will also assess conditions for the full deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission, authorised by the Security Council in February. The delegation is due to return from Zambia on 8 May. BURUNDI: Mandela says army thinking "far ahead" of politicians Ex-South African president Nelson Mandela, who paid a quick visit to Burundi last week, said he was confident a breakthrough was imminent. Speaking after talks with army commanders, the national assembly and President Pierre Buyoya, Mandela said the defence force was "far ahead of the thinking of the politicians" and supported negotiations without reservations, news organisations reported. "If we carry the army with us, then we have a clear view for a final peace," Mandela added. Defence Minister Colonel Cyrille Ndayirukiye, in an interview with Burundi radio, acknowledged that army integration was a difficult issue but "must be tackled". "The principle of integration had been accepted, he said. "What remains is to discuss the appropriate mechanism ... which takes into account everyone's interests and particularly the interests of the population." A cessation of hostilities must precede any discussion on army integration, he added. BURUNDI: Buyoya seeks to reassure Burundians over peace deal President Pierre Buyoya has sought to reassure Burundians who are wary of a peace deal for the country. In his Labour Day speech on Monday, he said "the forthcoming peace accord should not cause anxiety to anyone, because everyone will benefit from it," the private Netpress news agency reported. Mandela is due to meet government, army and rebel representatives in Johannesburg from 23-25 May, ahead of the next round of Arusha peace talks, diplomatic sources close to the peace process told IRIN. This round, scheduled for 29 May and the rebel Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) and Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) are due to take part for the first time. The mediator is keen to have a peace accord by June. BURUNDI: Number of refugees to Tanzania dwindling UNHCR says the number of Burundian refugees arriving in Tanzania is continuing to dwindle. From a figure of 23,000 arrivals in January, the monthly total dropped to 4,600 in March. Up to 27 April, only 1,126 had crossed the border. UNHCR cited the refugees as saying land mines, military activity and rising river levels were reasons for the drop in Burundians crossing. RWANDA: AIDS epidemic "threatening national security" Up to 500,000 Rwandans are infected with the HIV virus, an estimated six percent of the total population of between seven and eight million, Health Minister Ezechias Rwabuhihi announced on Tuesday. "We are facing a silent and devastating epidemic which threatens national security," the BBC quoted him as telling an AIDS conference in Kigali, attended by delegates from Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. More than four out of every five deaths in Rwanda were AIDS related and the country's medical facilities were overwhelmed, he said. According to a Rwanda News Agency (RNA) report, 180,000 Rwandans have developed full blown AIDS, while 150,000 have already been killed by the disease. UGANDA: ADF apparently active again The rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) appear to be active again after a long spell of inactivity in western Uganda. Last week, the ADF captured a junior soldier attached to the office of Ugandan Chief of Staff James Kazini and reportedly asked for a ransom. The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) said it was planning a mission to rescue the soldier, Kenneth Ayebare. On Monday, the independent 'Monitor' newspaper reported that the ADF on Friday ambushed a commuter minibus in Kasese, western Uganda, killing four people. Army spokesman Captain Shaban Bantariza played down the incidents. "There is nothing unusual about these two incidents," he told IRIN on Monday. "After being pushed out of Uganda, the ADF is now trying to disrupt activity on the Kasindi-Beni road, which is frequently used by Ugandan and Congolese businessmen," Bantariza said. UGANDA: Aircraft row settled to allow debt relief The IMF and the International Development Association (IDA) - the 'soft loan' window of the World Bank - have agreed that Uganda has met the conditions to qualify for some US $1.3 billion debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). An IMF press release noted the government pledged that its controversial purchase of a US $36 million jet for President Yoweri Museveni would not affect poverty-reduction programmes. Uganda reaffirmed that, "in order not to jeopardise its poverty-reduction programme, the government will wholly offset the recent payments related to the purchase of a presidential aircraft by cuts in defence and other non-wage expenditures," the press release stated on Tuesday. The World Bank relief will cover about 54 percent of debt service falling due to the IDA each year over the next 20 years, while the IMF relief will cover an average 50 percent of existing obligations over the next 10 years, the press release stated. KENYA: Official death toll in Isiolo clashes rises to 14 The Kenyan police have dismissed reports that over 40 people had been killed in inter-clan fighting between Somali and Borana tribesmen at Isiolo, in the Samburu District of Central Kenya, earlier this week. Fourteen people were killed, including three police officers who tried to quell the clashes on Sunday and Monday, Agence France Presse (AFP) on Wednesday quoted police spokesman Peter Kimanthi as saying. Other reports have put the death toll in fierce fighting with modern weaponry at between 40 and 70 people. Up to 30 armed youths involved in the rustling were reportedly killed when a Kenyan army helicopter opened fire on them at Erenet on Tuesday evening as they drove away stolen livestock, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, 35 Ugandan Karamajong warriors and 25 Kenyan Pokots were reportedly killed when the Karamajong raided Pokot nomads grazing their herds in northeastern Uganda and stole 3,500 cattle. SOMALIA: Peace conference underway in Djibouti As the Somali peace talks opened in Arta, Djibouti, on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ali Abdi Farah told Radio France Internationale (RFI) that the conference would last for a week and include 250 "important representatives" of Somali society. Djibouti officials organising the conference have told international news agencies that up to 1,000 businessmen, clan elders, professional and civic leaders from across Somalia are expected to attend. Ali Mahdi Mohamed, one of the main leaders from north Mogadishu, is attending, but Hussein Aideed from southern Mogadishu, has refused. The breakaway state of Somaliland has also rejected the initiative while Puntland, in the northeast, said there would be no participation unless the Djibouti conference recognised the existence of Puntland. The Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA), which controls Bay and Bakool regions in southern Somalia, has announced it will attend the conference, after initially refusing. Regional analysts have expressed concern that the attendance of some faction leaders but not others could increase hostilities, and that representatives from civil society have proved in previous peace initiatives to have insufficient influence in the war-torn country. However, UN officials have expressed optimism that with more than 70 percent of clans represented in Djibouti, the talks are uniquely poised for success. SUDAN: Oil pipeline sabotaged The pipeline carrying Sudan's crude oil to a Red Sea port was blown up early on Monday morning by the Beja Congress, an armed ally of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) state television reported. The secretary-general of the ministry of energy and mining was quoted as saying the export pipeline at Singat, about 345 km east of Khartoum, had been "subjected to a limited act of sabotage". State television said exports would not be delayed because of the volumes of oil stored at Port Bashir, on the Red Sea. A spokesman for the Canadian oil company, Talisman Energy Inc. said the damaged should be fixed in about three days, Reuters reported. The company has faced vociferous protest over its operations in Sudan. Amnesty International this week expressed concern over what it terms the "human price of oil" in Sudan, saying that massive human rights violations are being committed by the government, government-allied militias and armed opposition groups in the quest for oil. SUDAN: Secretary-General welcomes humanitarian ceasefire UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed the announcement by the Sudanese government of a humanitarian ceasefire until 15 July this year. In a statement, the Secretary-General said he also acknowledged the decision on 19 April "to suspend air bombings in Southern Sudan to protect civilian lives and facilitate the continuing delivery of humanitarian assistance". The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) subsequently accused the government of bombing areas in east and south Sudan and reneging on its promise not to attack villages in rebel-held zones. In a statement, SPLM spokesman Samson Kwaje claimed a woman and a child were killed in a government bombing raid on the village of Girgir in eastern Sudan on 29 April. The statement also said villages south of Malakal town, as well as Tali and Lanya in Equatoria region, had also come under bombardment since the government-declared suspension of air bombings. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Annan on first visit by a UN Secretary-General UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan paid a two-day visit to the CAR from 30 April to 1 May, on the first ever visit to the country by a person holding that position. He met various political figures, including President Ange-Felix Patasse, Prime Minister Anicet Georges Dolegue and members of the national assembly. According to a UN statement, the CAR ministers described plans to resolve internal security problems. They also spoke of stronger economic growth in CAR and moves to rebuild the country's infrastructure. One example, they noted, was expansion of the electricity grid thanks to financial help from the World Bank. Annan introduced his representative Cheikh Tidiane Sy who will head the new UN peace-building office in the capital, Bangui. Diplomatic sources described the overall political situation in the CAR as calm, but noted that the opposition parties were likely to put pressure on Annan to convince the president of the need for a power-sharing arrangement. The sources also observed that CAR citizens, beset by salary and pension arrears, expected the Secretary-General to broach these issues with the head of state. ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Sides trade accusations as Algiers talks continue Ethiopia and Eritrea have accused each other of undermining the peace process aimed at ending their border conflict. In statements issued on Wednesday, as indirect peace talks continue in Algiers, both sides blamed the other for a "lack of seriousness". The Eritrean foreign ministry said Ethiopia had rejected a ceasefire, as well as refusing to sign the OAU peace plan documents, which "can only mean that, in reality, it has not accepted them". The Ethiopian government, for its part, said Eritrea was "attempting to kill the peace process" by "expressing pessimism" over the Algiers proximity talks. It accused Eritrea of setting preconditions for talks on "substantive matters", by insisting on a ceasefire before addressing other issues. ERITREA: Situation in three zones "fragile" The UN has described the humanitarian situation in three of Eritrea's six administrative zones as a "fragile, threshold situation". The three affected areas - Anseba, North Red Sea and South Red Sea - are suffering severe drought conditions, caused by two consecutive years of limited or erratic rainfall, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator said. Although currently there is no widespread famine nor massive disease outbreaks, humanitarian workers warn that conditions could deteriorate within the next few months. The UN in Eritrea commended the government's efforts to mitigate the effects of drought, but stressed that lack of resources and limited donor response to appeals for aid were limiting the interventions. Nairobi, 5 May 2000, 14:00 gmt [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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