U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
email: irin@ocha.unon.orgfor Central and Eastern Africa

Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 27

1 - 7 July 2000


CONTENTS:

KENYA: Tens of thousands facing potential disaster due to drought
SUDAN: Government plane bombs southern town of Rumbek
UGANDA: Voters support "no party" system
UGANDA: Kagame, Museveni meet to repair bilateral relations
RWANDA: Thousands of refugees flee to Tanzania
RWANDA: Rwandans celebrate sixth anniversary of RPF victory
BURUNDI: Peace deal on 20 July "very unlikely", rebels say
DRC: Kabila appoints 240 MPs to new assembly
DRC: Belgium issues warrant for foreign minister
DRC: Violent clashes in North Kivu
ROC: DRC refugees arrive in their thousands
ROC: UN calls for immediate support to sustain peace 
SOMALIA: Somaliland critical of UN over Djibouti talks
SOMALIA: Chief commander of Somaliland presidential guard killed
SOMALIA: Floods sweep IDP camps outside Mogadishu
ERITREA: War displaced in urgent need of shelter
CAR: Annan urges continued support to consolidate peace 
CAR: Demobilisation programme faces difficulties


KENYA: Tens of thousands facing potential disaster due to drought

As food needs continue to grow due to one of Kenya's worst recorded
droughts, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned it only has one month of
relief food left. Without further assistance, tens of thousands of Kenyans
face potential disaster in August. Launching an appeal on Wednesday for US
$88 million to feed 3.3 million Kenyans until the end of the year, the UN
food agency stressed that Kenya was really struggling to cope with the
drought which has affected the entire Horn of Africa region. "Millions of
people throughout the country have never managed to recover from an almost
non-stop string of devastating droughts and floods during the '90s," WFP's
Deputy Country Director for Kenya, David Fletcher, said.  The situation
has been exacerbated by the almost complete failure of the long rains this
year. Thousands of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists face "destitution"
in 19 districts of the country, particularly in the Rift Valley, North
Eastern, Eastern and Coast provinces.

SUDAN: Government plane bombs southern town of Rumbek

A Sudanese government Antonov dropped bombs on the town of Rumbek in Bahr
el Ghazal region on Sunday, hitting the central market place and killing
at least two civilians, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Tuesday. They
said several more people were injured in the raid. Sudan Focal Point
quoted independent observers as saying that similar raids were carried out
on the village of Cueibet, northwest of Rumbek, and the villages of
Liethnom and Lunyaker (all of them in Bahr el-Ghazal) the same day,
causing injuries and damage to houses, but no deaths. Sudan Focal Point
said it was clear that the government had resumed its policy of aerial
bombardment of civilian targets. The raids follow the breakdown of a
ceasefire in the region last month and the capture by the Sudan People's
Liberation Army (SPLA) of the garrison town of Gogrial, 220 km northwest
of Rumbek. Each side has blamed the other for the resumption of
hostilities.

UGANDA: Voters support "no party" system

With a turnout of about 50 percent of registered voters, Ugandans have
chosen to retain President Yoweri Museveni's "no-party" system of
government rather than opting for multi-party politics. Ninety one percent
of those who voted chose the current 'Movement' system in Uganda's
referendum on the future form of politics in the country, the BBC reported
on Sunday.  Museveni's National Resistance Movement, which led the country
out of a rebel war into government in 1986, is the official political
party of the country. Observers said the voting was free and fair but that
the campaign process had fallen short of providing "a level playing
field", it said. Ugandan political parties had called for a boycott of the
referendum - on the basis that multiparty politics should be a given - but
it was not clear how much the turnout reflected their appeal, the report
stated.

UGANDA: Kagame, Museveni meet to repair bilateral relations

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame
on Sunday agreed to explore new ways of improving relations in the wake of
violent clashes between their armies in Kisangani, DRC, in early June. 
After a four-hour meeting in Entebbe, near the Ugandan capital Kampala,
the two issued a statement in which they regretted the Kisangani fighting,
reaffirmed their commitment to the demilitarisation of the city and the
Lusaka ceasefire agreement, and promised to explore new ways of
strengthening bilateral relations. The two leaders said a joint committee
would look into the clashes, and that mechanisms would be put in place "to
address any future problems to ensure their peaceful resolution", Radio
Uganda reported. They also urged other parties to the conflict not to take
advantage of their troops' departure from Kisangani.

RWANDA: Thousands of refugees flee to Tanzania

Thousands of Rwandan refugees have fled to Tanzania since the beginning of
the year, according to the UNHCR. "The number of refuges moving to
Tanzania from Rwanda has increased significantly since the beginning of
the year,"  spokesman Paul Stromberg told IRIN on Thursday. He said the
reasons given by the refugees ranged from conscription into the army,
disappearance of their relatives and general insecurity. The BBC
Kinyarwanda service on Wednesday reported that 5,000 Rwandan refugees had
fled Kibungo prefecture to Ngara in Tanzania since the beginning of the
year. Refugees interviewed by the radio said they were fleeing killings
and insecurity back home, as well as the 'gacaca' traditional justice
system, to be introduced later this year.

The Rwandan authorities have blamed their opponents for "creating panic" 
among the population, which has led to people fleeing to Tanzania.
"Opportunists are telling people that gacaca will lead to the arrest of
more genocide suspects and that the coming census will determine the
number of genocide survivors, so that revenge killings can take place," 
Rwandan presidential adviser Major Emmanuel Ndahiro told IRIN. "This has
caused panic and some people have fled the country." He said a ministerial
delegation would visit the affected areas next week to explain certain
issues to the population and calm down the situation. 

RWANDA: Rwandans celebrate sixth anniversary of RPF victory

Celebrations to mark the sixth anniversary of the Rwandan Patriotic
Front's victory against the former regime on Tuesday were attended by army
representatives from Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Burundi and
Ethiopia. "The liberation day reminds Rwandans of the sacrifices to get
this country to where it is now," Rwandan army spokesman Major Emmanuel
Ndahiro told IRIN. The ruling RPF took over power in July 1994 after
nearly a million people were slaughtered in the preceding genocide incited
by Hutu militias.  In his address to the nation to mark the day, Rwandan
President Paul Kagame said security was still the country's major priority
and that the Rwandan army would remain in neighbouring DRC to ensure it.
"I am asking all Rwandans to stand up and fight for security, without
security nothing works," news agencies quoted Kagame as saying. 

BURUNDI: Peace deal on 20 July "very unlikely", rebels say

The rebel Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces de
defense pour la democratie (CNDD-FDD) has said it will attend the next
round of peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, on 19 July. However, spokesman
Jerome Ndiho told IRIN on Wednesday it was "very unlikely" his group would
sign a peace accord on 20 July as announced earlier in the week by the
mediator Nelson Mandela on Monday. "Our two conditions for attending the
talks [dismantling the regroupment camps and release of political
prisoners] have not been fully met, but to show good will, we are going to
Arusha," he said. "However, people must not ask too much of us." Ndiho
said Mandela's announcement showed he was "succumbing to pressure", but he
did not elaborate. This will be the first time the FDD takes part in the
peace process, and Ndiho said it was too quick to begin talks on 19 July
and expect to sign a peace accord the next day. "We cannot sign an
agreement we have not yet seen,"  he added.

DRC: Kabila appoints 240 MPs to new assembly

DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila on Saturday inaugurated a new
Constituent Assembly for the DRC, nominating an initial 240 members of
parliament by decree. Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo, reading the
presidential decree on state television, said the assembly would
eventually number 300 MPs, Reuters news agency reported. It was
established "to widen the decision-making base"  and "reinforce the
capacity of the Congolese people to regain cohesion, territorial integrity
and political independence through active participation in political
life," the decree stated. The political opposition in DRC has dismissed
the assembly, viewing it as an attempt by Kabila to control the political
environment and undermine the inter-Congolese dialogue provided for in the
Lusaka peace agreement.

DRC: Belgium issues warrant for foreign minister

Belgium has issued an international arrest warrant for DRC Foreign
Minister Abdoulaye Yerodia, indicting him for crimes under international
law, Belgian radio reported. The Belgian authorities announced their
intention to issue the warrant last week, accusing the minister of charges
of inciting racial hatred against ethnic Tutsis during speeches in August
1998 where he used words such as "vermin" and "extermination". The radio
said measures to enforce the warrant had been taken and international
police services informed. Yerodia has been charged by the Belgian
authorities on the basis of a 1993 law that allows those alleged to have
committed crimes under international law to be prosecuted, regardless of
where the alleged crime was committed.

DRC: Violent clashes in North Kivu

Humanitarian sources say that parts of North Kivu have been rocked by
clashes.  The Bwito area, particularly villages near Kibirizi, came under
attack and over 100 people were killed. The sources did not say who was
responsible for the attacks. Meanwhile, in Beni, the NALU faction of the
Ugandan rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) has reportedly been active
and "causing havoc", according to the sources. Also, renewed clashes in
the Rutshuru, Lubero and Beni areas over the last three weeks resulted in
the displacement of over 104,185 people, including about 62,500 children. 
Most of them are crammed in the town of Kanyabayonga, northeast of
Rutshuru, without shelter and assistance, the sources said.

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: DRC refugees arrive in their thousands

Up to 10,000 refugees have newly arrived in Liranga and Njoundou areas to
escape renewed fighting in Equateur Province, DRC, UNHCR stated on
Tuesday. They included the first refugees from the DRC government-held
town of Mbandaka, raising concerns about the situation there. UNHCR staff
worked by the light of hurricane lamps until Monday morning along the
remote border between the two Congos to distribute relief supplies to
5,000 refugees in Njoundou, where the Congo and Ubangui rivers meet, about
500 km north of Brazzaville, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski told a press
briefing in Geneva.

The team made two, 12-hour boat journeys upstream to Njoundou from the
nearest airstrip at Loukolela - past continuing fighting on the DRC
riverbank - and was due to airlift additional supplies into Loukolela from
the DRC capital Kinshasa on Tuesday, he said. The number of refugees in
the Republic of Congo was now estimated at 30,000 to 40,000, including
Congolese who have moved out of Equateur Province during the past year to
escape fighting between government forces and rebels of the Mouvement de
liberation du Congo (MLC). 

ROC: UN calls for immediate support to sustain peace

The UNDP and UNOCHA are scheduled to co-host an international meeting in
Switzerland on Thursday to review development in the Republic of Congo
since a ceasefire agreement took hold in January, and to call for
immediate support for the transition process. An initial UN funding appeal
for US $17 million for the Republic of Congo for the year 2000, had
brought a donor response of just US $1.8 million to date, which represents
the lowest level of emergency assistance per capita, an OCHA press release
stated on Tuesday.  The main objective of the Geneva meeting would be to
encourage dialogue between the international community, the government in
Brazzaville and a representative of the opposition National Resistance
Movement of Congo on an integrated set of issues: peace-building,
macroeconomic plans and assistance to the population, OCHA said. [for full
statement, go to: http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vLCE/Congo]

SOMALIA: Somaliland critical of UN over Djibouti talks

An editorial in Tuesday's edition of the Somaliland newspaper 'Jamhuuriya'
- which reflects the views of the Somaliland administration - said the UN
appeal for support of the Somali peace and reconciliation conference in
Djibouti was part of a process of "blindfolding" the world community. It
said the real aim of Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh, who initiated
the talks, was to destroy the Somaliland and Puntland administrations,
which had achieved security in their regions. It said Guelleh was hosting
military officers at Arta, location of the Somali talks, especially those
who had helped destroy the Somali nation. "Therefore, no one was obliged
to attend or not to attend and President Guelleh is responsible for that." 

SOMALIA: Chief commander of Somaliland presidential guard killed

Colonel Osman Farah Mohamed, chief commander of the Somaliland
presidential guard was shot dead Monday night at his house inside the
palace. The shooting is believed to be a political killing motivated by
personal gain, reliable sources close to the administration told IRIN.
Farah Mohamed - better known as Colonel Dhalla - was buried in Hargeisa on
Tuesday, where Somaliland leader Mohamed Ibrahim Egal and cabinet
ministers attended the funeral. Interior minister Mohamed Waranadeh told
reporters in Hargeisa that the killing of the commander was not linked to
clan or political matters, but was carried out by a soldier who had been
punished earlier for indiscipline. 

SOMALIA: Floods sweep IDP camps outside Mogadishu

Heavy rains hit Mogadishu on Monday, causing damage to buildings and
giving rise to flash floods which swept away shanty buildings in two
displaced people's camps south of the city, a spokesperson for the
independent television and radio station HornAfrik told IRIN on Wednesday. 
The floods destroyed several hundred dwellings occupied by some of the
estimated 220,000 displaced Somalis who have sought refuge in Mogadishu
from fighting in other parts of the country. The floods brought a tide of
sewage through the shanty towns, raising concerns about the potential for
the spread of disease, the station added. In central Mogadishu, several
businesses remained closed and newspapers suspended publication for a day.

ERITREA: War displaced in urgent need of shelter

The UNHCR said on Tuesday that only one third of Eritrea's displaced
population had been provided with adequate shelter, according to Eritrean
estimates. The agency had sent additional supplies of plastic sheeting and
tents from stockpiles in Europe, and UNHCR staff were instructing
carpenters on making the best use of wood airlifted from Denmark to make
shelter frames, agency spokesman Kris Janowski said. The need for shelter
was all the more urgent as a result of the start of heavy rains, which had
left several previously parched regions awash and caused severe hardship
for the internally displaced people (IDPs). At one mountain site near
Karibosa, IDPs were living in caves and under ledges, exposed to the
elements and suffering from cold and wet conditions, Janowski said. There
were fears of a deterioration of water supplies and sanitation at many of
the camps, which could cause a worsening of health conditions, he added. 

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Annan urges continued support to consolidate
peace

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday urged the international
community to fulfill the pledges of assistance it made recently to the
Central African Republic. Development and peace-building projects - if
quickly implemented - could allow the country to provide for its own
long-term security, he added.  Annan stressed that the international
community should remain engaged in CAR and take the "extra steps" needed
to consolidate peace and stability there.  "In practical terms, this means
strengthening the national capacity of [the country] to provide for its
own security in the newly restored democratic order," a UN statement
quoted Annan as saying. The political climate had recently improved with
the nomination of extra cabinet ministers from the opposition Movement for
the Liberation of the Central African People (MPLC), and the launch of a
major investigation into financial scandals in state corporations, it
added.

CAR: Demobilisation programme faces difficulties

The National Programme for Dembolisation and Reintegration has been put on
"technical hold" due to financial constraints, diplomatic sources said. 
The government is to wait for the right conditions to be in place before
proceeding with the programme, notably financial and institutional. The
conditions include redefining the target group for demobilisation. During
this pause, an attempt will be made to reduce the operational and
administative costs of the programme.

Nairobi, 7 July 2000

[IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ]



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