U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
email: irin@ocha.unon.org
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 37
11 - 15 September 2000



CONTENTS:

BURUNDI: Fighting intensifies
BURUNDI: Three Tutsi parties agree to sign Arusha accord
BURUNDI: Mandela in economic recovery initiative
BURUNDI: Forest fire rages
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rebels recapture Dongo
DRC: Fighting erupts, subsides in Butembo
DRC: Mayi-Mayi claim killing 93 Rwandan soldiers and mercenaries
DRC: Rebel faction authorises airline to use Bunia
DRC: Masire aide says "no developments" in mediation
DRC: Bishop returns to Bukavu
RWANDA: Insecurity in Kigali on the rise
RWANDA: Catholic Bishop meets Pope
GREAT LAKES: WFP team recommends continued expansion
TANZANIA: "Decreased" food rations to refugees
UGANDA: Rebel threat sparks flight of western residents
GREAT LAKES: WFP team recommends continued expansion

BURUNDI: Fighting intensifies

Seven government soldiers and an unspecified number of rebels were killed
last weekend near the capital, Bujumbura, military sources told IRIN. "The
heavy fighting resulted in the death of many rebels and seven of our
soldiers," a military source said. The Associated Press(AP), quoting a
military officer on condition of anonymity, on Sunday reported that
fighting took place 15 km south of Bujumbura along the main highway
connecting the capital with Lake Tanganyika. 

On Monday morning, rebels attacked Kanyosha, killing one government
soldier and wounding three others, the Burundi army acting spokesman,
Major Edouard Nibigira, told Burundi radio, monitored by the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Ten rebels were killed, according to the
spokesman. 

Humanitarian sources subsequently told IRIN that there had been a lot of
fighting in many parts of the country, notably in Cibitoke in the
northwest, as well as around Bujumbura between the army on the one hand
and the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) and Forces de defence pour
la democratie (FDD) on the other. More fighting was expected ahead of a 20
September meeting between the belligerents in Nairobi.

The renewed fighting in Burundi has reportedly triggered a new wave of
refugees into Tanzania's western districts of Ngara and Kibondo. WFP said
that a total of 3,300 new arrivals were recorded during the past two
weeks. 

BURUNDI: Three Tutsi parties agree to sign Arusha accord

The mediator in the Burundi peace process, Nelson Mandela, on Wednesday
told a news conference that three Tutsi parties which had earlier refused
to sign the Arusha peace accord had now agreed to do so. The announcement
followed a meeting between Mandela and the leaders of the parties on
Wednesday morning in Johannesburg. The parties which have now undertaken
to sign are Ralliement pour la democratie et le developpement economique
et social (RADDES), Alliance nationale pour le droit et le developpement
economique (ANADDE) and Parti independent des travailleurs (PIT).

The two main Hutu armed rebel groups have yet to sign the accord. 

BURUNDI: Mandela in economic recovery initiative

The facilitator of the Burundi peace process, Nelson Mandela, on Wednesday
told journalists in Johannesburg that he had engaged several countries to
look into ways of reviving Burundi's economy. He said he had asked French
President Jacques Chirac to call an international conference and invite
donors to help transform the Burundian economy, according to the South
African News Agency (SAPA). 

BURUNDI: Forest fire rages

A fire which has been raging in the Teza forest in the Kibira National
Park in the northwest for three weeks, has "completely" destroyed 125
hectares.  Burundi radio, monitored by the BBC, said that some tea
plantations had also been destroyed. 

Experts told IRIN that the fires could have been "ignited" by the army "in
a bid to flush out rebels who have reportedly made this forest their
base". 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rebels recapture Dongo

The Ugandan-backed Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) last Sunday
recaptured the northwestern Congolese town of Dongo from Congolese
government troops. "We killed 43 and captured 123 government soldiers. We
also captured a large quantity of materiel," MLC President Jean-Pierre
Bemba told IRIN on Tuesday.

DRC: Fighting erupts, subsides in Butembo

The Ugandan army has confirmed that heavy fighting is taking place in the
eastern Congolese town of Butembo against the Mayi-Mayi local militia.
"During the morning of Monday, a gang of 40 people armed with small arms,
machetes and sticks attacked the residence of our officer, while another
group, numbering 150, attacked the airstrip. Our forces responded in
self-defence, killing 19 of them," the Ugandan army spokesman, Major
Phineas Katirima, told IRIN on Tuesday. 

Humanitarian sources have confirmed the fighting in Butembo town, which is
situated 80 km west of the Ugandan border, resulting in residents fleeing
to nearby hills. Butembo is officially under the control of the
Uganda-backed Rassemblement Congolais pour la democratie - Mouvement de
liberation (RCD-ML). 

After two days of heavy fighting, residents reported, an uneasy calm
returned to the area. They said, however, that many bodies littered the
streets following intense battles. 

DRC: Mayi-Mayi claim killing 93 Rwandan soldiers and mercenaries

The pro-Congolese government Mayi-Mayi militia on Thursday said it had
killed 93 Rwandan soldiers and six "unidentified white mercenaries". A
statement by People's Self-defence Forces (FAP) Commander Joseph Padiri
said said a force of local Mayi-Mayi tribesmen, who are allied with the
Congolese government forces and operate behind the Congolese rebels and
Rwandan forces, had engaged the enemy at Nyanga village in the Walikale
district, some 1,500 km east of Kinshasa early this month. 

The statement issued by Kabila's office said the Rwandan army had opened
"hostilities in a bid to capture the Mayi-Mayi leader General Joseph
Padiri". A senior Rwandan military officer told IRIN that no such killings
had taken place. The chief of intelligence in the Rwandan backed
Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) also dismissed the
Mayi-Mayi claims.Independent sources expressed scepticism over the claims,
saying the Mayi-Mayi or their Congolese allies would have immediately
shown the bodies of the mercenaries to the international press or at the
very least organised photographs of them. 

DRC: Rebel faction authorises airline to use Bunia

Rewi Batilari, the commissioner for transport and communications of the
Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie - Mouvement de liberation
(RCD-ML), last week authorised six flights from and landings at Bunia of
aircraft belonging to the Great Lakes regional airline company,
Antonov-KG. 

DRC: Masire aide says "no developments" in mediation

A delegation from the office of the inter-Congolese dialogue mediator,
Ketumile Masire, said at the weekend that there were "no developments" in
the relationship between the facilitator and the DRC government. "It is a
matter of going through a difficult period, but we hope to persevere with
our mandate, which is based on the Lusaka accord," rebel-controlled radio
from Bunia, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),
quoted the leader of the delegation, Masire's chef de cabinet, Philip
Winter, as saying. "That is why we have come to consult the other
signatories to the Lusaka accord," he added. 

The delegation had arrived in Bunia from Gbadolite, the headquarters of
the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), led by Jean-Pierre Bemba. 

DRC: Bishop returns to Bukavu

The Bishop of Bukavu, Emmanuel Kataliko, has been allowed to return to his
diocese by the Rassemblement Congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma),
which is in control of that area. The Bishop was barred from returning to
Bukavu in February this year on his way back from Kinshasa. 

"It is true we have allowed the Bishop to return, but we hope during his
seven months absence he has reflected on his attitude towards the unity of
our people. We made it clear to the Bishop yesterday that he should desist
from preaching divisive messages that can cause ethnic and tribal
divisions," RCD-Goma second Vice-President Moise Nyarugabo told IRIN. 
RCD-Goma accused Bishop Kataliko of being President Laurent-Desire
Kabila's agent and preaching ethnic hatred. 
  
RWANDA: Insecurity in Kigali on the rise

Armed robberies and banditry are on the rise in Kigali, forcing the police
into a fresh crackdown, according to a Rwandan news agency (RNA) report,
monitored by the BBC. Police spokesman Tony Kurumba was quoted as telling
RNA that: "following the new wave of banditry and armed robberies in
Kigali, the police had caught six bandits and killed two others".
Diplomatic sources told IRIN that armed robberies had been on the rise for
the last two months. 

RWANDA: Catholic Bishop meets Pope

Rwandan Roman Catholic Bishop Augustin Misago, who was acquitted of
genocide charges in July, on Saturday met Pope John Paul II, Rwandan
radio, monitored by the BBC, reported. Bishop Misago was quoted as saying
he was ready to return to Rwanda after undergoing medical treatment in
Europe. 

Meanwhile, a senior Rwandan official has told IRIN that former Justice
Minister Faustin Nteziryayo has returned from Canada, where he has been in
exile. Ntaziryayo, a Hutu, was justice minister for a short time after the
RPF took power before fleeing to the United States. 

TANZANIA: "Decreased" food rations to refugees

WFP's general food distribution was carried out in Ngara and Kigoma
refugee camps, with "decreased rations" due to "insufficient funding", the
agency said. A 60 percent of all commodities was distributed, with a 50
percent ration of oil. "The most vulnerable refugees received full
rations," WFP said. 

UGANDA: Rebel threat sparks flight of western residents

Hundreds of residents of Nkooko sub-county and neighbouring Kibale
District in western Uganda have fled after rebels threatened to "hit these
areas again". The semi-official newspaper, 'The New Vision', quoted John
Ssemanda, a local council official, as saying that rebels of the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF) had threatened to attack the area again to "avenge
the theft of their loot".

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last weekend reiterated his call for
rebels "in the bush" to take advantage of the government amnesty by
surrendering to the authorities. He was meeting leaders, elders and heads
of security organs from Kibale, Radio Uganda, monitored by the BBC,
reported.

GREAT LAKES: WFP team recommends continued expansion

A WFP team, which conducted a mid-term review of that agency's Great Lakes
regional protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO), recently
recommended continuation of the expansion phase in all the four countries
involved. In its weekly emergency update, WFP said the team, the mandate
of which was to assess progress and recommend a future course of action,
visited Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. It recommended the expansion
of the protracted relief (nutritional support activities and targeted
feeding, protracted refugee feeding), general distribution, selective
feeding and support to refugee-affected areas. 

Nairobi, 15 September 2000


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