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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 173
03 - 09 May 2003


CONTENTS:

DRC: Bunia erupts in violence
DRC: Calendar set for transitional government institutions
BURUNDI: President makes minor changes to cabinet
BURUNDI: IMF approves US $13 million post-conflict aid
BURUNDI-TANZANIA: Burundians begin to return home
TANZANIA: WHO to support production of indigenous malaria medicine
CAR: President guarantees ex-ruler's security
CAR: Peacekeeping force to stay until end of transition
RWANDA: Kigali relocates 13 Ugandan dissidents to Sweden
KENYA: Emergency plan to aid flood victims
UGANDA: Alert over Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Sudan
UGANDA: Red Cross resumes operations in north
UGANDA: Refugees protest over relocation
UGANDA: More children seeking refuge in Gulu at night

ALSO SEE:

BURUNDI: Citizens see little cause for celebration, yet at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33925

DRC: Interview with Azarias Ruberwa, secretary-general of RCD-Goma at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33838

UGANDA: Special report on the northern crisis at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33891

UGANDA: Feature - Bid to kickstart northern peace process at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=34002

DRC: Bunia erupts in violence

Fighting involving heavy weaponry and light arms erupted on Wednesday
between ethnic Hema and Lendu militias in the town of Bunia in Ituri
District of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The ensuing situation was described by residents as "chaotic" and
"terrifying", with sporadic fighting continuing to erupt at irregular
intervals on Thursday. The international NGO Medair said on Wednesday that
groups of men and children, armed and drugged, roaming the streets,
pillaging and killing.

One Bunia resident, who requested anonymity, said the current situation
could be defined as an ongoing contest for control, on the one hand,
between the Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC), which seeks to restore
order in the region, and on the other hand ethnic Lendu and Hema militias
were fighting each other, while both trying to disrupt the establishment
of order within Bunia by all means.

Although specific information on the number of people displaced, injured
or killed remained unavailable, at least 1,000 people sought refuge in the
compound of the UN Mission in DRC, known as MONUC, on Wednesday. The same
day, Gen Mountaga Diallo, the force commander, arrived in Bunia. MONUC's
spokesman, Hamadoun Toure, reported that that its forces controlled the
airport and were patrolling Bunia. MONUC already had 411 troops in Bunia,
and was expected to reach 600 by weekend, with the ultimate objective
being the deployment of 850 troops in the coming weeks. He noted, however,
that its forces have not been authorised by the UN Security Council to
intervene militarily. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33978]
 
Earlier, MONUC had said it "greatly deplored" renewed hostilities in
Bunia, where fighting on 3 May had resulted in at least five deaths and
many more wounded and displaced. During the fighting, the local branch of
the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was
completely pillaged.

MONUC said the objective of this fighting between armed factions of ethnic
Hemas and Lendus was to seize control of Bunia. The fighting ended with
Lendu militias ejecting from Bunia the primarily Hema forces allied to
Chief Kawa Panga, MONUC said. Meanwhile, significant population movements
eastwards across Lake Albert and into the western Ugandan district of
Bundibugyo were widely reported. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33882]

DRC: Calendar set for transitional government institutions

The follow-up committee for the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD) has
published its calendar for the establishment of various institutions of
the two-year national transitional government to be installed in the DRC.

The committee's spokesman, Athanase Matenda Kyelu, said the installation
of the government comprising all parties to the ICD would take place on 28
May. The deadline for all parties to submit their lists of candidates for
the government, including vice-presidents, was on Wednesday.

"We agreed on 22 May as the date for the arrival of the vice-presidents in
Kinshasa and 23 May for their swearing-in," Matenda said. The follow-up
committee also selected 14 May and 10 June as deadlines for the submission
of candidates for the national assembly and the Senate, respectively. With
regard to a united national military, the committee fixed 12 May as the
deadline for the selection of an armed forces chief of staff.

For its part, the international committee to accompany the transition in
the DRC, comprising the ambassadors to the DRC from all five permanent
members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the UK and the
US), as well as ambassadors of other countries, and headed by the UN
Secretary-General's Special Representative to the DRC, Amos Namanga
Ngongi, has promised that it will have the first elements of a neutral
international force in place by 25 May. This force will be responsible for
the security of all transitional government institutions and participants.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33905]

On Tuesday, the secretary-general of the Rassemblement congolais pour la
democratie-Goma) rebel group, Azarias Ruberwa Manywa, was named as his
movement's candidate for the fourth vice-presidential post in the
transitional government. Ruberwa, 39, joins three candidates already
named: Jean-Pierre Bemba, the leader of the Mouvement de liberation du
Congo rebel group; Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi, a close ally of Kabila; and
Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma, a representative of the unarmed political
opposition. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33913]

BURUNDI: President makes minor changes to cabinet

Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye, who was sworn on Wednesday to lead
the second phase of a three-year transition period, reshuffled his cabinet
on Monday, retaining all the ministers who served under former President
Pierre Buyoya, and naming three new faces from three pro-Hutu rebel
groups.

The new additions to the cabinet are Gaspard Kobako, a senior member of
the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la
defense de la democratie faction led by Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, who
was appointed minister for public works and equipment; Cyrille Hicintuka,
from the Forces nationales de liberation-Parti de liberation du peuple
hutu faction led by Alain Mugabarabona, minister for civil service; and
Rodolphe Baranyizigiye, from the Front pour la liberation nationale rebel
group led by Joseph Karumba, who was appointed minister for youth, sports
and culture. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33899]

BURUNDI: IMF approves US $13 million post-conflict aid

Burundi can immediately draw funds from a US $13-million credit that the
executive board of the IMF approved on Monday for post-conflict emergency
aid to the country, according to a statement issued from the Fund's
Washington DC headquarters. The money will be used to support the
government's reconstruction and economic recovery efforts, following the
August 2000 peace and reconciliation agreement signed in Arusha, Tanzania.

"Burundi has been moving toward political normalcy since the conclusion of
the Arusha peace and reconciliation agreement in August 2000, and the
authorities have begun addressing the country's deep-seated economic
problems," Eduardo Aninat, the deputy managing director and acting
chairman of the IMF Executive Board, said after discussions on Burundi's
request. He said Burundi had made "significant" progress in implementing
its economic programmes in 2002 and early 2003. "Economic growth was
sustained and inflation has remained under control," he added. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33900]

BURUNDI-TANZANIA: Burundians begin to return home

A week after the change of president, the first wave of Burundian refugees
arrived in Burundi, aid agencies said on Tuesday. They reported that 500
Burundians had walked into Burundi from the camps in Kibondo District in
western Tanzania, and were gathering in Gisuru, a village in Burundi's
Ruyigi Province.

Although medical staff who visited the refugees said that their medical
state was "not alarming", they called on aid agencies to supply food and
blankets immediately as the returnees were sleeping out in the open. Staff
from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) arrived in Ruyigi on Tuesday to conduct a preliminary assessment
of the situation.

TANZANIA: WHO to support production of indigenous malaria medicine

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Monday that it would
provide technical support to Tanzania for the commercial production of a
plant-based medicine reported to have the "highest cure rate" for malaria,
UN News reported.

The medicinal plant, of Chinese origin, whose scientific name is artemisia
annua, is grown in Tanzania's southern and northern highlands. WHO said
its experts recently made a field visit to Tanzania, and found that local
production of the medicine was viable.

WHO reported that the raw plant was being exported to Europe for
processing into anti-malarial medicines, which are then imported by
African countries "and sold at a cost far beyond the means" of those in
need.

"We are certainly excited by the prospects [for commercial production and
marketing in Africa] of this medicine because it will be more affordable
to those who need it the most," Ebrahim Samba, the WHO regional director,
said. UN News reported that to support WHO's efforts, the Canadian
International Development Agency has pledged US $6.5 million over five
years to WHO to help strengthen traditional health systems for malaria
control and prevention in Africa. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33901]

Earlier, on Monday, South African President Thabo Mbeki promised to
mobilise support from the African Union in an effort to help ensure a
smooth two-year transitional period for the DRC. He made the promise
during a two-hour meeting with DRC President Joseph Kabila during a
stopover at the N'djili International Airport outside the capital,
Kinshasa. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33937]

CAR: President guarantees ex-ruler's security

The Central African Republic (CAR) leader, Francois Bozize, said on Monday
that security would be provided for the return of former President Andre
Kolingba, now in exile in Uganda. Bozize was speaking on state-owned Radio
Centrafrique and Radio France Internationale during an official visit to
Chad for talks with President Idriss Deby on Kolingba's return.

Bozize's visit coincided with that of Kolingba's. The vice-chairman of
Kolingba's Rassemblement democratique centrafricain party, Louis Pierre
Gamba, told IRIN on 4 May that Kolingba visited Chad to seek support for
political and security guarantees to return home. Bozize has granted an
amnesty to all convicts of the 28 May 2001 coup attempt against President
Ange-Felix Patasse.

In August 2002, a court sentenced Kolingba, his two sons and another 20
people, mostly from his Yakoma ethnic group, to death in absentia for
spearheading the attempt. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33909]

CAR: Peacekeeping force to stay until end of transition

The peacekeeping force of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central
African States, known as CEMAC, will remain in the CAR until the end of
the transitional period, due to last between 18 and 30 months, the force
commander, Rear Adml Martin Mavoungou, told IRIN on Tuesday.

Mavoungou told IRIN that the decision to keep the CEMAC force in the CAR
was in conformity with a decision taken by the regional summit on 21 March
in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, regarding the CAR
situation. The summit, to which Bozize was not invited, opted to maintain
the CEMAC force and redefine its mission. The summit also approved the
integration of a Chadian contingent into the force.

"We are preparing accommodation and equipment for 120 Chadian soldiers who
are to be integrated into the force in 10 to 15 days," Mavoungou said.

He added that CEMAC was considering the possibility of increasing the size
of the force beyond the initial 350 soldiers. The force is almost entirely
bankrolled by France, which has disbursed E9 million (US $10.2 million) so
far. Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33933]

RWANDA: Kigali relocates 13 Ugandan dissidents to Sweden

Ugandan dissidents were on Tuesday flown from Rwanda to Sweden after some
one and a half years in the country, a Rwandan army spokesman, Jill
Rutaremara, told IRIN.

He said the 13 former officers of the UPDF included two renegade colonels,
Samson Mande and Anthony Kyakabale. The Ugandan government has accused
both men of forming a new rebel group, the People's Redemption Army, and
launching attacks from eastern DRC.

Uganda, for its part, has relocated most of the Rwandan dissidents who had
fled to Kampala. Majors Alphonse Furuma and Michael Mupende were recently
sent to the US. However, Rwandan former Defence Minister Emmanuel
Habyarimana remains in Kampala.

Kigali's relocation of the dissidents comes ahead of a meeting in London
planned for Thursday between the Ugandan and Rwandan presidents. This
meeting, part of a series of meetings facilitated by the British
government, is aimed at improving relations between Kigali and Kampala.
Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33929]

KENYA: Emergency plan to aid flood victims

The Kenyan government and humanitarian agencies have embarked on an
emergency plan to aid victims of floods which have so far killed 28 people
and displaced over a million. Vice-President Michael Wamalwa on Monday
announced that the government had set up a special fund to assist flood
victims. And an assessment team from the government, UN agencies and NGOs
has gone to affected areas, the OCHA said on Tuesday.

The floods, caused by torrential rain, have swept away many homes,
submerged schools, destroyed crops and cut off many parts of the country.
The areas most affected include the flood-prone Nyanza and Western
provinces, as well as the some districts in Eastern and North Eastern
provinces. Thousands of Somali refugees at Dadaab camp, in northeastern
Kenya, have also been affected by the floods.

In Nairobi, the raging waters have caused landslides and burst a major dam
supplying water to the city. City council officials said about a million
residents of Nairobi would go without water for about two weeks as a
result. The Kenya Meteorology Department said it expected the heavy rains
to persist until about the end of May. Aid agencies have expressed concern
over the possible outbreak of waterborne diseases such as malaria and
cholera.

On Tuesday, the UNHCR expressed alarm over the deteriorating state of
sanitation in the Dadaab refugee camp. In a statement, it said that
although flood waters had begun to recede, it remained "very worried"
about sanitation. It said large sections of the two most affected camps -
Ifo and Dagahaley, which together house some 80,000 refugees - were still
under water, impeding access. (Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33928]

UGANDA: Alert over Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Sudan

The Ugandan government is urging against all nonessential travel across
the country's northern border after a fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola
virus killed 45 people in southern Sudan.

The deaths occurred in Ikoto, a small town about 45 km north of the
Ugandan border with Sudan and 126 km from Gulu - northern Uganda's largest
town and scene of the last recorded Ebola outbreak in the country, in
which over 200 people died out of 487 infected. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33988]

UGANDA: Red Cross resumes operations in north

The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has resumed its humanitarian
operations in northern Uganda, which were suspended earlier this year
after its staff came under rebel attack. URCS Secretary-General Robert
Kwesiga told IRIN that his agency had begun distributing non-food items
and providing health and sanitation services to the displaced people in
northern Uganda.

Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in February ambushed two Red
Cross vehicles, injuring six volunteers in Pader district. The rebels also
stripped the vehicles of their high communication equipment and looted
personal effects. Kwesiga said the URCS staff who were injured and
traumatised by the incident had returned to their duty stations following
their hospitalisation and psychosocial treatment.

"You can't say you have any guarantees for safety, it is more about
creating a network where you can collaborate on sharing security
information with other stakeholders in order to minimise security
incidents," Kwesiga added.

UGANDA: Refugees protest over relocation

Angry demonstrations broke out last week at a refugee camp in western
Uganda over the government's decision to relocate thousands of Sudanese
refugees to two locations in the West Nile region of northern Uganda.
Almost all the inhabitants of Kiryandongo refugee camp in Masindi District
- some 15,000 - marched on about 70 Ugandan security forces, forcing them
to flee the area.

The decision to move the refugees from the appallingly overcrowded
Kiryandongo to Madiokollo and Ikafi camps, Yumbe district, has been the
cause of growing controversy between Uganda's government, the refugee
community and the UNHCR. The UNHCR representative for Uganda, Saihou
Saidy, was recently expelled from Uganda for objecting to the government's
choice of location for re-housing the refugees.

Kiryandongo's residents have grave security fears about Yumbe and the
whole West Nile region, owing to rebel activity in the area. They were
initially moved to Kiryandongo in 2002 because of an LRA attack on their
camp in Acholi Pii, near the Sudanese border. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33865]

On Tuesday, a prominent refugee organisation in Uganda condemned the
government's refusal to listen to Sudanese refugees at the Kiryandongo
camp. The Kampala-based Refugee Law Project issued a statement saying the
Ugandan government had a "legal and moral responsibility to ensure the
refugees' security and to take into consideration their fears and
experiences". Zaahamy Lomo, the director of the programme, told IRIN that
"the Ikafe camp suggestion even violates international law". [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33926]

UGANDA: More children seeking refuge in Gulu at night
 
The number of children seeking refuge in Gulu town centre, northern
Uganda, has increased dramatically following a spate of rebel LRA attacks
and abductions in the area, officials said on Thursday. Thousands of
children are now abandoning their homes in Gulu's suburbs and surrounding
areas to spend their nights in the relative safety of the town centre,
before returning to their villages during the day.

Peter Buitendijk, field director of Noah's Ark Children's Ministry Uganda,
a new Gulu-based project specifically set up to house children fleeing
rebel activity, confirmed the increase in children moving at night. "Last
night we reached a record influx coming into our centre of some 1,203," he
told IRIN. "This place was packed. In previous months we had planned for
300 a night; now we are truly overwhelmed."

The rise follows a period of heightened rebel activity that has seen
incursions getting closer to Gulu town. On Wednesday, the LRA attacked a
residential suburb near the prison, 1 km from Gulu town centre.

"They took 26 abductees," Buitendijk said, "though most have been
returned, except two." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=33963]


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003


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