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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 190
30 August - 5 September 2003


CONTENTS:

DRC: UN troops take over from multinational force
DRC: New army inaugurated, but without a name
ROC/DRC: Germany grants UN refugee agency E250,000 for refugee returns
ROC: UN warns of "acute humanitarian crisis" in Pool region
ROC: National Assembly approves amnesty bill for Ninja militias
Rwanda: WFP "urgently needs" US $3.3 million to prevent malnutrition
RWANDA: Court dismisses Twagiramungu's petition against Kagame's election
RWANDA-TANZANIA: Government expels 910 former refugees

ALSO SEE:

DRC: Interview with Brig-Gen Jan Isberg, acting Ituri Brigade commander
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36361]

DRC: UN troops take over from multinational force

The French-led multinational force in the town of Bunia, northeastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), handed over security on Monday to
the UN Mission in the country, known as MONUC.

The handover was made at a ceremony presided over by William Swing, the UN
secretary-general's special representative to the DRC. In a speech shortly
after the ceremony he said the handover of authority was also a sign that
violence in Bunia, and in the rest of Ituri District, was coming to an
end.

Swing also heads MONUC. He said years of fighting in the district had
caused the death of 50,000 people and the displacement of at least 500,000
others. He called on combatants in Ituri to join the peace process,
immediately.

The UN Security Council strengthened MONUC on 28 July when it gave the
mission a Chapter Seven mandate authorising it to use force. "We are
prepared to fully use that authority to ensure that Ituri is secure,"
Swing added.

The spokesman of the multinational force, code named "Artemis", Col Gerard
Dubois, told IRIN that most of the troops would leave Bunia by 8
September. However, some would remain until 15 September to provide backup
for the 2,500-strong MONUC force, mainly comprising contingents from
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and Uruguay. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36301]

On Thursday, MONUC launched a ground and heliborne operation to secure the
northeastern town of Fataki, as an NGO there reported that some 5,000
displaced residents were in urgent need of aid.

"All we have been able to provide them is medicine, plastic sheeting and
some utensils, they need food and blankets as they are sleeping in the
open," Etienne Ndeykos, director of the Roman Catholic NGO Caritas in
Bunia, told IRIN on Wednesday.

He said that the displaced, who had fled to Bule, a centre about 5 km from
Fataki, were living in deplorable conditions. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36380]

Meanwhile, MONUC troops have begun a multimillion-dollar operation to
repair and develop air and ground transport links in Ituri, the force's
chief of operations in Bunia, Maj Alani Nizar of Tunisia, said.

So far, work has centred on clearing landmines around the airport and
along the road into town. Repairs will also be carried out on the road
linking Bunia with Beni, the principle town in neighbouring North Kivu
Province. In addition, Bunia's tiny airport will be brought up to
international standards.

Nizar said some US $600 million had already been allocated to maintain and
develop the facility, which is now capable of receiving and parking four
40-ton aircraft. Scheduled commercial flights, most of them cargo, have
started using the airport. "In total we are handling 30 to 40 flights a
day at present," Nizar said. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36379]

DRC: New army inaugurated, but without a name

The leadership of a newly unified national military in the DRC was
inaugurated on Friday in the capital, Kinshasa, although some debate
remained as to what the new force would be called.

Gathered before President Joseph Kabila, his four vice-presidents and
other members of the recently installed two-year national transitional
government, some 30 officers from former belligerent forces named to head
the various military branches and regions swore "fidelity to the DRC,
obedience to the President of the Republic and respect for the
institutions and laws of the country and of the military". They also vowed
not to undertake any unsanctioned military activity.

The ceremony was to have taken place on Monday, but was postponed because
the parties to the unified force - namely, those of the former Kinshasa
government, Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), the
Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), RCD-Kisangani/Mouvement de
liberation, RCD-National and the Mayi-Mayi militias - could not agree on
what they would be called.

Nevertheless, all officers pledged allegiance to the "Forces armees de la
Republique Democratique du Congo".

RCD-Goma has opposed using the same name as that used under the former
Kinshasa regime, "Forces Armees Congolaises". RCD-Goma spokesman
Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga said the High Council of Defence would continue
to debate the issue of the new name for the army.

The transitional constitution called for the installation of a High
Council of Defence that would include the president of the Republic, who
also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as well as
representatives from the various former belligerent parties.

Lt-Gen Liwanga Mata Nyamunyobo, of the armed forces of the former Kinshasa
government, was named chief of staff. He will be assisted by four
deputies, two of whom are from the two largest former rebel movements:
Brig-Gen Bahuma Ambamba of RCD-Goma, who will be head of operations, and
Brig-Gen Malik Kijege of the MLC, who will be head of logistics. [Full
story on http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36415]

ROC/DRC: Germany grants UN refugee agency E250,000 for refugee returns

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the ROC has
received E250,000 (US $273,575) from Germany to support the care of
refugees from neighbouring DRC, the agency announced on Wednesday.

More specifically, UNHCR said the funds would be used for health care,
shelter, hygiene and clean water, all of which were particularly urgent in
light of the coming rainy season.

The DRC refugees are located primarily in northern regions of the country,
in villages such as Loukolela, Liranga, Impfondo along the Congo River,
which forms the border between the two Congos.

Most of the DRC refugees fled to the Republic of Congo during fighting in
1997 to topple President Mobutu Sese Seko, and from late 1998 to 2003
during fighting that opposed the Kinshasa government of Joseph Kabila
against the Mouvement de liberation du Congo of Jean-Pierre Bemba - now
serving as one of four vice-presidents under Kabila in a national unity
government.

ROC: UN warns of "acute humanitarian crisis" in Pool region

The UN warned on Tuesday that despite improvements in the political
climate, an "acute humanitarian crisis" remained in the Pool region of
southern ROC following a year of hostilities that ended in March 2003.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported
that several inter-agency humanitarian assessment missions to the region
between May and August revealed that infrastructure had been completely
destroyed, sanitation was seriously lacking, the health and nutritional
situation was "of grave concern", and children, in particular, were dying
of acute malnutrition.

Meanwhile, NGOs have reported illnesses such as measles, skin diseases,
tuberculosis, and malaria. The death rate has increased significantly,
especially in Kindamba and Kimba, OCHA said, while in other areas, the
people must walk over 60 km to reach NGO health centres. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36356]

Responding to an appeal from the government, France has provided E80,000
in emergency aid to internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Pool, the
head of communications at the ROC Foreign Ministry, Francois Ibara, told
IRIN on Tuesday. He said the funds would be used to buy materials for the
building of provisional shelters, the installation of sanitation
facilities, and the reconstruction of houses, among other needs.

Humanitarian organisations estimate there are 12,000 IDPs living in
displaced sites in and around the capital, Brazzaville, while another
40,000 are living with host families. Thousands of others are living in
the neighbouring regions of Plateaux, Bouenza, Niari, Lekoumou and
Kouilou. [Full story on http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36341]

ROC: National Assembly approves amnesty bill for Ninja militias

The National Assembly of the ROC has approved a bill on amnesty for Ninja
militants who fought government forces in Pool.

In a communiqué issued on 28 August, the government said the amnesty would
cover the period from 15 January 2000 until Congolese President Denis
Sassou-Nguesso ultimately signs the bill into law. Under the terms of the
amnesty, the Ninja militants will not be prosecuted for their actions.

In 1999, the former transitional government approved an amnesty for
combatants in the civil wars of 1993, 1997 and 1998. That law expired in
January 2000. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36310]

Rwanda: WFP "urgently needs" US $3.3 million to prevent malnutrition

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday that 6,200 mt of food
worth $3.3 million was "urgently needed" to prevent malnutrition among
refugees and drought victims in Rwanda.

The agency said the money would enable it to continue assisting more than
93,000 people until February 2004. WFP Country Director for Rwanda David
Stevenson said if donations were not received soon the agency would be
forced to reduce the amount of food distributed per person by at least 30
percent from October onwards. This measure, WFP said, would have a
"devastating impact" on already vulnerable people. [Full report on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36305]

RWANDA: Court dismisses Twagiramungu's petition against Kagame's election

Rwanda's Supreme Court dismissed on Tuesday a petition against the recent
election of incumbent President Paul Kagame filed by his main opponent,
Faustin Twagiramungu.

"The petition is not backed by any evidence to support the accusations. We
therefore dismiss this petition," Justice Louis Marie Mugyenzi, of the
Supreme Court, ruled.

Twagiramungu, 58, filed the petition on 28 August, citing vote rigging,
intimidation of his supporters, general violation of the electoral law and
pressure on voters to choose Kagame as cause to nullify the polls.
Twagiramungu also questioned the partiality of the National Electoral
Commission throughout the elections process.

Rwanda held its first post-genocide presidential polls on 25 August, in
which Kagame was declared the winner with over 95 percent of the ballots
cast. Twagiramungu, who came in a distant second in a three-man contest,
won 3.62 percent of votes. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36332]

Meanwhile, the commission said it needed 1.4 billion Rwandan francs (about
$2.6 million) in support of legislative elections due to be held 29-30
September and 2 October, the Rwanda News Agency reported on Thursday.
These elections are the last phase of the nine-year transition following
the 1994 genocide, and campaigning is due to begin on Saturday.

Under Rwanda's 2003 Constitution, parliament will consist of two bodies:
the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36383]

Rwanda: Jallow confirmed as ICTR prosecutor, replacing Del Ponte

The UN Security Council appointed on Thursday Hassan Bubacar Jallow from
The Gambia as prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania.

Jallow, who is currently permanent judge at the Special Court for Sierra
Leone, will succeed Carla Del Ponte from Switzerland, whose mandate
expires on 14 September 2003. For her part, Del Ponte was appointed as
prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia.

The appointment of the two prosecutors for a four-year mandate each will
take effect on 15 September 2003. [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36411]

RWANDA-TANZANIA: Government expels 910 former refugees

Tanzanian authorities expelled on Tuesday 910 Rwandans who had been living
in the northwestern region of Kagera, humanitarian workers and the deputy
home affairs minister, John Chiligati, told IRIN.

The government said on Wednesday that the Rwandans had been screened and
refused refugee status, and were therefore in the country illegally. The
government said 708 of them had been living in the Lukole refugee camp and
202 in Tanzanian villages.

The spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), Ivana Unluova, said on Wednesday that the Rwandans were "no
longer of concern to UNHCR as they had applied for asylum and were
rejected". [Full story on
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=36359]


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


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