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
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-Up 315
21 - 27 January 2006


CONTENTS:

DRC: Armed group kills 8 UN peacekeepers in Garamba park
DRC-UGANDA: Military hands over 36 armed men to Congolese authorities
DRC: Mayi-Mayi attack new area of Katanga
REPUBLIC OF CONGO: CONGO: MSF pulls out of Pool region
CAR: Displaced civilians still need relief aid, UN official says
TANZANIA: Government waives tax on maize imports
UGANDA: Opposition leader's wife to stand trial for libel
KENYA: Calls for action against officials cited in graft claims
SUDAN: UNHCR warns of potential "catastrophe" in Darfur



SEE ALSO:

[UN investigations into allegations of sexual offences by peacekeepers
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51347]

[CONGO: Profile of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, new AU head
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51309]



DRC: Armed group kills 8 UN peacekeepers in Garamba park

An armed, unidentified group killed eight peacekeepers from Guatemala
and injured five others on Monday, during an ambush in Garamba National
Park, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) near
the borders of Sudan and Uganda, according to the United Nations Mission
in the DRC (MONUC).

MONUC spokesman Kemal Saiki said the ambush occurred in Aba, north of
Bunia, the main town in Ituri district, Orientale province.

"We have yet to confirm the identity of those behind the attack," Saiki
said, "but we have received reports of the presence of fighters from the
Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army [LRA] in the region."

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51273]


DRC-UGANDA: Military hands over 36 armed men to Congolese authorities

Ugandan military officials on Monday handed over to Congolese
authorities some 36 armed men who were among thousands of refugees who
fled to Uganda following recent heavy fighting in eastern DRC.

Thousands of Congolese have crossed into western Uganda since last week,
fleeing fighting between the Congolese army and rebels, according Lt
Kinconco Tabaro, the Ugandan military spokesman.

Tabaro said the 36 men, along with 48 family members, were handed over
to Congolese authorities at Mpondwe border post, about 450 km west of
the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in the presence of officials from MONUC as
well as the Congolese military.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51270]


DRC: Mayi-Mayi attack new area of Katanga

Relief workers say that fighting between the Congolese army and
Mayi-Mayi militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga
Province has spread to a new area south of the town of Mitwaba in recent
days, with militiamen there becoming increasingly dangerous and
destructive.

"We never saw them this aggressive before," said Phillip Havet, a
Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF) logistics expert who was in the area
last week. He said the Mayi-Mayi had "completely wiped out" the town of
Kyubo, 160 km south of Mitwaba, on 16 January.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51265]


CONGO: MSF pulls out of Pool region

Following several armed hold-ups during the last two months in the
Republic of Congo's Pool region, the Dutch branch of Medecines Sans
Frontieres (MSF-Holland) has temporarily suspended its activities in the
area.

"MSF has decided to temporarily suspend all its activities in the
districts of Kindamba, Mindouli and Vindza. The activities in the
districts of Kinkala are continued," MSF announced in a statement on
Thursday.

"On 17 January, marked MSF ambulances with patients and medical
equipment on board were stopped by armed men. MSF staff and patients
were harassed, and the material was stolen," MSF said. After three such
incidences, MSF suspended its operations on 20 January.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51379]


CAR: Displaced civilians still need relief aid, UN official says

Thousands of civilians displaced since late December 2005 following
banditry attacks in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR) urgently
require relief aid, an official of the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said.

"This is a serious humanitarian emergency with a real catastrophe
looming ahead, and lack of resources for NGOs and other organisations
helping these people has hampered efforts of providing relief," said
Maurizio Giuliano, OCHA public information officer, on Wednesday.

Michel Salle, the CAR minister for home affairs, declined to comment on
the plight of the displaced civilians. He said on Friday that the
government had deployed soldiers, backed by troops from the Economic
Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), to the Chad-CAR border to
fight the bandits.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51382]


TANZANIA: Government waives tax on maize imports

In a move designed to boost food supply in the country, the Tanzanian
government has authorised a three-month tax exemption for the
importation of maize, the nation's staple, with immediate effect.

"In order to encourage the business community to import more food in the
face of anticipated food shortage, the government is offering tax
exemption on importation of maize beginning 23 January to 23 April,"
said Peniel Lyimo, the permanent secretary in Tanzania's Ministry of
Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives, in a statement on
Wednesday.

"The move aims at boosting maize supply and thus keeping its prices
low," he said.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51321]


UGANDA: Opposition leader's wife to stand trial for libel

The wife of Ugandan opposition leader Kiiza Besigye and a legislator
from his party are to stand trial in February for alleging that
President Yoweri Museveni bribed court officials, court officials have
said.

Winnie Byanyima and Jack Sabiiti, a senior member of Besigye's Forum for
Democratic Change (FDC), were on Tuesday indicted on charges of libel
and giving false information.

They are accused of defaming two High Court judges and disseminating
false information via a letter they wrote to the country's chief
justice, Benjamin Odoki, demanding that he investigate reports that the
judges had received bribes from the government.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51328]


KENYA: Calls for action against officials cited in graft claims

Claims of corruption involving high-ranking Kenyan government officials
have rattled President Mwai Kibaki's administration, with civil society
activists and the opposition calling for action against those who have
been implicated.

John Githongo, who resigned in February 2005 as permanent secretary in
charge of governance and ethics, was quoted by local and international
media as saying on Sunday that senior ministers were involved in the
so-called "Anglo-Leasing" scam, which involved plans to print passports
with improved security features and the building of a modern forensic
laboratory for the police.

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51299]


SUDAN: UNHCR warns of potential "catastrophe" in Darfur

The international community could face a catastrophe in Darfur if
instability in the Chad-Sudan border area continues to worsen, the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned.

In his address to the 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday, Antonio
Guterres described the Chad-Sudan situation as probably the "largest and
most complex humanitarian problem on the globe".

"Today, violence and impunity - never completely in check - are again
everyday occurrences in Darfur," he said. "Humanitarian workers are
regularly cut off from the displaced and those they are trying to help."

Full report:
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51323]


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Central/East Africa             www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/ceafrica