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 382
12 - 18 May 2007


CONTENTS:

KENYA: Hundreds of families displaced by flooding
KENYA: Hundreds displaced in cattle-rustling clashes
BURUNDI: Armed banditry, sexual violence increasing, says watchdog
DRC: Violations of human rights common - Arbour
DRC: Accelerate prison reforms, urges UN human rights commissioner
CONGO: Ex-rebels accuse state of reneging on deal
CONGO: Poor health system catalysing cholera in southwest

Also see:
CONGO: Stepping up fight against malaria

KENYA: Education, healthcare disrupted by clashes

UGANDA: IDPs begin slow journey home amid concerns over peace process


KENYA: Hundreds of families displaced by flooding

Hundreds of families were displaced by flooding in Mombasa along the
Kenyan coast after days of heavy rain, a humanitarian official said.

"One hundred and thirty families [an average family has six members]
have been affected by the flash floods," Anthony Mwangi, the public
relations manager of the Kenya Red Cross Society said on Tuesday.

At least two children were killed when the roof of the house they were
sleeping in collapsed due to the heavy rain, he said. Another person was
injured.


KENYA: Hundreds displaced in cattle-rustling clashes

Clashes sparked by a cattle-rustling incident in the Marsabit district
of northern Kenya left about 15 people dead and displaced hundreds more
in the past week, aid workers said.

Fighting between the Gabra and Turkana communities erupted on 8 May when
members of one group raided villages inhabited by the other and stole
about 1,000 cattle, sheep and goats, prompting revenge attacks by the
livestock owners.

An estimated 1,000 people have fled Moite and Komote villages in the
Loyangalani division of Marsabit, the scene of the clashes, according to
David Timado, a social worker and peace activist in the area.


BURUNDI: Armed banditry, sexual violence increasing, says watchdog

Human rights violations, including executions by armed bandits and
sexual violence against women and children, have continued in Burundi
despite an improvement in the political landscape, a national watchdog
has said.

At the launch of its annual report, Jean-Marie Vianey Kavumbagu, head of
the Ligue Burundaise des Droits de l'Homme, ITEKA, said the inauguration
of the government in 2005 should have helped to improve the situation.

Instead, the continuing circulation of weapons among civilians and the
slow reintegration of demobilised fighters into society have led to
daily reports of armed banditry in 2007.


DRC: Violations of human rights common - Arbour

Serious human rights violations take place almost daily with total
impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, on a visit to the country
this week.

Arbour stayed five days in the DRC, where she met Congolese authorities
as well as human rights activists, local and international
non-governmental organisations, diplomats and the special representative
of the UN Secretary-General, William Swing.

Discussions focused on the fight against the culture of impunity and the
implementation of the means to protect fundamental freedoms, and on the
efforts towards reconciliation and reconstruction.


DRC: Accelerate prison reforms, urges UN human rights commissioner

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, criticised the
appalling conditions in prisons in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
while also suggesting the authorities compile an inventory of earlier
serious human rights violations.

"Congo's prisons are overpopulated because there are many prolonged
detentions as most detainees don't have access to justice," she said
after visiting the Kinshasa penitentiary re-education centre. Arbour
added reforms to improve the detention system in the country needed to
be accelerated.

She also proposed that the human rights violation inventory cover the
period 1993-2003 - before the International Criminal Court was set up.


CONGO: Ex-rebels accuse state of reneging on deal

A former rebel group turned political party in the Republic of Congo has
criticised the government's decision to change the post offered to its
leader, Frederic Bintsangou, alias Pastor Ntoumi, in an agreement aimed
at bolstering the peace process.

The Conseil National de Resistance (CNR) said it had been told Ntoumi
would be appointed head of humanitarian affairs instead of being
councillor at the convention for peace and reconstruction as decided on
25 April.

"CNR was informed during a meeting presided over by the prime minister
on 8 May of the change in Pastor Ntoumi's status. CNR would like to let
national and international opinion know that the government has failed
to respect its own signature," CNR said in a statement.


CONGO: Poor health system catalysing cholera in southwest

Lack of appropriate health and sanitation facilities and poor
sensitisation of local communities have encouraged the spread of cholera
in the Bouenza area of Congo, officials said.

According to an epidemiological bulletin published by Congolese health
authorities, 21 cases of the disease have been reported in Loutete, of
whom seven died. Another 207 cases have been reported in Loudima, of
whom eight died, since the beginning of May.

The bulletin was produced by the national cholera crisis committee
headed by Jeannine Bahou. The most affected areas are more than 200km
southwest of the capital, Brazzaville.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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