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 403
13 - 19 October 2007


CONTENTS:

DRC: International Court takes second ex-rebel commander into custody
   over war crimes
DRC: Displaced in North Kivu could face epidemics due to limited access
DRC: Nkunda's forces given another three weeks to join army
CONGO: Government launches measles vaccination campaign
CONGO: Antonov ban brings hardship to many
CAR: Insecurity in north persists - UNICEF
UGANDA: Plan to reconstruct the north
UGANDA: Satellite phones to mitigate flood disaster

See Also

DRC: The long road to delivering food aid
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74860

DRC: Sexual violence - the scourge of the east
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74801

KENYA: Credit key to breaking cycle of poverty
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74830

UGANDA: Boom time in Gulu
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74800


DRC: International Court takes second ex-rebel commander into custody
over war crimes

A former rebel commander accused of committing atrocities in the Ituri
district of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been
flown to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague as part of
continuing efforts by the tribunal to tackle the culture of impunity in
the volatile country.

Germain Katanga, 29, also known as "Simba", was put on a plane chartered
by the ICC and transferred from Kinshasa, the capital, to the ICC's
detention centre in The Hague on 18 October to face war crimes charges.

Katanga, a former senior commander of the Force de Resistance
Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), had been in the custody of Congolese
authorities.

"Today we are prosecuting Germain Katanga, leader of a militia group,
who we allege is personally responsible for the brutal crimes his forces
committed. His name will forever be associated with the name of Bogoro,
an ordinary village, which he ordered fighters under his command to
'wipe out'. Hundreds were slaughtered. Women were forced into sexual
slavery," according to a statement by Fatou Bensouda, deputy prosecutor
in charge of the case.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74851


DRC: Displaced in North Kivu could face epidemics due to limited access

Aid workers in the strife-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo
fear measles and cholera epidemics may break out among displaced people
who cannot be reached by humanitarian agencies because of fighting
between government forces and dissident soldiers in North Kivu province.

Meanwhile, President Joseph Kabila said on 17 October that the
dissidents would be disarmed by force after their leader, Laurent
Nkunda, rejected fresh calls to reintegrate his fighters into the
national army.

"Considering the reduction in access, a large number of vulnerable
people have not received any assistance," said Christophe Illemassene,
senior public information officer with the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kinshasa.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74848


DRC: Nkunda's forces given another three weeks to join army

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have given
fighters loyal to dissident general Laurent Nkunda another three weeks
to reintegrate into the national army, a process known as brassage.

Fighting between Nkunda's forces and government troops in the eastern
North Kivu province has intensified since September. The violence has
forced at least 370,000 civilians in the strife-torn region to flee
their homes.

"We have given another 21 days to the military personnel taken hostage
by this criminal Nkunda to rejoin the army through the integration
process and live a normal military life," Defence Minister Chikez Diemu
said on 15 October.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74802


CONGO: Government launches measles vaccination campaign

The Congolese government has launched a five-day nationwide measles
vaccination campaign to be accompanied by the distribution of
insecticide-treated bed nets to reduce malaria.

"The role of the media is crucial in the provision of information and in
the mobilisation of the population to ensure their [the population's]
participation," Emillienne Raoul, the minister of health, said on 15
October. According to the government the success of the campaign would
require the contribution of all the relevant sectors and the community

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74784


CONGO: Antonov ban brings hardship to many

The indefinite grounding of all Antonov aircraft in the Republic of
Congo has brought much of the country's domestic aviation to a
standstill and many people who depended on the sector are feeling the
pinch.

The Civil Aviation Agency banned Congolese airlines from using Antonov
planes on 9 October after 50 people were killed five days earlier when
an Antonov crashed shortly after take-off from Kinshasa, the capital of
neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Life for us and our families was already hard enough," said Just
Ndouli, who made a living from the meat trade between northern parts of
Congo and the capital, Brazzaville.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74847


CAR: Insecurity in north persists - UNICEF

A continuing wave of violence in northern Central African Republic (CAR)
has led to the displacement of at least 290,000 civilians since 2005 and
the "complete decimation" of public infrastructure, the UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF) has said.

"The security situation remains volatile throughout northern CAR,
particularly in the northwestern prefectures bordering Chad where
government troops, rebel groups and highway bandits continue to clash,"
UNICEF said in a report on 15 October.

The UNICEF report, covering the month of September, said lack of
protection was a major issue for many women and children caught up in
the CAR's "multi-faceted" crisis.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74785


UGANDA: Plan to reconstruct the north

War-ravaged northern Uganda is to be reconstructed at a cost of US$600
million, according to the government.

The rehabilitation, announced by President Yoweri Museveni on 16
October, is intended to restore stability to the region after 20 years
of warfare pitting the Ugandan government against the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA), a brutal insurgency that often targeted civilians for
murder, maiming and abduction. Hundreds of thousands of people were
displaced and forced to live in crowded camps.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74827


UGANDA: Satellite phones to mitigate flood disaster

In an effort to facilitate coordination of humanitarian aid delivery to
tens of thousands of people in areas of eastern and northern Ugandan
ravaged by severe flooding, the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) has provided government and humanitarian agencies with 25
satellite telephones.

Unusually heavy rainfall - the worst in 35 years - has fallen in the
region since July, destroying much of the first season harvest and
disrupting second season planting.

Full report
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74799


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