U N I T E D N A T I O N S Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa
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[The weekly roundup is based on IRIN daily updates and other relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and the media. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community, but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original sources.]
Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN Weekly Round-up 3-98 covering the period 9-15 Jan 1998
BURUNDI: Government says rebels creating confusion as violence continues
As violence continued in Burundi, the government last Friday rejected charges by the rebel Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD) that it was responsible for the New Year's massacre at Rukaramu. Speaking on Burundi radio, Foreign Minister Luc Rukingama accused the rebels of "attempting to create confusion". He said the rebels attacked innocent people with hoes, machetes and other traditional weapons and appealed to the international community "not to be abused by those killers who are trying to conceal the genocide they started in 1993". The opposition FRODEBU party condemned the Rukaramu killings, saying the government was unable to provide security for its citizens.
The army conducted mopping-up operations in Bujumbura Rurale during the week, killing 72 Hutu rebels and losing four soldiers, the Agence burundaise de presse reported. Army spokesman Colonel Isaie Nibizi said there had been no civilian deaths. On Sunday, civilians died in a rebel attack at Rumonge in the southern Bururi province.
US envoy due to visit country
US envoy Howard Wolpe was due to arrive in Bujumbura this week, for talks to try and move the peace process along. State Department spokesman James Foley, quoted by AFP, said Washington believed only a political settlement would bring about lasting peace in Burundi. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's ambassador to the OAU, who led a recent delegation to Burundi, was quoted by Burundi radio as saying "noteworthy progress" had been made towards peace talks. The radio added that he also called for the lifting of sanctions. President Pierre Buyoya on Monday reiterated he was ready to participate in the peace process but insisted it should be held in "neutral territory and with a neutral team". The government, he said, deserved to be consulted over the peace process, rather than being treated "simply as a faction".
South Africa to investigate alleged arms sales to Burundi rebels
The South African government said it would launch an investigation into the alleged supply of arms to rebels in Burundi, PANA news agency reported. It said the human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, claimed individuals in South Africa had been supplying arms and military assistance to the CNDD. According to the report, South Africa's railway organisation Spoornet admitted that arms were frequently transported in their trains to Tanzania for use by the rebels in Burundi.
RWANDA: France denies authorising arms exports during genocide
France on Monday denied it had authorised arms exports to Rwanda which continued until end May 1994, over a month after the start of the genocide. A spokesman for the foreign ministry, Yves Doutriaux, said France stopped authorising arms exports before the UN imposed a weapons ban on 17 May 1994. He was reacting to a report in the daily 'Le Figaro' alleging the continuation of French arms sales to Rwanda after the start of the genocide. The paper quoted then-president Francois Mitterrand as telling close aides that "in such countries, genocide is not too important". It claimed that on 30 May 1994 "an aircraft transporting arms for the Rwandan armed forces worth US $942,680 landed in Zaire". In July, another plane carrying arms for the former Rwandan regime reportedly landed in Goma.
Army kills 24 rebels in Ruhengeri The Rwandan army killed 24 armed insurgents on Tuesday in northwestern Ruhengeri prefecture, the Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported. The army, tipped off by local residents, intercepted a "large group" of rebels and clashes ensued in the villages of Bisate in Kinigi Commune and Shingiro in neighbouring Mukingo Commune. "Operations to flush criminals out of Ruhengeri are continuing," army spokesman Major Emmanuel Ndahiro told RNA. Over the weekend, at least 18 rebels were killed in neighbouring Gisenyi prefecture and nine nuns were killed by insurgents last Thursday, local officials said. A 1,000-strong rebel force freed dozens of genocide suspects from a prison in Gisenyi's Nyamyumba commune at the weekend. Some of them returned voluntarily to the jail, and were freed by the authorities for "showing goodwill".
General Dallaire to testify at Rwanda tribunal
The UN Secretary-General has waived the diplomatic immunity of Major-General Romeo Dallaire, paving the way for him to appear as a witness before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the UN's Central News service reported on Wednesday. Dallaire, the former Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR), has been summoned to appear as a witness for the defence in the trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu, charged with genocide and crimes against humanity.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Cholera deaths rise to 231 in Kisangani
Cholera has killed 231 people in military training camps outside Kisangani and infected 1,235 people - 80 percent of them children - UNICEF reported on Wednesday. There have been 66 cases of dysentery which have claimed nine lives. Unhygienic conditions exacerbated by the rains have led to other illnesses including malaria and skin diseases. The majority of cases are from the Kapalata camp, located some six km from Kisangani. The camp was reportedly sheltering up to 4,000 children, mainly ex-Mai-Mai, who arrived from Goma and Bukavu under a re-education programme.
Flooding threatens Kinshasa
The governor of Kinshasa on Tuesday told residents to stay at home after torrential rain flooded some districts of the city. Heavy rain began early on Tuesday morning adding pressure to the already swollen waters of the Congo river which has burst its banks in several port cities up river from Kinshasa. Experts say the Congo River is the highest it has been for at least five years, Reuters reported. The town of Kalemie in the southeast has been cut off from the rest of the country since December when a bridge was swept away. Heavy flooding has also affected the town of Mbandaka around 600 km upstream from Kinshasa, after the Congo burst its banks there, state radio said.
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: Conference gives Sassou Nguesso three-year term
Congo-Brazzaville leader General Denis Sassou Nguesso secured overwhelming support from participants at a reconciliation forum to remain in power for three years until elections are held, AFP said. Winding up the conference on the country's transition to democracy, Sassou Nguesso said no-one should do anything to "put unity in peril" and asked "forgiveness in the name of a reconciled nation" from victims of the four-month civil war. Meeting for ten days in Brazzaville, the conference agreed on a political programme to be overseen by a 75-member national transitional council to be chaired by former minister of education, Justin Koumba. The forum, attended by 1,420 delegates from political parties, public institutions and professional groups and associations, also agreed to set up trials for alleged war criminals.
ANGOLA: Timetable agreed for accomplishment of peace agreement
UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi was due to meet with President Eduardo dos Santos this week in a step towards bringing Angola's peace process to a close. According to a timetable agreed by both sides on Tuesday, the reinstatement of government administration is to conclude on 27 January and the demobilisation of UNITA forces and the retirement of its senior generals by 28 January, UNITA radio reported. Highlights of the agreement include: UNITA free to operate throughout the country from 4 February; Savimbi's special status to be publicly announced 9 February; UNITA leadership scheduled to return to Luanda on 28 February.
KENYA: IFRC calls for greater support to combat disease
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, efforts to contain the outbreak of what is thought to be Rift Valley Fever in Kenya's flood-stricken Northeastern Province and southern Somalia are being hampered by limited logistical resources. IFRC warned in a statement on Thursday that the disease continues to spread, and it believes the region may be faced by a new and more virulent strain of the fever which has so far claimed more than 450 lives in the two countries. "We are focusing on prevention and control but without proper surveillance to follow up on disease reports from outlying areas we are hampered," the statement said. IFRC points out: "we are unsure precisely what we are dealing with ... We are seeing some strange phenomena and there may be something else out there." Meanwhile, floods in Kenya, caused by incessant heavy rain, continued to create havoc in many parts of the country. A major relief operation, based in the northeastern Kenyan town of Garissa, is underway for northern Kenya and Somalia.
TANZANIA: Political tension intensifies in Zanzibar
Zanzibari President Salmin Amour claimed on Monday there was an external plot to destabilise the islands and said resolving Zanzibar's problems would depend on the people's cooperation. Sixteen members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party were arrested last month, accused of trying to overthrow the government. Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who visited Zanzibar recently, has warned that political tension there could plunge it into civil conflict. CUF disputes the outcome of 1995 elections - in which it campaigned for greater autonomy - saying the polls were rigged. Zanzibar united with mainland Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
Nairobi, 16 January 1998
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