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
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Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-Up 4-99 covering the period 22-29 Jan 1999
TANZANIA/DRC: DRC refugees stream into Tanzania
Thousands of DRC refugees are streaming back into Tanzania barely one year after their repatriation, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in Nairobi on Wednesday. About 800 refugees have been arriving at the Lake Tanganyika port of Kigoma daily, according to UNHCR. At this rate, the Federation estimates that one of their camps run specifically for Congolese refugees could be filled to its 40,000 capacity within a month. The Federation says that more refugees were waiting to cross into Tanzania and that thousands who could not afford the crossing price of US $10 a head charged by private boats were said to be stranded in the Congolese bush.
A threat of a possible cholera outbreak in the Lugufu camp, 90 km east of Kigoma, had prompted the Federation to screen refugees coming through Kigoma before transporting them to the camp. The disease is endemic on both sides of the lake and a few cases have been detected among refugees arriving in Kigoma. Some 26,000 DRC refugees have crossed into Tanzania since August last year. Many of these were repatriated from Tanzania less than a year ago but are now returning since renewed hostilities broke out in eastern DRC.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Archbishop protests Bethany arrests
The Archbishop of Kinshasa has claimed that the people of Rwandan or Tutsi background seized from the Bethany centre in Kinshasa on 12 January were there at the request of the government and were awaiting "repatriation".
He has protested the raid on a church centre in which over 30 people were seized and taken to the Kokolo military camp by DRC soldiers. Archbishop Frederic Cardinal Etsou Nzabi Bamungwabi, in a 14 January statement, expressed his "deep indignation" and demanded the return of looted money and goods as well as the repair of broken doors and windows. Amnesty International reports that some of those arrested were shown on television on 17 January.
The commander of the 50th brigade, named the unit responsible, in a statement carried by the daily 'Le Palmares' on 20 January, denied all the Archbishop's allegations of theft or looting. The statement instead claimed "a good portion of the Catholic clergy" are being manipulated by external forces in order to "destabilise national institutions."
Inter-rebel squabble leaves at least one dead in Uvira
At least one Congolese rebel soldier was killed and four others wounded in a clash between different factions of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) in Uvira last weekend, according to reports reaching IRIN from numerous sources. According to the local NGO Groupe Milima and the Rwandan News Agency the trouble started after a Rwandan army commander, Colonel Dan Gapfizi, and several of the men under his command tried to arrest four army officials from the Banyamulenge Tutsi group within the RCD. It is not clear whether the four are currently detained in the prison in Uvira which is guarded by units loyal to Gapfizi or if they were released following the clash.
Sources close to the rebel movement say the RCD is keen on moving many of the Banyamulenge elements out of their home area of South Kivu and replacing them with other units following reports of massacres of
civilians in Makobola about 15-20 km south of Uvira. Initial reports by the Catholic Missionary Network said some 500 people had been killed by rampaging RCD forces after an attack by Mayi Mayi. Sources close to an RCD investigation into the alleged massacre say the figure was much lower, but unofficially admit that RCD forces, mainly made up of Banyamulenge, had been "too vigorous" in their reponse to the incursion by a mixed FDD/Interahamwe/Mayi Mayi group.
One Banyamulenge rebel quoted by the Kinyarwanda service of the Voice of America radio confirmed the clash. "It is unbelievable. Our allies in the Rwandan army want to move us by force to an unknown destination. Certainly, they want to move us out of Uvira, where the men of Gapfizi's command mistreat the local population. That is something we do not want," he said.
Rebels restructure their movement
The RCD has also restructured its movement. The general assembly has been enlarged from 28 to 147 members, including 22 military personnel. The executive committee, acting as the RCD's government, now comprises 23 departments instead of the previous eight; and a 10-man political council to head the movement has been created. The general assembly stressed the need for better cohesion between political and military wings.
Ngoma calls for broadbased movement
The restructuring failed to persuade RCD dissident Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma to accept the post of deputy chairman of the rebel movement. In a broadcast by Radio France Internationale on Wednesday, Ngoma said he was more concerned with democratic principles: "If we somewhat move away from that, then I think my presence is not necessary." He condemned the failure of the RCD to create a broadbased democratic movement involving "significant" political organisations in the country that opposed the Mobutu regime. Neither did Ngoma rule out talks with the Kinshasa government: "It is said that in politics there are no solutions, there are
only negotiations." Meanwhile, an RCD delegation headed by movement leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba is in Kampala to meet Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the semi-official 'New Vision' reported. The newspaper linked the delegation's arrival with Ngoma's resignation. It quoted sources as saying that Ngoma was considering joining the rival rebel Mouvement de liberation congolais (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Garreton mission on for February
Roberto Garreton Special Rapporteur for human rights in the DRC is to undertake a one week mission to the country from 16-23 February. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Tuesday the details of the mission were still being finalised.
Refugees return from CAR
Roughly 600 of the 5,000 Congolese refugees who left the northeastern town of Zongo for the Central African Republic (CAR) have spontaneously returned, UNHCR reported. The refugees said they had run from looting and killings earlier in the month. Meanwhile, sources in contact with Zemio in Central African Republic near the DRC border reported that some 3,000-4,000 DRC government soldiers who had fled fighting in the Dingila and Ango areas of Province Orientale were at the Zemio airstrip at the weekend waiting to be flown back to the DRC to rejoin the fighting. The sources told IRIN that the soldiers had been disarmed before they were allowed to enter CAR.
BURUNDI: Regional leaders suspend sanctions
East and Central African leaders on Saturday suspended economic sanctions on Burundi imposed two-and-a-half years ago. A joint communique at the end of a regional summit in Arusha, Tanzania said the decision was taken after reviewing the progress so far achieved in the Burundi peace process. It said the suspension which was taken "in the spirit of giving further impetus to the Burundi peace negotiations" would be subject to review.
The move was welcomed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Meanwhile, Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has called on business people to resume trade with Burundi as soon as possible.
Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, has called on regional leaders to impose an arms embargo on Burundi, covering both sides in the conflict, as a step towards an international weapons ban.
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: WFP begin airlift to Brazzaville
WFP began an airlift on Thursday of 1,000 mt of food aid from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville. A WFP spokeswoman told IRIN the operation would last one week and that part of the supplies would go to Kinshasa. This is a fifth extension of WFP's airlift into both Congos over the last few months. Aid agencies have been hamstrung in distributing assistance in Congo-Brazzaville due to the continued instability.
Mobilisation ordered in south
The Congo-Brazzaville government on Tuesday ordered military mobilisation in the south of the country, Reuters reported. Defence Minister Lekoundzou Itihi Ossetoumba ordered all army and gendarmerie personnel to report to their barracks in preparation for operations
against anti-government militia. Fighting around the southern town of Dolisie has pitted the army against Cocoyes militia loyal to ousted president Pascal Lissouba. Eight people - six rebels and two government soldiers - were killed in clashes on Monday, the defence ministry said. According to Africa No1 radio in Gabon, civilians are fleeing the town towards the southern city of Pointe-Noire. Last Thursday, a French soldier was killed while guarding the French embassy in Brazzaville, a French foreign ministry statement said.
Fighting continues
Ninja militia were driven back from the outskirts of Brazzaville on Tuesday, AFP reported. A military source said clashes had been very violent around the town of Mafuta just south of the capital before the rebels retreated to Loua, 15 km away. Meanwhile, nine Europeans were reported missing in the Dolisie region, the scene of heavy fighting between government forces and Cocoyes militia loyal to ex-president Pascal Lissouba.
UNHCR investigating Rwandan refugee link
UNHCR said on Tuesday it was examining reports that Rwandans living in Congo-Brazzaville might be fighting on the side of the government. According to UNHCR, as fighting intensified between government forces and militia loyal to ex-prime minister Bernard Kolelas last week, Rwandans living in refugee sites north of the capital Brazzaville might have volunteered or been called on to join in. UNHCR spokeswoman Judith Kumin said in Geneva that the government is reported to have sent a boat from Brazzaville to Njoundou, one of the refugee sites housing about 3,000 Rwandans, possibly to pick up volunteers. UNHCR was watching the situation closely, she said.
RWANDA: Food shortages reported in Kibungo
Food shortages are being reported in parts of Kibungo prefecture, eastern
Rwanda, according to WFP. Local authorities report that a total of 70,000 people are affected by the failure of the bean crop and are subsisting on cassava, stocks of which are dwindling. WFP is considering food-for-work programmes rather than general free food distribution.
Kigali denies support for UNITA
Rwanda has denied Angolan allegations it is supporting UNITA rebels. "Those claiming that we are supporting [UNITA] have no evidence for those accusations," Foreign Affairs Minster Anastase Gasana told the private Rwanda News Agency. He also rejected allegations that arms for UNITA were transiting through Rwanda's airports. The news agency quoted a senior army officer as claiming that Luanda was looking for scapegoats in claiming Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the rebel movement in Angola.
Annan agrees to genocide probe
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has accepted the priniciple of an independent investigation into his role in the events surrounding the Rwandan genocide. "I have no problem with the proposal. But we must also include the Security Council in the enquiry," he told the Belgian daily 'Le Soir'. Annan, on an official visit to Belgium, also met the families of Belgian peacekeepers killed at the beginning of the genocide. But he did not meet the relatives of the Rwandan genocide victims, Belgian RTBF radio reported.
Menawhile, the OAU began an investigation into the causes of the 1994 genocide, Reuters reported. "The question that still haunts us is how Africa and the world community stood helplessly while children, women and men [were] butchered to death by their fellow citizens," OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim told the panel's first meeting in Addis Ababa. The year-long investigation, set up under the OAU's conflict prevention body, is chaired by former Botswana president Ketumile Masire. UGANDA: WFP urges donors to support emergency operation
WFP has urged donors to pledge support for an emergency operation for displaced persons in northern Uganda. Food distributions in the IDP camps in Gulu district are temporarily restricted to priority nutritional programmes because of lack of resources for this operation, the agency warned. The WFP emergency operation requires close to 58,000 mt of food for a one-year period for distribution to 347,000 displaced people in need of on-going assistance.
WFP is trying to secure loans from other operations to resume full
distributions in Gulu. Distributions in the district of Kitgum have been less affected due to remaining food stocks at the location, but replenishments are due immediately.
KENYA: Violence breaks out in refugee camp
Violence has flared in refugee camps in northeastern Kenya, UNHCR reports. Four men and two boys aged 15 and 17 were found tied to trees and shot dead close to Hagadera camp on 21 January. The police detained five men in connection with the incident. Amid increased tensions, fighting broke out in Hagadera on Sunday and 91 refugee shelters were torched. Twenty people were injured in renewed fighting on Monday, despite the earlier intervention of police and refugee and local elders. Hagadera houses some 35,000 Somali refugees.
Cholera outbreaks in parts of Kenya
Kenya's ministry of health has informed WHO of an outbreak of cholera in Nyanza, Eastern, Rift Valley and Nairobi Provinces. As of 19 January 1999, a total of 1025 cases with 25 deaths is estimated to have occurred. The ministry of health has set up a National Cholera Control Task Force in collaboration with WHO. Similar Task Forces have been formed at provincial and district levels. The outbreak has been brought under control and the number of cases is declining rapidly, WHO said in a statement. Kenya has been suffering from a major cholera epidemic since mid-1997. The cumulative total number of cases reported to WHO was 17,200 in 1997 and 22,432 in 1998 with 555 and 1,237 deaths respectively.
SUDAN: Meningitis immunisation plans
The Sudanese health ministry is to target five million people in a meningitis immunisation drive. The ministry said on Monday the campaign was aimed at citizens below 30 years old, known to be the most vulnerable age group. The programme, to be completed by the end of February, is to cover most districts of northern Sudan with the support of ICRC, PANA reported. In December, over 100 deaths from meningitis in Northern Darfur state were reported.
Yei bombed by Sudan air force
The Sudanese air force bombed the southern town of Yei on Tuesday for the second time in three days, Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) told IRIN. Five bombs landed close to the hospital run by NPA, but no casualties were reported. A Norwegian MP and union youth leader were in the town during the attack. The bombing follows an air raid on Sunday which killed three people including a pregnant women and a child. Ten bombs were dropped - again apparently aimed at the hospital - NPA said.
Nairobi, 29 January 1999 12:00 GMT
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