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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN Weekly Round-up 6
7 - 13 October 2000



CONTENTS:

SOMALIA: Prime minister appointed
SOMALIA: New MPs arrive in Mogadishu
SOMALIA: UN to give support
SUDAN: Bid to gain Security Council seat fails
SUDAN: Government bombs Ikotos
SUDAN: Rioters will be dealt with
SUDAN-ERITREA: Agreement to cooperate
ETHIOPIA: Meles Zenawi re-elected
ETHIOPIA: President on "daunting problems"
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN set to clear mines

SOMALIA: Prime minister appointed

The interim president, Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, last Sunday appointed Ali
Khalif Galayr - the favoured candidate since elections in August - as his
prime minister. Ali Khalif is a university professor and businessman. He
was born in Burao, which lies within the boundaries of the self-declared
state of Somaliland. He is a member of the Dulbahante sub-clan of the
Darod, and his appointment will be seen as a move to balance power among
the main groups. In the four main groups - Hawiye, Darod, Digil-Mirifle
and Dir (Isak) - the Hawiye has the presidency, the Darod has the prime
minister's seat, and the Digil-Mirifle has the leader of parliament. See
for full report]

SOMALIA: New MPs arrive in Mogadishu

The Speaker of parliament, Abdullahi Derow Isak, arrived in Mogadishu from
Djibouti on Thursday afternoon along with two plane-loads of other MPs. 
Their arrival signals the first formal stage of establishing a new
government in the capital. "We plan to hold a meeting next week to discuss
ways of starting work," MP Umar Shaykh Abdi told IRIN. Interim President
Abdiqasim Salad Hasan was expected to arrive on Friday, accompanied by his
prime minister, Ali Khalif Galayr. Four Mogadishu hotels were renovated to
accommodate MPs. The work was financed by the business community, which is
also meeting the costs of supplying the MPs with food and other
necessities. 


On Wednesday, a group of militia opened fire on the Lafweyne Palace Hotel. 
Observers say one of the gunmen and a civilian were killed and nine others
were wounded in the shoot-out. The attacking militia, members of a
sub-clan of the Hawiye, were acting in protest against having been
rejected as escorts for the MPs in favour of a different sub-clan. Elders
from the two sub-clans had since settled the dispute, an eyewitness said. 
[For full report see: SOMALIA: New MPs arrive in Mogadishu]

SOMALIA: UN to give support

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Randolph Kent,
has said the peace process in Somalia is fragile, but deserves support. He
told journalists at a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the
parliament and the interim president elected in Djibouti had been the
result of a Somali-driven process shared by civil society, clan leaders,
community groups, women's associations and representatives of the Somali
diaspora. 

Kent outlined the immediate plans of the UN agencies for Somalia. He said
that within the next three months, the UN would offer policy advice and
guidance to the transitional government. The UNDP would put in place a
series of projects worth US $4,910,000, for which funding would be
requested. The main areas of intervention would include assistance to the
juridical system, establishment of a national police force and prisons
warden corps, formulation of fiscal policies and support for
infrastructure development. Funds for the repair of Mogadishu's airport
and seaport would also be sought by the UNDP. UN humanitarian agencies
would also seek funds amounting to about US $16 million to support the
food, health, water, education, repatriation, human rights, humanitarian
coordination and security sectors.  [See

SUDAN: Bid to gain Security Council seat fails

Sudan has lost its bid for the seat of the African group in the UN
Security Council. Sudan's candidacy was strongly opposed by the US, which
cited Khartoum's alleged involvement in terrorism and its poor human
rights record.  Mauritius challenged Sudan and - backed by the US and its

SUDAN: Government bombs Ikotos

The southern Sudanese town of Ikotos, eastern Equatoria, was bombed by a
government aircraft late on Tuesday morning. Humanitarian sources told
IRIN the raid took place while a food distribution by the Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) was under way, and six dwellings were destroyed. CRS is an
NGO operating under the UN-sponsored Operation Lifeline Sudan relief
operation. The source said one of the bombs fell in the grounds of a
school, but no civilian casualties had been reported. 

SUDAN: Rioters will be dealt with

A senior Sudanese official has said the rioters who shot and injured
police in a university demonstration in Khartoum will be dealt with
harshly. The secretary-general of the ruling party, the National Congress
(NC), Ibrahim Ahmad Umar, was quoted by the Sudanese newspaper, 'Al-Ra'y
al-Amm', on Wednesday as saying that the security organs would "not be
lenient towards any organisation supporting these acts". 

Government statements said it was the first time demonstrators had opened
fire on authorities. Four policemen were injured by university students
chanting anti-government slogans. The students, from the University of
Science and Technology, started their protest after a seminar organised by
the opposition Popular National Congress (PNC), headed by the former
Speaker of parliament, Hasan al-Turabi, Associated Press (AP) said on
Monday. 

SUDAN-ERITREA: Agreement to cooperate

Sudan and Eritrea on 7 October agreed to take steps to end hostility
between their governments and to resolve differences peacefully. They
agreed to commit themselves to "good neighbourly policies", according to
the official Sudanese media. After talks between their presidents, the two
countries had agreed "to cooperate positively to end all forms of
hostility", said a communique issued at the end of a three-day visit to
Sudan by Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki. 

ETHIOPIA: Meles Zenawi re-elected

Meles Zenawi was re-elected as prime minister on Tuesday by the new
parliament. In its first sitting in the second tenure, the Council of
People's Representatives re-elected Meles for a five year tenure by virtue
of his "sagacious political and diplomatic leadership," the pro-government
media reported. After his re-election, Meles requested parliament's
approval for the continuation of the existing cabinet until "structured
changes" are made, Radio Ethiopia said. Also re-elected were the Speaker
of parliament, Dawit Yohanes, and his deputy, Petros Olango. 

ETHIOPIA: President points to "daunting problems" 

In a speech on Monday to the two houses of parliament, President Negaso
Gidada congratulated the newly elected members and urged them to pursue
peace and democracy. He said in the next five years they were expected to
play a key role in bringing about development and prosperity, as well as
strengthening "the democratic culture and peace". A major priority of the
previous Five-Year Peace, Development and Democracy Programme had been
"reversing the unprovoked aggression committed by the pugnacious regime in
Asmara", Negaso said in his speech, broadcast by Ethiopian national radio,
as monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 

Negaso said that Ethiopia was facing "daunting problems in the form of
starvation, disease and ignorance". But, he said, democratisation had
strengthened with the recently completed second round of national
elections, and that priority would be given to developing the agricultural
sector as a way of "mitigating and averting the recurrent drought-induced
famine".  Special attention would also be given to curbing the spread of
HIV/AIDS, "which is wreaking havoc with a sizeable segment of our
society". 

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN set to clear mines

The United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) has been set
up to support the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). A press
release said UNMACC was working with the Ethiopian and Eritrean
authorities to ensure the safe deployment of UNMEE peacekeepers and
facilitate the return of people displaced by the border conflict between
the two countries. 

Nairobi, 13 October 2000


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