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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN Weekly Round-up 10
4 - 10 November 2000



SUDAN: Army claims control of Kassala
SUDAN: Church criticises government bombing campaign
SUDAN: UN envoy bemoans ceasefire collapses
SOMALIA: UN appeal for "disaster-prone" nation
SOMALIA: Potential for renewed violence remains - Annan
SOMALIA: Parliament meets, calls on ex-servicemen to enlist
ETHIOPIA: Envoy calls for review of UN refugee strategy
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN force commander reports good cooperation 
ERITREA: Ethiopia accused of cultural destruction
KENYA: Food for 3.9 million people arrives in Mombasa
UGANDA: WFP extends Karamoja relief operation

SUDAN: Army claims control of Kassala

Government forces on Thursday claimed to be in control of the city of
Kassala, 400 km east of the capital, Khartoum, after driving out rebels
who had claimed its capture on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reported.
The rebel National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - a political and military
grouping of Muslim opposition groups from the north and the Sudan People's
Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) in the south - had said its forces
captured Kassala before dawn on Wednesday morning after a day and night of
heavy fighting.  Sudanese Minister for Information and Culture Ghazi Salah
al-Din also said on Wednesday that "the entire forces" of the insurgents
belonged to the SPLA, and not the NDA. Rebels have never before controlled
Kassala, which lies on the main road between Khartoum and Port Sudan,
along which all Sudan's imports and exports pass, the BBC reported.

SUDAN: Church criticises government bombing campaign

The Catholic Information Office for Sudan on 3 November reported that
Torit district, near the Kenyan border, was the latest target of
government air bombardments, which had seen the air force drop 60 bombs in
10 days. These attacks were directed at civilian structures, including
schools, hospitals, churches and cultural facilities, in Nimule, Ikotos,
Ngaluma, and now Torit, a press release by the Church office stated. The
government had generated population displacement, created "a climate of
fear" and blocked the progress of projects to stabilise the population,
restore their confidence and involve them in longer-term development. The
office called for a ban on military planes flying over southern Sudan, and
demanded the presence of UN observers to monitor the Sudanese conflict. 

SUDAN: UN envoy bemoans ceasefire collapses

Ambassador Tom Eric Vraalsen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special
Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, has criticised "the collapse of
the unilateral humanitarian ceasefires" in Sudan which had been in effect
since July 1998. Vraalsen, who chaired a meeting of the Technical
Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (TCHA) in Geneva from 2 to 3
November, deplored the loss of life and damage to property from
war-related ground and air offensives, which had resulted in large-scale
displacements of civilian populations, "bringing further misery to a
people who can barely meet their basic needs".
   
SOMALIA: UN appeal for "disaster-prone" nation

Somalia would remain "disaster-prone" and "vulnerable to the vicissitudes
of conflict and nature" despite positive developments on the political
front, according to a report just released by UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan. The report painted a bleak picture of the health situation, noting
that diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and malaria accounted for
more than half of all child deaths in Somalia, which also had one of the
worst maternal mortality rates in the world. In addition, it had one of
the highest incidence of tuberculosis (TB) globally, and cholera was
endemic in most areas, a UN press release stated. Some 750,000 people in
Somalia were "highly vulnerable" following three consecutive years of
drought, according to the report, which projected the number of Somalis in
need of humanitarian assistance as being between 526,000 in a best case
scenario and 1.5 million in the worst case. 

While Somalia has been receiving emergency food assistance geared towards
saving lives and protecting the assets of affected people, the UN's
emergency appeal for funding to the country has received only US $2.1
million, or 51.1 percent of what had been sought. "Without further
assistance, it will be impossible to extend the UN presence in Somalia and
provide emergency assistance to populations in need," Annan's report
warned. 

SOMALIA: Potential for renewed violence remains - Annan

Compounding the humanitarian problems facing Somalia was the fact that
over the past year, seven aid workers from the UN and NGOs had been killed
there. "Large areas of Somalia are currently off-limits to aid agencies
owing to insecurity," according to Annan. While recent political changes
in Somalia had "demonstrated a commitment to re-establishing the rule of
law and promoting responsible public administration", there were also
considerable dangers to be surmounted, the UN statement quoted him as
saying. "Although the political authority of many faction leaders appears
to be waning, there remains a lack of order and a potential for renewed
violence in many areas, particularly in central and southern Somalia,"
Annan added. 

SOMALIA: Parliament meets, calls on ex-servicemen to enlist

The third session of the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia
met on Sunday and Monday at the Lafweyn Hotel in the capital, Mogadishu,
to consider the proposed programme of the interim government of President
Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, according to local media reports. Prime Minister
Ali Khalif Galayr informed MPs during the meeting that ministers would not
be allowed make independent decisions, but would be responsible for
implementing the collective decisions and policies made by cabinet. Galayr
also said the interim government would allow and encourage freedom of the
press for the first time in Somalia since 1969, but would expect media
practitioners to be fair, professional and objective in their reporting,
the Mogadishu newspaper 'Qaran' reported. 

Meanwhile, the BBC on Tuesday reported that the TNG had called upon former
soldiers to register at army training camps. Defence Minister Abdullahi
Bogor Muse said all former soldiers who were still physically and mentally
fit should register in their regional capitals, the report said.

On Wednesday, however, Mogadishu faction leaders Musa Sudi Yalahow, Husayn
Aydid, Uthman Hasan Ali Ato and Husayn Haji Bod, who control different
parts of Mogadishu, where the TNG sits, described the call as "an
invitation to fresh inter-clan fighting" and dismissed it as a hostile and
"unrealistic" approach by a regime that wanted to wage war against its
rivals. The registration of former soldiers is due to start throughout
Somalia on Saturday, 11 November, according to a Ministry of Defence
statement cited by news organisations. 

ETHIOPIA: Envoy calls for review of UN refugee strategy

Ethiopian ambassador to the UN Fesseha Tessema on Wednesday called for a
review of the UN's refugee strategy, and for a comprehensive new one -
based on African values and to meet Africa needs - to be worked out with
the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Fesseha told the UN General
Assembly that since the underlying cause for most refugee crises in Africa
was armed conflict, addressing those situations should be given priority.
The new strategy he proposed should address the issue of sustainable
solutions, including such steps as voluntary repatriation, integrated
rehabilitation and reconciliation, a UN press release quoted Fesseha as
saying. Ethiopia had been hosting a large number of refugees for over
three decades, and the current refugee population stood at well over
300,000, but the huge swell of Ethiopians displaced since May 1998 by the
war with Eritrea "had made the burden of generosity heavier than ever," 
Fesseha said.

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN force commander reports good cooperation
	
The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is receiving
good cooperation from both sides, according to the Commander of the UN
force. Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert predicted a speedy deployment of UNMEE's
4,000 troops and more than 200 military observers, who are being sent to
the mission area from 43 countries. "All are committed to the task ahead
and ready to work - to work with the people from Ethiopia and Eritrea with
the aim to bring a lasting peace in this region," he told reporters at a
briefing in Asmara on Wednesday. 

On the need to open land and air corridors for the peacekeeping force,
Maj-Gen Cammaert said this was "a matter of building confidence and trust
between the two parties." He said he would discuss the issue with them and
expressed confidence that it "will be solved in due time". 

Describing the work of reconnaissance teams currently deployed in both
countries to prepare for the arrival of battalions in the coming months,
the Force Commander said the military observers who had already taken up
forward positions "are receiving good cooperation from both sides." 

ERITREA: Ethiopia accused of cultural destruction

Eritrean Ambassador Amara Tekle, in his contribution to the UN General
Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) debate on
population movements, said on Wednesday that more than a million Eritreans
- nearly one third of the country's population - had been displaced due to
the war with Ethiopia. The appalling story of the displaced, including
tens of thousands of women and children, was one of "suffering,
deprivation, anxiety and fear," Amara said. It was a source of continuing
pain to Eritrea that occupying Ethiopian forces were "mercilessly
destroying the cultural heritage of most of the occupied territories, with
the aim of obliterating their traditional characteristics", he added. 

Amara said governments were emboldened to commit such crimes "when they
were reasonably certain that the international community would not take
any meaningful action against them", and it was therefore imperative that
the international community should not only respect but ensure respect for
international human rights and humanitarian laws.

However, Ethiopian Ambassador Fesseha Tessema told the meeting that his
country's presence (inside Eritrea) was not an occupation or
transgression.  Ethiopia was not occupying anyone's land, because "the
cessation of hostilities treaty had called for Ethiopian troops to remain
until UN troops arrived", Fesseha said.

KENYA: Food for 3.9 million people arrives in Mombasa

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday received a shipment of 21,500 mt
of maize at the Kenyan port of Mombasa for emergency drought distributions
in the country. The consignment, the first instalment of a 40,000 mt (US
$19 million) pledge by the US government, would be distributed immediately
across the country, providing a maize ration for two months for 3.9
million people, the agency said in a press release. The remaining 18,500
mt was expected in another shipment in the coming days, WFP said. For the
first time since June, a full food ration, comprising maize, lentils and
oil, would be given to beneficiaries in November and December, it added.
This large donation "has come at a critical time", allowing the agency to
respond to the needs of people in the worst drought-affected areas in
Kenya, the press release quoted Regional Manager Arthur Holdbrooke as
saying.

Meanwhile, the number of food-vulnerable people in Kenya has reached
almost 2.89 million, with 659,000 of the most vulnerable in 11 districts
in need of supplementary feeding, according to the latest emergency report
by WFP, released on 3 November. In addition, over 1.04 million children
were being targeted through emergency school feeding, it said. The
supplementary feeding programme is ongoing in 10 districts, with a
particular focus on children under five, women pregnant beyond six months
and nursing mothers with babies up to six months old. All those targeted
for supplementary feeding are also receiving general rations for their
households. The highest number of beneficiaries for supplementary feeding
are currently in Turkana, Mandera, Wajir and West Pokot districts,
according to WFP. In addition to the 10 districts prioritised for
supplementary food under WFP's emergency operation, 33,726 people in
Baringo District are to receive supplementary food from the NGO, World
Vision. 

UGANDA: WFP extends Karamoja relief operation

A food relief operation for the most vulnerable population in the
drought-affected Karamoja region in northeastern Uganda has been extended
by six months by the WFP, which has appealed for US $7.1 million in
additional funding. The operation is expected to provide 12,000 mt of
emergency food to some 190,000 semi-nomadic people living in Moroto and
Kotido districts, who are suffering consequences of a widespread,
drought-related crop failure.  WFP has been feeding drought victims in
Karamoja since April, with the beneficiary number peaking at 250,000
during the hunger gap period in July.  Meanwhile, the Ugandan government
has started sustained efforts to address chronic problems plaguing
Karamoja, such as recurrent drought-induced food shortages, cattle
rustling, ethnic clashes and widespread insecurity.

Nairobi, 10 November 2000


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