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


HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN Weekly Round-up 14
2-8 December 2000



CONTENTS:

DJIBOUTI: Calm restored after police rebellion
SUDAN: Clinton accuses Khartoum of human rights atrocities
SUDAN: Expulsion of US diplomat and arrests
SUDAN: Two killed in air raids
SUDAN: Run-up to December elections
SUDAN-ERITREA: Normalisation of relations still being discussed
ETHIOPIA-SUDAN: Improved relations consolidated
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Annan says war is over
ETHIOPIA: World Bank lends US $400 million
ETHIOPIA-KENYA: Addis denies involvement in Kenya clashes
SOMALIA: UN civil protection expanded
SOMALIA: Faction leader warns Libya to keep out

DJIBOUTI: Calm restored after police rebellion

Calm has returned to Djibouti after two people were killed and six injured
in a stand-off between police rebels and the army. Police loyal to
dismissed police chief General Yacin Yabeh Gaab took control of the
government radio and television station on Thursday, before being
overpowered by the army, in a 15-minute shoot-out. Witnesses who described
the rebellion to IRIN said that a handful of police officers loyal to the
general used two police ambulances with public address systems to declare
"the tyrant has been overthrown". About 12 police officers later broadcast
a radio message accusing President Ismail Omar Guelleh of "abandoning" the
people, and said he lacked authority. Djibouti telephone lines were cut
between about 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. (local times) when Djibouti
telecommunications was taken over by the police. 

The rebellion followed the announcement of General Yacin's dismissal -
known to be a close friend of the president - who had been chief of police
since independence from France in 1977. He has been replaced by Colonel
Ali Hasan Omar, who was reportedly successful in his attempts to persuade
some of the police officers to abandon the coup attempt. [For full story
see IRIN separate report of 8 December headlined "DJIBOUTI: Witnesses
describe "coup attempt"]

SUDAN: Clinton accuses Khartoum of human rights atrocities

In an address to mark Human Rights Day on Wednesday, US President Bill
Clinton singled out Sudan as guilty of human rights atrocities, news
agencies reported. Clinton, who also criticised Afghanistan and China,
paid tribute to human rights activists, "who have done so much to
publicise the atrocities of Sudan". He said: "America must continue to
press for an end to these egregious practices and make clear that the
Sudanese government cannot join the community of nations until fundamental
changes are made on these fronts." Sudan, for its part, has asked the UN
Security Council to reprimand the US over the unauthorised visit to
southern Sudan last month by US Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice.
In a letter to the Security Council, Sudan said the visit was a deliberate
offence. 

SUDAN: Expulsion of US diplomat and arrests

The government of Sudan has arrested seven opposition leaders and ordered
the expulsion of an American diplomat, accusing the leaders of planning an
armed uprising. Sudan ordered the expulsion of the diplomat, Glen Warren,
on Thursday, accusing him of discussing security issues with dissidents.
He was detained briefly on Wednesday for observing a meeting of the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an umbrella organisation for
opposition groups, AP said. Seven Sudanese opposition leaders were
arrested and held, and an official statement was issued saying they were
"planning an uprising to be backed by armed groups". Ghazi Sulayman, a
lawyer and member of the NDA, said the government knew about the meeting,
but that the detentions were "tailored by security agencies" to divert
attention from "sham elections", AP said. 

SUDAN: Two killed in air raids
  
Government planes carried out two more bombing raids in Bahr al-Ghazal,
southern Sudan, on Monday morning. Humanitarian sources told IRIN that two
villages northeast of Yirol were hit, in an area not previously targeted. 
In the first raid, on a village about 15 km from Yirol, three bombs were
dropped, killing two people and injuring three others. The second raid
targeted a village about 18 km from Yirol. Five bombs were dropped, but
there have been no reports of deaths or injuries from humanitarian
contacts in the area, the source said. 

SUDAN: Run-up to December elections

Election campaigning by opposition candidates for parliamentary and
presidential elections, planned to take place between 11 and 20 December,
will go ahead without interference from the security forces, according to
the authorities in Khartoum. Police Maj-Gen Muhammad Ahmad Afi said on
state television that security forces would be "very tolerant". Afi said,
in an interview monitored by the BBC on 5 December, that the police had
offered the candidates "all the opportunities to put forward their
election manifestoes and their views without interference". Campaigning in
the presidential elections was intensifying, with candidates addressing
public rallies and touring with election programmes, state media reported. 

An eight-person observer team from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday to monitor the presidential and
parliamentary elections, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported. It said
the team was led by Ambassador Pascal Gayama, former OAU assistant
secretary-general. All the main opposition parties are boycotting the
polls and have asked the Supreme Court to postpone the elections, on
grounds that the present political situation does not allow for a fair and
democratic process. Sudan's parliament was dissolved a year ago by
President Umar al-Bashir and a state of emergency remains in force. On
Thursday, Sudanese television, monitored by the BBC, quoted the chairman
of the electoral commission, Abd al-Mun'im al-Zayn al-Nahhas, as saying
the elections would now commence on 13 December, a postponement of two
days. 

SUDAN-ERITREA: Normalisation of relations still being discussed

Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha was due in the
Eritrean capital on Monday, Asmara, Omdurman radio reported that day. The
report said he "will hold talks with Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki
within the framework of consultations and efforts being made to strengthen
bilateral relations and bolster means of cooperation between Sudan and
Eritrea". 

President Umar al-Bashir of Sudan has said that Eritrea is continuing to
back Sudanese rebels. According to Bashir, rebels were massing on the
common border, and included Eritrean soldiers, the Sudanese news agency,
SUNA, reported on Monday. The Secretary-General of the National Congress
(Sudan's ruling party), Prof Ibrahim Ahmad Umar, said in an interview with
SUNA that the presence of rebel troops on the Sudan-Eritrea border was
hampering moves to normalise relations between the two countries. He said
there had been positive changes in bilateral relations, but unresolved
issues remained. In the interview, published on Tuesday, he said Sudan
rejected any military action against its territory and regarded Eritrea's
support for the SPLA as "hostile".

ETHIOPIA-SUDAN: Improved relations consolidated

Sudan's relations with Ethiopia are moving towards wider horizons of
strategic cooperation the political and economic fields. This view was
expressed by Uthman al-Sayyid, the Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia, during
an interview with SUNA on Saturday.  The ambassador said that, during
their meeting on the fringes of the recent Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) summit in Khartoum, President Umar al-Bashir and
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had agreed that work should begin on
drafting a programme to strengthen bilateral relations in the political,
economic and commercial fields. Sayyid said Meles had announced Ethiopia's
decision to import gas and other petroleum products from Sudan. Sudan and
Ethiopia was also expected to sign an agreement to abolish customs dues on
bilateral commodity exchanges, and Sudanese entrepreneurs were being
encouraged to invest in Ethiopia. The ambassador also said Ethiopia would
make use of the harbour facilities at Port Sudan (in northeastern Sudan).

He went on to say that in the near future there would be exchanges of
visits by senior officials from the Sudanese ruling party, the NC, and its
counterpart, the Ethiopian People's Democratic Revolutionary Front
(EPRDF). Within the next few days, moreover, a meeting of the
Ethiopian-Sudanese joint border committee was due to be held in the
capital of Amhara State (Gonder), Sayyid was quoted by Suna as saying. 

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Annan says war is over

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday that, as far as he was
concerned, the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea was now over, and
expressed confidence that the planned signing of the peace agreement in
Algiers would go ahead on 12 December. Speaking in Addis Ababa after talks
with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the Secretary-General said: "I
have been very, very encouraged by this visit. As far as I am concerned,
the war is over. The agreement will be signed on the 12th and we then have
to concentrate on the question of reconstruction and economic and social
development," according to an unofficial transcript issued by the UN
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). Meles, for his part, told
Ethiopian radio that after regaining its sovereign territories by military
means, his country had declared that the war was over. He said his Council
of Ministers and the House of People's Representatives were going to
discuss the peace package and that he was confident that this would be the
final stage of the whole process. 

ETHIOPIA: World Bank lends US $400 million

The World Bank announced on Wednesday that it had approved two loans to
Ethiopia totalling US $400.6 million to help the country rebuild its
economy after the war with Eritrea. The bank said US $230 million was
targeted at Ethiopians most affected by the war, particularly an estimated
17,000 disabled war veterans. The remaining 170.6 million was to support
peace initiatives and provide additional resources for investment in the
social and economic sectors. This would include efforts to clear landmines
and to rebuild roads and power facilities. 

ETHIOPIA-KENYA: Addis denies involvement in Kenya clashes

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Ethiopian Embassy in Nairobi denied
and protested against allegations that Ethiopian government forces were
involved in any way in communal clashes on 30 November in Wajir District
in northeastern Kenya. "The fact of the matter is that the government of
Ethiopia has never violated the territorial integrity of the Republic of
Kenya and has nothing to do with this clash that occurred in the territory
of Kenya," the statement said. It said the clash was between two Kenyan
communities, the Ajuran and Garre, and it had not been established that
members of the Garre community in Ethiopia had intervened in support of
their kinsmen. Kenya radio reported on 2 December that 12 people had been
killed in Gurar trading centre in the north of Wajir District in a raid by
"an Ethiopian militia group". The report said a four-year-old girl missing
after the attack was believed to have been abducted. The radio quoted
local officials as saying that two of the dead were raiders in full
Ethiopian military fatigues. The 'East African Standard' said on Wednesday
that a diplomatic row was brewing between the two countries over the
issue. 

SOMALIA: UN civil protection expanded

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) for Somalia, which is already
operating in the self-declared state of Somaliland in the northwest, has
decided to expand its Somali Civil Protection Programme (SCPP). It will
extend its operations over the whole of Somalia, including Puntland in the
northeast, with the aim of improving standards and practices within the
judiciary, promoting law enforcement, effecting the demobilisation of
armed militia groups, and enhancing landmine action. Help will be given to
establish uniform guidelines, codes, practices and consistent training in
these four areas over the next three years, according to a UNDP press
statement. 

"These four areas form the bedrock of a stable society," said Senior
Deputy Resident Representative Andrea Tamagnini. "The SCPP aims to
reinforce Somalia's still-fragile peace. There are real opportunities for
economic and social recovery, and the promotion of human rights... but the
environment is still limited by armed militia, the proliferation of
landmines and the inadequacy - or lack of - law and order." The US $5.5
million expanded programme would be important assistance for Somalia,
where political and civil administration broke down in many of the country
after the overthrow of President Siyad Barre in 1991, said diplomatic
sources. [For full report see separate IRIN report dated 5 December
headlined "SOMALIA: UN expands civil protection programme"]

SOMALIA: Faction leader warns Libya to keep out

Somali faction leader Osman Ali Ato on Wednesday accused Libya of
promoting hostilities by siding with one group in Somalia's political
conflict, and demanded that it stop interfering in Somali internal
affairs. In an interview with AFP in Mogadishu, Ato said Libya had sent
military equipment to Somalia, and this could ignite new inter-clan
violence. His remarks followed the arrival in Mogadishu at the end of last
week of a planeload of equipment from Libya for the police force being
formed by the interim president, Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. Responding to
Ato's accusation, Abdiqassim said Libya's intentions in Somalia were for
the country's own good. In the same AFP interview, Ato said he and the
south Mogadishu faction leader, Husayn Aydid, had presented proposals for
a new Somali national reconciliation meeting to Yemeni President Ali
Abdullah Salih. 

Nairobi 8 December 2000


[IRIN-CEA HOA Weekly: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: 254 2 66129 e-mail: 
irin-cea@ocha.unon.org]


[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000
 

distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
Disaster Information Center             lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm
                                                     sitreps    nat-dsr
      web: www.vita.org                              fireline
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Horn of Africa  -   http://www.vita.org/humanitarian/hafrica