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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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 24
10 - 16 February 2001


CONTENTS:
 
HORN OF AFRICA: Urgent need to support "recovery" 
SUDAN: Urgent appeal for 2.9 million people
SUDAN: Access to Nubah Mountains "conditional"
SUDAN: President sworn in
SUDAN: New rebel attack dismissed by government
ETHIOPIA: Appeal for drought recovery
ETHIOPIA: Journalist detained
ETHIOPIA-KENYA: High-level talks address border attacks
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Ethiopia begins redeployment
ETHIOPIA-DJIBOUTI: Port charges reduced
SOMALIA: Livestock ban bites hard
SOMALIA: Fake banknotes cause financial chaos
SOMALIA: Government to buy up imported money
 
HORN OF AFRICA: Urgent need to support "recovery" 
 
The UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Drought in the Horn of
Africa, Bronek Szynalski, has said that although a major famine was
successfully averted last year, it is now vital to aid recovery. "We have
not yet succeeded in putting people on the road to recovery... If we do
not provide support now we may be faced with the same crisis in a few
months," Szynalski told IRIN. The UN has appealed for US $353 million for
drought-affected people in the Horn of Africa.
 
He said the Horn of Africa was an area particularly vulnerable to drought
and conflict, and it would be a major task over the next six to 12 months
to help build up the livelihoods destroyed last year. It was also the
responsibility of regional governments to focus on developing areas where
there was a "chronic poverty syndrome". Szynalski said the drought had hit
pastoralist communities particularly hard, who were now trying to cope
with the devastating effects of the regional ban on livestock exports to
the Arab States. (Saudi Arabia and Yemen banned all livestock imports from
the Horn of Africa last October following the first outbreak of Rift
Valley Fever outside Africa.) Pastoralist areas in the Horn hit by drought
have been unable to sell herds of livestock held for export. "There is
little point encouraging recovery if you can't sell your animals... The
market within the Horn is not sufficient," the Coordinator said. He said
humanitarian organisations and donors were finding it "difficult to know
how to resolve the issue", but that it had to be tackled as a matter of
priority. Szynalski said there was also great concern over the widening
drought in Sudan. "It is a crisis that the international community should
be aware of, and the Sudan government would be wise to give more attention
to," he told IRIN.
 
Bronek Szynalski was appointed the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator
for the Drought in the Horn of Africa on 20 January this year. He is based
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but, unlike his predecessor, will not be
coordinating the international humanitarian response in Ethiopia. He said
the scope of the regional coordinator's position had changed to
concentrate on "regional perspectives". 
 
SUDAN: Urgent appeal for 2.9 million people

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) made an urgent appeal on
Tuesday for US $135 million for 2.9 million Sudanese affected by drought
and civil war in both government and rebel-held areas. Masood Hyder, WFP's
Country Representative in Sudan, said from Khartoum there was a "looming
crisis", which needed an urgent response. "We don't have time on our
hands," Lindsey Davis, WFP Information Officer, told IRIN. "The point> is,
if nothing is done now, people are definitely going to be running out of
food by April."

WFP said in a press release issued on Tuesday that food deliveries had
already been increased through food-for-work activities and school feeding
programmes in the north. In the south, emergency food distributions were
continuing, the press release said. It said drought had widened to hit
both the northern and southern parts of Sudan, particularly in the Darfur
and Kordofan regions in the north, as well as eastern Equatoria and
northern Bahr al-Ghazal. Drought in the south had been exacerbated "by
continued fighting". In the pastoral areas of Kordofan and Darfur, food
prices had more than doubled. Families were selling their livestock to
raise cash to buy food, said the WFP statement. "Grain stores are already
low and cattle are fetching a pittance at market. Water points are drying
up and villages have started to empty," it said. Malnutrition was rising
in eastern Equatoria and parts of Bahr al-Ghazal and Jonglei, warned WFP.
"Hunger is expected to be worst in the 1998 famine zones of Bahr al-Ghazal
and in Upper Nile, where the conflict continues", said the statement.
 
SUDAN: Access to Nubah Mountains "conditional" 
 
Humanitarian access is being denied to civilians in areas of the Nubah
Mountains controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), an
organisation for the Nubah Mountains said on Tuesday. A statement released
by the Nubah Relief Rehabilitation and Development Organisation said the
government had continued a war against civilians in the Nubah Mountains. 
"Despite a limited number of visits by the UN in 2000, the government of
Sudan (GoS) has finally refused to concede access to the SPLM areas, while
appealing for an increase in humanitarian assistance in the GoS-controlled
areas," the statement said. It said civilians had been killed and
displaced, as well as being abducted and used as forced labour by the
military. "Because of recent poor harvests, the region is reporting no
surplus areas, and because of widespread insecurity there is minimal to no
access to grain markets... host communities are unable to support the
recently displaced," the statement said.

Humanitarian sources told IRIN that UN access to Nubah was "a continual
problem" despite the fact the UN was given the go-ahead to carry out
assessments in 1999. Humanitarian agencies had been told by the government
that all access must go through government-controlled areas, which was not
acceptable to the SPLM, said the source. Conditions for the Nubah
Mountains differ from humanitarian access to southern Sudan, which comes
under the negotiated UN Operation Lifeline Sudan. NGOs involved in the
region were "very concerned about the Nubah Mountains", said one
humanitarian source. A government military offensive picked up in December
and moved into Western Kaduqli County, Nubah Mountains, said one
humanitarian worker with experience in the area. "What we see is the
government attacking farms and homes, and forcing people to come to the
government-controlled areas," said the source.
 
SUDAN: President sworn in
 
President Umar al-Bashir, who was sworn in on Monday for his second term
of office, has said he will work to achieve peace in the south. In his
inaugural speech, Bashir said he would work towards building a "strong and
unified Sudan", the official Suna news agency said. He said the question
of the south was the government's first priority, and that peace in the
Sudan would be based on "diversity, religious freedoms, and participation
in decision making". Peaceful solutions would be sought within the
regional mediations and bilateral initiatives, and Sudan would refrain
from "internationalising" the issue, Bashir said. In his speech, he
promised "multiparty elections", but did not elaborate, Agence
France-Presse (AFP)> said. Bashir took the presidential oath before 12
African heads of state, including L> ibya's Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi and
Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo, who were in Khartoum for a summit of the
Community of Sahel-Saharan States (COMESSA), AFP said.
 
The president said the government had struggled to cope with a weak
economic structure and limited export possibilities, as well as being
dependent on foreign aid. But economic development would improve, and
petroleum revenues would be used for "effecting development, services and
achieving peace... and the rehabilitation of what the civil war
destroyed", Suna said. Bashir also said he would deal with corruption, as
well as expand public services and education. He referred to Sudan's
relationship with the US, and called for a "constructive dialogue" with
the new administration. The US continues to advocate sanctions against
Sudan because of its alleged involvement with terrorism. 

SUDAN: New rebel attack dismissed by government
 
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) has said it has captured the
army garrison of Temenya, north of Kassala, eastern Sudan. An SPLA press
release said Temenya was a strategic military camp situated between
Adararia and Aroma on the Khartoum-Port Sudan road. A 30 metre-long bridge
was destroyed in the 5 February attack, the SPLA said. Traffic had been
brought to a halt for three days after the attack, until an alternative
route was opened by the government, said the statement, which was released
on 10 February. According to the SPLA, the attacking force was a "special
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) commando force". 
 
However, the government said Temenya was a police post, and did not have
the strategic importance claimed by the SPLA. 
 
ETHIOPIA: Appeal for drought recovery
 
The UN Country Team in Ethiopia is seeking over US $203 million for 6.24
million drought-affected Ethiopians. The assistance would also be directed
to the emergency needs of about 400,000 internally displaced persons
(IDPs) in Ethiopia and some 206,000 refugees from Somalia, a press
statement said. Making the appeal for humanitarian assistance for
Ethiopia, UNDP Resident representative Samuel Nyambi praised the response
of the donor community for "generously meeting" the needs of 10.2 million
drought- affected people in the country last year, and told journalists
and humanitarian representatives that the drought situation this year
"appears less alarming". According to UN sources in Addis Ababa, donors
met 66 percent of the regional drought appeal last year.
 
Mark Bidder, a member of the UN Country Team in Ethiopia, told IRIN that
the appeal had been launched "to bridge the gap between the relief
operation and recovery." He said there were good signs of recovery, with
"improved weather conditions, animals getting fatter, IDPs returning home,
and a peace agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea". But he warned
that recovery was "fragile" and that there was need for support from the
donors to maintain full engagement in areas badly hit by the regional
drought last year. He said the appeal was part of the regional drought
initiative, but was specifically designed for Ethiopia. "We need this for
the final push to recovery," he said.
 
ETHIOPIA: Journalist detained
 
The Paris-based organisation Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) said it was
concerned over the arrest of Befikadu Moreda, founder and publisher of the
Amharic weekly 'Tomar'. In an alert issued on Wednesday, Robert Menard,
RSF general secretary, said the journalist "did nothing more than exercise
his professional duties and should never have been arrested". 
 
Befikadu Moreda was arrested by seven members of the security forces from
Benishangul Zone and taken to an Addis Ababa police station, where he was
being detained, RSF said. On 31 January 2001, 'Tomar' published an article
about the secessionist claims of the Bert people in Benishangul, western
Ethiopia. The governor reportedly called Befikadu to ask him to disclose
his sources, which the jour> nalist refused to do, the RSF alert said. The
Canadian-based International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) also
called on international free press organisations and human rights
activists to protest against the arrest of the journalist on Tuesday. 
 
ETHIOPIA-KENYA: High-level talks address border attacks
 
The Ethiopian chief of staff, Lt-Gen Gebre Tsadkan Gebre Tensay, has held
talks with Kenya's President Daniel arap Moi, and with senior government
officials. A statement released by the Ethiopian Embassy in Nairobi said
the general's three-day visit led to "a series of extremely fruitful talks
and consultations". A "written and privately delivered oral" message was
given to the Kenyan president from Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The chief of staff arrived on Monday and met his Kenyan counterpart,
General Joseph Kibwana, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Boyana Godana.
Tsadkan was accompanied by the deputy foreign minister, Tekeda Alemu, and
the Ethiopian ambassador to Kenya, Teshome Toga. "Contacts between the two
countries, including at the highest level, are slated in the near future
with a view to addressing the common challenges that they face in the
subregion, and removing whatever obstacles there may be to the further
cooperation between the two countries," the statement released on Thursday
said. 
 
The Kenyan newspaper 'Daily Nation' said the talks came "in the wake of
recent attacks by Ethiopian militiamen at the common border, resulting in
the deaths of more than 160 civilians and policemen". The Ethiopian chief
of staff said the deaths caused by recent incursions were regretted, but
that they were largely due to clan differences, the 'Daily Nation' said on
Thursday. 
 
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Ethiopia begins redeployment
 
Ethiopia began to redeploy its forces on Monday in the first step towards
establishing a secure zone on the disputed Ethiopian-Eritrean border.
Ethiopia will complete its redeployment to the Southern Boundary of the
Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) by 26 February, and Eritrea will complete
the rearrangement of its forces to the Northern Boundary by 3 March, a
statement by the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
said on Monday. UNMEE peacekeepers would "monitor and verify the
establishment of the TSZ" to make sure both parties comply with the
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed on 18 June in Algiers, the
statement said. UNMEE confirmed that Eritrea would "start the restoration
of civil administration, including police and local militia in the zone" 
once the verification process had been completed.
 
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Legwaila Joseph
Legwaila, said in a press conference in Addis Ababa on 9 February that the
TSZ 25-km corridor would be "very important not only for UNMEE but also
for the two parties". He said UN peacekeepers could then move into the
secure zone "to make sure people can return to their villages in safety -
safe from mines and safe from retribution by one side or the other". 
Legwaila confirmed that armed Eritrean militia would be allowed to return
to the zone, as this did not contradict the peace agreement signed by the
two parties. He said UNMEE was still negotiating a high altitude flight
path between the two countries.
 
ETHIOPIA-DJIBOUTI: Port charges reduced
 
The Ethiopian government says it has resolved a row over port handling
charges with neighbouring Djibouti. After two days of negotiations in
Addis Ababa this week, senior officials from the two countries signed a
deal, Reuters said on Tuesday. According to Ethiopian government sources,
the deal incorporated mutually satisfying new tariffs on products entering
the Djibouti port. Ethiopia had earlier rejected a proposed 150 percent
increase in port charges by Dubai Port International, which took> over the
handling of Djibouti port last year. The Ethiopian government said the
increase violated a 1999 agreement between the two countri> es that
charges would not be changed without mutual consent, Reuters said. Under
the new agreement, port handling charges will be reduced for bulk oil
products from US $2.50 to $2.00 per tonne, effective 1 March. Charges for
products such as grain, flour, alcohol and tobacco would be cut from US
$4.00 to $3.00 per tonne, said Reuters.
 
Ethiopia was forced to rely on the Djibouti port after it lost access to
the Eritrean ports of Assab and Massawa, when the border war began with
Eritrea in 1998. 
 
SOMALIA: Livestock ban bites hard
 
In a joint report, the Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU) and the USAID
Famine Early Warning System have said that continuing low cereal prices in
the main production areas of southern Somalia have resulted in a shift to
cash crops, and a reduction of staple crops under cultivation. In northern
areas, favourable climatic conditions had greatly improved livestock
health, conception rates and production in most areas. However, the
exception was the Hawd of Togdheer in the self-declared state of
Somaliland, where "near destitute pastoral households experience a
critical situation resulting from reduced income from livestock sales,
poor rains and overgrazed pastures", said the joint December-January
report.
 
The report documents the impact to date of the Rift Valley fever ban on
livestock from Somalia imposed last year by the Arab states. There was
substantial loss of income at the macro and household levels, which had
limited the purchase of many goods, including medicine, and accelerated
the depletion of assets. Market failure because of the livestock ban would
"threaten livelihoods for many groups". FSAU monitors and nutritionists
said there was particular concern for the urban poor and IDPs in and
around most towns in the north. Burao, in Somaliland, was marked out as
being of particular concern, as it was a "heavily livestock dependent"
area.  Boosaaso and Gaalkayo in the self-declared autonomous region of
Puntland, northeastern Somalia, were also of concern, the report said.
However, the worst effects of the livestock ban on food security had been
mitigated by "unusually good livestock production and reproduction",
resulting in a high level of milk for consumption and sale. There had also
been "unusually low local cereal prices", and Ethiopian relief wheat grain
had "leaked into Somalia", the report said. (For the full December
2000-January 2001 FSAU/FEWS-NET report see www.unsomalia.org under 'Food
Security'.)

SOMALIA: Fake banknotes cause financial chaos

Business in the Bakara Market, Mogadishu's main market, was at a
standstill for three days, in protest over the importation of fake
currency notes. Traders in the market closed their doors on 8 February,
after two planes carrying the currency arrived at Balidogle Airport on 7
February, business sources in Mogadishu told IRIN. The arrival of the
notes, reportedly printed in Malaysia by Somali businessmen, caused
serious fluctuations in the exchange market. A Somali economist in
Mogadishu told IRIN that the impact of the currency had led to the price
of food and essential goods to almost double.

Before the arrival of the new notes, the Somali shilling was exchanging at
the rate of 12,000 to US $1, but now stood at 15,200 to US $1, Mogadishu
sources said. A demonstration was held near Bakara Market on 8 February,
with residents stoning businessmen suspected to be linked to the
importation of the money, the economist said. "Traders are now only
accepting (US) dollars for their goods", he said. The hardest hit were
low-income families and the large number of displaced people in the
capital, the economist told IRIN. 
 
A second batch of the fake currency arrived in Mogadishu on 11 February,
local sources confirmed to IRIN. "This was part of the money that arrived
on 7 February", a local businessman told IRIN. The new notes are estimated
at 90 billion Somali shillings, or about US $6 million. "This will lead to
hyper-inflation," a local economist told IRIN.>
 
SOMALIA: Government to buy up imported money
 
On Tuesday, the prime minister's office announced that the Transitional
National Government (TNG) would buy 60 billion Somali shillings (about US
$4 million) of the currency from the businessmen who imported it, in an
effort control its impact on the economy, a TNG a senior official told
IRIN. In return, the businessmen involved had undertaken not to import any
more money, the official said.  In a move to fight the importation of such
money, the government would soon announce the establishment of a central
bank, and the appointment of its senior officials, he said. 
 
Interim Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galayr, threatened legal action against
those who try to import more money, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) said. 
"Whoever is again seen to be importing fake money will be brought to
justice," he said in a press conference. He said the TNG knew "the
countries in which the money is printed and its routes towards Somalia,
and with the collaboration of the international police [Interpol] we will
be able to stop it", DPA quoted him as saying. 
 
Nairobi, 16 February 2001
 
 
[IRIN-HOA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: 
irin-hoa@ocha.unon.org ]


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