Weekly Round-Up - IRINHA-67: 14-Dec-01
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 67
08 - 14 December 2001
CONTENTS:
SOMALIA: Nairobi peace talks to go ahead
SOMALIA: Fear of US strikes grips Somalia
SOMALIA: US military officers reported in Baidoa
SUDAN: Rebels tell of "fierce fighting" in Nubah Mountains
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border commission hears cases
ETHIOPIA: Scores dead in tribal clashes
ETHIOPIA: AIDS orphans reaches one million mark
ETHIOPIA: Campaign to eradicate polio suffers setback
SOMALIA: Nairobi peace talks to go ahead
Peace talks aimed at bringing about reconciliation between the
Transitional National Government (TNG) and factions opposed to it, which
were due to open in Nairobi on Thursday, have been postponed until Friday,
a Kenyan government source told IRIN. The talks, which were convened by
Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, had been thrown into doubt by the
refusal of some key faction leaders to participate. The Somali
Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), a grouping of southern
factions opposed to the TNG, said in a statement they would not take part
in the talks, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on 11 December. The
SRRC it was refusing to take part "because the TNG was claiming to be the
legitimate government". Western diplomatic sources involved in the talks
told IRIN that Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi would not come to
Nairobi. "Whether the Ethiopians will send someone else or not is not
clear," the source added. The TNG director of information, Abdirahman
Dinari, told IRIN the TNG would be in Nairobi "in strength". On Monday,
the TNG prime minister Hasan Abshir Farah announced he had postponed the
formation of a new cabinet until after the reconciliation meeting in
Nairobi. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17678&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA]
SOMALIA: Fear of US strikes grips Somalia
The fear of an imminent American air strike is gripping Somalia after
reports that military aircraft have been conducting surveillance flights
over the country, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday. The first sighting
of military aircraft was reportedly last week, according to Abdulkadir
Isse, a Mogadishu resident. "Over the past week we had to listen to their
droning sound every night," he said. "People are really terrified to sleep
at night." However, the UN security officer for Somalia, Wayne Long, told
IRIN he had received no reports of military planes overflying the country.
Neither had he received any requests for the establishment of no fly
zones, he said. A regional analyst told IRIN it was unlikely the US would
attack Somalia. "It is much more likely that they are sending a message to
Usama Bin-Ladin and Al-Qaeda that Somalia is no sanctuary," the analyst
said. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17543&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA]
SOMALIA: US military officers reported in Baidoa
Meanwhile, a group of US military officers reportedly visited the town of
Baidoa, 240 km southwest of Mogadishu, a local radio reported on Monday.
The Mogadishu-based HornAfrik radio said that nine American military
officers visited Baidoa on Sunday and toured military facilities,
including the airport, in and around the town. According to the radio, a
senior Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) official Muhammad Adan Qalinle, who
is the governor of Baidoa, confirmed the presence of the American
officers. A US embassy official in Nairobi declined to comment on the
reports. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17398&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA]
SUDAN: Rebels tell of "fierce fighting" in Nubah Mountains
Fighting between the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army
(SPLM/A) and pro-government forces, which began on 3 December, was still
"raging" around the town of Kurungo West in the Nubah Mountains, SPLM/A
spokesman George Garang reported on Friday, 7 December. The rebel movement
accused Khartoum of violating an agreed period of tranquility by
undertaking a military offensive in the Nuba Mountains, Southern Kordofan,
south-central Sudan. Humanitarian sources told IRIN on Monday that they
were "pretty convinced" the attacks mentioned in the SPLM/A statement had
taken place. Other government attacks had taken place in the Nuba
Mountains during the cease-fire period, and there was no reason to doubt
these reports, they added. A UN World Food Programme (WFP) operation to
airdrop some 2,039 MT of emergency food aid in Nuba was completed last
week, several days before the end of the four week cease-fire period.
Additional food deliveries would probably be needed before April of next
year, WFP added. [Full story
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17405]
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border commission hears cases
The border commission charged with reaching mutual agreement between
Ethiopia and Eritrea on the demarcation of their common border began
hearing the cases of the two countries in The Hague on Monday. Temedhin
Temariam, the deputy ambassador at the Eritrean embassy in Nairobi, told
IRIN on Tuesday that the Eritrean Foreign Minister Ali Sayyid Abdallah had
addressed the panel and put forward Eritrea's case. Ethiopia presented its
case on Thursday and Friday. The border commission was established
following the cessation of hostilities and latterly the peace agreement
signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea as a means of establishing a final and
binding agreement on the demarcation of their border. Both sides have
agreed to accept and not in any way challenge the commission's findings.
"This is the final stage of the hearings," the Eritrean deputy ambassador
told IRIN. "After the hearings the border commission will deliver its
verdict on the boundary in February and this will be a binding decision."
The meeting will continue until December 21. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17546&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ERITREA-ETHIOPIA]
ETHIOPIA: Scores dead in tribal clashes
Violent tribal clashes in the south of Ethiopia in recent months have left
at least 60 people dead and almost 200 wounded, according to reliable
reports received by the UN. Hundreds of families have fled their homes
after skirmishes between the Borana and Garre tribes, who have a long
history of fighting over land use, a UN source told IRIN. Water points and
grazing rights have often acted as a catalyst and severe shortages of both
in the region have served to fuel the violence. The latest clashes erupted
after the Borana, who are semi-nomadic pastoralists, accused the ethnic
Somali Garre of encroaching on their land. The UN source said the fighting
had been extremely fierce with some casualties being ferried over the
border to Kenya and others being transported to Agere Maryam hospital for
treatment. The latest clashes - in the Wachile and Hisfutu areas of Oromia
- have been on going for two months and in that time there have been at
least 10 significant incidents leading many families to flee for safety,
some as far as 150 kilometres away. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17563&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ETHIOPIA]
ETHIOPIA: AIDS orphans reaches one million mark
The number of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia has reached the one million mark,
according to the Ministry of Health, placing an even greater strain on the
country's already limited and stretched social services. Ethiopia has the
third largest population in the world with the HIV virus. Only India and
South Africa have a greater number. "Tackling AIDS is the most serious
problem that Ethiopia now faces," Ministry of Health spokesperson Amsale
Yelma told IRIN. "The situation is very severe with all the associated
social and economic problems. We now have around one AIDS million orphans.
It places a burden not only on the health system and families but also has
a severe impact on industry because it affects the workforce." She told
IRIN that the Ethiopian Government needed international help to help deal
with the crisis. The World Bank has already given a US$59 million loan to
the government to help tackle the crisis. Other agencies are pouring in
funds to help with health care and education although they have been urged
to do more. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17631&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ETHIOPIA]
ETHIOPIA: Campaign to eradicate polio suffers setback
The largest ever polio vaccination programme in Ethiopia designed to bring
about full eradication of the disease suffered a setback on Thursday after
five suspected cases of the disease were discovered. The suspected cases
were all found in children under five years of age living in the Somali
region of the country. "If this is polio then that is a severe setback,"
Afewerk Ayele, from the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF told IRIN.
"It would be bad for our programme and for the country. It is extremely
unfortunate timing because of the campaign." UNICEF in conjunction with
the World Health Organisation is hoping to have vaccinated as many as 14
million children by the end of the year as part of a massive inoculation
programme. Some of the remotest parts of the country have been targeted
with teams travelling on foot by mule and some in helicopters. In the last
three years Ethiopia has seen only five cases of polio. The virus, which
attacks children, leaves victims paralysed for life. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17681&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ETHIOPIA]
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