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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 68
15 - 21 December 2001


CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Postponement of December elections likely
ERITREA: Ethiopia accused of trying to scupper border hearings
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Tension rising ahead of border decision
SOMALIA: Reconciliation talks begin in Nairobi
SOMALIA: US diplomat in security talks
SOMALIA: Food situation deteriorating rapidly
SUDAN: US reports progress on humanitarian access
SUDAN: Nuba assessment mission to start next week
SUDAN: UN adopts resolution on emergency assistance



ERITREA: Postponement of December elections likely

Eritrean parliamentary elections planned for this month are unlikely to go
ahead as various essential factors are not yet in place, regional analysts
and government officials said on Wednesday. The analytical group,
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), predicted that elections could be
delayed due to the current political climate in the country, but said it
was possible the polls would be held before mid-2002. Eritrea underwent
political upheaval earlier this year when President Isayas Afewerki
arrested prominent government dissidents from the Eritrean People's
Liberation Front (EPLF) and banned the private press. Although there has
been no official statement regarding a postponement of the elections,
Eritrea's deputy ambassador in Nairobi Temedhin Temariam told IRIN the
current situation was not conducive for such a poll, neither were the
appropriate institutions in place. He noted that the draft electoral law
and the law on parties first had to be ratified. Furthermore, he said,
elections were not the main focus of the government, the country and the
people at the present time as Eritrea was still dealing with the aftermath
of war with Ethiopia. "The peace process is moving ahead, albeit slowly,
and elections cannot be the priority," Temedhin stressed, adding that the
possible postponement of the elections was not a cause for concern. [Full
story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17987&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ERITREA]

ERITREA: Ethiopia accused of trying to scupper border hearings

Eritrea on Monday rejected accusations by Ethiopia that it is mobilising
troops in the buffer zone between the two countries, and that it is
providing support to the Somali radical Islamic group Al-Ittihad. The
claims were made by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin at a press
conference in Addis Ababa on Friday. According to Ethiopian radio, he said
Eritrea was violating the Algiers peace agreement by deploying its regular
army "in the name of police and militia" in the Temporary Security Zone
(TSZ). He acknowledged there were no skirmishes along the border, but said
these "destructive acts" were "tantamount to preparations for another
provocation". The radio said he warned that Ethiopia would "take its own
action to defend its sovereignty" unless international guarantees were
given for implementation of the Algiers agreement. The allegations were
dismissed by Eritrea's deputy ambassador in Nairobi, Temedhin Temariam. He
told IRIN that Eritrea had not mobilised troops in the TSZ under the guise
of police and militia. "We have no reason to do this," he said. "We are
counting on legal ways of solving the border conflict which are underway
at The Hague. This is to the benefit of both Ethiopia and Eritrea."

During the press conference, the Ethiopian foreign minister also claimed
Eritrea was providing military support to "international terrorist groups
such as Al-Ittihad-al-Islamiyah". He alleged that Eritrea had sent a group
of nine military officers "who are advising and training terrorist groups
bent upon creating instability and insecurity along Ethiopia's border
region with Somalia". Rejecting the comments, Temedhin Temariam stressed
that Eritrea "has nothing to do with Al-Ittihad ... We don't intervene in
such things". "Eritrea's commitment against international fundamentalist
terror is well-known to everyone including the Ethiopian government," he
added. He accused Seyoum Mesfin of "trying to sabotage" The Hague border
hearings.  Last week, the UN peacekeeping mission for Ethiopia and
Eritrea, UNMEE, said the TSZ was calm and stable. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17815&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ERITREA]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Tension rising ahead of border decision

Tension is rising "considerably" between Ethiopia and Eritrea, according
to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan who urged both sides to exercise
restraint and avoid provocative actions. In his latest progress report to
the Security Council, he noted that each side was accusing the other of
military build-up in the demilitarised Temporary Security Zone (TSZ), set
up last year after a two-year border war between the two countries. Annan
rejected accusations by both sides that the UN peacekeeping mission for
Eritrea and Ethiopia, UNMEE, was pursuing a policy of "appeasement"
towards reported violations in the TSZ. The absence of mutual confidence
"leaves the relationship between the two countries in a potentially
volatile situation", Annan warned. "When each suspects the worst of the
other, relatively small incidents can quickly lead to an otherwise
avoidable escalation." The increase in tension comes as the two countries
are presenting their cases for border demarcation to the Boundary
Commission at the International Court in The Hague. The verdict, to be
issued in February, will be final and binding to both sides.  [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17996&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ERITREA-ETHIOPIA]

SOMALIA: Reconciliation talks begin in Nairobi

Talks aimed at bringing about reconciliation between the Transitional
National Government (TNG) and factions opposed to it opened in the Kenyan
capital, Nairobi, on Thursday, with delegates expressing confidence over a
positive outcome. The interim prime minister, Hasan Abshir Farah, is
heading the TNG delegation, which is meeting members of the Somali
Restoration and Reconciliation Council (SRRC) led by SRRC
Secretary-General Mawlid Ma'ane, and members of opposition factions other
than the SRRC. Opening the talks, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi told
delegates to expedite their deliberations so as to restore peace in their
war-torn country. He warned them that there was a limit to his tolerance,
and that he did not wish to be forced "to take steps which might be
unpleasant" for the Somali people, stressing "this was their only window
of opportunity".  [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18089&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA]

SOMALIA: US diplomat in security talks

The first US diplomat to visit Mogadishu since the UN pullout of 1995 has
held talks with members of the Somali Transitional National Government
(TNG), a senior TNG official told IRIN on Thursday. Glenn Warren, a
political officer for Somali affairs at the US embassy in Nairobi, arrived
in Mogadishu on Wednesday, the TNG information minister Zakariya Mahmud
Haji confirmed. "He had a working lunch [on Thursday] with the deputy
prime minister, Usman Jama, and other senior government officials,"
Zakariya said. The US diplomat also met the National Task Force for
Security and Anti-Terrorism for discussions on American concerns about the
possibility of "suspected terrorists on Somali territory", according to
the Somali official. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18052&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA]

SOMALIA: Food situation deteriorating rapidly

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has expressed serious
concern over the food situation in Somalia, saying it is deteriorating
rapidly mainly due to drought. In its latest report, the FAO said the
harvest gathered during the main cropping season of 2001 had been one of
the poorest in the last seven years, caused by late and erratic rainfall.
Some 800,000 people were experiencing food difficulties, with 300,000
people mainly in the southern regions threatened by starvation and in
urgent need of food assistance. The situation was further aggravated by
heavy rainfall in the neighbouring Ethiopian highlands which had caused
rivers to overflow in southern Somalia, resulting in the displacement of
large numbers of people. There were reports of increasing malnutrition and
population movements in search of food and work. [Full story
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17925&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA]

SUDAN: US reports progress on humanitarian access

The government of Sudan and the rebel Sudan people's Liberation
Movement/Army (SPLM/A) have agreed on an internationally monitored
cease-fire to cover the Nuba [Nubah] Mountains region, Southern Darfur,
south-central Sudan, and on "military stand-downs" to implement a
US-proposed initiative to eradicate polio, according to the United States
government. Roger Winter, Director of the US Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance (OFDA), told United Nations officials and donors in Switzerland
that a US technical team - following up on the November mission to Sudan
of American peace envoy John Danforth -had "conducted substantive
negotiations with both parties and found some common ground for
agreement". "It remains to be seen whether the parties' actions will
reflect the agreements... but we are encouraged by the progress that has
been achieved", Winter stated.  [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17835&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN]

SUDAN: Nuba assessment mission to start next week

A US-proposed mission to assess humanitarian needs for people living in
the Nuba (Nubah) Mountains region of Southern Darfur, south-central Sudan,
is expected to begin next week, the Al-Ayyam newspaper reported on
Wednesday. The mission would cover all government-controlled and
rebel-held areas of the Nuba Mountains, and would include appraisals of
food, health, and education needs, Sulaf al-Din Salih,
commissioner-general of the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) was
quoted as saying by the newspaper. The findings of the assessment mission
are expected to form the basis of a relief and rehabilitation programme
for the Nuba Mountains region. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18057&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN]

SUDAN: UN adopts resolution on emergency assistance

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has adopted a resolution proposed
by Tanzania on behalf of the African group of countries on strengthening
the coordination of emergency humanitarian and disaster relief assistance
in Sudan. Despite a number of concerns raised about the resolution,
notably by Canada and the European Union (EU), the Assembly adopted, by
consensus and without a vote, draft resolution L.60 on emergency
assistance to the Sudan. Under the terms of the resolution, the Assembly
urged the international community to continue supporting national and
international programmes of rehabilitation, voluntary resettlement and
reintegration of returnees and internally displaced persons, as well as
assistance to refugees.  [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17926&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN]


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001


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