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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 49
4 - 10 August 2001


CONTENTS:

SOMALIA: "Still president" says Abdullahi Yusuf
SOMALIA: Baidoa in communications blackout
SOMALIA: Renewed fighting evokes humanitarian concerns
SUDAN: SPLM/A says Heglig oil operations shut down
SUDAN: US concern over poor humanitarian access
ETHIOPIA-SUDAN: Concern over unregulated cattle
ETHIOPIA: Released scholars call for open debate
ETHIOPIA: War cost over US $2.9 billion
ETHIOPIA: TPLF conference ends
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Appeal to end "war of words"
ERITREA: Another critical official sacked


SOMALIA: "Still president" says Abdullahi Yusuf

Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf told the BBC on Thursday he was still the
president of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern
Somalia, despite reports he had announced his resignation on Wednesday
morning. He blamed fighting and political confusion on Islamic
fundamentalists, and said he planned to remain in Galkayo - his home town
- for the present. His spokesman, Isma'il Warsame, spoke to IRIN from
Galkayo, and said Abdullahi Yusuf still enjoyed the support of the public
"except for fundamentalists and disgruntled individuals".

However, the newly established leader in Bososo, the former chief justice,
Yusuf Haji Nur, is asserting himself as the sole authority in Puntland,
saying Abdullahi Yusuf should "see the writing on the wall". Yusuf Nur
told IRIN that while Abdullahi Yusuf's circumstances were not clear, "he
has been ejected from Bosaso and Garowe... and has no public support".
Yusuf Haji said he would continue as acting president until a general
congress was held on 31 August to decide on a new leader, but that he
would not be standing as a presidential candidate. [For more details see
IRIN separate SOMALIA: Puntland leader denies resignation]

SOMALIA: Baidoa in communications blackout

Telecommunications in the town of Baidoa, 240 km southwest of Mogadishu,
were cut off from the rest of Somalia on Tuesday, fuelling speculation
over military movements in the region. Security sources told IRIN that the
Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), which controls the town, had shut down
all telephones and VHF radios, but was allowing aid agencies to use their
own frequencies. Such a move by the RRA was usually a prelude to troop
movement, humanitarian sources said. Somali political observers say the
RRA is likely to be mobilising support for General Muhammad Sa'id Hirsi
Morgan, who is reported to be in Marerei [0.25N 42.43E], in Middle Juba,
southern Somalia. Morgan was expelled from the southern port city of
Kismayo, 500 km south of Mogadishu, just a day after his forces captured
it from pro-Transitional National Government (TNG) forces of the Juba
Valley Alliance. However, an RRA source told IRIN that the information
blackout was due to a split within the RRA, between those who want to
provide support for General Morgan and those who are opposed to it.

Meanwhile, there are persistent reports in the local and international
media of Ethiopian troop movements in Somalia . The BBC reported on
Wednesday that the reason Baidoa had been cut off was the expected arrival
of Ethiopian troops there. However, security sources told IRIN that there
was "absolutely no basis" for the reports, and the presence of Ethiopian
troops had not been confirmed in any region in Somalia. The Ethiopian
government denied new accusations by the Mogadishu-based TNG that it was
backing opposition militia fighting in Kismayo.

SOMALIA: Renewed fighting evokes humanitarian concerns

United Nations agencies in Somalia have expressed concern over the
humanitarian impact of renewed military conflict in Middle Juba, Lower
Shabelle and Bari regions, and called on all Somali leaders to behave
responsibly towards innocent civilians. In a statement released in Nairobi
on Monday, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Randolph Kent warned
that insecurity would cause even greater hardship and displacement
following this year's poor rainy season, limited harvest and lack of
access to water. He "reminds all Somali leaders of their commitments to
respond to the needs and interests of the Somali people", the statement
said. Kent said the Somali leaders should "remain aware of their
obligations under international law to protect civilian populations, as
well as to guarantee the safety of the aid agencies, their staff and
equipment". [For more information on the issue of humanitarian access see
IRIN interview with Randolph Kent]

SUDAN: SPLM/A says Heglig oil operations shut down

The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Thursday
claimed to have forced a halt to oil extraction at the Heglig (Hajlij)
oilfields in Unity (Wahdah) state/Western Upper Nile following a commando
attack on Sunday, 5 August. In a press statement, SPLM/A spokesman Samson
Kwaje dismissed Wednesday's comments by a spokesman for the Canadian oil
company, Talisman, that the installation at Heglig had suffered nothing
more serious than a failed attack by a small militia group. "The main
central pumping station and fuel stores have been completely destroyed,"
Kwaje stated. The rebel movement also claimed that threats of further SPLA
attacks had rendered Talisman's share of the Greater Nile Petroleum
Operating Company - a consortium of oil companies operating in Sudan -
virtually worthless.

The SPLM/A insisted that its warning in June that oil installations were
"legitimate military targets" in the Sudanese war now carried extra
weight, because the rebel army had the capability to strike at them at any
time. "This warning is no longer a bluff as Talisman and others used to
term it," Kwaje added.

SUDAN: US concern over poor humanitarian access

Flight clearance denials by the government of Sudan had increased
significantly in the last several months, USAID reported on 3 August. At
any given time, numerous locations may be closed by UN security and/or
government denial of clearance for Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) relief
flights, it said. "There is significant humanitarian concern that
Government of Sudan flight denials are restricting OLS access to parts of
Western Upper Nile, where population displacement around the oilfields is
increasing," it stated in its complex emergency situation report on Sudan.
"Access to the Nuba [Nubah] Mountains and southern Blue Nile, areas
outside the OLS mandate, remains extremely limited," it said. In addition
to the Nubah Mountains and oil-rich Upper Nile, USAID drew special
attention to the situation in Southern Blue Nile - "an area of
historically heavy military activity". The region continued to be an
active zone of conflict between the government of Sudan and the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), with periodic media reports of
attacks by government forces on civilian targets, USAID stated. Since
1988, hundreds of thousands of people from Southern Blue Nile had been
displaced to other areas of Sudan, and humanitarian access to the state -
which is outside the mandate of the OLS - had been denied by the
government, it added.

The government of Sudan was also continuing "to use aerial bombing of
civilian and humanitarian targets as a military tactic", according to the
USAID situation report. It cited OLS security reports as saying that 195
bombs had been dropped by the government since the start of this year,
affecting populations in Bahr al-Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria, Southern Blue
Nile, and Upper Nile. "The aerial bombing of civilian targets in southern
Sudan has more than doubled since 1999, when there were 65 confirmed
aerial bombings," it stated. In an additional blow to humanitarian access,
relief organisations frequently had to evacuate their staff from many
parts of Sudan due to insecurity, it added. The government of Sudan had
denied accusations that it had intensified its bombing campaign in
southern Sudan in recent months, the daily 'Al-Ayyam' newspaper reported
on 5 August.

ETHIOPIA-SUDAN: Concern over unregulated cattle

Cattle crossing from Sudan into Gambela, western Ethiopia, are spreading
various cattle diseases, because they are coming from unregulated areas,
civil servants and residents in the district have complained. The head of
the Gambela Animal Health and Animal Products Marketing Team, David Uwar,
said thousands of heads of cattle had come into the Gacao, Akobo and Dima
districts without having been quarantined, and were therefore causing the
spread of diseases such as Bovarian TB and Trypanosomiasis, the
pro-Ethiopian government Walta Information Centre said on Monday. He
expressed fears for the possible resurgence of rinderpest, which Ethiopia
is reported to have controlled, Walta said. The official said the bureau
was discussing the situation with the regional state government in an
attempt to contain the spread of the diseases.

Paul Rossiter, regional livestock coordinator for FAO, told IRIN that
there was movement of cattle across the Sudan-Ethiopia border every year,
and that the main concern would be regarding rinderpest, which is capable
of killing cattle in large numbers. Rossiter said rinderpest was widely
believed to exist in southeastern Sudan - one of the last remaining
pockets of the disease in the world. "Rinderpest is only known to be
present in three or four places in the world," he said. According to
Rossiter, Ethiopia has not had any cases of rinderpest for six years and
has stopped vaccinating against the disease. As the cattle were coming
from areas in Sudan where there was "very much less control" over health
than in Ethiopia, the livestock could bring in "several nasty diseases",
like foot-and-mouth disease, Rossiter said. However, because the other
diseases were also present in Ethiopia, the most serious concern would be
the rinderpest issue, he explained.

ETHIOPIA: Released scholars call for open debate

In the first press conference since their release from jail in June, two
leading Ethiopian scholars have warned that the country could be heading
for trouble unless the government allows for more freedom of expression
over political issues. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and Dr Berhanu Nega,
both prominent human rights activists, said in a press conference on 3
August that they were innocent of the crimes they were charged with, the
BBC said on 4 August. The two were jailed for five weeks, accused of
inciting student protests in April, which escalated to violent riots,
leaving over 30 dead. The two said if the tense political climate
continued, the country would face a crisis. "The government has to open up
and be true to its claims of democratic politics. It has to listen to
voices outside its own circle, and open up to debate and discussion," they
told journalists.

ETHIOPIA: War cost over US $2.9 billion

Ethiopia's war with neighbouring Eritrea has had a devastating effect on
the economy, and diverted scarce resources from development, a report by
the Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute says. A copy of the
report - "Impacts of the Recent Border Conflict on the Performance of the
Ethiopian Economy" was obtained by the BBC in Addis Ababa prior to its
publication. According to the BBC, the report says that when the war broke
out with Eritrea on 6 May 1998, the government was forced to mobilise
manpower and material and financial resources to help with the war effort.
"The size of the army was increased from 60,000 to 350,000 [which]
increased the defence expenditure from US $95 million in 1997/8 to US $777
million in 1999/2000. Thus the military expenditure became 49.8 percent of
the country's total recurrent expenditure," the report said. The border
war, which lasted two and a half years, cost Ethiopia more than US $2.9
billion, the report asserts.

Reduction of external aid was one of the biggest losses to the country,
the report said. When the conflict began, the international community
froze or suspended new development assistance, and the annual average
donation to Ethiopia declined from US $700 million to US $500 million.
Economic and social infrastructures were destroyed, properties were looted
and normal human settlement and economic activities were disrupted, with a
significant loss of life, it stated. The cessation of trade and economic
relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea also resulted in large financial
losses for Ethiopia, the study said. However, despite the fact that
private investment, foreign trade, the level of external aid and gross
domestic saving declined because of the war, Ethiopia's GDP registered a
reasonable growth rate of 5 percent in 1999/2000, the report said. "The
statistics quoted are likely to shock most Ethiopians who supported the
conflict", the BBC report asserted.

ETHIOPIA: TPLF conference ends

In its closing session, the fourth conference of the Tigray People's
Liberation Front (TPLF) endorsed the measures taken by the government over
Eritrea, and said the actions had guaranteed respect for Ethiopia's
interests and sovereignty. The TPLF conference also "started listening to
criticism and self-criticisms by members of the TPLF central committee",
said the pro-Ethiopian government Walta Information Centre on Tuesday.

The TPLF conference lasted seven days and was held in the Tigrayan capital
Mekele, northern Ethiopia. It was convened in the wake of a serious schism
in the TPLF, the dominant party of the ruling coalition Ethiopian People's
Revolutionary Democratic Front, in which Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
retained a narrow majority during a walkout by central committee members
earlier this year. Meles was criticised by dissenters for what they
considered his poor handling of the dispute with Eritrea, and over
ideological differences within the party.

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Appeal to end "war of words"

At the eighth meeting of the Military Coordination Commission (MCC) in
Nairobi, Kenya, both Ethiopia and Eritrea expressed dissatisfaction over
aspects of the buffer zone created by UN peacekeepers, known as the
Temporary Security Zone. A statement released by the UN Mission in
Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said despite the objections over the zone,
both sides had "emphasised the importance of reaching formal agreement on
it". Other issues discussed by the two sides included the safe return of
internally displaced people to their places of origin, and reducing
tensions on the southern boundary of the buffer zone. The UNMEE statement
said the chairman, UNMEE Force Commander Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert, had
emphasised the need for face-to-face contact at the local level - which at
present has been limited to the military coordination meetings only.
Ethiopia's delegation was led by Maj-Gen Alemshet Degife, and Eritrea's
delegation was led by Brig-Gen Abrahaley Kifle.

At a press conference to the media of both Ethiopia and Eritrea held on
the Mereb Bridge on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Ethiopia and Eritrea, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila appealed
to both sides to tone down their violent rhetoric. Legwaila used the
restored border bridge to make the appeal to journalists present from both
countries. "Words, whether written or spoken, can keep a war alive, even
after the guns have fallen silent."

ERITREA: Another critical official sacked

The Eritrean government has sacked another of the 15 officials who signed
a letter in March criticising President Isayas Afewerki for operating in
an autocratic manner, AFP said on Tuesday. Presidential spokesman Yemane
Gebremeskel told AFP that the finance ministry had sacked its director of
land revenue, Brig-Gen Estifanos Seyoum. He has been replaced by treasury
head Gabriel Fasil, in a move that was described as a routine reshuffling
of department heads.

Estifanos was among 15 members of the central council of the ruling
People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), who accused Isayas of
working in an "illegal and unconstitutional" manner by failing to hold
regular meetings with government members, as provided for under the
constitution. Leaked to a web site in May, the letter represented the
first visible sign of dissent in the 10 years of Isayas's leadership since
the former Ethiopian province declared separation, AFP said. Other
signatories who have been dismissed include Fisheries Minister Petros
Solomon and Trade and Industry Minister Haile Woldetensae, who were both
founding members of Eritrea's liberation movement.

Nairobi, 10 August 2001


[IRIN-HOA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail:
irin-hoa@ocha.unon.org]


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


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