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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Fax: +254 2 622129
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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 51
18 - 24 August 2001


CONTENTS:

SOMALIA: Somaliland elders detained
SOMALIA: Food shortage hits fragile population
SOMALIA: Somaliland "severely malnourished" need resources
SUDAN: Security forces say oil attack foiled
SUDAN: Khartoum formally seeks UN help on flooding
SUDAN: Mahdi calls for self-determination
ETHIOPIA: Thousands hit by record floods
ETHIOPIA: Paedophile suspect in court
ETHIOPIA: Corruption case adjourned again
ERITREA: Second student dies
ERITREA: USCR says returnees need funding

SOMALIA: Somaliland elders detained

At least 10 people were wounded when police in the self-declared state of
Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, on Thursday exchanged gunfire with a
group supporting opposition elders. The elders, members of the Sultans'
Council, had earlier claimed that they were "the highest authority in
Somaliland", the BBC said. In a 30-minute operation, four of the elders
were arrested, and an army truck destroyed, according to the BBC report.
Diplomatic sources told IRIN that four were Sultan Muhammad Sultan
Abdiqadir of the Ide Galle sub clan, Sultan Muhammad Sultan Hirsi of the
Habar Yunus sub clan, Sultan Ahmad Shaykh of the Habar Awal sub clan - all
members of the Isak clan, and Sultan Hadi of the Gadabursi clan, said the
source.

In a telephone interview from Hargeysa, Information Minister Abdullahi
Du'ale told IRIN that there had been an incident, but the town was calm
and security normal. "There has been a challenge to government, and some
have been detained in compliance with the constitution. There are others
at large and we are in the process of trying to get them." He said the
authorities would not tolerate "tribal, religious, or clan interests", and
that political challengers should use the correct channels. [For more
details see IRIN Somalia Briefs, 24 August]

SOMALIA: Food shortage hits fragile population

The shortfall of food availability in southern Somalia is likely to have a
serious impact on a population already experiencing high levels of
malnutrition, and the numbers of malnourished arriving at some health
facilities are already on the rise. The World Food Programme (WFP) has
warned that half a million Somalis in the south face hunger, and has
urgently appealed for 40,000 mt to cope with a looming crisis following
widespread rain failure.

In its August Nutrition Update, the USAID-funded and FAO-implemented Food
Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) said poorer households throughout Bay,
Bakool and Gedo regions in southern Somalia were already experiencing
problems with food access, while casual employment opportunities in the
agricultural sector had diminished, and recent escalations in tensions had
caused displacement of already fragile communities. The report noted that
critical periods of stress in Somalia all too often coincided with poor
humanitarian access. "Insecurity in southern Somalia currently poses
enormous challenges for organisations attempting to monitor the situation,
identify populations in need of assistance, and deliver that assistance
effectively."

In Baidoa, FSAU said that movement of people from the rural areas in
search of alternative sources of livelihood started in March 2001,
following poor germination of the first planting of crops. There had been
a general failure of crops in the southern sorghum belt. Food prices had
increased and milk had become expensive in Baidoa town, said FSAU. The
Baidoa Mother and Health Clinic records indicate high malnutrition - over
47 percent - among the attendants since January 2001. The report warned
that "there is a high readmission in the feeding programme as a result of
reduced ability to provide food of adequate quality and quantity in the
household".

SOMALIA: Somaliland "severely malnourished" need resources

A move by humanitarian agencies to help severely malnourished children in
resettlement camps in Hargeysa, in the self-declared state of Somaliland,
northwestern Somalia, will depend on how quickly resources can be
mobilised, a UNHCR official told IRIN today. A recent nutrition survey
carried out by UNICEF, the USAID-funded and FAO-implemented Food Security
Analysis Unit (FSAU) and the Somaliland health ministry had found a
"worrying" 15 percent malnutrition rate among returnees who have come from
refugee camps in neighbouring Ethiopia. Kulunga Lutato, UNHCR
representative for Somalia, told IRIN that he had spoken to the UN
Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Randolph Kent, on
Wednesday. "A humanitarian response is being formulated... How soon
depends on how quickly we can mobilise resources," Lutato said.

A spokesman for the UN Coordination Unit, Andre Le Sage, said that the
nutritional survey had been initiated because "the UN is aware of the
harsh economic conditions faced by returning refugees and the urban poor".
Over the last two years, temporary camps and structures have mushroomed
among destroyed and abandoned buildings on the outskirts of the town.
"Urban poverty is now an enormous problem here," a Somaliland humanitarian
worker told IRIN. Two out of the eight refugee camps in Ethiopia -
originally established in 1988 - were closed in July. [For more details
see IRIN separate SOMALIA: Somaliland "severely malnourished" need
resources]

SUDAN: Security forces say oil attack foiled

The Sudanese army on Thursday stated that it had foiled a rebel attempt to
blow up an oil pipeline in Red Sea State, eastern Sudan, Sudanese TV
reported on Thursday. Security personnel guarding the pipeline had defused
an explosive device in the Braniu area, 400 km south of Sinkat, according
to the report. Guards had uncovered some publications by the Beja
Congress, a rebel group allied to the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army (SPLM/A), along with a number of grenades and an amount of
TNT explosive, it added. The SPLM/A has repeatedly accused foreign oil
companies operating in southern Sudan of collaborating with the Sudanese
government, and warned that they are "legitimate targets" in the country's
18-year civil war.


SUDAN: Khartoum formally seeks UN help on flooding

The government on 19 August requested the United Nations to provide
assistance in kind and services as part of an immediate response to the
urgent needs of flood-affected people, UNOCHA reported in its third flood
situation update on Wednesday. Between flooding arising from the seasonal
rise in the water levels of the River Nile and additional flash floods, 10
states had been affected, with Kassala, Nile River and Southern Darfur
worst affected, it stated. Over 61,000 people had been affected in all,
14,000 of those in Kassala State, it added.  Infrastructure was
particularly affected in Nile River State. The needs identified by the
government's Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) included, as before, tents,
plastic sheeting, medicine, water pumps, sanitation, food and empty sacks
to make sandbags. A UN inter-agency mission is planned for Thursday to
assess needs and the approach to be taken in light of the findings of
missions earlier in the week to Sinnar and Atbarah. [for further details,
see OCHA report on Sudan page at:
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/WCE?OpenForm]

The FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and
Agriculture (GIEWS) warned on Wednesday that extensive flooding in
northern and eastern Sudan in the past few weeks had destroyed crops and
aggravated chronic food insecurity. Following two consecutive years of
serious drought, flooding had exacerbated the "already precarious food
supply situation" in northern and eastern parts along the Nile, including
areas around the capital, Khartoum, GIEWS stated in a special alert.
Although a full assessment of crop damage was not available, preliminary
indications suggested "significant crop and livestock losses" in the
north, it added. [more details at:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/archive/sudan.phtml]

SUDAN: Mahdi calls for self-determination

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi on Monday called on the
Egyptian and Libyan governments to support self-determination for the
south in efforts to end Sudan's 18-year civil war, AFP said. Mahdi, head
of the northern opposition Ummah Party, and deposed as prime minister by
President Umar al-Bashir in a 1989 coup, was quoted as saying that denying
southern Sudanese the right to self-determination would only harden
opposition to unity with the north, and increase demands for immediate
separation of the south.

Despite accepting the joint Egyptian-Libyan peace proposal in June, senior
members of the opposition umbrella National Democratic Alliance have
reportedly refused to negotiate under the joint initiative unless it
incorporates a number of controversial amendments, including
self-determination for the south and separation of religion and state.
Bashir was quoted as saying by the Sudanese newspaper 'Al-Ra'y al-Amm' on
18 August that the principle of separating religion from state was nothing
more than a "slogan". "We are saying it in a loud voice: 'no' to
secularism," he said.

ETHIOPIA: Thousands hit by record floods

Floods have forced more than 15,000 people from their homes after water
levels in major rivers rose to the highest ever recorded, Ethiopian
officials said on Wednesday. The Ethiopian government's Disaster
Prevention and Preparedness Commission said food, plastic sheeting,
clothing and cooking utensils had been rushed to the affected areas,
Reuters news agency reported. The rivers Tekeze, Omo, Gilo and Rib had
overflowed and submerged crops in surrounding areas, according to the
DPPC. Downpours in the Blue Nile catchment areas of the Ethiopian
highlands have left many villages submerged, sending vast quantities of
water into neighbouring Sudan. Flooding occurs every year in Ethiopia
during the rainy season, temporarily displacing thousands of people, but
the latest inundations are more severe than usual, according to the DPPC.
Wind and rain have also affected the self-declared state of Somaliland,
northwestern Somalia, and heavy rains have been reported in Eritrea.

ETHIOPIA: Paedophile suspect in court

A British former aid worker accused of sexually abusing young orphans in
his charge appeared in an Ethiopian court on Monday. David Christie, 59,
did not enter a plea in court, but told journalists he was not guilty, AFP
said. Christie, who changed his name to Allen after fleeing Ethiopia six
years ago, complained that since being arrested at the airport on 17
August he had not been given access to a lawyer or to British consular
officials. However, a representative from the British High Commission in
Addis Ababa, Laura Williams, said the vice-consul from the High Commission
had visited him on the day of his arrest and given him a list of lawyers
to contact for his defence, Reuters news agency said. Referring to himself
as Allen, he told journalists that his young accusers had been intimidated
into making their allegations.

Allen is accused of abusing children in 1996 at the Ethiopian orphanage he
ran for the Swiss-based children's charity Terre des Hommes, but has not
yet been formally charged. His arrest followed a joint operation between
Ethiopian and Zambian police. The judge gave police two weeks to continue
their enquiries, and set the next court appearance for 2 September, AFP
said.

ETHIOPIA: Corruption case adjourned again

The Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court has once again adjourned the trial of
former senior government officials, including former Defence Minister Siye
Abraha, on charges of corruption, the pro-government Walta Information
Centre reported on 16 August. The court reset the trial date for 30
August. The adjournment of the case followed an appeal by the Criminal
Investigation Coordination Department of the Federal Police Commission for
more time, because of the "complex nature of the crimes" involved. The
court was told that an audit being carried out by the Federal Audit Bureau
as part of the investigation had not yet been completed. Defence lawyers
argued that whatever investigation was being carried out did not warrant
keeping the accused in detention, Walta said.

ERITREA: Second student dies

A second University of Asmara student has died while in government
detention. According to the university president, Woldeab Isak, the
student, Yemane Tekee, died while undergoing treatment for heatstroke at
Halibet Hospital on 19 August, AFP reported on 20 August. The first
student, Yirga Yosef, a third year student, also reportedly died of
heatstroke, on 14 August, AFP said 16 August.

The Eritrean government subsequently confirmed the deaths of the two, but
denied they had died in a detention camp, as reported earlier by AFP.
According to an Eritrean foreign ministry statement issued on Tuesday, the
Eritrean government "deeply regrets" the deaths of the students, but
attributed them to "climatic conditions". The two students had been among
a group of 2,000 students who had been taken to a place called Wia, south
of the port city of Massawa, after refusing to participate in a government
summer work programme, the statement said. The first student died on 14
August, followed by the other one on 19 August - the latter "after
hospitalisation for a week". The deaths had occurred during the first two
days "due to lack of adequate logistical preparation". The remaining
students were not in a detention camp and would be sent home soon to
resume their studies in September, the statement concluded.

ERITREA: USCR says returnees need funding

About 160,000 long-term Eritrean refugees in Sudan are prepared to go home
if the international community provides adequate repatriation and
reintegration assistance, a report released on Monday by the United States
Committee for Refugees (USCR) said. There were an estimated quarter of a
million long-term Eritrean refugees in Sudan, 160,000 of whom were
expected to return if given assistance, said the report. The return of the
refugees has been delayed since 1991 by disputes between Sudan and
Eritrea, the Ethiopia-Eritrea border war and disagreements between
Eritrean officials and international humanitarian agencies. These
impediments had now diminished and the repatriation programme should take
advantage "of the diplomatic and humanitarian window of opportunity that
now exists", said the report.

According to the report, opportunities for repatriation of long-term
refugees are in some ways strengthened in the aftermath of the recent
border war with Ethiopia, because more aid agencies are working with needy
groups in the country than at any time since independence. The report
urges donors to provide adequate funding and warns that "a badly run
repatriation programme could leave thousands of Eritrean refugees stranded
in Sudan without hope, providing fodder for further political
instability". The report calls on the Sudan government not to place
obstacles in the way of the "timely return" of the refugees.

Nairobi, 24 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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