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 82
23 - 29 March 2002


CONTENTS:

SUDAN: Fighting worsens food insecurity in western Upper Nile
SUDAN: US-led team to tackle slavery, abductions
SUDAN: Ugandan LRA may face retaliatory action
ERITREA: Refugee repatriation target this year at least 60,000
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation will ensure regional peace
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN representative finds no evidence of child soldiers
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN teams address reconciliation, development
SOMALIA: UN supports reconciliation process
SOMALIA: Six reported killed in inter-clan fighting
SOMALIA: Suspected criminals arrested in police operation

SUDAN: Fighting worsens food insecurity in western Upper Nile

The government of Sudan's military offensive in Leech State, western Upper
Nile, is exacerbating food insecurity in an area where populations are
already highly food insecure and many have been displaced several times by
fighting, according to the latest southern Sudan update from the Famine
Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net). The massive government offensive
was "deeply disturbing", and had featured prominently in emergency
meetings of humanitarian agencies grouped in the Operation Lifeline Sudan
consortium in February and March, the report, covering the period to
mid-March, stated. Leech State lies in an oil-rich area of western Upper
Nile - referred to as Unity State by the government of Sudan - that has
been intensely contested by the government of Sudan and the rebel Sudan
People's Liberation Army in the last two years, where civilians have borne
an increasing brunt of military operations, according to humanitarian
sources.

Leech State includes a sizeable portion of the oil concession area (known
as Blocks 1, 2 and 4) operated by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating
Company Limited, a consortium in which the Canadian company Talisman
Energy is a partner. Humanitarian and human rights groups have repeatedly
expressed concern at an apparent increase in the number of direct attacks
on civilians - including from helicopter gunships - and an alleged policy
of forced displacement of civilians in oil-concession areas. The
government of Sudan has persistently denied that such a policy exists.

"The new attacks have resulted in the destruction and depletion of the
minimal food stocks, and precluded access to some of the other food
sources available, such as fish and wild foods," according to FEWS Net.
Civilians in Leech State were now hiding to protect themselves from
(government) helicopter gunship raids, and were "unlikely to risk their
lives to receive assistance even if access was possible", FEWS Net
reported on 15 March, citing field reports. Flight denials to some of the
affected locations (as a result of military clashes) had "further
exacerbated the grave situation" by limiting food- and non-food assistance
to needy populations, it said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=26979]

SUDAN: US-led team to tackle slavery, abductions

The United States on Monday announced that it will organise an "eminent
persons group" to address the issue of slavery, abductions and forced
servitude in Sudan. Penn Kemble, senior scholar at Freedom House, has been
asked to organise the group, study the issue and "recommend steps that can
be taken by the parties to the conflict, and the international community,
to end such abuses", according to US State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher.

The move followed an agreement secured by the US peace envoy to Sudan,
John Danforth, with the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in December, he said. An end to slavery
and the abduction of civilians was one of four proposals Danforth put to
the government and SPLM/A in November, saying these were
confidence-building measures which could be positive factors for achieving
peace. The other proposals involved: improved humanitarian access in
conflict areas; zones and periods of tranquillity, in which immunisation
efforts and other humanitarian activities could proceed; and an end to
bombing and military attacks on civilians. Freedom House describes itself
as a non-profit making, nonpartisan organisation which offers "a clear
voice for democracy and freedom around the world", and which is convinced
that American leadership in international affairs is essential to the
cause of human rights and freedom. [see http://www.freedomhouse.org/]

The eminent persons group he is to lead will include experts on Sudan from
several European countries, including Norway, Britain, Italy, France and
the Netherlands, Boucher added. In addition to Kemble, the group will
include George Moose, a former US assistant secretary of state for Africa;
British members John Lyle and Sarah Uppard; Norwegians Leif Manger and
Lars Kvalvaag; and Italian Elena Scisco, AP reported on Monday. The group,
supported by research teams, is expected to make two trips to northern and
southern Sudan between now and the late-spring rainy season, according to
a US press statement. "Upon completion of their travel and research, the
group will draft a report and a series of recommendations," it added.
[Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=26966]

SUDAN: Ugandan LRA may face retaliatory action

Sudan is likely to strike back at the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army
(LRA), which it once supported, following an attack by the rebel group on
its troops in southern Sudan last week, according to a Sudanese diplomat.
Siraj al-Din Hamid, charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in Uganda,
told IRIN from Kampala that Sudanese authorities would take "the right
action" to defend Sudanese soldiers from future LRA attacks, after a
reported attack on Wednesday 20 March, and would continue to cooperate
with the Ugandan government's campaign against the LRA. "They [the LRA]
did kill some Sudanese soldiers, and there must be some sort of action,
which will be determined by those in charge," Hamid said, adding that he
had no details regarding the action to be taken.

According to media reports, a group of LRA fighters attacked Sudanese army
units in southern Sudan, on 20 March, killing an "unspecified" number of
soldiers, including a Ugandan army captain. Some 100 LRA fighters, led by
senior commanders, were involved in attacking the Sudan People's Armed
Forces (SPAF) units in surprise raids at around 9h30 on Wednesday morning,
AFP news agency reported. The New Vision Ugandan-government-owned
newspaper reported in Kampala on Monday that the number of soldiers killed
in Wednesday's attack was 22, including the Ugandan captain.

Hamid said he had no details of whether his government and Uganda were
planning any joint operation to fight the LRA, following the group's
attack on the SPAF. "They [the Sudanese and Ugandan governments and
armies] are cooperating and coordinating. The issue now is whether there
will be an expansion or extension of the scope of the existing
cooperation," he said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=26946]

ERITREA: Refugee repatriation target this year at least 60,000

Between 60,000 and 90,000 camp-based refugees in northern Sudan are due to
be repatriated by the end of 2002, and a further maximum of 62,000 in
2003, the UN refugee agency confirmed on Tuesday. The decision follows a
meeting of the Tripartite Repatriation Commission held on 25 and 26 March
in the Eritrean capital, Asmara. This programme would complete the
repatriation of a working figure of 160,000 refugees living in camps in
Sudan, a spokeswoman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) told IRIN on Wednesday. She said those who had fled in
the recently ended Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict had already been
repatriated; the new repatriations planned for 2002-'03 were from the
"older caseload", some of whom had been living in Sudan since as long ago
as 1967. The refugees are currently based in 23 camps in the regions of
Kassala, Showar and Port Sudan in eastern Sudan. The repatriation
programme, which began in May 2001, involves registering the refugees and
then transporting them by truck to a reception centre in Teseney, western
Eritrea, and then on to their homes.

Approximately 90 percent of the refugee returnees would be going back to
the Gash Barka Region in the west of the country, the spokeswoman added.
Each person is to receive a repatriation package including blankets,
kitchen sets, soap, jerry cans, agricultural tools and a small cash grant.

The tripartite meeting signified the resolve of the Sudanese and Eritrean
governments, together with UNHCR, to "close out the longest-lasting,
large-scale refugee situation in Africa on the basis of internationally
accepted norms and principles, through the most durable solution - that
is, voluntary repatriation", according to a joint statement issued on 26
March.

This Eritrean repatriation was "an unfolding success story that must not
be truncated," said Wairimu Karago, UNHCR's regional director for East and
the Horn of Africa. "There are still many more Eritrean refugees who are
waiting to return home, and we must help them to exercise their choice,"
he added. The Commission also agreed that the question of large numbers of
refugees in Sudan residing outside camps would be taken up at the next
meeting, due to take place before the end of the year. UNHCR was unable to
confirm the numbers involved. The Eritrean and Sudanese government, and
UNHCR, concluded an agreement in April 2000 on "the voluntary repatriation
of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan and their reintegration in Eritrea".

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation will ensure regional peace

The Ethiopian-Eritrean border demarcation will help to peacefully settle
the dispute between the two countries and avert similar conflicts once and
for all, the director of the Ethiopian International Institute for Peace
and Development said, according to the pro-government Walta Information
Centre on 27 March. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dr Kinfe Abraham
said the ruling of the Border Commission, due to be announced on 13 April,
would be of paramount importance to the prevalence of peace in the
subregion as a whole. Kinfe stressed that it would be premature to say
which party would gain and which would lose in the ruling, and dismissed
rumours alleging that Ethiopia would become the ruling's "victim", Walta
said.

Commenting on the view expressed by some Ethiopian opposition parties that
the border demarcation should not be based on colonial treaties, Kinfe
said there was no better basis for the demarcation than the treaties, and
that Ethiopia would benefit from this, Walta reported.

Kinfe's views were a close reflection of the government's position, and
"augur well for the upcoming ruling by the border commission", a
diplomatic source in the Ethiopian capital told IRIN on Thursday. There
had been a lot of agitation by the opposition, who wanted to use the
border issue as a means of criticising the government. "This indicates
that the government is not giving in to that sort of pressure," the source
added.

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN representative finds no evidence of child soldiers

A special representative for the UN has said that, during a recent visit
to Eritrea and Ethiopia, he saw no systematic use of child soldiers and
found no evidence of child abuse in refugee camps. Briefing the press at
UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday on his mission to the two
countries, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Olara
Otunnu said the absence of the child-soldier phenomenon was particularly
impressive "since no other conflict zone he had visited recently had been
free of the problem". Otunnu, whose field trip coincided with allegations
coming to light in West Africa of the allegedly systematic sexual
exploitation of children in refugee camps, said he had looked for any
inkling of such activity but found no evidence of abuse.

He attributed the fact that there was no military recruitment of children
and no evidence of abuse in camps to the control exercised by local
authorities and communities. According to Otunnu, local people both
organised and monitored life in the camps and distributed provisions,
while the international community and national nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) provided support for their activities.

Otunnu said there were two imperatives for Ethiopia and Eritrea to move
forward. The first was acceptance of the anticipated decision on 13 April
of the Boundary Commission on the disputed border which, he said, could
herald a much-needed definitive period of peace. Women and children in
both countries said they wanted it, and he hoped their leaders would
agree, Otunnu added. The second imperative he highlighted was for wide
support for the return of displaced people to their homes, and their
resettlement with the tools and assets needed to implement development
projects.

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN teams address reconciliation, development

The UN country teams for Ethiopia and Eritrea have met for the first time
in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss humanitarian and
development assistance to support peace-building and reconciliation
efforts. The meeting, held on 21 and 22 March, also included national
officers from both Eritrea and Ethiopia "to gain from their invaluable
experience in developing initiatives that will effectively address the
issues affecting both countries and move forward the process of
reconciliation", according to a press statement issued on Friday, 22
March.

Co-chaired by the UN Resident Coordinators from Eritrea and Ethiopia,
Simon Nhongo and Samuel Nyambi respectively, the country teams meeting was
also addressed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), Legwaila Joseph Legwaila,
and his deputy in Addis Ababa, Cheikh-Tidiane Gaye. The two UN heads of
agencies provided assessments on the current humanitarian situation and
the state of recovery assistance, while UNMEE presented an update on the
peacekeeping operation.

Participants at the meeting developed a draft action plan and exchanged
experiences related to the recovery of affected populations,
reconciliation and confidence-building measures, and activities related to
joint UN programming and advocacy strategy. The draft action plan that
emanated would be used as a framework to develop humanitarian recovery and
development activities for both countries, according to the 22 March
statement. "This is a unique opportunity to help facilitate the peace
process while creating development programmes to assist border populations
and others affected by the conflict," Howard Wilson, the meeting's
tolerance and reconciliation adviser, stated.

SOMALIA: UN supports reconciliation process

The UN Security Council, in a statement on Thursday, strongly backed the
National Reconciliation Conference for Somalia due to be held in April in
Kenya, and called on all countries in the region to contribute
constructively to the country's peace efforts, including using their
influence to bring on board Somali groups that have not yet joined the
process. In the statement, read out by its current president, Ambassador
Ole Peter Kolby of Norway, the Council reiterated its support for the Arta
peace process, which led to the establishment in 2000 of a Transitional
National Assembly and Somalia's first government for more than a decade,
and "which continues to be the most viable basis for peace and national
reconciliation in Somalia".

The Council also noted with "serious concern" the continuing flow of
weapons to Somalia from other countries and the reported training of
militia and plans for major offensives in southern and northeastern parts
of the country. It called on all countries to honour the arms embargo. The
Council expressed its determination to set up by the end of April a
mechanism to monitor and enforce the weapons ban. The Council also called
on the UN secretary-general to urgently coordinate peace-building
activities and provide for their incremental expansion, taking into
account the security situation in the country. It also requested him to
immediately set up a trust fund to support those programmes and supplement
the UN's Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for humanitarian aid.

On the humanitarian front, the Council drew attention to the urgent need
for international assistance in covering food and water shortfalls, and
further underlined that long-term help was required to stimulate economic
recovery, rebuild household-asset bases and promote sustained
productivity.

SOMALIA: Six reported killed in inter-clan fighting

At least six people were killed and an unknown number wounded in
inter-clan fighting in the Middle Shabelle Region of south-central
Somalia, sources in the regional capital, Jowhar, 90 km north of
Mogadishu, have told IRIN. The fighting, concentrated within a 20 km
radius around the village of Shamento, 10 km east of Jowhar, was between
the two Abgal sub-clans of Muhammad Muse and Warsangeli, the sources said.
It broke out on Monday and ended the same day, they added. The fighting
reportedly started after the self-styled "governor" of Middle Shabelle,
Muhammad Umar Habib, a Warsangeli, ordered the arrest of the Jowhar
"district commissioner", Fu'ad Ahmad, a Muhammad Muse. The Muhammad Muse
sub-clan took exception to this act and attacked Warsangeli positions,
according to local sources. Some houses in Shamento village were
reportedly burned down during the fighting, they said.

Muhammad Habib, who is a member of the opposition Somali Reconciliation
and Restoration Council, accused the Transitional National Government
(TNG) in Mogadishu of being behind the fighting, Somali media reported. A
TNG senior official told IRIN on Tuesday that the accusation was
"completely false, with no basis in reality". The Shamento area was now
calm but tense, "with a real possibility of renewed fighting" occurring at
any time, according to local sources. Abgal clan elders were engaged in
mediation efforts to bring about a permanent cessation of hostilities,
they added.

SOMALIA: Suspected criminals arrested in police operation

Mogadishu police have arrested over 40 suspects on various charges and
seized large quantities of weapons in a special anti-crime operation
launched on 13 March, a senior police official told IRIN on Monday. The
Mogadishu police chief, Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdid, said that, over the past
two weeks, police had arrested "a number of known criminals and seized
weapons, including mortar bombs, and recovered nine stolen vehicles". The
operation was launched following the release of a UN official, who was
kidnapped last month, and targeted individuals suspected of involvement in
car-jackings and kidnappings, Qeybdid said. Ahmad Ma'alin Muhammad, better
known as "Dishapilin", a national officer of the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, was released from captivity on
4 March.

"We targeted CC [an area in Karan district, north Mogadishu], where we had
information that most of the stolen vehicles were being taken," Qeybdid
told IRIN. Most of the recovered vehicles and weapons were found in a
garage owned by "a notorious gangster who is believed to have had a hand
in most of the kidnappings in the city", he said. However, he declined to
name the individual, saying the police were still looking for him. "He
managed to escape when the police stormed his compound." The police chief
said one of the people suspected of being behind the kidnapping of the
UNICEF officer was among those arrested. All those arrested were being
interrogated and would be charged soon, he said.

According to a Mogadishu resident, "there has been a marked improvement in
the security situation in the city in the last couple of weeks". Dahir
Haji Yusuf, a businessman, told IRIN on Monday that most people in
Mogadishu welcomed the police action, but added that there was an element
of uncertainty over whether the police would persevere. "We have had
police operations before, but all of them soon fizzled out," he said.
"Will they keep the pressure up or will they let the gangs come back?"
When this view was put to Qeybdid, he said: "There is no turning back this
time around." He insisted that the police would maintain the pressure on
the criminal elements "for as long as necessary".


IRIN-CEA
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