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 88
04 - 10 May 2002


CONTENTS:

SOMALIA: Somaliland leader dies in South Africa
SOMALIA: Abdullahi Yusuf takes Bosaso without a fight
SOMALIA: UN suspends activities in Mogadishu
ETHIOPIA: Government demands removal of UNMEE commander, reopens border
ERITREA: UNHCR ends refugee status for Eritreans
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian prisoners repatriated
SUDAN: Ugandan troops clash with LRA in the south
SUDAN: Cross-line breakthrough in return of child abductees
SUDAN: "Alarming food crisis" in Unity State

ALSO SEE:

SUDAN: Focus on agreement to re-establish full diplomatic ties with Uganda
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27586

ERITREA: Focus on rapid expansion of HIV/AIDS at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27692

SOMALIA: Somaliland leader dies in South Africa

The president of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Muhammad
Ibrahim Egal, who died last week, was buried on Monday next to his
father's grave in the port town of Berbera, a local source told IRIN. Egal
died on 3 May in a South African military hospital in Pretoria, where he
had been receiving treatment.

Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Somalia in
1991 after the downfall of former leader Muhammad Siyad Barre. Egal became
Somaliland's second president in 1993, when traditional elders (Gurti)
elected him for a four-year term, and again in 1997. In January, Egal
asked for and received a one-year extension to his term, which was to have
expired in February. The extension was, however, challenged by opposition
figures who described it as illegal.

With the exception of a short period of insecurity in 1994-95, Egal
managed to keep Somaliland stable, a western diplomat told IRIN on Monday.
Despite being unable to gain international recognition for Somaliland, he
remained "a respected elder statesman", he said. "Love him or hate him,
Egal has made people take Somaliland seriously," a regional analyst told
IRIN.

Egal's vice-president, Dahir Riyale Kahin, was sworn in as acting
president on 3 May in accordance with the Somaliland constitution, Radio
Hargeysa reported. Egal is survived by his wife and five children. [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27613]

SOMALIA: Abdullahi Yusuf takes Bosaso without a fight

Col Abdullahi Yusuf has captured the port of Bosaso, the commercial
capital of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern
Somalia, a local journalist told IRIN on Wednesday. Forces loyal to
Abdullahi had entered the town an hour earlier without a fight, with
forces loyal to his rival for the presidency of the region, Jama Ali Jama,
having withdrawn on Tuesday, said Abdinasir Farah of the Bosaso-based
Midnimo radio.

"Abdullahi Yusuf entered Bosaso at 10 am local time [07:00 GMT]",
Abdinasir told IRIN on Wednesday. "Thousands of residents came onto the
streets to welcome him, and he is in total control of the town. At this
moment [12.15 pm local time], he is meeting people at the presidency."

Abdullahi Yusuf, who had left Bosaso in early August 2001, returned on
Wednesday leading a force of between 500 and 800 militia, with 30
"technicals" (pick-ups mounted with heavy weapons), according to local
sources. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27651]

By Thursday, the town was reported to be calm and returning to normal, a
local journalist told IRIN. He said Bosaso was now quiet, with "businesses
reopening". "It is almost as if nothing has happened. It is back to
business as usual," he added.

Meanwhile, the Puntland authorities of Abdullahi Yusuf are warning the
staffs of UN agencies, EU and international NGOs "to stay away from
Puntland of Somalia until further notice", according to an official
circular made available to IRIN on Thursday. The document said the
decision to issue the warning had been reached because "the decision to
evacuate the staff of these organisations from Bosaso had neither been
coordinated with nor communicated to the legitimate authorities of the
State". The circular also said "some of these organisations have been
engaged in activities incompatible with their stated mission objectives".

Asked to comment on the warning, Sonya Green, the UN spokeswoman in
Nairobi, told IRIN on Thursday: "We are seeking further clarifications
from the authorities in Puntland and exploring implications. The UN is
still present in the area through national staff." [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27696]

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis
Ababa, on Wednesday, Husayn Aydid, the co-chairman of the Somali
Reconciliation and Restoration Council, downplayed the situation in
Puntland. He said the SRRC was trying to help end the renewed fighting in
Puntland between Jama Ali Jama and Abdullahi Yusuf. He said the SRRC
expected a meeting to be held between the two leaders within the next 15
days, to be hosted by the Ethiopians. "We appeal to the Ethiopians and
[other] peaceful countries to help the Puntland [achieve a] settlement
through peaceful means," he told the press conference.

"The conflict that is just occurring is not a big conflict. The problem is
political, it is not military." He said there had been only a few
casualties, which, he asserted showed that neither side wanted to fight.
Aydid stressed that the SRRC would recognise a president in Puntland who
was chosen by way of a "constitutional settlement" led by its parliament.
"The civil society [in Puntland] is not divided. The leaders [will] have
to choose a compromise that depends on the parliamentary and
constitutional system." He said neither Abdullahi Yusuf nor Jama Ali Jama
could take control of the region by force. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27690]

SOMALIA: UN suspends activities in Mogadishu

The United Nations announced on Tuesday that it was suspending all
activities in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with effect from Tuesday 9
May, a press release issued the same day by the office of UN Resident
Humanitarian Coordinator stated. According to the statement the action was
taken after kidnappers refused to release an abducted UN staff member.

"It is with regret that activities designed to assist all the people of
Mogadishu are being suspended due to these unlawful actions by a few
individuals - but this position is being taken in support of our abducted
colleague, and will be maintained until he is released unharmed and
without preconditions," the statement quoted Humanitarian Coordinator
Maxwell Gaylard as saying. Gaylard expressed concern for the health of
Muhammad Ali Abukar, who was affected by "a serious medical condition",
according to the statement.

Abukar was abducted on 28 April by unknown gunmen, who are still holding
him at an unknown location. He is the coordinator of the United Nations
Development Programme's Capacity Building Project in Mogadishu.

The suspension will affect programmes supporting governance and civil
society, including interventions in health, water and sanitation,
education and teacher training, according to the UN statement.

ETHIOPIA: Government demands removal of UNMEE commander, reopens border

The Ethiopia government has demanded that the military head of the United
Nations peacekeepers be removed from his post after a row over the
disputed border with Eritrea. It accused Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert of
"serious mistakes" after journalists were flown into a disputed village on
the border.  "He did not do his job properly, so we want him to be
removed," Netsannet Asfaw, Minister of State for Information, told IRIN on
Wednesday. "If he is doing his job properly, it is amazing that
journalists would enter Ethiopian territory without a visa. What is he
doing?"

The row comes after the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE) took the international journalists to the contested village of
Badme, which is administered by Ethiopia. Badme was the scene of some of
the heaviest fighting during the bloody two-year border war between
Ethiopia and Eritrea. An international tribunal in The Hague was set up to
resolve the contested border issue once and for all, but confusion still
surrounds the location of the tiny village.

Each of the two countries claims it falls within its territory, and have
been engaged in a war of words over who actually owns it. "It is wrong to
go to Asmara and then to Badme," added Netsannet. "If he is responsible
for that area, he should see to it that such things don't happen. It is
his job to do that. I don't know whether it was negligence or deliberate
or whatever, but I know that something extremely serious has happened, and
he is the boss of the area. He is responsible to take care that such
things don't happen."

Sources close to Cammaert say he was unaware of the journalists' visit to
Badme. "This was something that had been decided without his knowledge,"
one senior source told IRIN, adding that the major-general - a Royal
Marine who has served in Bosnia-Herzegovina - had been "absolutely
furious" when he learnt of the trip. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27659]

Earlier, on Monday, Ethiopia on Monday rescinded a decision to close its
border to UN peacekeepers operating in Ethiopia and Eritrea. In a
statement, the UNMEE announced that the move had followed discussions
between the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Legwaila Joseph
Legwaila, and various stakeholders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi. Ethiopia closed its border with Eritrea to UNMEE on 27
April, accusing it of "grossly violating" its mandate by taking
journalists to the disputed border town of Badme via the Eritrean capital,
Asmara. Following an independent border ruling last month, both countries
claimed that Badme - where their border dispute flared up in 1998 - had
been awarded to them. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27614]

ERITREA: UNHCR ends refugee status for Eritreans

The United Nations is to end the refugee status of hundreds of thousands
of Eritreans who have fled decades of fighting in their country, the UN
said on Wednesday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said they were no longer at risk from war - which has blighted the
country for more than 30 years. Refugee status was first granted to
fleeing Eritreans in the early 1960s during their bitter war for
independence, which was finally achieved in 1993. Then the war with
Ethiopia broke out in May 1998 prompted more Eritreans to flee, until it
ended in December 2000 after the two countries signed the Algiers peace
agreement.

"I believe that these two groups of refugees from Eritrea should no longer
have a fear of persecution or other reasons to continue to be regarded as
refugees," said Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "They
will therefore cease to be regarded as refugees by my Office with effect
from the end of this year."

The largest number of the remaining Eritrean refugees are in neighbouring
Sudan. UNHCR is helping 140,000 of them in camps in eastern Sudan, while
thousands of others have spontaneously settled in urban centres. More than
44,000 Eritrean refugees have been repatriated from Sudan with UNHCR
assistance. About 5,000 Eritrean refugees also remain in Ethiopia and
Yemen. A statement issued from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva said: "The
worldwide cessation will take effect on 31 December and will affect
hundreds of thousands of Eritreans in neighbouring countries.

"The root causes of the Eritrean refugee problem no longer exist, as
fundamental and durable changes have occurred with the end of the
30-year-old war with Ethiopia in 1991 and Eritrean independence in 1993.
Similarly, peace has returned with the signing of a ceasefire agreement
between Ethiopia and Eritrea in June 2000 and the establishment of a
UN-supervised security buffer zone between the two countries. The
acceptance of the recent decision of the International Border Commission
by both countries has contributed further to confidence-building," the
statement said.

More than 100,000 Eritreans have already gone home, either on their own or
under a continuing voluntary repatriation operation launched in May 2001.
UNHCR said it would continue to assess the claims of individuals who came
forward to seek continued asylum beyond 2002. "Those found to be still in
need of international protection will be able to remain in their current
host country as refugees, the statement said, adding: "Those who do not
qualify for asylum after 2002, but do not wish to return home because of
strong family, social or economic links with the host country will be
expected to legalise their stay there."

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian prisoners repatriated

A group of Ethiopians held in Eritrea for the last two years have been
repatriated, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told IRIN
on Tuesday. The 122 detainees had been held by the Eritrean authorities at
the Red Sea naval base of Massawa, the ICRC said. The handover took place
at the symbolic Mereb River Bridge which links the two countries - between
the Ethiopian village of Rama and the Eritrean village of Adi Kwala. Both
Ethiopia and Eritrea still hold hundreds of prisoners of war despite
signing a peace agreement in December 2000 brokered by the Organisation of
African Unity.

They agreed under the terms of the Algiers Agreement that they would hand
over all prisoners seized during the two-year border war. "The detainees
had been held for more than two years at Massawa naval base," an ICRC
spokeswoman said. "Some days before their release, the ICRC was informed
by the Eritrean authorities that this group of detainees had been granted
amnesty." Under its mandate, the ICRC had interviewed each of the
prisoners in private to establish whether they wanted to return to
Ethiopia.

"ICRC delegates based in Eritrea accompanied the detainees across the
Mereb River, where they were met by an ICRC team based in Ethiopia, before
being placed in the care of the Ethiopian authorities," the spokeswoman
said.

The ICRC also called on both countries to implement the Geneva Conventions
and repatriate all prisoners as they agreed to do under the peace deal.
"We urge the Ethiopian and the Eritrean authorities to rapidly release and
repatriate all persons entitled to this under international law," the
spokeswoman said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27661]

On Wednesday, Prof Jacques Forster, Vice-President of the ICRC, called on
both Ethiopia and Eritrea to expedite the repatriation of POWs. He said he
was concerned by a "slowdown" on the part of both countries in handing
over POWs captured during the border war. He was speaking during a press
conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, following a five-day
tour of Ethiopia.

Forster went on to say: "There was a positive start in the process of
releasing and repatriating the prisoners of war. The process has now
slowed down, one could say. We are concerned by the length of [time being
taken up by] the process. We are concerned, because behind each case you
have an individual, you have a family. It is a major humanitarian
concern," he said. He added that the ICRC was doing its utmost to ensure
the prompt release of all POWs by Ethiopia and Eritrea. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27691]

SUDAN: Ugandan troops clash with LRA in the south

The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) said on Sunday that they had
killed at least 18 members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on 3 May,
during their first major contact with the Ugandan rebel force in a
continuing campaign inside south Sudan. The clashes had occurred at
Katire, in the Imatong Hills area between the garrison towns of Magwe and
Torit in Eastern Equatoria (about 60 km from the Ugandan border), The New
Vision government-owned newspaper on Monday quoted the UPDF spokesman,
Shaban Bantariza, as saying.

There is considerable confusion about casualties, since the independent
Monitor newspaper quoted him as saying that 18 LRA fighters had been
killed, while The New Vision put the number at 32, and the Associated
Press quoted Bantariza as saying that the Ugandan army had counted 50 LRA
bodies, one by one.

"We are still searching the battle zones and blood trails," Bantariza told
The New Vision. "The death toll may reach about 50." Five soldiers had
been wounded on the UPDF side, he added. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27622]

SUDAN: Cross-line breakthrough in return of child abductees

Five child abductees have been returned to their families in the
first-ever cross-line flight from government- to rebel-held areas, Save
the Children Fund (UK) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
said on 3 May. "The first-ever flight for abducted children from the
government side to a rebel area opens the possibility of bringing many
more children back home," Wendy Fenton, Country Representative of SCF-UK,
southern Sudan, said in a joint statement by SCF-UK and UNICEF. The five
boys, aged between 11 and 17, were flown form Khartoum to the town of
Malwal Kon, northern Bahr al-Ghazal, on Wednesday 1 May, and were
accompanied by a staff member from SCF-UK's Khartoum office.

"This is a major breakthrough," said Kate Halff of SCF-UK, Khartoum. It
was hoped that last week's cross-line flight and release would lead to
many more people being allowed to go home, UNICEF and SCF-UK stated.
UNICEF, SCF-UK and the Sudanese government's Committee for the Eradication
of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) believe that up to 6,000
southern Sudanese children and women may still be held against their will
in government-held northern Sudan, the statement said. "The challenge now
is to put a stop once and for all to raiding, and return many more
children home, finally ending a terrible cycle of abuse," Thomas Ekvall,
UNICEF representative and the UN's acting Resident Coordinator, said in
the 3 May statement. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27619]

SUDAN: "Alarming food crisis" in Unity State

The NGO Action Contre la Faim (ACF) on Tuesday expressed urgent concern
about an "alarming food crisis" it said was emerging in Unity (Wahdah)
State, also known as western Upper Nile, in southern Sudan. The food and
nutrition situation was particularly worrying in Bentiu and Rob Kona
areas, it added.

In April, the residents of this area received only half-rations, even
though most of them are totally dependent on these distributions to meet
their needs, it stated. Moreover, it said, the period of the "hunger gap"
- traditionally difficult, coming between the year's two harvests - was
approaching, and ACF food aid distribution centres were already seeing an
increasing number of people suffering from malnutrition.

Serious military engagements have been taking place for some months
between government of Sudan forces and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Army (SPLA) in western Upper Nile, according to diverse media and
humanitarian sources. The SPLA has said the fighting began in February
when the government tried to force residents and the rebel movement out of
the area in order to secure it for oil production. The government denies
there has been forcible displacement of civilians, and says it is involved
in defending oil installations from attack. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27658]


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