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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 74
26 January - 01 February 2002


CONTENTS:

SOMALIA: Inter-clan fighting leaves 40 dead, hundreds displaced
SOMALIA: Police enforcing weapons ban in Mogadishu
SOMALIA: Fish dying in large numbers
ETHIOPIA: Premier vows to eliminate corruption
ETHIOPIA: Women's role vital for development
ERITREA: Electoral law ratified
ERITREA: National Assembly convenes
DJIBOUTI-ERITREA: Bilateral cooperation to resume
SUDAN: Khartoum protests aid for opposition alliance
SUDAN: Bashir strengthens anti-abductions body
SUDAN: More child soldiers demobilised in Bahr al-Ghazal


SOMALIA: Inter-clan fighting leaves 40 dead, hundreds displaced

About 40 people have been killed and 60 wounded in inter-clan fighting in
the Mudug Region of central Somalia, sources in the regional capital,
Galkayo, told IRIN on Wednesday. The fighting was concentrated in and
around the village of Afbarwaqo, some 200 km east of Galkayo, but has now
died down. According to a local elder, Muhammad Salad Du'ale, the fighting
- which broke out two weeks ago - occurred between the Sa'd sub-clan of
the main Habar Gedir clan, and the Dir clan. It was sparked off by revenge
killings for the deaths of eight fishermen near Afbarwaqo, but the ensuing
escalation of the violence was also attributable to the scarcity of water
and grazing in the area, Du'ale said.

He said neutral elders from Galkayo had managed to secure a cease-fire on
Monday to allow for mediation to take place and to stop the fighting from
spreading to other villages. "There has been no fighting in the last
couple of days," Sheko Harir, a Dir elder, told IRIN from Galkayo. "The
elders have met and talked to both sides, and direct talks between the
belligerents are expected to begin soon."

The violence has reportedly displaced hundreds of families, who have
sought refuge in areas where "there is not a single well or water point",
Sheko Harir said. "Those are the ones who need immediate help."

SOMALIA: Police enforcing weapons ban in Mogadishu

The Transitional National Government (TNG) has issued a directive banning
the carrying of weapons on the streets of the capital Mogadishu, a senior
TNG official told IRIN on Monday. The directive, which was issued by the
council of ministers on 23 January, was already being enforced by the
police, with the help of the army, according to the Mogadishu police
chief, Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdid. He said the order was mainly aimed at
"freelance militia and bandits, who make a habit of carrying weapons on
the streets and use them for robbery or extortion". "We have the capacity
to carry out and enforce the order," Qeybdid added. However, he told IRIN
that his men would not venture into areas of the city under the control of
faction leaders, but warned that the police "will treat anyone who gives
support to bandits as if he is one of them".

Dealing with Mogadishu's many militiamen - who have been accustomed to
exploiting the absence of authority for the past decade - will not be
easy. There are about 10,000 militiamen in the city, according to UN
sources. "They will not easily give up their weapons," a Mogadishu
businessman, Abdiqadir Farah Mahmud, told IRIN. "For many of them, using a
gun is the only way they know to make a living." While disarming "these
mostly illiterate young men", the government would also have find them an
alternative to the gun, he pointed out.

Analysts say the TNG has enough forces to carry out the operation, but
whether or not the operation succeeds will depend on whether the
government is able to pay the salaries of the police, who have not
received any wages for the past four months. Hostile faction leaders,
meanwhile, are displeased with the new directive. Muse Sudi Yalahow, one
of the most prominent faction leaders in Mogadishu, blamed the current
insecurity on the TNG, noting that it had set up demobilisation camps for
militiamen, but had failed to pay them salaries, thus forcing them to set
up roadblocks, according to 'Qaran', a Mogadishu daily. Yalahow, however,
said that his militia would not erect roadblocks. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20157]

SOMALIA: Fish dying in large numbers

The deaths of large numbers of fish are being reported all along the coast
of Somalia, local sources told IRIN on Thursday. Dead and dying fish are
being washed ashore from Kismayo, 500 km southwest of Mogadishu, to
Bosaso, 1,500 km northeast of the Somali capital. "We have seen all types
of fish being washed ashore in the last couple of weeks," a humanitarian
source in Kismayo told IRIN. "We have even seen sharks."

In Bosaso, the commercial capital of the self-declared autonomous region
of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, and the region's main port, fish are
being washed ashore, "some of them alive and dying onshore", Muhammad
Sa'id Kashawito, a local journalist, told IRIN. Fish in this condition
have also been seen on the beaches of Mogadishu and nearby coastal towns.
There is no clear explanation as to what is killing the fish. According to
the humanitarian source in Kismayo, some people are blaming foreign
vessels for the phenomenon, accusing them of dumping poisonous waste into
Somali waters. Others say the fish are being dumped by foreign ships
illegally fishing in Somali waters. "There is speculation that these ships
are dumping some of their catches that they don't want," said Kashawito.

Environmentalists, however, say the fish deaths might be attributable to
natural marine phenomena. The environmental group, Ecoterra International,
said high concentrations of toxic algae, causing what is known as Harmful
Algae Bloom, could be the reason. "This is serious and affects the
livelihood of coastal communities," an ecologist from Ecoterra told IRIN.
"Ecoterra is monitoring and assessing the situation on a daily basis." He
added that the organisation welcomed any assistance and cooperation on the
many environmental problems in Somalia. According to IRIN's sources in
Mogadishu, Kismayo and Bosaso, Somalis are eating the fish being washed
up, ignorant of the health implications. So far there are no reports of
human deaths in this context, but Bosaso journalist Kashawito said some of
the people who had eaten the fish "have developed skin rashes, almost like
boils".

ETHIOPIA: Premier vows to eliminate corruption

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has pledged to rid Ethiopia of corruption,
saying there would be no hiding place for "sleaze and dishonesty".
Presenting a government report to parliament on Tuesday, he said his
administration was "totally committed" to fighting corruption, and
stressed that honest Ethiopians had nothing to fear. His warning comes
just weeks after the federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission brought
charges totalling Ethiopian birr 1.2 billion (around US $150 million)
against some of the country's top businessmen. Among those detained were
the general manager of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, 40 senior managers
and 13 businessmen.

"This government has been engaged and continues to be engaged actively in
bringing to justice those in senior government positions who had a leading
role in corruption," he said. "It must, however, be understood that the
objective of our anti-corruption struggle is not to pursue and jail
everybody that may have been involved in corruption... without ample
investigation and evidence. The objective is, and will continue to be, to
focus on the major hubs and centres of corruption and bring to justice the
leading players in these acts and send the message home that it pays to be
clean," Meles said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20248]

ETHIOPIA: Women's role vital for development

Ethiopia and Africa will never achieve development without the full
empowerment of women, a conference in Addis Ababa heard on Tuesday.
Ethiopia's Minister for Youth and Culture Teshome Toga said women in
Africa had consistently been denied their rights. "In most African
countries, the majority of poor people are women," he told the conference
organised by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR).
He said African countries were lagging behind, because they were
under-utilising the resources of half of their population by failing to
let women fully participate in society. "While they contribute 70 to 80
percent of labour, they own a fraction of the land and other important
resources," he pointed out. "In most countries they are the majority who
participate in the voting but only a fraction of them get voted or
appointed to leadership positions that influence policies."

In Ethiopia only 42 of the country's 548-plus MPs are women. Just two
women sit as ministers in the cabinet.

The two-day conference, called Creating an Enabling Environment for Gender
Responsive Leadership in Ethiopia, aims to redress the balance. Meron
Genene, a gender specialist with the IIRR, said in most African countries,
half the population was lagging behind. "We are not developing, because we
do not have equal participation of women," she told IRIN. "This means a
country is stunted because you are not taking advantage of all your
resources." She said role models should play an important part in shaping
the views of society, citing gold medal winning Ethiopian female athletes.
Meron called for better education for women as the key to empowerment and
said that greater access to credit could also help. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20215]


ERITREA: National Assembly convenes

A long-awaited session of the Eritrean National Assembly began on Tuesday
morning with several important issues on its agenda. Eritrean radio said
discussions at the 14th national assembly meeting would include issues of
peace and sovereignty, defence against Ethiopian "aggression", the draft
bill on political parties and organisations, the bill on elections, the
press and the national budget for 2002.

In an opening address, President Isayas Afewerki, as chairman of the
National Assembly, said that "although the weyane [Ethiopian] army was
supposed to withdraw from sovereign Eritrean territory in line with the
peace agreement signed in December 2000, it has not done so". "The
proposed Temporary Security Zone could not be set up and tens of thousands
of people could not return to their homes," the radio quoted him as
saying. "Because of this, it cannot be said the first agreement on the
cessation of hostilities has been implemented." However, he said, "because
of the goodwill shown by Eritrea and the correct path it followed", the
year 2001 "witnessed relative peace".

The National Assembly meeting comes against the backdrop of political
dissension in the country, with 11 dissidents of the ruling People's Front
for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) in detention and the private press
banned. The last session was held in September 2000, and analysts point
out the current meeting is long overdue. Parliamentary elections, due in
December 2001, were put on hold as no National Assembly session had been
held to ratify the electoral law and the law on political pluralism.
[Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20190: See
also IRIN Focus on impending National Assembly session at
www.irinnews.org/report.asp ReportID=19172&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa

ERITREA: National Assembly discusses "treason"

The Eritrean National Assembly continued its deliberations on Tuesday with
a discussion on the country's "internal political challenges", Eritrean
radio reported on Wednesday. The session, which was opened earlier in the
day by President Isayas Afewerki, discussed a report which "noted that a
few former government and Front [ruling People's Front for Democracy and
Justice] officials had committed treason by abandoning the very values and
principles the Eritrean people fought for".

According to the radio, the National Assembly decided that "the treason
should be made public for everyone to know". Official sources told IRIN
the real issues were the "timing and the motives" of the dissidents'
remarks, made at a time "when the country should be united in the face of
the threat from Ethiopia". Observers say attention will be focused on
whether the National Assembly will lift the ban on the private press.
Eritrea's deputy ambassador to Kenya, Temedhin Temariam, said the private
press is "under temporary suspension only". "As soon as lessons have been
learnt that the country comes before individuals, the private press will
recommence," he told IRIN. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20224]

On Thursday, the assembly ratified the draft law on elections, ushering in
the first step towards parliamentary elections in the country. On the
third day of its session, the National Assembly chairman, President Isayas
Afewerki, also elected Ramadan Muhammad Nur - the former secretary-general
of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front - to head a five-member
electoral commission. Parliamentary elections, scheduled for December
2001, were postponed as the law had not been endorsed. According to
Eritrean radio, the assembly's discussion on the law was "thorough and
heated". Some amendments to the draft were made giving the military the
right to be elected. Other provisions of the law include 30 percent of the
seats reserved for women, and the non-eligibility of "those who commit
treason" to vote or to be elected.

DJIBOUTI-ERITREA: Bilateral cooperation to resume

NAIROBI, 28 Jan 2002 (IRIN) - Eritrea and Djibouti have agreed to resume
bilateral cooperation as relations improve following a frosty period,
officials of the two countries said. The agreement came after an Eritrean
delegation, led by Foreign Minister Ali Said Abdallah, arrived in Djibouti
for a second meeting of the two countries' joint ministerial committee.
"We discussed issues between the two countries, and decided to revitalise
joint accords," a senior Djibouti government official told IRIN on Monday.
"Our relations are once again becoming warm."

Djibouti severed ties with Eritrea in 1998 after Asmara accused it of
favouring Ethiopia in the border war between the two countries,
allegations which Djibouti at the time described as "false". "It was due
to a misunderstanding," the Djibouti government official said. "Eritrea
did not understand that we were neutral." He added that Djibouti had "very
good relations" with all countries in the region. "Our ties with Eritrea
now are very good," he stressed. His comments were echoed by Eritrea's
deputy ambassador in Kenya, Temedhin Temariam, who said the relationship
between the two countries was growing "warmer and warmer". "We are
resuscitating and strengthening cooperation," he told IRIN.

Before leaving Asmara, Ali Said Abdallah said the two countries were
expected to sign agreements on trade, transport, education, health and
immigration, according to Eritrean radio. Ties between Djibouti and
Eritrea began improving towards the end of 1999 and diplomatic relations
were restored in March 2000 with Libyan mediation. Analysts note that the
two countries are also becoming closer because of a similar stance on the
Somali reconciliation process.

SUDAN: Khartoum protests aid for opposition alliance

The Sudanese government has reiterated its opposition to proposals by the
United States to provide a total of US $13 million in financial assistance
to the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA). "This is an
erroneous decision against which we have officially protested, and have
communicated our protest to [US Special Envoy to Sudan John] Danforth...
It is an undue decision and is clearly biased towards the opposition," AFP
quoted the presidential peace adviser, Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Atabani, as
saying on Sunday following reports that US President George W. Bush had
approved a US $10 million support package.

Steven Wisecarver, regional director for east and southern Africa of the
US Agency for International Development (USAID), told IRIN on Tuesday,
however, that although the US Congress had approved the funding, he had
received no notices that the money had been approved for release. "There
hasn't been anything new," he said. Peter Claussen, a spokesman for the US
embassy in Nairobi, told IRIN on Monday that the US Congress had approved
two separate funding proposals to the NDA - $10 million support approved
under the previous administration of Bill Clinton, and an additional $3
million for logistical support under the government of George W. Bush.

Samson Kwaje, a spokesman for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army, which is a component of the NDA, told IRIN on Monday that
US congressional funding had "nothing to do with the war", but was aimed
at helping to improve the capacity of the resource-poor opposition
movement to negotiate with the Khartoum government. "We don't often have
the resources to bring our negotiators to Nairobi. The government of Sudan
doesn't need it. They have oil, government resources and aid from the Arab
world," Kwaje said. The US government was an "independent country and has
a right to exercise its foreign policy as it pleases", he added. [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20198]

SUDAN: Bashir strengthens anti-abductions body

Sudanese President Umar Hasan al-Bashir has placed under his direct
supervision a committee charged with ending abductions of women and
children, giving it greater powers and providing it with better access to
funding. Bashir on 26 January issued a decree transferring the Committee
for Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), formed in 1999
under the justice minister, to his office, Reuters reported. A full time
committee chairman would be given "political, legal and executive powers"
to arrest, investigate, and prosecute those involved in abductions, the
news agency said.

Muhammad Ahmad Dirdiery, the charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in
Nairobi, told IRIN on Tuesday that the CEACW was an internationally
approved mechanism for addressing the problem of abductions. "This is a
part of the government of Sudan's promise to see that this issue is
addressed within the proposals of [former US] Senator Danforth," Dirdiery
said.

The Khartoum government has repeatedly stated that no slavery is practised
in Sudan, while admitting that there is a problem of some tribal militias
abducting civilians. Human rights and religious organisations have
criticised the Sudanese government for allegedly allowing government and
army militia forces to abduct women and children in the south. The
Zurich-based Christian Solidarity International (CSI) on 22 January
claimed that, since 1995, it had "liberated" over 78,000 "black Sudanese
slaves", through a programme in which CSI offers to buy individuals
described as such from their alleged owners in order to set them free.
[Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20232]

SUDAN: More child soldiers demobilised in Bahr al-Ghazal

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday that 909 child
soldiers had been demobilised from the SPLA in Bahr al-Ghazal, southern
Sudan, over the last two months. "The removal of more than 900 children in
December and January from the SPLA marks another significant inroad into
the number of children being used as soldiers," UNICEF said on Tuesday.
The 909 were in addition to the 3,551 child soldiers removed from the SPLA
- the military wing of the rebel SPLM - between February and August of
2001, UNICEF said. Those children had been demobilised by the SPLA in
fulfilment of a pledge the rebel group made to Carol Bellamy, the
executive director of UNICEF, during a visit she paid to southern Sudan in
October 2000.

A UNICEF spokesperson told IRIN on Tuesday that the demobilisation work
was being carried out by an SPLM taskforce, which had received training
and support from UNICEF. Of the 909 newly demobilised child soldiers, 233
had been demobilised in Aweil West, 170 in Gogrial, 361 in Aweil East and
145 in Aweil South, according to UNICEF figures. A total of 147 had
already been reunited with their families, UNICEF added. An additional 918
child soldiers were currently taking part in demobilisation processes in
Aweil West and Gogrial.

"The numbers show a continuing commitment to tackling a complex and
deep-seated issue, which will bring new opportunities to the children
involved," UNICEF said.


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