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 115
16 - 22 November 2002


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation due to start next May
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Addis Ababa declines Eritrean port offer
ERITREA: Government offers ports for food aid to Ethiopia
ERITREA: UN, government launch appeal for aid
ETHIOPIA: US donates 62,330 mt of food aid
ETHIOPIA: Donors "reluctant" to give food aid
SOMALIA: FAO warns of spread of rinderpest
SOMALIA: Mixed reactions to clan-based proposal
SOMALIA: Floods hit southern areas
SUDAN-UGANDA: Khartoum ends anti-LRA pact
SUDAN-UGANDA: Diplomatic ties under scrutiny
SUDAN: Government and rebels extend truce
SUDAN: UN launches appeal for 2003

See also:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Feature - Eritrean deserters in "enemy" land
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31044

ETHIOPIA: Interview with opposition MP Beyene Petros
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31047



ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation due to start next May

Demarcation of the disputed border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is
expected to start in May 2003, UN sources told IRIN on Monday. The
physical construction and marking of the 1,000-km border will take between
four and six months, the sources added. Only after demarcation has been
completed will critical issues such as transfers of land and populations
between the two countries be carried out. It means that by the end of 2003
and early 2004 the final international border between Ethiopia and Eritrea
should be complete. The dates for demarcation follow recent talks in
London hosted by the independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission
(EEBC) which was set up to resolve the border dispute. The UN's Mission in
Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will play a critical role in demarcation by
demining the areas around the sites for each border post.
[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30950]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Addis Ababa declines Eritrean port offer

Ethiopia declined on Monday an Eritean offer to use its ports to deliver
badly needed to help offset the effects of a drought that threatens
millions of Ethiopians. "The problem at the moment is not about ports but
how to obtain food," Netsannet Asfaw, the Ethiopian minister of state for
information, said. "We have many ports that we can use and there is a
difference between rejecting and saying this is not an issue." Both
countries have been hit by a severe drought with at least 15 million in
Ethiopia and Eritrea in need of aid. But the offer opens old wounds
between the two impoverished countries that fought a two-year border war
in which tens of thousands of people died. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30971]

ERITREA: Government offers ports for food aid to Ethiopia

The Eritrean government has announced it will allow the use of its Red Sea
ports of Massawa and Assab for the delivery of emergency food aid to
Ethiopia. Some 14 million Ethiopians are facing food shortages due to a
prolonged drought in the region that has affected much of the Horn of
Africa. Similarly, in Eritrea the government estimates that some 1.4
million people will face food shortages in the near future. A statement
released by the foreign ministry last week said Eritrea was making the
gesture as it was "conscious of its humanitarian obligations in the midst
of a humanitarian crisis of huge proportions and because it has no desire
to penalise destitute populations in Ethiopia for the wrongs done by their
government". "The government of Eritrea expresses its good will to
facilitate the international effort to assist the famine victims in
Ethiopia by providing the services of its ports for expeditious delivery
of humanitarian assistance," the statement said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30948]

ERITREA: UN, government launch appeal for aid

The United Nations, in conjunction with the Eritrean government, launched
its annual consolidated appeal for aid on Tuesday, asking for US $163.4
million in food and non-food assistance for the tiny nation in the Horn of
Africa. The bulk of the request for 2003 came from the UN's World Food
Programme, which said it required $105.1 million in aid to help feed the
nation's 1.4 million drought-affected people. The request was up more than
60 percent on the appeal for 2002, when the UN requested $92 million for
800,000 war and drought-affected people; primarily because of the severity
of this year's drought, which is the worst in Eritrea's nine-year history
as an independent nation. "This critical period when Eritrea is emerging
from conflict and at the same time faced with a devastating drought is
crucial for the destiny of the country," Simon Nhongo, the UN Resident and
Humanitarian Coordinator, said. "It also presents a serious challenge for
the international community." [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30973]

ETHIOPIA: US donates 62,330 mt of food aid

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has
announced plans to ship a further 62,300 mt of food aid to Ethiopia where
some 14 million people face starvation from the harshest drought that has
hit the country in years. The US has now pledged more than 250,000 mt of
food to Ethiopia since July, making it the largest contributor. So far,
the US has donated 234,000 mt, USAID reported on Friday. The majority of
the food shipment - made up of wheat, blended cereal, pulses and vegetable
oils - is due to arrive in December and January. The US embassy in Addis
Ababa also announced on Monday that US $21 million would be ploughed into
a scheme for nomadic pastoralists. The five-year "Southern Tier
Initiative" will target some 78,000 pastoralists in Borana on the southern
border with Kenya. The programme aims to improve health, education,
conservation and peace building. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30974]


ETHIOPIA: Donors "reluctant" to give food aid

The Ethiopian government has accused the international community of
"reluctance" in responding to the severe drought that has hit the country.
"The latest reports reaching here from parts of the country warn that
people are dying of starvation," the government said in a statement
released at the weekend. "We would like to stress here that if the food
aid does not come soon and on time, the worst humanitarian crisis is sure
to unfold." The statement, released through the ministry of information,
said the government was trying to tackle the drought but blamed "donor
fatigue" for the poor response. It said international organisations had
been shown the severity on the ground, adding that this drought was "the
worst ever encountered.  "According to humanitarian organisations and the
government, some 14 million people will need food aid next year. By March
the country will need 100,000 mt of food aid a month.
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30953]

SOMALIA: FAO warns of spread of rinderpest

One of the world's deadliest livestock disease is on the verge of
spreading from its last stronghold in northeastern Kenya and southern
Somalia, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned. "The
Somali pastoral ecosystem is our great challenge now," said Dr Peter
Roeder, Secretary of the FAO Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme,
which is working to eradicate the disease by 2010. "It is almost certainly
the last refuge of the rinderpest virus in the world." Not only are nearby
areas of Africa at risk from reinfection by the movement of cattle, but
trade in cattle could carry the virus across the Red Sea to the Arabian
Peninsula or, according to recent reports, even further afield to
southeast Asia, the FAO statement warned. The disease - which does not
affect humans - can kill entire herds belonging to small-scale dairy
farmers or tribal herders who depend on cattle for their food and
livelihoods. The last outbreak of the disease in Africa in 1982 to 1984
caused losses of US $2 billion, the FAO said.
[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31020]


SOMALIA: Mixed reactions to clan-based proposal

Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) and the opposition Somali
Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) have both expressed
dissatisfaction with a proposal to allocate delegates' seats at the
Eldoret peace talks on the basis of clan. The regional body,
Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought (IGAD), which is organising the
conference, on Tuesday proposed that 400 plenary seats be allocated along
clan lines, to ensure equal representation for Somalia's four biggest
clans, and for minorities. TNG Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah told a
news conference that Somalis had decided more than two years ago to "leave
clans", and set up the TNG, which was the legitimate government. However,
he said the TNG would accept clan distribution of seats to a new
transitional government once this had been negotiated by the conference.
[Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31015]

SOMALIA: Floods hit southern areas

Large areas of the Juba Valley in southern Somalia have been flooded, with
thousand of hectares of farmland inundated by flood waters, according to
sources in the affected region. Businessman Abdinasir Abdullahi Haji from
the town of Afmadow, 620 km southwest of Mogadishu, told IRIN the floods
had destroyed farms and properties in the Lower Juba and Middle Juba
regions. "In October we had two weeks of non-stop rain," he added. He said
the Deyr rains (September -December) started early this year, cutting off
all roads and severing business activity between the town and Kismayo and
Mogadishu. "Prices of essential goods have quadrupled," he said. However,
the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the situation did
not appear grave. "There is flooding, but at this point it is only flash
floods," said a report by the FAO's Somalia Water and Land Information
Management System. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30949]


SUDAN-UGANDA: Khartoum ends anti-LRA pact

The Sudanese government has withdrawn its permission for a Ugandan army
offensive against Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in south Sudan. The
charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, Muhammad Ahmed
Dirdeiry, confirmed to IRIN on Wednesday that the Uganda People's Defence
Force (UPDF) would not be allowed to continue its 'Operation Iron Fist'
against LRA targets on Sudanese territory. "They have been given enough
time to do this job," he said. The Ugandan army in March launched the
offensive in an attempt to destroy LRA rear bases inside south Sudan.
However, the operation has widely been viewed as having forced many LRA
elements back into northern Uganda, where they have escalated attacks
against civilian targets. "The LRA are right now operating in northern
Uganda. We haven't heard of them operating much in south Sudan for two
months," Dirdeiry said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31002]

SUDAN-UGANDA: Diplomatic ties under scrutiny

Relations between Sudan and Uganda have come sharply into focus following
recent claims that the Sudanese government has resumed support for the
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group active in northern Uganda.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last week threatened to sever diplomatic
ties with Khartoum over allegations that certain elements within the
Sudanese government had resumed support for the LRA. Since June this year
the rebel group has stepped up attacks in northern Uganda, creating a
severe humanitarian crisis in the region. Sudan and Uganda first broke off
diplomatic relations in 1995 at the height of mutual suspicion, with each
accusing the other of arming and supporting the other's rebels. Full
diplomatic ties were only restored this year. On Monday, a local
government official in the northern Ugandan town of Gulu told IRIN the
Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) had established that LRA leader
Joseph Kony was trying to seek support from among some commanders in the
Sudanese army. He claimed they had been using Kony to fight the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), the rebel movement which
occupies territories in southern Sudan. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30959]


SUDAN: Government and rebels extend truce

NAIROBI, 19 Nov 2002 (IRIN) - The Sudanese government and southern rebels
agreed on Monday to extend a cessation of hostilities agreement until next
March, but failed to reach full accord on the sharing of power and wealth.
A statement from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD),
the regional body overseeing peace talks, said both sides had agreed to
extend the "Memorandum of Understanding on the Cessation of Hostilities"
until 31 March 2003, and to continue scheduled meetings designed to ensure
implementation of that MOU. Both the government and the rebel Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) originally agreed in October to
cease hostilities for the duration of talks, which were at that time
scheduled to last until the end of the year. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30979]

SUDAN: UN launches appeal for 2003

The chance that a lasting peace agreement between the Sudanese government
and southern rebels could be struck in early 2003 means humanitarian
actors should be prepared in case an "enormous humanitarian undertaking"
is needed, the United Nations said on Tuesday as it launched its US $255
million appeal for Sudan. While a peace deal would not immediately end
Sudan's chronic "humanitarian disaster", it would make "new opportunities
to support the people of Sudan and create the welcome challenge of moving
from humanitarian relief to rehabilitation and rebuilding," the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in the
Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for 2003. Peace talks being held in Kenya
under the auspices of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) have raised hopes among aid agencies that Sudan's
19-year civil war could soon come to an end. The Sudanese government and
the southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on
Monday agreed to extend a cessation of hostilities agreement until the end
of March 2003, and also signed an accord outlining the broad principles on
which a post-conflict government would be based. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30980]

SUDAN: Think-tank urges end to aid restrictions

The international community should make every effort to ensure the
Sudanese government and southern rebels agree to permanent, unhindered
humanitarian access to Sudan's war-affected populations, a leading
think-tank said in a new report. "Warring parties and international aid
providers in Sudan have an historic opportunity to bring to an end what is
perhaps the most extreme and long-running example in the world of using
access to humanitarian aid as an instrument of war," the International
Crisis Group (ICG) said on Friday. Manipulation of humanitarian assistance
has been an "integral part" of the strategies of both warring parties
throughout Sudan's 19-year civil war, ICG said in its report: 'Ending
Starvation As a Weapon of War in Sudan'. The Sudanese government in
particular, according to ICG, has been responsible for hindering
humanitarian efforts by denying flight access to conflict-affected people
in south Sudan, and has "burdened the relief process with new layers of
bureaucracy".  [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30957]


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