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Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 116
23 - 29 November 2002


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: 64 said killed by mines in buffer zone since January 2001
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia frees remaining Eritrea POWs
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN force commander to visit Badme
ETHIOPIA: Britain to consider developing military ties
ETHIOPIA: Foreign minister urges mutually advantageous trade with China
ETHIOPIA: UNAIDS warns against stigma
ETHIOPIA: Almost a sixth of harvest lost
SOMALIA: UN and partners appeal for US $78 million
SOMALIA: Progress reported at peace talks
SOMALIA: Tension rising in disputed northern regions
SUDAN: Negotiating parties to visit United States
SUDAN-UGANDA: Anti-LRA pact renewed

SEE ALSO:

ETHIOPIA: Interview with Negatu Mereke, head of the National AIDS
Secretariat at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31112 ]

ETHIOPIA: Focus on cycle of poverty at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31097 ]

HORN OF AFRICA: Call for stronger women's role in conflict resolution at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31068 ]

ETHIOPIA: Interview with Dr Catherine Hamlin, founder of the Fistula
Hospital at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31153 ]



ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: 64 said killed by mines in buffer zone since January
2001

According to figures recently compiled by the UN's Mine Action
Coordination Centre (UNMACC), 163 people have been injured and 64 killed
by landmines in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) between Ethiopia and
Eritrea, which has served as a buffer between the two countries since the
end of their border war two years ago. The most recent figures cover the
period January 2001-November 2002. They are not a definitive total of all
injuries and deaths in the TSZ, but represent the most comprehensive
figure available. The TSZ, which was established after the cessation of
hostilities in 2000, stretches 25 km within Eritrean territory. Officials
at UNMACC say the monitoring of mining accidents in the buffer zone has
suffered significantly since three international non-governmental agencies
involved in mine related activities were told to leave Eritrea at the end
of August. Two international demining bodies remain in the country - Halo
Trust, a British NGO, and Ronco, a private contractor with the US State
Department. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31113 ]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia frees remaining Eritrea POWs

Ethiopia has released all Eritrean prisoners of war following the two-year
border conflict between the two countries, the government announced on
Tuesday. In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it
said all 1,568 prisoners of war were now free. "Ethiopia today releases
all the remaining 1,568 Eritrean prisoners of war including two colonels
and other commissioned and non-commissioned officers," the statement said.
"In a farewell occasion organised yesterday the prisoners of war were
informed that they are free and that they have the right to go to a place
of their choice." "Repatriation of the prisoners of war will start as of
today," the statement added. "Ethiopia has now freed all prisoners of war
under its control." Eritrea announced in August that it had released all
Ethiopian prisoners of war. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31088 ]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN force commander to visit Badme

The force commander for the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is
to visit the controversial village of Badme - the first senior ranking
peacekeeping visit since the crucial border ruling in April this year.
Major General Robert Gordon is expected to arrive at the border village -
scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the war which broke out in 1998
- on Wednesday, UNMEE sources told IRIN. Ethiopia reacted furiously after
UNMEE took journalists to the Ethiopian-administered village using
Eritrean visas just days after the new border was announced by an
independent Boundary Commission. Ethiopia closed the border to UNMEE
peacekeepers for 10 days and demanded the removal of the UN's former
military commander Major-General Patrick Cammaert. He left his post in
October after finishing his two-year tour of duty. Diplomats see the move
as a warming of tense relations between Ethiopia and the UN's 4,200
peacekeepers. A source told IRIN that the visit was part of a current
fact-finding mission the new force commander is carrying out in the 25-km
buffer zone between both countries. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31091 ]

ETHIOPIA: Britain to consider developing military ties

Britain is looking at boosting military links with Ethiopia, according to
the UK's Department for International Development (DFID). A team of
officials, including Ministry of Defence representatives, is due to travel
to Ethiopia early next year to consider strengthening ties. The details
are given in a newly-published draft Country Assistance Plan for Ethiopia,
drawn up by the British government's aid arm. "The Ethiopian military are
keen to strengthen links with the UK," the development plan said. It added
that UK officials wanted to examine the "best way" that support could be
provided. The DFID plan also states that the British government wants to
work with Ethiopia in tackling "political governance and human rights
problems." Federal elections in 2005 "will be a key test" for the country,
it noted. The plan says that by improving political governance and human
rights, foreign aid to the country will increase. A key element in
addressing the human rights violations, the report adds, is through
effective training of the police and security forces. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31114 ]

ETHIOPIA: Foreign minister urges mutually advantageous trade with China

Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin has said trade between Africa
and China should be on an equal footing whereby both benefit. Addressing a
meeting in Addis Ababa on trade between China and the African continent,
he said that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) must
play a key role in forging any trade relations between the two. Mesfin
added that China could also play a vital role in supporting Ethiopia's
agriculture development-led industrialistion, a central plank of poverty
reduction in the country. "We have no doubt that Africa can continue to
count on the solidarity of China in its struggle against poverty, and
against marginalisation in the globalising world," he said. [Full report
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31093 ]

ETHIOPIA: UNAIDS warns against stigma

Stigma and discrimination of HIV/AIDS victims are preventing countries
from adequately tackling the pandemic, the UN's anti-AIDS taskforce in
Ethiopia said on Tuesday. UNAIDS said that often the rights of victims of
HIV/AIDS are violated because of disgrace attached to the virus.
Gerardina Van Mensvoort, of UNAIDS, said that combating stigma and
discrimination will be a key factor of World AIDS Day which will be marked
on Friday. "Despite the catastrophe, silence prevails and action is slowed
because of stigma and denial and ultimately because of people's fears
about being open," the organisation said. "This catastrophe calls for more
to be done. Part of the response lies in addressing the existing
widespread stigma and discrimination." Ethiopia has one of the highest
populations in the world living with the HIV/AIDS virus. Dr Peter Piot,
the head of UNAIDS, will be coming to Addis Ababa to commemorate World
AIDS Day. He will also be meeting senior government officials to discuss
their AIDS strategy. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31095 ]

ETHIOPIA: Almost a sixth of harvest lost

Almost one sixth of Ethiopia's main harvest has been destroyed by drought,
humanitarian organisations said on Monday. The UN's World Food Programme
said that the scale of the loss could have a "potentially devastating"
impact on the country already facing food shortages. The main crop yield
in Ethiopia - the Meher - is harvested in both November and December. But
according to initial assessments around 15 percent of the harvest has been
lost. "Early forecasts indicate that the harvest is likely to be around 15
percent less than a normal harvest," WFP said. "A normal harvest is over
12 million tonnes but is not fully adequate to meet needs." Around three
quarters of the 65 million population rely on the Meher harvest for their
food. But WFP said that food prices are likely to increase, affecting the
majority of the population. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31071 ]

SOMALIA: UN and partners appeal for US $78 million

UN agencies and their partners in Somalia are appealing to donors for some
US $78 million for the year 2003, for a variety of emergency, recovery,
and development projects in the country, the UN Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator's Office for Somalia said on Thursday. The 2003 Consolidated
Inter-Agency Appeal for Somalia, launched regionally last week in the
Kenyan capital, Nairobi, contained 56 projects worth $77.8 million from 14
UN agencies and three NGOs, the UN office reported. The humanitarian and
recovery effort in Somalia was aimed at improving food security, health
and sanitation, and protecting and assisting vulnerable communities, such
as returning refugees, displaced populations and minorities, Sonya Green,
the office's information officer, said. She added that the effort was also
directed towards supporting good governance, peace-building, and economic
recovery. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31141 ]

SOMALIA: Progress reported at peace talks

The organisers of the Kenyan-hosted Somali peace conference are reported
to be in a buoyant mood after three major clans and minority groups
delivered lists of their participants to the six technical committees, a
source close to the talks told IRIN on Tuesday. The committees are to
produce recommendations on core issues identified by the conference,
including federalism, disarmament, and land rights. However, the committee
phase has been held up by wrangling over the allocation of the plenary
seats. Last week, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD),
under whose auspices the talks were convened, proposed a new, clan-based
formula to try to break the deadlock. The talks, which started on 15
October, have stalled over the issue of apportioning clan-based seats to
the conference's plenary sessions, and on the setting up of the technical
committees, with some clans unable to agree on how many seats should go to
sub-clans.  [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31087 ]

SOMALIA: Tension rising in disputed northern regions

Tension is rising in Sool and Sanaag regions of the self-declared republic
of Somaliland, to which both Somaliland and the self-declared autonomous
region of Puntland have laid claim, a local journalist told IRIN on
Monday. Tension has been rising in the area since Somaliland elders came
to the Sool regional capital, Las Anood, he said. The elders were in Las
Anood to reconcile two feuding clans in the area. The two regions fall
geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland,
but most of the main clans inhabiting them are associated with Puntland.
These are the Warsangeli and the Dhulbahante, which, along with Majerteen
- the main clan in Puntland - form the Harti clan of the Darood. At
extraordinary cabinet meeting on 23 November, called by Puntland leader
Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf, it was decided to send a high level delegation to
the two regions, Abdishakuur Mire Adan, the Puntland deputy information
minister, told IRIN, on Monday. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31069 ]

SUDAN: Negotiating parties to visit United States

Sudanese warring parties are expected to visit the United States in
mid-December at the invitation of President George W. Bush's government,
according to official sources. Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry, charge d'affaires
at the Sudanese embassy in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, told IRIN that a
number of representatives of both the Sudanese government and the rebel
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, had been invited to attend a
"brief" meeting in the US, and both sides had accepted. They would brief
US government officials on the progress of the latest round of peace talks
held under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
(IGAD), which this month wound up in Machakos, Kenya, according to
Dirdeiry.  [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31138 ]

SUDAN-UGANDA: Anti-LRA pact renewed

The Sudanese government has agreed to allow Ugandan soldiers to continue
an offensive against Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels inside Sudan,
just a few days after ordering them to leave. Uganda People's Defence
Force (UPDF) spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told IRIN on Monday that
Khartoum had agreed to allow the UPDF to continue to operate in southern
Sudan for as long as it took to wipe out LRA bases there. "There is a
policy and principle of allowing UPDF on Sudanese soil that will continue
for as long as it takes to do the job," he said. Sudanese Foreign Minister
Mustafa Uthman Isma'il said last week the agreement had not been renewed
because Uganda had not given a time limit for the operation or specified
where it would be operating, local media reported. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31074 ]


IRIN-CEA
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Fax: +254 2 622129
Email: IRIN@ocha.unon.org

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