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 152
2 - 8 August 2003


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN probing Eritreans' escape across the border
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border ruling "dangerous", says Tigray president
ERITREA: UN envoy in talks on closure of outreach centres
ETHIOPIA: AIDS centre faces closure over funding problem
ETHIOPIA: Number of famine victims set to rise
ETHIOPIA: Malaria epidemic feared
ETHIOPIA: Families unwilling to go home until border marked
ETHIOPIA: Minister says Somalia should be united, denies interference
SOMALIA: Faction leader leaves talks
SOMALIA: Plenary to debate draft charter
SUDAN: Warning of further flooding in Kassala

ALSO SEE:

ETHIOPIA: Feature - Anti-AIDS drugs offer little hope at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35760]



ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN probing Eritreans' escape across the border

The UN has launched an investigation into claims that three Eritreans
escaped across the contested border into Ethiopia, hidden among its
peacekeeping personnel. Major General Robert Gordon, the force commander
of the UN's Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), is heading the
enquiry into allegations that the men slipped across in two separate
incidents. It is unclear how the men - who are all believed to be in their
early twenties - managed to cross the heavily patrolled border and 25 km
security buffer zone. Officials from the Ethiopian border town of Adigrat
told IRIN that at least two had crossed aboard an UNMEE peacekeeping bus
travelling from Asmara to Adigrat. The third man, who slipped over the
border in mid-July, stowed away in an UNMEE truck, officials said. The
incidents occurred during the routine rotation of Indian peacekeepers who
operate in the central border region. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35808]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border ruling "dangerous", says Tigray president

The president of Tigray has branded the border ruling between Ethiopia and
Eritrea as "dangerous" in his annual report to the region's state council.
Tsegay Berhe told officials from the region - which borders Eritrea - that
the ruling was "unfair and unjust". His 50-page report spelt out the
strength of feeling in Tigray over last year's ruling by the independent
Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission. Tigray was the scene of some of the
heaviest fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea during the two-year border
war which claimed some 70,000 lives. But it was the controversial
announcement in March this year, placing the Ethiopian-administered town
of Badme in Eritrea, which has fuelled tensions. Badme is the flashpoint
of the war. Other decisions - like awarding the northern tip of Irob in
northern Tigray to Eritrea - have also sparked anger over the ruling by
The Hague-based commission. Demarcation of the border is expected to take
place in October after being delayed twice. But Ethiopian officials are
demanding key changes to the ruling - particularly in Tigray. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35807]

ERITREA: UN envoy in talks on closure of outreach centres

Eritrea's United Nations representative has been urged to help quash
demands by his government to close down two outreach centres run by the UN
peacekeeping force. Ahmed Tahir Baduri held talks with senior UN
officials, who are battling to keep the two centres open, at the
peacekeeping headquarters in New York on Wednesday. The Eritrean
government has told the UN's Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to
close the centres in the capital Asmara, and Barentu in the west of the
country. The centres are meant to inform the local population of UNMEE's
activities in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Officials in Asmara told the
peacekeeping force the centres were "not necessary" and that they "don't
like some of the things young children are reading" in them. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35863]


ETHIOPIA: AIDS centre faces closure over funding problem

A pioneering AIDS research centre in Ethiopia is facing closure after the
Dutch government withdrew its funding, scientists said on Thursday. Dr
Tshehaynesh Messele, who heads the Ethiopian-Netherlands Aids Research
Project (ENARP), said unless they received new support they could be
forced shut. "I am really sad because we have everything in place," Dr
Tshehaynesh, who has worked at the centre for the last nine years, told
IRIN. "If it is closed then it is going to have enormous negative effects
on AIDS research in Ethiopia." Dr Tshehaynesh said uncertainty surrounding
the future of the centre was prompting their highly trained staff -
doctors, nurses and technicians - to leave for more secure work. "This
really is devastating for us," she added. "We want to give people
contracts but we are unsure of the future." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35839]

ETHIOPIA: Number of famine victims set to rise

Ethiopia is still struggling to escape the grip of famine with the numbers
in need increasing by more than half a million people, according to a
government-led assessment. The study, due out this week, says the number
of victims of the unprecedented crisis now stands at 13.2 million. The
increase by 600,000 people - all requiring food aid - follows an
assessment of harvests around the country from the small belg rains which
fall in March and April. The assessment, which also included 14 different
humanitarian agencies, notes that key areas of the country are still
struggling to combat the famine. A crucial health reassessment is also
expected to indicate an urgent need for drugs in parts of the country -
particularly in the south which has been hard hit by the crisis. In
particular, there is an urgent need for drugs to combat malaria and other
acute illnesses which are now reaching epidemic proportions in some parts.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35784]

ETHIOPIA: Malaria epidemic feared

Fears are mounting of a major malaria epidemic in Ethiopia, officials at
the ministry of health told IRIN on Tuesday. Gezahegn Tesfaye, who heads
the department's anti-malaria unit, said the country was bracing itself
for an outbreak after the rainy season ends in September. He also appealed
to the international community for additional support in combating any
outbreak by providing equipment such as insecticide sprays. Malaria is the
third biggest killer in Ethiopia, claiming around 100,000 lives each year.
The last major epidemic was in 1998. More than 40 million people are
estimated to be at risk of malaria in the country, with around 5 million
cases occurring annually. Gezahegn warned that many victims had been
weakened due to the severe drought in the country. "Due to the drought
situation many people are malnourished and their immunity is lower,"
Gezahegn told IRIN. "We are worried that there may be a serious epidemic
after the rains."
[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35788]

ETHIOPIA: Families unwilling to go home until border marked

Families displaced during the Ethiopia-Eritrea war are still not returning
home because of the danger of landmines and the impending demarcation of
the border. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Tuesday that
until implementation of the controversial boundary decision takes place,
Ethiopian families will be reluctant to go home. Fighting between both
countries, which erupted in May 1998 and ended with a peace deal in
December 2000, forced around one million people to flee their homes on
both sides of the border. "Many of these war displaced are unlikely to
fully reintegrate into their communities and attain self-sufficiency
unless the frontier is demarcated, their lands demined and security
ensured," the NRC said. In its 2003 report on internally displaced persons
(IDPs), the NRC said ethnic conflict in Ethiopia was also fuelling
displacement and had forced thousands from their homes. The agency also
said the government's controversial resettlement programme - which aims to
relocate two million people in three years - was "of serious concern."
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35786]

ETHIOPIA: Minister says Somalia should be united, denies interference

Ethiopia has rejected calls by the breakaway republic of Somaliland for
international recognition by insisting that the region's future lies
within a united Somalia. Information Minister Bereket Simon told IRIN that
while Somalis will decide their own future, Ethiopia's interests lie in
unifying the war-ravaged state. His comments came as Dahir Riyale Kahin,
president of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, held talks in Addis
Ababa with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and key Ethiopian officials.

Bereket also dismissed claims that the five-day visit by the Somaliland
delegation, which also includes the foreign minister Edna Adan Ismail,
undermined the Somali peace talks currently underway in Kenya. The
Somaliland authorities have refused to attend the conference, saying it
has nothing to do with them. Bereket said he remained optimistic about the
Nairobi-based talks, as long as the rival factions stayed at the
negotiating table. Bereket also dismissed claims that Ethiopia was
"meddling" in the talks. "Ethiopia cannot serve as the scapegoat for the
failures that he [Abdiqassim] has executed in that meeting."
[Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35864]


SOMALIA: Faction leader leaves talks

Prominent Mogadishu-based faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow walked out of
the Somali peace talks in Nairobi on Wednesday, saying he was unhappy over
the draft charter and lack of reconciliation among leaders. "We want
reconciliation among leaders first," he told IRIN. "In nine months of
talks, there has not been any reconciliation. Leaders who came here as
enemies remain so to this day. I thought this whole conference was about
reconciliation." He said he was displeased his suggestions and comments
had been rejected by the chairman of the talks - which are sponsored by
the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-
particularly his proposal that "Somali legal experts assisted by foreign
experts" be given time to "correct mistakes" in the draft charter. "This
charter in its current form will lead to a new civil war in Somalia," he
warned. "We want a successful outcome from these talks and the way things
are going now, this will not happen." Yalahow said the talks should not be
hurried simply because they had already been underway for nine months. "If
it takes a year for a workable outcome, it is better," he said. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35813]

SOMALIA: Plenary to debate draft charter

The plenary session of the Somali peace talks in Kenya was due to
reconvene on Tuesday to debate the country's draft charter. James Kiboi of
the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) technical
committee, which is steering the talks, told IRIN the draft was first read
out to delegates on Saturday, when Kenyan deputy foreign minister Joab
Omino opened the plenary.  The session was then adjourned so that
delegates could "read and reflect" before reconvening on Tuesday, said
Kiboi who is the committee's political and diplomatic liaison officer.
"Today [Tuesday] will see substantive discussions, debate and
intervention. Chances are that the document will be adopted today," he
added. The draft charter, which has generated a great deal of controversy,
has been dismissed by an independent assessment commissioned by the Dutch
NGO, NOVIB. The report described the draft charter as a "mongrel" and
recommended discarding it completely. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35785]

SUDAN: Warning of further flooding in Kassala

The UN has warned of further flooding in Kassala, northeastern Sudan, as
water levels in the Gash river started rising again on Thursday. Tens of
thousands of people have been affected by severe flooding in the state,
after the river burst its banks following heavy rains last month. A
statement from the Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
for Sudan warned that the assistance provided so far was insufficient to
mitigate critical needs. Any renewed flooding, it said, "will disrupt
relief and rehabilitation work underway, and exacerbate needs in water,
health and sanitation". It said repairs to the Kassala water supply system
were underway, but electricity had not yet been restored to most areas.
"As of 5 August, 13 deaths and 56 injuries have been confirmed," said the
report, adding that at least 8,720 houses had been destroyed and 7,120
partially damaged.
[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35838]


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