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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 153
9 - 15 August 2003


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN protests to Ethiopia over buffer zone incursions
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Congressmen seek to limit US aid if border ruling not heeded 
ERITREA: Two aid workers murdered in north
ERITREA: Rains do not mean drought is over
ERITREA-SUDAN: Worst floods in decades cause death and destruction
SUDAN: Cautious welcome for lifting ban on press, travel
SUDAN: Peace talks resume, gov't hopes for "more reasonable" accord
ETHIOPIA: New opposition coalition seeks "renegotiation" of border ruling
ETHIOPIA: Thousands at risk as malaria epidemic looms
SOMALIA: Concern over low food yields in south
SOMALIA: TNG hangs in the balance as mandate ends
SOMALIA: Interim gov't says it will continue in power

ALSO SEE:

ETHIOPIA: Interview with Dessalegn Rahmato, land tenure expert at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35971



ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN protests to Ethiopia over buffer zone incursions

The UN has made an official protest to the Ethiopian government after
armed men in military uniforms illegally entered the off-limits security
buffer zone. The UN's Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said the men
entered the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) in violation of the
peace agreement. Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed
between Ethiopia and Eritrea in June 2000, the demilitarised TSZ is
strictly off-limits to armed forces. Acting UNMEE Force Commander
Brigadier General Walid Kreishan travelled to the border region to
investigate three separate incursions last week. Tension in the Aromo area
- in the central sector of the border which is patrolled by Indian
peacekeepers - is high, and there have been numerous cases of cattle
rustling. The protest to the Ethiopian authorities was made both verbally
and in written form, the UN mission stated during Thursday's weekly press
briefing in Asmara and Addis Ababa. "Some [of the men] were armed, some
were wearing uniforms and some were wearing civilian clothing," said UNMEE
spokeswoman Gail Bindley Taylor Sainte. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35973]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Congressmen seek to limit US aid if border ruling not
heeded

Ethiopia and Eritrea could face the threat of US sanctions on development
and military aid if they fail to speed up implementation of the contested
border ruling. Four congressmen have backed a bill in the House of
Representatives urging the US to restrict support to both countries if
they do not comply with the peace deal. In particular they have demanded
that Ethiopia ends its "intransigence" in implementing the ruling by The
Hague-based independent boundary commission. Democrat Tom Lantos lodged
the bill in mid-July, supported by fellow democrats Donald Payne and Eliot
Engel, and republican Edward Royce who chairs the international relations
sub- committee on Africa. The bill has been referred to the International
Relations committee. Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed, under the terms of the
Algiers peace agreement signed in December 2000 after a bitter two-year
war, to abide by an independent ruling on the border which would be "final
and binding". But demarcation of the new border has now been delayed twice
because Ethiopia is opposing the decision which has awarded contested
territories to Eritrea. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35918]

ERITREA: Two aid workers murdered in north

Two humanitarian workers have been killed and a third injured by
unidentified gunmen in northern Eritrea. The three Eritreans, who were
working for the US charity Mercy Corps, came under attack on Sunday
morning when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle using automatic weapons
and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), humanitarian sources told IRIN on
Tuesday. The attack took place near Adobha, in northern Eritrea, where
Mercy Corps was carrying out a water project assessment. The driver, who
was injured, was reportedly taken to hospital in the town of Keren. Mercy
Corps has been working in Eritrea since the mid-1980s, with programmes
aimed empowering local community groups and improving nutrition. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35938]

ERITREA: Rains do not mean drought is over

Experts have indicated there may be some recovery in Eritrea's food
production prospects, but stressed it is still too early to say whether
the current heavy rains pounding parts of the country have brought an end
to its devastating drought. In its latest report, the US government's
Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) said the start of the main
June-September cropping season had been normal throughout most of the
country, and livestock conditions had improved. However, this recovery
depended on the continued good performance of the seasonal (kremti) rains,
FEWS warned.  The rains have been particularly heavy this year in the
western breadbasket region of Gash Barka, and concern has been voiced that
severe flooding means initial harvest hopes will have to be re-evaluated.
Nick Maunder, FEWS representative for the Greater Horn region, told IRIN
the impact and outlook would be known after November when the harvests
have been collected.  [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35952]

ERITREA-SUDAN: Worst floods in decades cause death and destruction

Eritrea is witnessing the worst floods in 40 years with large swathes of
farmland completely destroyed, according to the government. It said the
Gash river had burst its banks in the western Gash Barka region last week,
resulting in heavy crop losses in and around the main town of Tesseney.
Part of the road to the town had been cut off. Wendy Rappeport,
spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Eritrea which carries out
much of its work in the Tesseney area, confirmed that the seasonal rains
were exceptionally heavy this year.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Sudan the UN and NGOs have appealed for US $8.6
million to help tens of thousands of people left homeless by severe
flooding in the Kassala area. Excessive rainfall in the Eritrean
highlands, alongside localised rains, caused the Gash river to burst its
banks late last month. Thirteen people have been killed and 56 injured,
while thousands of houses have been destroyed along with Kassala town's
only hospital. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35927]

SUDAN: Cautious welcome for lifting ban on press, travel

The rights organisation Amnesty International has welcomed a decision by
the Sudanese government to lift press censorship and travel restrictions
in the country, but said it would remain "sceptical" unless concrete steps
were made towards implementing the directive. Sudanese President Umar
Hassan al-Bashir last week declared the lifting of press censorship and
travel bans in the country and said his government was committed to
granting fundamental freedoms as part of its efforts to unify the country.
Sudan's deputy ambassador to Kenya, Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry, told IRIN
that a committee bringing together all opposition leaders had been set up
to work out details of the new policy. "I hope this will open more
dialogue and interaction between the government and the opposition,"
Dirdeiry said. Benedicte Goderiaux of Amnesty International told IRIN that
although her organisation welcomed any steps taken in the direction of
protecting human rights in Sudan, violations were still being committed by
the security forces in many parts of the country. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35936]

SUDAN: Peace talks resume, gov't hopes for "more reasonable" accord

Sudanese peace talks have reopened in Kenya with the government side
saying its opposition to a draft agreement presented by mediators last
month is unlikely to scuttle the peace process. Sudan's deputy ambassador
to Kenya Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry told IRIN on Tuesday that although his
government had rejected the draft as a basis for negotiation, he was
hopeful that the talks - which resumed on Monday - would result in a "more
reasonable" draft. "We don't feel that our position will scuttle the
process. This is not the first draft that we have disagreed with. It
happens all the time," Dirdeiry stated. The talks to end Sudan's 20-year
civil war, hit a snag in July after the Sudanese government rejected the
draft agreement presented by mediators from the Inter-Governmental
Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Kenyan town of Nakuru. The rebel
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) also had reservations
about the draft, but agreed to use the document as a basis for further
negotiation. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35920]

ETHIOPIA: New opposition coalition seeks "renegotiation" of border ruling

Fifteen Ethiopian opposition parties have formed a "rainbow coalition" to
challenge the decade-long political hold of the current government.
Veteran politician Dr Beyene Petros told IRIN the newly-formed United
Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) was the largest coalition opposition
force within the country. Its birth follows a seven-day conference in
Washington DC where opposition leaders agreed on a 10-point action plan
for the impoverished nation. Beyene, who will chair the UEDF for the first
six months, said its primary focus would be to defeat the current
government in the 2005 elections. The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF) has held power in Ethiopia since the overthrow of
the former regime in 1991. Beyene said the coalition group would have a
"minimal political agenda" until the organisation managed to achieve
office. But a central manifesto pledge would be the "re-negotiation" of
the controversial boundary ruling that has placed contested territories in
Eritrea. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35919]

ETHIOPIA: Thousands at risk as malaria epidemic looms

Tens of thousands of lives are at risk because of a lack of drugs needed
to fight a malaria epidemic threatening Ethiopia, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) has warned. Dr David Nabarro, WHO global emergency
head, said it was vital that drugs were shipped into the country
immediately if thousands of deaths were to be avoided. "We have to get
more medicines into Ethiopia fast," Dr Nabarro told journalists on Friday
at a press briefing to address the looming epidemic. The warning comes
just days after the ministry of health appealed for international support
to avert the danger - which experts say could break out in a matter of
weeks. "It looks as though there is going to be a major epidemic of
malaria building up over the next few weeks and months," Dr Nabarro said.
"This could, if we are not able to cope with it effectively, lead to tens
of thousands of deaths," he warned - predicting that the death toll could
be twice as high as normal. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35894]

SOMALIA: Concern over low food yields in south

A food security watchdog says lower than expected cereal production has
been recorded in southern Somalia due to poor and erratic rains during the
April-June (Gu) season. In its latest report, the Food Security Assessment
Unit (FSAU) - a joint project of the EC and the UN's Food and Agriculture
Organisation - said "erratic and unevenly distributed" rains had impacted
on the cereal production in southern Somalia. "Poor rainfall occurrence
and distribution negatively affected maize crop establishment," it said.
The report added that due to "poor irrigation infrastructure and
inaccessibility", production levels had been lower than in 2002. A Somali
agronomist told IRIN that since the collapse of the Somali government in
1991, no-one has been able to desilt the riverbeds or manage the sluice
gates on the rivers or adjoining canals, all of which contributed to
seasonal flooding which destroyed what was left of the irrigation system.  
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35974]

SOMALIA: TNG hangs in the balance as mandate ends

Uncertainty hung over Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) on
Tuesday after prime minister Hassan Abshir Farah announced that the TNG's
mandate would finish on Wednesday at the end of its three-year term. But
TNG President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, who sacked Hassan Abshir along with
parliament speaker Abdallah Derow Isaak at the weekend, has said the
interim government will continue until new institutions are formed through
free and fair elections. Last month, Abdiqassim walked out of peace talks
underway in Kenya saying they were leading towards the "dismemberment" of
Somalia. In a written statement issued in Nairobi on Tuesday, Hassan
Abshir and Abdallah Derow Isaak said any attempt to extend the period of
the TNG was "unconstitutional". "We, as the representatives of the TNG,
are prepared and willing to hand over power to any duly constituted
government that emerges from this conference," they said. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35939]

SOMALIA: Interim gov't says it will continue in power

Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG), whose three-year mandate
ends in two days' time, has said it will stay in place until free and fair
elections are held to usher in new institutions. TNG Information Minister
Abdirahman Adan Ibrahim "Ibbi" told IRIN on Monday that the Somali
constitution states there should be no vacuum in governance. "We will stay
until a new president, government and parliament have been elected," he
said. His comments come after TNG President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan
convened a session of parliament at the weekend in which votes of
no-confidence were expressed in the TNG prime minister Hassan Abshir Farah
and the speaker of parliament Abdallah Derow Isaak. Ibbi expressed his
opinion that they had been removed from office because they refused to
take orders from the president and continued to state that they
represented the TNG at the ongoing peace talks in Nairobi. Abdiqassim
walked out of the Nairobi talks about 10 days ago, unhappy over the
apparent anti-Islamic direction of the conference - which is sponsored by
the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) - and
accusing it of leading towards the "dismemberment" of Somalia.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35901]


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