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 173
27 December 2003 - 02 January 2004


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN special envoy appointed to help stalled process
ERITREA: Gov't says shuttle diplomacy can't change border ruling
ERITREA: Asmara dismisses accusations of causing instability
ETHIOPIA: 57 killed in Gambella violence, gov't says
SOMALIA: Tension rising in north
SOMALIA: Leaders' retreat rescheduled

Also see: 

ETHIOPIA: Horn anti-terror axis formed at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38624

SUDAN: The escalating crisis in Darfur at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38666

SUDAN: Looking forward to peace at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38620


ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN special envoy appointed to help stalled process

Former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy has been appointed UN
special envoy to help resolve the stalled Ethiopia and Eritrea peace
process, diplomatic sources said on Monday. UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan wrote to both countries on 25 December informing them of his
decision to appoint the former minister, the sources stated. They added
that both countries had responded, although details of the letters remain
unknown.

Axworthy, a former nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, is best known for
his role in pushing through a global treaty to ban antipersonnel mines.
"The appointment has been made and this should send the message that the
international community is taking the peace process very seriously," one
ambassador in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, said. "This is a good
step forward and comes at a critical time in the process."

As yet, it is unclear how Axworthy's role in keeping the three-year peace
process on track will fit in with that of the UN’s peacekeeping force
headed by Legwaila Joseph Legwaila. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38623]


ERITREA: Gov't says shuttle diplomacy can't change border ruling

Eritrea has said "shuttle diplomacy" cannot change the final and binding
nature of the independent ruling on its border with Ethiopia. The
presidential spokesman, Yemane Gebremeskel, told IRIN his country would
not be "susceptible" to diplomatic shuttling between Eritrea and Ethiopia
in a bid to resolve the impasse in the peace process. He was reacting to
the appointment of Axworthy as UN special envoy for Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The peace process has been deadlocked since Ethiopia rejected the border
decision by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), which is
based in The Hague. Ethiopia is unhappy over the ruling, which places the
village of Badme - flashpoint of the bitter two-year border war - in
Eritrea.

Ethiopia has described the EEBC as "null and void" and called for dialogue
to try and resolve the issue. But Eritrea says there can be no dialogue
until the border has been fully demarcated in keeping with the ruling.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38658]


ERITREA: Asmara dismisses accusations of causing instability

Eritrea has rejected accusations that it is destabilising the Horn region
as empty claims, saying history shows who the aggressor is. On Monday, the
leaders of Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen - who held a two-day summit in Addis
Ababa - accused Eritrea of fuelling regional instability.

"When we talk about dialogue in the subregion, we mean Eritrea should act
positively with the neighbours to achieve a final good neighbourly
relationship between the states," Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told a
press conference. "It is not a secret that Eritrea is exerting huge
efforts to create instability in Sudan."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Eritrea "has problems with many
of its neighbours", although he denied that the three countries were
conspiring against Asmara. But Yemane Gebremeskel said history showed that
Ethiopia was the destabilising factor in the region. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38650]


ETHIOPIA: 57 killed in Gambella violence, gov't says

Ethiopia said on Monday that at least 57 people had been killed in the
recent clashes in the west of the country - sparked by an ambush on
government refugee workers. Some 50 people were injured during the
violence that erupted in Gambella town, around 800 km from Addis Ababa,
the information ministry said in a statement. It added that 400 homes were
destroyed, but noted that calm had now been restored to the area.

"The recent violence in Gambella, caused by some anti-peace elements, was
aimed at the native people of the area and highlanders living there," the
statement said. The "anti-peace elements", it added, had now been
"smashed" by Ethiopian troops and federal police.

"Although the aim of these disruptive elements was to create unrest and
chaos, the situation has been put under control thanks to the swift action
taken by the pertinent bodies that brought about calm and stability to the
area," the statement said. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38625]


SOMALIA: Tension rising in north

Tension is rising between the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the
neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of Puntland over the disputed
regions of Sool and Sanag, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

Puntland forces took total control of the Sool regional capital, Las Anod,
last week. Hitherto, both sides had official representation in the town.
According to the sources, the Puntland troops were led by the commander of
the Puntland police force, Col Abdirazzaq Mahmud Yusuf. The Puntland
spokesman, Awad Ahmad Ashara, told IRIN that the forces had gone to Las
Anod "to stop fighting between two feuding clans in the area".

The move came after the Somaliland House of Representatives on 21 December
called on the government to secure Somaliland's borders. According to a
local journalist in Bosaso, the Puntland commercial capital, "this was
seen here [Puntland] as an attempt by Somaliland to assert its authority
over the two regions". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38647]


SOMALIA: Leaders' retreat rescheduled

The proposed retreat for Somali political leaders which has been postponed
several times is now set to start in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 9
January. The retreat - which had originally been fixed for 9 December,
then put back to 18 December - is expected to bring Somali leaders
together to "iron out all outstanding differences, engage in dialogue and
deepen reconciliation", said an official from the Inter-Governmental
Authority for Development (IGAD), which is facilitating the talks.

"The retreat will convene on 9 January [in Nairobi] and then move to
Mombasa on 10 January," the official, James Kiboi, said. He added that the
number of leaders to be invited had not yet been finalised, but a final
list "will probably be out by next week". The invitation list has been a
bone of contention, with some leaders arguing that the number should be
limited to 24, while IGAD has said 42 leaders should attend. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38637]


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

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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