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

Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-Up 206
7 - 13 August 2004


CONTENTS:

DJIBOUTI: Congressman hails military for humanitarian work
DJIBOUTI: Difficult months ahead despite falling food prices
ERITREA: Gov't reopens western road to peacekeepers
SUDAN: WFP granted crucial access to rebel-held areas of Darfur
SUDAN: IDPs at risk of diseases as Hepatitis reported
SUDAN: Armed militia still committing atrocities in Darfur - HRW
SUDAN: Joint clearance of landmines in the south
SUDAN: Darfur talks to be held in Abuja
SOMALIA: 2,400 mt of food delivered to ease shortages


DJIBOUTI: Congressman hails military for humanitarian work

A visiting United States Congressman on Monday hailed the humanitarian 
work being done by a 1,400-strong US task force in the Horn of Africa. The 
force is involved in health, water and infrastructure projects. "There is 
no question that it is very appreciated, from the head of state to the 
peasant persons and where they are drilling wells there is a profound 
appreciation," Donald Payne told IRIN in Djibouti.

The US troops based in Djibouti have since November 2003 provided medical 
support to 11,000 people, built schools and clinics and constructed water 
wells in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, in addition to performing their 
usual military duties. "We talked to some [of] our military people that 
completed water projects, [and] how the villages adopted them as part of 
their family, part of their tribe, or held celebrations with goats being 
roasted on the completion of projects," Payne said. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42595 ]


DJIBOUTI: Difficult months ahead despite falling food prices

Food prices have fallen for the very poor in Djibouti's capital, 
Djibouti-ville, but the cost of living will probably rise in the coming 
months, forcing many of the residents to choose between food and school, a 
food security report warned. A month ago, the USAID-funded Famine Early 
Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reported that food prices had risen 
between 25 and 30 percent since August 2003. It warned that should the 
trend continue, then a significant number of Djiboutian households could 
face a food crisis.

Between May and June, however, the expenditure basket of Djibouti-ville's 
"very poor" fell by four percent, a July report by FEWS Net said, adding 
that incomes too had tended to fall by 10-15 percent from June to August 
figures. "The very poor will be unable to cover all their costs this 
summer and will be faced with difficult choices, such as whether to cut 
back on schooling or on food consumption," FEWS Net said. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42585 ]


ERITREA: Gov't reopens western road to peacekeepers

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), has welcomed a 
decision by the Eritrean government to reopen a supply route to the west 
of the country, which had been closed since March. The 
Asmara-Keren-Barentu road was closed following accusations by the Eritrean 
government that UNMEE forces were using the road to illegally monitor its 
troop movements. "UNMEE welcomes the decision of the government of Eritrea 
to open the road to UNMEE traffic," the mission said in a statement on 
Monday. "UNMEE feels that this step will further strengthen relations 
between the peacekeeping Mission and the Government."

The new UNMEE Force Commander, Maj-Gen Rajender Singh, was quoted in the 
statement, as saying the reopening of the road was a "positive step 
forward".  Maj-Gen Singh, who took office last month promising to enforce 
the highest standards of discipline, added: "This opening of the road will 
go a long way in facilitating both the movement of administrative and 
operational convoys which would help the mission to effectively carry out 
it duties towards fulfilment of its mandate." [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42593 ]


SUDAN: WFP granted crucial access to rebel-held areas of Darfur

Rebels in the troubled western Sudanese region of Darfur have allowed the 
World Food Programme (WFP) unimpeded access to areas under their control 
in order to carry out an assessment of the food needs of civilians living 
there, the United Nations food agency said. The agreement allowing free 
access, was reached between WFP and the two rebels groups, the Sudan 
Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement 
(JEM), following a meeting on 6 August in Eritrea, between rebel 
representatives and a joint UN mission.

WFP Sudan spokesman, Richard Lee, told IRIN that the agreement was a 
"crucial first step" towards reaching conflict-affected people who had so 
far not received help because their areas could not be reached due to 
insecurity. Rain had also impeded access to some of the areas because 
roads had become impassable, he added. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42633 ]


SUDAN: IDPs at risk of diseases as Hepatitis reported

Unless safe, clean water and better sanitation become more readily 
available in camps for displaced people in the troubled western Darfur 
region of Sudan, the people living there are at risk of contracting 
waterborne diseases like Hepatitis, health agencies warned. The World 
Health Organization (WHO), which on Tuesday reported that an outbreak of 
Hepatitis E had killed 22 people, with 625 cases reported in Darfur 
between May and July, said that despite the efforts of relief agencies, 
"existing resources are insufficient to cover the basic needs of the IDPs 
[internally displaced persons]".

"Without an immediate improvement in access to safe, clean water and 
better sanitation in these camps, disease could spread rapidly and lead to 
increased mortality," it added. Hepatitis E is usually transmitted through 
water contaminated with faeces. It kills five percent of those infected, 
but is especially dangerous for pregnant women. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42620 ]


SUDAN: Armed militia still committing atrocities in Darfur - HRW

Armed militias have continued to commit atrocities against civilians in 
Sudan's troubled western region of Darfur despite claims by Khartoum that 
the situation had improved, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. In a 
new report titled: "Empty Promises: Continuing Abuses in Darfur, Sudan", 
HRW said that instead of disarming the Janjawid militias, Khartoum had 
begun incorporating them into police and other security forces that could 
be used to secure proposed "safe areas" for displaced civilians.

"The Sudanese government insists that it is taking significant measures, 
but the continuing atrocities in Darfur prove that Khartoum's claims 
simply aren't credible," Peter Takirambudde, executive director of HRW's 
Africa Division said. "If the government were serious about wanting to 
protect civilians, it would welcome a greater international presence." It 
was not immediately possible to get a comment from the Sudanese government 
on the report. But Khartoum strongly denies that it supports the 
activities of the Janjawid militias, and has committed itself to disarming 
them as demanded by the UN Security Council. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42597 ]


SUDAN: Joint clearance of landmines in the south

The Sudanese government, aid agencies and the rebel Sudan People's 
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), are jointly clearing landmines in the 
south. The operation is the first joint exercise since war between the 
government and the SPLM/A broke out in 1983. Aleu Ayieny Aleu, executive 
director of the New Sudan Mine Action Directorate (NSMAD), which is 
managed by the SPLM/A, told IRIN on Monday that the landmine clearing 
operation had started both in SPLM/A and government-controlled areas. It 
followed an agreement reached in July in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

"We are working between Lokichoggio, the Kenyan border and Kapoeta County, 
eastern Equatoria region," Aleu said. The government, he added, had also 
started similar operations in the north and in the Nuba Mountains. Salaf 
al-Din, the Sudanese government humanitarian aid envoy, said that an 
awareness campaign would also be started alongside the provision of 
assistance to mine victims. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42596 ]


SUDAN: Darfur talks to be held in Abuja

Talks between the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups fighting 
Khartoum in the troubled western Darfur region will take place in the 
Nigerian capital, Abuja, on 23 August, the African Union (AU) said. The 
talks, the AU said in a statement, would try to achieve a political 
settlement of the conflict in Darfur, which has, since last year, pitted 
the Sudanese government against two rebel groups - the Justice and 
Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A).

Convened by the current AU chairman and Nigerian President Olusegun 
Obasanjo, the Abuja talks will follow-up an earlier meeting held in Addis 
Ababa from 15 to 17 July, at which the belligerents disagreed before they 
had started any substantive discussions. The AU has, among other 
initiatives, proposed sending a peacekeeping force to Darfur. Currently, 
it has 120 observers in the region, supervising the implementation of a 
shaky ceasefire that was signed earlier in April between the Sudanese 
government and the rebel groups. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42576 ]


SOMALIA: 2,400 mt of food delivered to ease shortages

The United Nations food agency has delivered 2,400 mt of food aid to 
Somalia in a bid to ease a shortage of relief supplies in the country that 
had been caused by unavailability of grain in the regional market, 
officials said. World Food Programme's (WFP) deputy country director for 
Somalia, Leo von der Velden, told IRIN on Thursday that the agency was 
only able to distribute 1,200 mt of food in Somalia in July instead of the 
required 5,800 mt, because of the shortages.

"It is clear that malnutrition levels have risen in the most affected 
areas of Sool, Sanaag and Puntland as a result of the break in the food 
pipeline," said Von der Velden. Drought has led to severe food shortages 
in Kenya where WFP would have readily purchased grain to feed the hungry 
in Somalia. It was also found earlier this year that some maize stocks 
belonging to farmers and traders in Eastern Province of Kenya were 
contaminated, and therefore unfit for human consumption. [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42638 ]


IRIN-CEA
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
Email: IRIN@ocha.unon.org

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN 
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views 
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to 
change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web: 
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this 
item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial 
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

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


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Horn of Africa                   www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/hafrica