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Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-Up 286
9 - 15 July 2005


CONTENTS:

SUDAN: New gov't must show peace dividend - mediator
SUDAN: Government withdraws troops from Juba area
SUDAN: Local militias causing havoc in the south - CPMT
SOMALIA: Peace activist shot dead in Mogadishu
SOMALIA: WFP demands release of hijacked ship
SOMALIA: IGAD to seek new ways to safeguard interim gov't
ETHIOPIA: Partial election results promise close race
ETHIOPIA: Government rejects criticism over media
ETHIOPIA: Emergency payments to stave off hunger


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SUDAN: New gov't must show peace dividend - mediator

The new Sudanese government of national unity, sworn into office on 
Saturday, must reach out to former adversaries and show its people 
tangible peace dividends, the chief mediator in Sudan's peace process 
said.

"The main task of the government of national unity is not about words 
and documents now, it is about the hearts and minds of the Sudanese 
people," Lt Gen (rtd) Lazaro Sumbeiywo, said on Monday.

"Politically, the new government has to be inclusive and offer the olive 
branch to former adversaries," Sumbeiywo, who was named mediator by the 
regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), told IRIN in 
an interview.

IGAD sponsored lengthy talks between the government in Khartoum and the 
southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The two 
parties signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on 9 January in 
Nairobi, Kenya, paving the way for the new government of national unity.

The chairman of the SPLM/A, John Garang, was sworn in as First Vice 
President, while Umar al-Bashir retained the presidency of Africa's 
largest country. The outgoing First Vice President, Ali Uthman Muhammad 
Taha, was appointed Second Vice President of the Republic of Sudan.

Separately, the Darfur programme coordinator for the Justice Africa 
advocacy organisation, Hafiz Mohamed, said he felt the Sudanese peace 
process was moving in the right direction. He warned, however, that 
several key players had not been involved in the negotiations that led 
to the CPA.

The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, the Arab League chief, Amr Mussa, 
the Deputy US Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick, and heads of state 
from the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Kenya, Senegal, South 
Africa and Uganda were among the dignitaries who attended the 
inauguration.

Full 
report


SUDAN: Government withdraws troops from Juba area

The Sudanese armed forces have redeployed a substantial number of troops 
from southern Sudan in compliance with their obligations under the peace 
agreement, an official said on Wednesday.

"The government has withdrawn troops from the Juba area in the south 
earlier than the date stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
[CPA]," Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudan's caretaker Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, said in a statement.

"I can confirm that the SAF [Sudanese Armed Forces] are moving troops 
north of the line of redeployment; it has been going on for several 
months now and we are confirming the details at the moment," Col Jeff 
Sims, chief of staff of the Joint Monitoring and Coordination Office, 
said.

"Under the CPA, the SAF are required to redeploy 17 percent of their 
troops north of the 1956 boundary within six months of the signing of 
the CPA," he added.

The 1956 boundary refers to the dividing line between Egyptian and 
British forces at the handover of Sudan during decolonisation, and 
coincides with the northern boundaries of the states of Western Bahr Al 
Ghazal, Northern Bahr Al Ghazal, Unity and Upper Nile.

Ismail expressed his concern over the continued insecurity in the south 
as a result of attacks committed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a 
rebel group from neighbouring northern Uganda.



SUDAN: Local militias causing havoc in the south - CPMT

Armed Lou Nuer militias left their established routes and water points 
from January to June to carry out aggressive acts against communities in 
the Upper Nile region of southeastern Sudan, a report by the 
US-sponsored Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT) said.

"The Lou Nuer conflict with other communities generated an unacceptable 
scale of displacement and deprivation among the general population," the 
CPMT said in its June report.

It documented a number of incidents from heavy fighting and rape to 
cattle rustling, particularly near Duk Padiet in western Jonglei State.

The conflict continued to contravene the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
signed by the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army 
(SPLM/A) on 9 January, which guaranteed the security of south Sudanese 
civilians, it added.

Full 
report


SOMALIA: Peace activist shot dead in Mogadishu

Unidentified assailants shot and killed prominent Somali peace activist 
Abdulkadir Yahya Ali on Monday during an early morning raid on his home 
in Mogadishu, the UN and a family member said.

"A group of criminals attacked his home at around 2:30 [2330 GMT] in the 
morning and shot him," Ahmed Nur, Yahya's cousin, said. The assailants, 
he added, had driven to his home in two "technicals" [pick-up trucks 
with mounted guns].

Yahya was the co-founder and director of the Centre for Research and 
Dialogue. The centre is affiliated to the War Torn Societies Project 
International, which focuses on activities to overcome conflict, 
peace-building and reconciliation.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Maxwell 
Gaylard, strongly condemned the murder. "We are shocked and dismayed by 
this assassination and send our sincere condolences to his family and 
friends," Gaylard said in a statement, describing Yahya as "a committed 
advocate for peace and reconciliation".

Full 
report


SOMALIA: WFP demands release of hijacked ship

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) demanded on Tuesday that the pirates 
who commandeered a commercial vessel chartered to transport food aid to 
28,000 tsunami survivors in Somalia release the ship, its cargo and crew 
within 48 hours.

Should they fail to release the vessel within this period, WFP would 
cease all its operations around southern Mudug, where 34,000 people 
depend on food aid, Robert Hauser, WFP's country director for Somalia, 
said.

"If they release the ship now - unconditionally and immediately - then 
we will continue food supplies into their area as normal," Hauser told 
IRIN. "If the ship, cargo and crew are not released within the next 48 
hours, WFP will blacklist the area."

The MV Semlow was hijacked on 27 June between Haradheere and Hobyo, some 
300 km northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, on its way to the Gulf of 
Aden port of Bossaso. It was carrying 850 tonnes of rice for 
distribution to the survivors of last December's Indian Ocean tsunami.

Full 
report


SOMALIA: IGAD to seek new ways to safeguard interim gov't

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is to find other 
ways to safeguard Somalia's transitional government after the UN 
Security Council on Thursday upheld a 1992 arms embargo despite a 
request for an exemption that would allow peacekeepers into the country, 
a source said.

The Kenyan special envoy to the Somali peace process, Bethuel Kiplagat, 
said the Council's decision not to lift the embargo meant IGAD would 
have to "go back to the drawing board" and find other ways of ensuring 
the country was safe for the government and the citizens of Somalia.

The IGAD council of ministers, Kiplagat said, would meet in the near 
future to decide on the next course of action. The organisation would 
continue "to stand by" the TFG, he added.

The Security Council upheld the arms embargo despite a request by the 
African Union (AU) to lift it. However, the Council said it stood "ready 
to consider this matter on the basis of information on the mission 
plan".

It called on "all leaders in Somalia to exercise maximum restraint and 
take immediate effective steps to reduce tension".

Full 
report


ETHIOPIA: Partial election results promise close race

Ethiopia's ruling party and opposition groups were virtually neck and 
neck after the first partial official election results were released on 
Friday.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary 
Democratic Front (EPRDF) party won 139 seats and other groups allied to 
it held 20, bringing the total number of seats for the government to 159 
with just over half the results released.

The combined opposition on the other hand garnered a total of 148 seats, 
including 93 for the main opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy, 
43 for the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces and 12 for other 
opposition groups. More results were expected in the next 10 days.

Claims of vote-rigging in Ethiopia's third ever elections sparked 
violence, in which at least 36 people were reportedly shot dead by 
police in the capital, Addis Ababa, in June.

Full 
report


ETHIOPIA: Government rejects criticism over media

Ethiopia has rejected accusations of cracking down on independent media 
after the disputed elections, insisting that it is upholding the law of 
the land.

Authorities also criticized international media watchdogs, saying they 
were ill-informed about what was actually taking place in Ethiopia.

"There is no crackdown," government spokesman, Zemedkun Teckle, said on 
Tuesday. "We are ensuring that the media abide by the rules and 
regulations of the land. The [international] media organisations are not 
considering what is going on practically on the ground, and don't care 
what these newspapers are doing."

The comments were made in response to criticism by the New York-based 
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which accused the government of 
trying to stifle the press.

Full 
report


ETHIOPIA: Emergency payments to stave off hunger

Ethiopia has ordered an emergency cash payment to vulnerable families to 
offset delays in the flagship safety nets scheme, the UN Office for 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

The safety nets programme, launched in January, is the cornerstone of 
the famine prevention strategy in Ethiopia, a country where even during 
good harvests, some five million people face serious hunger.

"The Federal Food Security Coordination Bureau has directed the woredas 
[districts] to make a lump sum immediate payment to safety net 
beneficiaries, equivalent to at least three months' entitlement, 
regardless of whether work for this period has been undertaken or not," 
OCHA said in its weekly report.

"This emergency measure is in response to the delays in the transfers of 
cash to beneficiaries, mostly due to the limited experience and capacity 
of local authorities with cash handling in relief-cum-recovery 
activities," it noted.

Full 
report


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