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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-Up 302
19 - 25 November 2005


CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Government criticises Security Council resolution
ETHIOPIA: Opposition leaders and activists denied bail
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Security Council threatens sanctions over border
   dispute
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Troops sighted in demilitarised zone
SOMALIA: Three children killed in fire at IDP camp
SUDAN: Agencies prepare for measles campaign in the south
SUDAN: 15,000 displaced by recent clashes in South Darfur
SUDAN: Yellow fever outbreak confirmed in South Kordofan
SUDAN: Darfur situation spinning out of control, Annan warns
SUDAN: Envoys try to unite Darfur rebel leaders ahead of talks


ERITREA: Government criticises Security Council resolution

The Eritrean government on Thursday sharply criticised the latest UN
Security Council resolution on the border dispute between Eritrea and
Ethiopia, describing it as "deplorable" and "lopsided".

"The Security Council has adopted another deplorable resolution on the
border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia," said a statement issued
by the Eritrean Foreign Ministry in the capital, Asmara.

"This lopsided resolution underscores one glaring fact: it is not
international law and the Charter of the United Nations that govern the
conduct of the Security Council but sheer power politics and the narrow
interests of major powers," it added.

The Council had, in a unanimously adopted resolution on Wednesday,
threatened to take action, including sanctions, against Ethiopia and
Eritrea if the two neighbours continued to engage in activities that
aggravated their ongoing border dispute.

It deplored Eritrea's restrictions on the freedom of movement of the UN
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) and demanded that Asmara
immediately reverse its 5 October decision to ban UNMEE helicopter
flights.

Full story at:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50303]


ETHIOPIA: Opposition leaders and activists denied bail

Leaders of Ethiopia's main opposition party who face potential treason
charges were denied bail on Monday after a court ruled that they should
remain in police custody.

In their second court appearance since being detained early this month,
19 top officials from the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), three
journalists and a trade unionist were remanded for a further 10 days.

Waving to family and friends who crowded into the specially convened
court session in the capital, Addis Ababa, the detainees said they were
all in good shape despite their incarceration.

Judge Adil Ahmed presided over the hearing, which was open to the
international media and prisoners' immediate families for the first
time. He said the detainees should be allowed better access to their
lawyers and that medical treatment for the sick should be granted.

Defence lawyers insisted that their clients were political prisoners and
well-respected members of society.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50236]


ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Security Council threatens sanctions over border
dispute

The UN Security Council on Wednesday threatened to take action, which
could include sanctions, against Ethiopia and Eritrea if the two Horn of
Africa neighbours continued to engage in activities that aggravated
their ongoing border dispute.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council deplored Eritrea's
restrictions on the freedom of movement of the UN Mission in Ethiopia
and Eritrea (UNMEE) and demanded that Asmara immediately reverse its 5
October decision to ban UNMEE helicopter flights.

The Council noted with deep concern the high concentration of troops on
both sides of the Temporary Security Zone and called on Ethiopia and
Eritrea to refrain from any threat or use of force against each other.

It demanded that both parties return to the 16 December 2004 deployment
levels, beginning immediately. The redeployment must be completed within
30 days.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50285]


ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Troops sighted in demilitarised zone

Ethiopian troops illegally entered a demilitarised zone inside Eritrea
amidst heightened tensions between the two countries over their disputed
common border, the UN said on Thursday.

Despite the UN Security Council's threat to impose sanctions on the two
countries unless they resolved their standoff, a small number of troops
had occupied the territory for six days, according to the UN Mission in
Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

"Any violation of the Temporary Security Zone is of concern to us - it
doesn't matter how tiny it may be," UN spokeswoman Gail
Bindley-Taylor-Sainte told reporters in Asmara and Addis Ababa at a
video-linked news conference.

"Any violation of the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone is of the
utmost importance to UNMEE because it directly affects our mandate,
which is to monitor and verify the redeployment of the troops of both
parties and to maintain the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone,"
she added.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50304]


SOMALIA: Three children killed in fire at IDP camp

At least three children were burnt to death when flames swept through an
internally displaced persons (IDP) camp on the outskirts of the Somali
capital, Mogadishu, early this week.

Witnesses and officials said the blaze destroyed hundreds of dwellings.
Local sources said the fire started late on Monday afternoon and spread
quickly. The camp is situated in Mogadishu's Dainille district.

"The fire flattened more than 100 huts belonging to the IDPs and
destroyed virtually all their belongings, including bedding, utensils
and clothes. Some of the IDPs spent Monday night in the open and it was
raining," a local witness said. Residents also lost their stocks of
food.

The camp is home to between 500 and 600 people, according to Dainille
district head Bashe Mohammed, who said neighbours were responding to his
appeal for humanitarian assistance for those affected by the fire. Full
story: [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50252]]


SUDAN: Agencies prepare for measles campaign in the south

Relief agencies are preparing for a comprehensive measles campaign
across southern Sudan - the largest public health campaign in the region
ever - to reduce the deadly impact of the disease among young children,
officials said.

"We are launching the measles campaign, probably on Monday, in Juba [the
capital of southern Sudan]," Ben Parker, communication officer for the
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), said from Terakeka, a town north of Juba,
on Thursday.

The campaign, targeting children between 6 months and 14 years, aims to
vaccinate approximately 4.5 million children, or 47 percent of the total
population of south Sudan, by the end of 2006.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50306]


SUDAN: 15,000 displaced by recent clashes in South Darfur - ICRC

About 15,000 newly displaced people have sought refuge in Gereida town
after recent clashes in the conflict-torn western Sudanese state of
South Darfur forced them to flee their villages, the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

"The area that was already heavily affected in the past is again
witnessing a new wave of displacement," Paul Conneally, ICRC
communication coordinator in Khartoum, told IRIN on Thursday.

"All the 23 villages that were affected by the fighting have been
emptied, basically," Conneally added. "As usual, the civilians bear the
brunt of the insecurity and are forced to pack up their belongings and
flee."

The latest round of violence reflects the intensification of conflict
throughout the Darfur region since mid-September. According to an ICRC
statement, the fighting in Gereida area involved a volatile mix of
various armed groups, illustrating the complex nature of the Darfur
conflict.

"It is a mix of tribal opposition, rebels, militia and Sudanese armed
forces. It is very difficult to get a proper picture and understanding
of what is happening. It is very unclear," Conneally noted.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50254]


SUDAN: Yellow fever outbreak confirmed in South Kordofan

Results of further tests on blood samples from South Kordofan have
confirmed a yellow fever outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO)
reported, adding that at least 121 people had died as of Monday.

Initial field investigations and rapid tests conducted by the Sudanese
health ministry had indicated a dengue fever outbreak. The tests
followed earlier reports of a haemorrhagic fever outbreak in the area.

Sacha Bootsma, the WHO spokeswoman in Sudan, said the samples were sent
to a WHO reference laboratory for further testing because of the
possibility of cross-reaction between the different viruses of the same
family.

The results found that the yellow fever virus was the causative agent of
the ongoing epidemic and that the 75 deaths reported on 10 November were
caused by yellow fever rather than dengue fever.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50239]


SUDAN: Darfur situation spinning out of control, Annan warns

The conflict-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur could descend into
anarchy unless a swift political solution to the conflict is found, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned on Monday.

"The looming threat of complete lawlessness and anarchy draws nearer,
particularly in western Darfur, as warlords, bandits and militia groups
grow more aggressive," Annan cautioned in his latest monthly report to
the UN Security Council.

Calling a political solution "paramount", Annan noted that "a further
deterioration of the situation can be averted only by rapidly
consolidating the progress made at the sixth round of talks in Abuja."

The Darfur peace talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, are scheduled to
resume this week.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50238]


SUDAN: Envoys try to unite Darfur rebel leaders ahead of talks

African Union (AU) and United States mediators are trying to reconcile
the divided leadership of the largest rebel group in Darfur ahead of the
resumption of the peace talks later this week, an AU official said.

The leaders of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) are under
pressure to resolve their internal differences and present a united
front at the next session of the delayed peace negotiations in the
Nigerian capital, Abuja, which had been scheduled to start on 21
November.

"There has been a slight delay of the opening session due to logistical
reasons, but the first delegations will start arriving today," African
Union spokesman Noureddine Mezni told IRIN on Monday.

The delay, Mezni explained, was a result of the large number of
delegations - parties to the talks as well as international mediators
and observers - who had to come from many different and often remote
locations.

Full story:
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50206]


IRIN-CEA
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Fax: +254 2 622129
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