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 350
4 - 10 November 2006


CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Expelled NGO seeks reconsideration
ETHIOPIA: UN agency welcomes food aid but says more assistance needed
SOMALIA: Clash erupts in the northeast
SOMALIA: Flood toll rises as more rain falls in the south
SUDAN: Investigate Darfur attacks, government urged
SUDAN: Norwegian aid agency shuts down Darfur operation

See Also:

SOMALIA: Charcoal trade on the rise at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56256


ERITREA: Expelled NGO seeks reconsideration

Emergency relief organisation, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), 
has asked the Eritrean government to reconsider its decision to expel it 
from the country, the agency said on Tuesday.

The IRC, in a statement, said it was awaiting a formal reply. "In the 
meantime, due to the extremely short timeline for closure, IRC has 
initiated close-out procedures," it added.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56273]

ETHIOPIA: UN agency welcomes food aid but says more assistance needed

Welcoming a US $37-million donation from the United States to Ethiopia, 
an official of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said 
floods and drought had worsened food shortages in the country, and that 
more assistance was needed.

"This generous contribution from the US Government will help us continue 
our assistance to millions of people affected by food shortages in many 
parts of the country," Mohammed Diab, the WFP representative in the 
country, said on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. [Full 
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56312]


SOMALIA: Clash erupts in the northeast

Forces loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) clashed with those who 
back the self-declared autonomous state of Puntland on Monday in 
northeastern Somalia, an official said.

UIC vice-chairman Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Umar said the fighting took 
place near the town of Galinsoor, in Mudug region, 780 km north of the 
capital, Mogadishu.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56265]


SOMALIA: Flood toll rises as more rain falls in the south

The human death toll from flooding in southern Somalia has risen to 18, 
with thousands people more forced to leave their homes, local officials 
said on Thursday.

Heavy rainfall is to blame for the rising water levels in the Shabelle 
and Juba rivers, which have burst their banks, destroying farmlands in 
the regions of Lower Shabele, Middle Shabelle, Lower Juba and Gedo - all 
in southern Somala.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56302]


SUDAN: Investigate Darfur attacks, government urged

The Sudanese government must urgently investigate recent attacks on 
villages in West Darfur, and collect evidence to prosecute those who 
planned the attacks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights (UNHCHR) said.

The High Commissioner, Louise Arbour, urged Sudan to identify those 
responsible for failing to prevent the attacks, and for failing to 
protect the population and disarm militias operating in the western 
Darfur region.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56261]


SUDAN: Norwegian aid agency shuts down Darfur operation

The international humanitarian organisation Norwegian Refugee Council 
has closed down its relief operations in Darfur, western Sudanese, a 
move it said will affect 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 
the troubled region.

"We have been suspended by the government for the last two months for no 
clear reason," Astrid Sehl, NRC media and communications officer said on 
Friday. "We have tried to get into dialogue with the authorities to 
discuss whether we can come back, but they do not seem interested."


The IDPs who have been receiving protection and humanitarian aid from 
the NRC include some 93,000 in Kalma, of whom 19,000 are children 
enrolled in an education programme and 128,000 in Gereida. Both camps 
are in South Darfur State.

Others are 10,000 in Otash and 52,000 who have been receiving food aid 
in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State. Otash camp has recently 
seen the arrival of more IDPs as a result of continuing violence. Full 
story at: [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56313]


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