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 339
5 - 11 August 2006


CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: Agencies scramble to get aid to Dire Dawa
ETHIOPIA: 10,000 homeless in flood-hit eastern town
SOMALIA: Flooding in Middle Shabelle
SOMALIA: Premier consults over cabinet composition
SOMALIA: President dissolves cabinet
SUDAN: Darfur insecurity much worse than last year
SUDAN: Former Darfur rebel leader named presidential assistant


See also:

ETHIOPIA: Waiting to bury the dead at: 
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55078]

ETHIOPIA: Coping with the flood aftermath at: 
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55045]

SOMALIA: Eking out a living in Mogadishu at: 
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55077


ETHIOPIA: Agencies scramble to get aid to Dire Dawa

Humanitarian agencies are sending aid to thousands of people made homeless by 
flash floods in the southern Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa but more help is still 
needed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
(OCHA) warned on Thursday.

"Tents and blankets are among the most pressing non-food needs, as [officials] 
are warning of fresh flooding," said Vincent Lelei, OCHA's deputy head of 
office in Ethiopia. "The displaced must be immediately resettled as the school 
year is starting in less than a month's time,"

[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55063]


ETHIOPIA: 10,000 homeless in flood-hit eastern town

At least 10,000 people lost their homes in the eastern Ethiopian city of Dire 
Dawa after a flash flood hit the area, killing hundreds, officials said on 
Tuesday.

"The city administration has so far registered more than 10,000 [homeless 
people]," said Getachew Asres, Dire Dawa city administration police commander. 
"They are temporarily sheltered in schools and tents and getting food and other 
necessary support."

[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55030]


SOMALIA: Premier consults over cabinet composition

The prime minister of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Ali 
Muhammad Gedi, is consulting widely as he tries to form a new cabinet that 
would reflect the diversity of Somali society, a government official said on 
Thursday.

Gedi has been consulting "different groups from all political persuasions to 
form a government of national unity", Abdirahman Dinari, the government 
spokesman, said.

[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55061]


SOMALIA: Flooding in Middle Shabelle

Floods displaced hundreds of people and destroyed at least 5,000 hectares of 
farmland in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region around Jowhar, the regional 
capital, when the Shabelle river burst its banks last week, local officials 
said on Wednesday.

"Some of the villagers were about to harvest [crops] when the river broke its 
banks," Usman Haji Abdullahi, a member of the regional emergency committee, 
said. "Some families have lost everything." [Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55044]


SOMALIA: President dissolves cabinet

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the President of the Somali Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG), on Monday announced the dissolution of the country's cabinet.

"The President has dissolved the cabinet and has asked [the] Prime Minister 
[Ali Muhammad Gedi] to come up with a new one in one week," Abdirahman Dinari, 
the government spokesman, told IRIN.

[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55009]


SUDAN: Darfur insecurity much worse than last year

Insecurity has worsened significantly across the Darfur region in the first 
half of this year compared with the same period last year, according to a 
senior United Nations official.

"The number of armed clashes during that period was twice as high as the number 
last year," Jan Pronk, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to 
Sudan, told reporters in Khartoum on Wednesday.

[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55067]


SUDAN: Former Darfur rebel leader named presidential assistant

The leader of the former rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) in the 
war-torn region of Darfur, Minni Minnawi, was sworn in as special assistant to 
Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir in Khartoum on Monday, despite a political 
row over the weekend.

He was expected in the Sudanese capital on Saturday but postponed his arrival, 
accusing the government of obstructing the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) by 
delaying his appointment. He also threatened to cease implementing the accord.

[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55014]


SUDAN: July the worst month of Darfur conflict, aid agencies say

July was the most dangerous month of the three-year-old conflict in Darfur for 
aid workers, four major international humanitarian agencies working in the 
region said on Tuesday.

Violence has escalated since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement on 5 May 
between the government and the largest rebel group. Eight Sudanese humanitarian 
workers were killed in July alone.

[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55035]


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