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 341
19 - 25 August 2006


CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: Flooding in Gambella kills two, displaces 6,000
ETHIOPIA: Malaria a major threat as flood emergency continues
ETHIOPIA: AU appeals for help for flood-stricken Ethiopia
SOMALIA: Mogadishu port re-opens after 11 years
SOMALIA: Islamic courts ban trade in charcoal and wildlife
SOMALIA: Premier appoints new cabinet
SUDAN: Children still victims of war
SUDAN: Government asks Security Council to be patient on Darfur


See also:

ETHIOPIA: Counting the cost of the floods at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55233

SUDAN: Sexual violence spikes around South Darfur camp at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55263

SUDAN: Armed youth voluntarily disarm in Jonglei at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55224


ETHIOPIA: Flooding in Gambella kills two, displaces 6,000

Floods in western Ethiopia's Gambella region had killed two people and 
displaced more than 6,000, officials said on Thursday.

Government officials said the Baro River burst its banks on Wednesday, 
and residents were being resettled in safe areas to protect them from 
more potential flooding. A task force has been established to relocate 
the displaced and to deliver relief assistance to the affected people.

[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55255]


ETHIOPIA: Malaria a major threat as flood emergency continues

Malaria could become the major threat to thousands of people whose 
villages have been submerged in flood waters along the Omo River in 
southern Ethiopia, local officials said on Wednesday, calling for a more 
rapid distribution of bed nets to displaced people.

"Outbreaks of malaria are becoming our major concern. We are 
distributing mosquito nets to the stranded and rescued people who are in 
various shelters in the area," said Kaidaki Gezahegne, the administrator 
of the South Omo Zone.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55253]


ETHIOPIA: AU appeals for help for flood-stricken Ethiopia

The African Union (AU) on Monday appealed to its member states and the 
rest of the international community to provide humanitarian assistance 
to thousands of Ethiopians affected by flash floods that followed heavy 
rainfall.

The AU announced it was donating US $100,000 to the government to help 
it respond to the floods, which have displaced an estimated 10,000 
people and left hundreds dead.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55206]


SOMALIA: Mogadishu port re-opens after 11 years

As another sign of improved security in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, 
the country's main port was officially re-opened on Thursday after more 
than 11 years.

"The chairman of the courts [Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed] officially 
opened the port today [Thursday]," said Sheikh Umar Ahmed Weheliye, the 
port manager.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55257]


SOMALIA: Islamic courts ban trade in charcoal and wildlife

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controls the capital, 
Mogadishu, and much of south and central Somalia, issued a directive on 
Tuesday banning exports of charcoal and rare birds and animals, an 
official told IRIN.

The Executive Committee of the UIC issued the directive after a full 
committee meeting agreed to the ban, Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, the UIC 
Vice-Chairman, said.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55234]


SOMALIA: Premier appoints new cabinet

Somalia's interim Prime Minister, Ali Muhammad Gedi, on Monday appointed 
a 31-member cabinet, two weeks after the dissolution of the previous one 
amid disagreements over the premier's handling of peace talks between 
the transitional government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).

President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who heads Somalia's Transitional 
Federal Government (TFG), dissolved the cabinet on 7 August, a week 
after a vote of no-confidence in Gedi was defeated in parliament.

[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55202]


SUDAN: Children still victims of war

Children are still being recruited by the Sudanese army and various 
armed groups, despite the signing of formal peace and ceasefire 
agreements, a United Nations report has found.

"It is clear that thousands of children are still associated with armed 
forces in southern Sudan, awaiting demobilisation," UN 
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said in a report released on Tuesday.

[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55241]


SUDAN: Government asks Security Council to be patient on Darfur

Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir has called on the United Nations 
Security Council to "be patient" in resolving the conflict in Darfur and 
indicated, in a letter to the Council President earlier this week, that 
the UK-US draft resolution for a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur was 
unacceptable to Khartoum.

"We request the Security Council to be patient and not to be in a hurry 
to adopt a new resolution on the matter, and to allow the government of 
the Sudan sufficient time to resolve the situation in Darfur," according 
to the August 21 letter to Council President, Ghanian Ambassador Nana 
Effah-Apentang.

[Full story at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55272]


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