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 368
17 - 23 March 2007


CONTENTS:

DJIBOUTI: Dry spell causes food insecurity in northwest
SOMALIA: More civilians abandon homes as skirmishes continue
SOMALIA: Fighting erupts in Mogadishu as gov't collects illegal guns
SOMALIA: AU to support peace and reconciliation efforts
SOMALIA: Acute watery diarrhoea kills 80
SOMALIA: Warnings of possible flooding
KENYA-SOMALIA: Government asks Kenya to reopen airspace
SUDAN: Darfur camps reaching capacity
SUDAN: Thousands of Chadian refugees flee to Darfur

see also:
HORN OF AFRICA: Cattle rustling 'goes commercial'
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70837
SOMALIA: Hoping for better times in Mogadishu
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70866


DJIBOUTI: Dry spell causes food insecurity in northwest

Poor urban households and thousands of pastoralists in northwestern 
Djibouti will experience food insecurity in the coming months because of 
the ongoing dry spell, a famine early warning agency said on Friday.

The dry spell means the condition of animals in the northwest is not 
good enough to sell them, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS 
Net) said in a report . In some inland areas, animals are showing signs 
of stress commonly associated with this time of the year.

Djibouti's northwestern region is highly dependent on livestock for 
income and food. The current dry spell and poor livestock conditions are 
already creating household spending deficits of up to 20 percent and 
chronic high levels of malnutrition.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70769


SOMALIA: More civilians abandon homes as skirmishes continue

Civilian families caught up in skirmishes between Somali government 
forces and insurgents in Mogadishu continued to abandon their homes for 
safer areas of the city on Thursday as the government vowed to take full 
control of the capital.

"There were some skirmishes early morning at Fagah area [north 
Mogadishu] but that died down," said a local resident. Fierce fighting 
erupted at the former military academy, however, at about 11am [local 
time] with reports of casualties, he added.

Clashes erupted on Wednesday morning between Ethiopian-backed government 
forces and residents supported by unknown militiamen, suspected of being 
the remnants of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). The violence 
claimed at least 34 lives and wounded dozens of others.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70868


SOMALIA: Fighting erupts in Mogadishu as gov't collects illegal guns

Hundreds of families fled their homes in Mogadishu, the capital of 
Somalia, on Wednesday as fighting between Ethiopian-backed government 
troops and unidentified insurgents raged on, claiming the lives of at 
least 34 people.

The fighting erupted in Shirkole, south of the city, when government 
forces tried to extend their control over the area, said an eyewitness.

"They [government forces] came less than an hour after morning prayers 
[5am]. As soon as they tried to move into the area they met stiff 
resistance [from residents]," he said. Government forces were pushed 
back, towards the former defence ministry headquarters, where Ethiopian 
troops are based, he said, adding that residents were "quickly joined by 
courts militias [remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts]".

Another 92 people were reportedly wounded in the fighting, which started 
at about 6am on Wednesday, hospital sources said.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70842


SOMALIA: AU to support peace and reconciliation efforts

The African Union will support a reconciliation conference being 
organised by Somalia's transitional government in an effort to build 
peace in the war-torn country, a top AU official said.

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is planning to hold the 
conference in April that will last two months and is expected to include 
3,000 representatives of various clans and the diaspora, as well as 
religious and political groups.

"I was highly encouraged by the government of Somalia, which is strongly 
committed to discussion and reconciliation," AU Peace and Security 
Commissioner, Said Djinnit, told reporters in the Somali capital, 
Mogadishu, on Wednesday. "We will be glad to take part [in the 
conference] as the African Union; to help and advise in whatever way we 
can."

The AU has so far deployed two battalions of just over 1,500 Ugandan 
peacekeepers, out of a planned 8,000, for six months. Burundi, Nigeria, 
Ghana and Malawi have also pledged to contribute.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70838


SOMALIA: Acute watery diarrhoea kills 80

An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea in and around the town of 
Bardhere, southwestern Somalia, has killed at least 80 people in the 
past three weeks, medical sources said on Tuesday.

"Fifteen people have died in hospital and over 70 died in the town and 
the villages around it," Bashir Usman, a doctor in the town, said.

The Bardhere hospital, which has not functioned properly for the past 10 
years, is being used as a treatment centre for Bardhere and surrounding 
villages, Usman said.

A task force was set up by the authorities two weeks ago to deal with 
the outbreak, according to Abdifatah Muhammad Ali, of Himilo Relief and 
Development Association, a local non-governmental agency and part of the 
task force.

Usman blamed the outbreak on contaminated water drawn from wells. "We 
suspect the problem is the water people are drinking," he said. Floods, 
mostly in late 2006, displaced thousands of people in the region, with 
large tracts of farmland and water points submerged.

In a report last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs for Somalia said: "Between 1 January and 10 March, 
the number of acute watery diarrhoea cases registered in south/central 
was 5,542, with 252 deaths."

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70817


SOMALIA: Warnings of possible flooding

Above-normal precipitation in the April rainy season could lead to 
another floods crisis in southern Somalia, where river banks were eroded 
after torrential rainfall in 2006, a food security analysis unit 
reported on Friday..

"There is a high probability that some parts of the upper catchments of 
the Juba and Shabelle rivers in the highlands of Ethiopia will receive 
near- to above-normal rains. If the rains in the upper catchments are 
above normal, this will likely result in another season of flooding in 
the riverine areas of southern Somalia as reports indicate that 
river-bank breakages remain open," the Food Security Analysis Unit 
(FSAU) for Somalia said in a quarterly briefing.

Serious flooding in October-November 2006 in Juba and Shabelle river 
valleys destroyed an estimated 53,000ha of maize, 70,000ha of sesame, 
and 9,500ha of cow peas.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70764


KENYA-SOMALIA: Government asks Kenya to reopen airspace

Somalia's interim government has requested neighbouring Kenya to allow 
direct flights to resume between Mogadishu and Nairobi, an official 
said.

Mohamed Ali Nur, Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, told reporters that a 
delegation of Kenyan officials had visited Mogadishu airport. "The 
delegation from Kenya will make an assessment and recommendations," the 
ambassador said. "The Kenyan government will also open its embassy in 
Mogadishu soon."

Kenya suspended direct flights to Mogadishu in November, citing security 
reasons, just before a combined force of Ethiopian and Somali troops 
routed the Union of Islamic Courts from the capital. African Union (AU) 
troops have since been deployed around the airport.

Somalia has had no effective central government since 1991, when Siyad 
Barre was toppled and the country disintegrated into fiefdoms controlled 
by warlords. The TFG, which was set up in Kenya in 2004, is the latest 
attempt at rebuilding the failed state.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70859

SUDAN: Darfur camps reaching capacity

Camps for internally displaced persons in the western Sudanese region of 
Darfur are almost at full capacity due to a continuing influx of people 
fleeing violence, an assessment report compiled by the United Nations 
and other aid agencies have said.

In North Darfur, As Salaam camp cannot take any more displaced people 
due to water shortages, while Abu Shouk has been closed to newcomers and 
Zam Zam is very close to maximum capacity, said the Sudan Humanitarian 
Overview for February.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the 
government, accusing it of neglect and discrimination against the 
region.

The government armed Janjawid militias in a bid to suppress the 
uprising, but the militias have been widely accused of carrying out a 
scorched-earth campaign of murder, rape and pillaging that has targeted 
mainly non-Arab inhabitants of Darfur. The conflict has since spilled 
over into eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70756


SUDAN: Thousands of Chadian refugees flee to Darfur

Thousands of people fleeing conflict in Chad have sought refuge in 
Sudan's western region of Darfur despite the humanitarian crisis there, 
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on 
Thursday.

An estimated 20,000 Chadians have sought refuge in West Darfur since 
2005, while 16,000 had opted to remain close to the border to access 
their land. "These people are fleeing the conflict in their country to 
camps in West Darfur where there is food and security," said Annette 
Rehrl, UNHCR spokeswoman in Sudan.

Conflict in Darfur has displaced at least two million people since 
fighting between insurgents and the Sudanese government erupted in 2003. 
About 230,000 Sudanese refugees are sheltered in camps and along border 
areas in eastern Chad.

full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70869


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