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 370
31 March - 6 April 2007


CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Government outlaws female genital mutilation
SOMALIA: Locals mobilised to assist displaced civilians
SOMALIA: UN decries civilian deaths in Mogadishu
KENYA-SOMALIA: Border remains closed to asylum seekers
SUDAN: Agencies call for increased mine action
SUDAN: AU, UN condemn killing of Darfur peacekeepers

See also:
SUDAN: Rise in school enrolment poses funding problem:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71166

SOMALIA: Uneasy calm as Mogadishu guns fall silent:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71132


ERITREA: Government outlaws female genital mutilation

The Eritrean government has banned female genital mutilation (FGM), 
saying the practice was painful and put women at risk of 
life-threatening health problems. A government proclamation published on 
Wednesday said it was illegal for anyone to subject a person to FGM or 
provide tools to anyone who intended to carry out the practice.

Failing to inform authorities on intended plans to subject anyone to FGM 
also constituted an offence, according to the legal notice.

[Full story: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71199]


SOMALIA: Locals mobilised to assist displaced civilians

Civil society organisations in Somalia have launched a campaign to help 
thousands of desperate civilians displaced by the fighting in Mogadishu, 
the capital.

"We have been trucking water in the last three days," said Abdinasir 
Ahmed Usman, head of a civil society taskforce that is assisting the 
displaced.

[Full story: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71200]


SOMALIA: UN decries civilian deaths in Mogadishu

The parties to conflict in Somalia must respect international law, 
protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid to get to those in need, a 
top United Nations official said.

"There is worry that civilians will bear the brunt of fighting if the 
ceasefire in place since Sunday does not hold," Louise Arbour, UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Tuesday.

[Full story: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71177]


KENYA-SOMALIA: Border remains closed to asylum seekers

GARISSA, 3 April 2007 (IRIN) - The Somalia-Kenya border is to remain 
closed despite the arrival of thousands of new Somali asylum seekers 
escaping weeks of heavy fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a 
Kenyan official announced.

"Our security officers have been put on high alert; no Somali will enter 
the country," Garissa district commissioner, Joseph Imbwaga, said on 
Tuesday. The decision to close the border, which was taken by the Kenyan 
government more than three months ago, was still in force, he added.

[Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71164]


SUDAN: Agencies call for increased mine action

United Nations agencies involved in mine action in Sudan on Wednesday 
called for greater efforts to clear landmines in the country and 
increase people's awareness of the dangers posed by the explosives, 
which killed or maimed more than 2,000 people in the south in the past 
five years.

"It is imperative that we all renew our commitment to mine clearance, 
increasing public awareness and education about the dangers of landmines 
and ERW [explosive remnants of war] and ensuring that those affected by 
landmines are provided with appropriate assistance," said Jim 
Pansegrouw, director of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), speaking on 
World Mine Action Day on behalf of UNMAS, the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) and the UN Development Programme.

[Full story: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71183]


SUDAN: AU, UN condemn killing of Darfur peacekeepers

The African Union (AU) has launched an investigation into the killing of 
five of its peacekeepers by unidentified assailants in Sudan's western 
region of Darfur, saying attacks against its troops were increasing.

"It was a heinous crime against peacekeepers," Noureddine Mezni, 
spokesman for the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS), told IRIN on Monday. 
The attack was carried out late on Sunday at Um Baru, some 220 km from 
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, Mezni said.

[Full story: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71134]


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