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 415
2 - 8 February 2008


CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: "Eight million need assistance, despite record harvest"
SOMALIA: Explosions in Bosasso leave 21 dead, dozens injured
SOMALIA: Two million face humanitarian crisis, warn agencies
SUDAN: Whooping cough outbreak in West Darfur
DRC-SUDAN: SPLA leaves border after 10 years


ETHIOPIA: "Eight million need assistance, despite record harvest"

Ethiopia experienced a record harvest during the meher season that runs 
from June and October but pockets of poor food production across the 
country have still left millions of people needing food assistance, 
according to a food security update.

Citing the Somali region in particular, the update issued by the Famine 
Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) on 6 February stated that poor 
rains during the deyr season, from October to November, exacerbated 
extreme food insecurity in parts of the region.

[Full report at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76621]


SOMALIA: Explosions in Bosasso leave 21 dead, dozens injured

Explosions in the port town of Bosasso, the commercial capital of the 
self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, 
killed 21 people and injured 69 others on 5 February, a senior official 
said.

"At around 8pm last night, two consecutive explosions killed 21 
Ethiopian migrants and injured 69 others near the port area," Abdirizaq 
Hareed, the mayor of Bosasso, told IRIN on 6 February.

[Full report at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76601]


SOMALIA: Two million face humanitarian crisis, warn agencies

An estimated two million people in Somalia are facing a humanitarian 
crisis and need urgent aid, humanitarian agencies have warned.

In a statement, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Food 
Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) and FEWS NET Somalia, said the 
humanitarian situation in southern and central regions of the country 
had deteriorated in the past six months.

[Full report at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76580]


SUDAN: Whooping cough outbreak in West Darfur

A dramatic rise in whooping cough cases has been reported near El 
Geneina, capital of the Sudanese state of West Darfur, but insecurity 
has made it difficult for medical personnel to reach the affected 
populations, according to an international NGO.

Two cases of the disease (also known as pertussis) were reported in 
Kondobe, a remote village 20km north of El Geneina, a fortnight ago, 
according to the NGO, Medair.

[Full report at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76583]


DRC-SUDAN: SPLA leaves border after 10 years

Police and other security services from the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC) have begun deploying near the Sudanese border after the Sudan 
People's Liberation Army (SPLA) withdrew troops who had occupied the 
area for a decade, officials said.

"We raised the Congolese flag over Kengezi Base on Sunday 3 February, 
regaining our territorial integrity. They [the SPLA] agreed to withdraw 
unconditionally," an official explained.

[Full report at: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76604]


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