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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-Up 440
2 - 8 August 2008


CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: Emergency needs "set to increase"
SUDAN: MSF seeks assurances before returning to North Darfur
SOMALIA: Death threats as UN raises alarm over increase in attacks
SOMALIA: Aid delivery problems for rural IDPs
SOMALIA: Prime Minister moves to stem political crisis


ALSO SEE:

SUDAN: From rebels to soldiers - the SPLA's transformation
[Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79664]

SUDAN: Cattle raids and clashes still plague Jonglei
[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79624]

GLOBAL: Food aid on the back burner as WTO talks collapse
[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79604]

GLOBAL: What we are doing about climate change
[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79646]


SOMALIA: Death threats as UN raises alarm over increase in attacks

An aid worker in Mogadishu has received death threats a day after the
head of an orphanage was killed by unidentified gunmen. At the same
time, the UN expressed concern over continuing attacks on humanitarian
workers in the war-torn country.

"I received a telephone call last night [Thursday] telling me I was the
next to die," the aid worker, who declined to be named for security
reasons, said.

On 7 August, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, said he was alarmed by the
continuing abuses and civilian casualties resulting from the conflict in
Somalia, and the challenges faced by humanitarian workers in addressing
the rapidly growing needs of millions of vulnerable people.

[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79722]


ETHIOPIA: Emergency needs "set to increase"

The number of people requiring emergency food aid is expected to
increase as food security has not improved, according to the latest
assessment of drought-affected areas, a senior government official said.

"In general, the findings of the assessment indicated that the overall
food security situation in the drought-affected areas has not improved,"
Abera Deresa, the minister of agriculture, told reporters in Addis Ababa
on 7 August. The assessment was of the regular belg (short rains)
season.

Abera said the food security situation had been exacerbated by the
country's dependence on rain-fed agriculture.

[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79714]


SUDAN: MSF seeks assurances before returning to North Darfur

The staff of the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, who were
evacuated from two locations in the western Sudanese state of North
Darfur, may return to the area if they are assured improved security on
the ground, a spokeswoman said.

MSF was forced to evacuate staff from Tawila and Shangil Tobaya after
several violent assaults, including two in one week, when armed men
entered the MSF compounds at night. They threatened staff with guns and
stole money, including the salaries of local staff, and other valuables.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
180 humanitarian vehicles have been hijacked in Darfur this year, 145
aid workers kidnapped and nine killed.

[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79603]



SOMALIA: Aid delivery problems for rural IDPs

Much of Somalia's displaced population has scattered across rural
villages, which are hard to reach because of rampant insecurity and
limited resources, an international agency said, impeding aid delivery.

CARE International, which distributed some 900MT of food to 12,000 IDPs
in the southern town of Beletweyne two weeks ago, said its staff had
failed to access rural areas. Instead, they relied on local partner
agencies to do assessments.

The difficulty of delivering food aid has affected other agencies too.
On 31 July, the UN World Food Programme said a convoy of trucks carrying
1,500MT of food to the Hiiraan region had been delayed due to fighting
between insurgents and Ethiopian-backed government troops around
Beletweyne.

[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79683]


SOMALIA: Prime Minister moves to stem political crisis

Somalia's Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein replaced six of the 10
cabinet ministers who resigned on 2 August in an effort to quell a
political crisis in the country.

Hussein told a news conference on 2 August that the resignations would
not affect the Transitional Federal Government's work but could
influence a 9 June agreement signed in Djibouti between the government
and an Eritrea-based opposition faction.

[Full Report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79605]


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