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 West Africa Tel: +225 22-40-4440 Fax: +225 22-41-9339 e-mail: irin-wa@irin.ciWEST AFRICA IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 32 5 to 11 August 2000
CONTENTS: SIERRA LEONE: More IDPs flock to Bumbuna SIERRA LEONE: Six vehicles captured in east SIERRA LEONE: Mile 91, Southern Province relatively calm SIERRA LEONE: Koroma calls on AFRC to disarm SIERRA LEONE: Security Council extends UNAMSIL's mandate LIBERIA: Fighting continues in Lofa GUINEA-BISSAU: Senegal reopens border SENEGAL: Red Cross distributes food to Casamance IDPs BURKINA FASO: Heavy rains render hundreds homeless GHANA: World Bank to help fund food security drive NIGERIA: New Senate president NIGERIA: States to plant 50 ha of trees a year NIGERIA: Eight communities appeal for help against oil spill NIGERIA: Muslims want Sharia extended to south NIGERIA: Militant youth free 165 hostages NIGER: Asylum seekers agree to leave Cathedral COTE D'IVOIRE: Parties agree to work towards national unity GABON: Work begins on national anti-HIV plan MALI: UNCDF and UNDP support decentralisation WEST AFRICA: US military team evaluates peacekeeping needs AFRICA: Anti-HIV missions to six countries SIERRA LEONE: More IDPs flock to Bumbuna More than 7,000 new internally displaced persons (IDPs), mostly children, are reported to have arrived this month in Bumbuna, northern Sierra Leone, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. MSF-Belgium did an assessment mission there on Monday and found that the IDPs in Bumbuna, which is northeast of Makeni, desperately needed assistance, especially food, OCHA said in its 25 July-7 August humanitarian situation report. Some children suffered from malnutrition and there were cases of diarrhoea, MSF said. OCHA said that aid deliveries could be made only by air and agencies were trying to respond to the IDPs' needs. It said the IDPs interviewed by MSF said they fled Makeni and Magburaka to escape forced recruitment by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels and fighting between pro-government forces and the RUF. New IDPS in Kabala Hundreds of new IDPs from the Makeni-Kono area were reported in Kabala (northeast) in the last two to three weeks, OCHA reported. Food security was a major concern as Christian Relief Services (CRS) had run out of stocks there and poor road access was hampering efforts to re-supply the area. New IDPs in Port Loko The Norwegian Refugee Council said there were some 25,000 IDPs in Port Loko, north of Freetown, including over 5,000 who arrived between 18 July and 1 August, according to the OCHA report. It also noted that there had been reports of violence in Port Loko between Community Defence Forces, pro-government militias, and the Sierra Leone Army but humanitarian activities were gradually resuming despite the insecurity. SIERRA LEONE: Six vehicles captured in east In eastern Sierra Leone, three trucks and three taxis were captured on 5 August at Segbwema, some 15 km west of Daru, and taken to an RUF base, OCHA reported Save the Children Fund (SCF) as saying. However, there have been reports of small numbers of RUF fighters disarming at the Daru disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) camp, one of two still operational countrywide. The other is at Lungi, north of Freetown. Aid agencies are gradually expanding activities in Daru following the recent arrival of some 5,000 new IDPs from nearby chiefdoms in Kailahun District. SIERRA LEONE: Mile 91, Southern Province relatively calm The security situation in Mile 91, east of Freetown, is "relatively calm but fluid," according to OCHA. It reported the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) as saying that the situation was under control although rebels reportedly burnt down 24 houses and killed civilians in a recent attack in Mayibin, a village in the area. Southern Province has been generally calm but aid agencies continue to report security incidents involving Kamajors which are affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the region. SIERRA LEONE: Koroma calls on AFRC to disarm The leader of Sierra Leone's former AFRC junta, Johnny Paul Koroma, said on state radio that he had disassociated himself from armed factions claiming allegiance to him, news organisations reported on Tuesday. He added that if an armed faction known as the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) still existed and claimed allegiance to him, it should be dismantled and its members should report to disarmament camps to hand in their weapons. On Monday, UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) spokesperson Hirut Befecadu said that in the previous 10 days, some 82 members of the West Side Boys - a militia made up mainly of ex-AFRC loyalists - had reported to the disarmament camp at Lungi, north of Freetown. Others who recently disarmed at Lungi include 53 former members of the Sierra Leone Army and two child soldiers, Befecadu said. SIERRA LEONE: Security Council extends UNAMSIL's mandate The UN Security Council unanimously approved, on 4 August, a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to 8 September. It also agreed that UNAMSIL's military component "should be reinforced through accelerated troop rotations [and] with further aviation and maritime assets, a strengthened force reserve, upgraded communications and specialist combat and logistic support assets", the UN reported. UNAMSIL's authorised strength is 13,000. In a May report, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended increasing it to 16,500. LIBERIA: Fighting continues in Lofa Opposing forces are still battling for total control of the north Liberian town of Voinjama, capital of Lofa County, and surrounding areas. On Tuesday, President Charles Taylor gave his forces 72 hours to flush out the dissidents from the area but up to early Friday there was no indication they had won. BBC on Thursday reported self-styled general Joe Wiley, who claims to be the leader of the dissidents, as saying: "I want Mr Taylor to know that it will take 100 years to drive our forces out of Liberia." The insurgency in Lofa began on 8 August. GUINEA-BISSAU: Senegal reopens border Guinea-Bissau and Senegal reopened their border on Saturday after ministerial-level negotiations in which they vowed to stop armed bands from raiding communities in the area, the state-owned `Le Soleil' newspaper in Dakar reported. The two countries also created a joint commission to identify and recover possessions stolen from Senegalese border communities by armed bandits who, villagers said, came from Guinea-Bissau. People living close to the border blocked it for nearly a month in protest against the raids. The two countries have also agreed that their interior ministers will meet every three months and the governors of border regions every two months to review the situation and help build a climate of confidence. SENEGAL: Red Cross distributes food to Casamance IDPs The Senegalese Red Cross in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross this week began distributing over 35 mt of rice and millet to some 4,380 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the southern town of Ziguinchor, the Senegal news agency, APS, reported. The IDPs were displaced by insecurity in the Casamance area, where a rebel group is fighting for an independent state and where banditry has increased in recent weeks. BURKINA FASO: Heavy rains render hundreds homeless About 520 people were made homeless after heavy rains on Sunday swept away part of a dam in Bani, about 200 km north of Ouagadougou, flooding the area and destroying 36 houses, news organisations reported. The official 'Sidwaya' daily reported on Wednesday that Minister of Social Action Nayabtigungu Kabore travelled to the area and donated four mt of food, three bales of clothing, 100 blankets and 100 mats. PANA said the homeless had been given shelter by relatives and neighbours, in a school and in mosques. GHANA: World Bank to help fund food security drive The World Bank has approved a credit of US $67 million for Ghana's Agricultural Services Subsector Investment Project, aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and incomes, thus reducing rural poverty. The aims of the project also include improving food security and providing the basis for faster and environmentally sustainable economic growth. NIGERIA: New Senate president Anyim Pius Anyim was elected president of Nigeria's Senate on Thursday, two days after senators voted 81 to 14 to impeach his predecessor, Chuba Okadigbo. Okadigbo's deputy, Haruna Abubakar, and Senate majority leader Samaila Mamman - also accused of corruption - resigned before Tuesday's ballot. A Senate committee investigating the misuse of public funds accused Okadigbo of inflating contracts, overspending on official home furnishing, accepting US $200,000 as a Christmas "welfare gift" and acquiring eight unauthorised cars - bringing to 32 his official fleet, AFP said. NIGERIA: States to plant 50 ha of trees a year Nigeria's 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory have been ordered to devote 50 ha of land every year to an annual tree planting exercise, `The Guardian' of Lagos reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu said he would enforce a law barring the cutting of trees without permission from the ministries of agriculture and the environment. NIGERIA: Eight communities appeal for help against oil spill Eight communities in Delta State's Ughelli North area appealed on Monday for potable water, food and mobile clinics following an oil spill that has devastated their farmlands and waterways, `The Guardian' reported. The spill, described as the worst such mishap in the State, has destroyed fish ponds and polluted wells, compelling the communities to buy drinking water from Ughelli town, the Lagos daily said. NIGERIA: Muslims want Sharia extended to south Prominent northern Muslim scholars in Nigeria say they want to meet with governors of southwestern states with large Muslim populations - Lagos, Oyo, Osun and Ogun - to discuss prospects for introducing Sharia in their areas, `The Guardian', a Lagos daily, reported on Monday. The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria took this decision at a recent convention attended by delegates from 24 states, some of them from the southwest. Meanwhile, the bishop of Owo Anglican Diocese, the Reverend Adedayo Oladunjoye, asked the federal government to investigate reports that some Arab countries had promised US $800 million to any Nigerian state that adopted Sharia and another US$ 10 million to any organisation that pressured a state to adopt the Islamic legal system. Oladunjoye called on the government to break diplomatic relations with such countries, `The Guardian' said. NIGERIA: Militant youth free 165 hostages Militant youths in the Niger Delta last weekend released 165 oil workers they had held hostage on two drilling rigs belonging to Royal Dutch/Shell, according to news reports quoting company officials. NIGER: Asylum seekers agree to leave Cathedral Just over 200 asylum seekers in Niger have agreed to vacate by Saturday, the Niamey Cathedral which they have been occupying since 24 July, the Missionary News Agency, MISNA, reported. The group, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had demanded money and that the UNHCR speed up the examination of their asylum applications. A UNHCR official who met with the asylum seekers this week told IRIN on Friday that Niger's government had established an asylum status eligibility commission to review the cases. He said UNHCR would send lawyers to help the commission process the asylum requests once it begins to work. The official said the asylum seekers had travelled to Morocco and Algeria with a view to going to Spain but were expelled to Niger, with which Algeria has a common border. COTE D'IVOIRE: Parties agree to work towards national unity Leaders of Cote d'Ivoire's main political parties agreed to work towards a government of national unity at a meeting on Thursday with West African heads of state. "They made the commitment to promote the establishment of a government of national unity, whatever the result of the next elections (to be held in September) with a view to unity, harmony and reconciliation," read a communique issued after the meeting. Participants in Thursday's discussions, held in the capital, Yamassoukro, included presidents Mathieu Kerekou and Gnassingbe Eyadema of Benin and Togo and Cote d'Ivoire's head, General Robert Guei. They also included representatives of the country's four main parties: Laurent Dona Fologo of the former ruling Parti Democratique de Cote d'Ivoire; Alassane Ouattara, head of the Rassemblement des Republicains; Front Populaire Ivoirien head Laurent Gbagbo; and Francis Wodie, leader of the Parti Ivoirien du Travail. GABON: Work begins on national anti-HIV plan Gabon has started to develop a national strategic plan against HIV/AIDS and expects to have it ready by the end of the year, the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa (IPAA) reported in its latest bulletin. The World Health Organisation, which is supporting the process to develop the plan, has contacted IPAA for assistance to complement funding and resources provided by the government and other partners, the IPAA said. MALI: UNCDF and UNDP support decentralisation A US $11.4-million Local Development Fund to encourage decentralisation efforts in Mali and to expand basic services and infrastructure in poor communities has been approved by the Malian government, the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The project seeks to improve local health centres, schools, agricultural extension services and natural resource management, the UNDP reported on Thursday. It is also expected to help newly elected authorities acquire the skills needed to plan local development, and encourage community participation in decision-making and development projects. Some 107 communes are expected to benefit from the initiative, the UNDP said. WEST AFRICA: US military team evaluates peacekeeping needs A curriculum development team from the US military is in Nigeria and Ghana to evaluate their needs for further peacekeeping duties in Sierra Leone, Assistant Secretary of Defence Kenneth Bacon told reporters on Tuesday. Several dozen US Air Force, Army and Special Forces personnel have been in the two countries since the end of July assessing training needs for the troops, who will be equipped by the United States. Speaking at the Pentagon in Washington DC, Bacon said the team was expected to complete its review in "a week or so" and make recommendations to the US government. AFRICA: Anti-HIV missions to six countries Two teams of consultants are visiting six countries in Africa to undertake situation analysis and develop projects for joint advocacy against HIV/AIDS, the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa (IPAA) reported in its latest bulletin. The missions, part of a UNFPA-led advocacy initiative within the IPAA, began on 24 July and are scheduled to end on 28 August. The visits - to Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania - have been organised by UNFPA in consultation with the UNAIDS Secretariat. The IPAA comprises the seven sponsors of UNAIDS (UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, the World Bank, WHO, UNESCO and UNDCP), the UNAIDS secretariat, bilateral development agencies, NGOs, and the private sector. 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