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

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e-mail: irin-wa@irin.ci


WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Round-Up 439
2 - 8 August 2008


CONTENTS:

MALI: Efforts to quell illegal migration
NIGER-NIGERIA: Border on high-alert for bird flu
SENEGAL: High cashew prices benefit rebels
TOGO: Thousands displaced from flooding, experts brace for more
GUINEA-BISSAU: Uncertain future as President dissolves government
MAURITANIA: Military ousts president, seizes power
MAURITANIA: Reaction sharply divided on military coup
GHANA: Pre-election violence and irregularities worry watchdogs
GUINEA-BISSAU: Soaring prices could trigger social conflict
SENEGAL: Food insecurity threatens 2.1 million


MALI: Efforts to quell illegal migration

Abdoulaye, a Malian, spent more than US$500 to try to reach Spain across
the Sahara, but he was caught by the Spanish authorities in Melilla, a
Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Morocco and sent home 21 days
later. A few months on, he remains undeterred. "Of course I was
discouraged by my experience, but I am going to try again," he told
IRIN. He is currently working doing odd jobs to try to earn enough for
another package to Europe. There are no official estimates of how many
migrants arrive in Gao, one of the three main jumping off points for the
journey across the Sahara to Europe. Migrants make the 1,200 kilometre
journey from Bamako mostly on top of over-loaded trucks and wagons.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79619


NIGER-NIGERIA: Border on high-alert for bird flu

Niger's Ministry of Livestock is intensifying its bird surveillance
along the 1,500-kilometre border with northern Nigeria after a recent
resurgence of bird deaths. The Ministry of Livestock in Niger has
ordered the killing of more than 20,000 birds suspected of carrying the
virus since 2006. It has also paid about US$46,000 in compensation to
farmers with sick birds to encourage them to hand over infected animals.
Officials in the northern Nigeria states Kebbi, Kano and Katsina
reported several thousand poultry deaths on 29 July. Birds have been
sent to laboratories in Italy to determine if the H5N1 avian flu virus
is responsible.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79618


SENEGAL: High cashew prices benefit rebels

The soaring price of cashew nuts in Senegal's restive southern region
Casamance is lining the pockets of armed rebels according to Ismaila
Diedhiou, an agricultural expert who works at the local development
association ASPRODEB. "Insecurity has also risen in the forests where
cashews are grown towards the Guinea-Bissau border, which has benefited
the rebels who collect the nuts themselves to sell them on in Ziguinchor
and Guinea-Bissau," Diedhiou said. Since March the price of cashews has
shot up from 29 US cents per kg to 94 US cents now to reach "the highest
price in ten years," said producer Aliou Coly. The price rise was caused
by a small harvest, improved quality of the nuts, and the removal of
fixed prices, according to experts.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79613


TOGO: Thousands displaced from flooding, experts brace for more

Weeks of rains in Togo have forced thousands of people from their homes
into temporary government-run centres set up throughout the capital,
Lome. Ramon Aloumoun, 48 years old, took some clothing and a few
documents when he left his home 4 August with his wife and three
children. "Everything else just washed away. Water reached the level of
my bed, then tables. I am a welder and my tools in the garage are now
gone. Everything." Togo's head of Red Cross Disaster Relief, Victor
Sodogas, estimates more than 6,000 people, including approximately 1,000
children, have sought shelter in six government centres that do not have
designated sleeping quarters. "They just sleep in the processing areas.
There are no mosquito nets yet in the centres, which may become more of
an issue as the rainy season continues to push people into these
shelters." Climatologist Michel Boko from the University of Cotonou in
Benin says weather trends point to more flooding during this year's
rainy season, which typically is from May to September.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79675


GUINEA-BISSAU: Uncertain future as President dissolves government

President Joao Bernardo Vieira announced he had dissolved parliament on
5 August replacing Prime Minister Martinho Ndafa Cabi of the African
Party for the Independence of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) with
Prime Minister, Carlos Correia. Correia, an agricultural engineer who
was trained in Germany, has already served as prime minister under
President Vieira from 1991 to 1994, and again from 1997 to 1998. He will
be the country's 12th prime minister since 1980 - Martinho Ndafa Cabi's
government lasted just 15 months. A new government will be nominated in
the coming days to lead the country up to 16 November legislative
elections. Under the presidential decree, only the standing committee of
the national assembly will continue to function.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79660


MAURITANIA: Military ousts president, seizes power

International leaders, heads of states and human rights lobbyists have
condemned the military ouster of Mauritania's President Sidi Mohamed
ould Cheikh Abdallahi, and Prime Minister Yahya ould Ahmed Waghf on 6
August, while analysts question how the latest political shake-up will
affect a country that is reeling from rising food and living costs, as
it reintegrates thousands of refugees. The coup started just hours after
a presidential decree early on Wednesday that declared the dismissal of
Mauritania's top four military leaders. By the morning, soldiers had
barricaded the presidential palace on Wednesday, according to the
president's daughter, Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallahi.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79676


MAURITANIA: Reaction sharply divided on military coup

The leader of the newly-formed National Front for the Defence of
Democracy, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Dahmane, told IRIN national police had
dispersed demonstrators on Thursday who turned out in support of the
detained president. "We just had our signs. And they their tear gas. We
formed our group to advocate for a return to constitutional order. The
junta authorises people to demonstrate in their favour, but try to
silence us." Meanwhile, in a separate demonstration, hundreds took to
the streets in support of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and former members of
the president's inner military circle who have declared themselves
interim leaders after detaining President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi on
Wednesday.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79705


GHANA: Pre-election violence and irregularities worry watchdogs

Independent observers and civil society groups in Ghana say voter
registration, the first major step towards landmark general elections in
December, is being marred by violence and irregularities. In the north
of Ghana supporters of the two main political parties - the ruling New
Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress
(NDC) - vandalised registration centres on 2 August and gun shots were
heard in Tamale, the capital of the northern region, during voter
registration.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79703


GUINEA-BISSAU: Soaring prices could trigger social conflict

Rising food and fuel costs could trigger social conflict in
Guinea-Bissau according to the latest report by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), published last week. The warnings come just as
Guinea-Bissau has been plunged into a political crisis with President
Joao Vieira dissolving parliament and appointing a new prime minister on
5 August. A new government is expected to be formed in a matter of days.
Rising food and fuel prices will hit the urban poor hardest, which could
"reignite social tensions", according to the report. A Bissau-based
agricultural expert confirmed these findings: "Rising food and fuel
prices could spark social instability here - they could even start
strikes. There is a real risk and the government has to understand
that."

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79696


SENEGAL: Food insecurity threatens 2.1 million

Up to 2.1 million Senegalese are facing food insecurity linked to high
food prices and a poor 2007 harvest, according to an inter-ministerial
government assessment. Over one million face "severe" food insecurity,
according to the report's definitions, and the situation could
deteriorate. Senegal has a total population of 11 million. "The food
security and nutrition situation could further deteriorate in the
upcoming months if the price rise dynamic does not change," the report
stated. Because of this, "emergency operations must be continued and
long-term support to the vulnerable stepped up." The study, which was
undertaken jointly by the Departments of Agriculture and of Livestock,
the Food Security Commission, the National Agency for Statistics, and
the government's early warning centre, covered 485 villages across the
country.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79728


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