This report includes: A) Liberia B) Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and Tanzania C) Angola D) Former Yugoslavia.
>From B. Szynalski, Director, Operational Policy and Support Division. For information regarding resources, donors are requested to contact Ms. B. Karlstrom Dorph, Director, Resources Division, WFP Rome (Ph. 39 6 5228 2500)
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS
A. LIBERIA 1. Update as of 9 May 1996: a) Factional fighting in Monrovia which resumed 29 April continued this week, but slowed down after 6 May. b) ECOWAS summit in Accra, scheduled for 7-8 May, cancelled, raising additional concern for already meagre peace prospects. c) WFP emergency food distribution in Monrovia restarted, but limited to accessible safe locations.
B. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA
1. Burundi a) Information emerging on massacre in Buhoro village, Gitega province on 26 April. b) Fighting in parts of Bujumbura on 3 May; electricity cut. c) Increase in numbers fleeing the fighting in Cibitoke by crossing border into Zaire. d) Confirmed pledges for WFP Twin Otter only to end of May.
2. Zaire - Goma a) Masisi zone relatively stable, but spill over conflict in the Rutshuru area (near Goma camps of Kahindo and Katale), involving anti-Hutu "Ngilima" militia, is resulting in large-scale displacement of the local population.
3. Zaire - Uvira a) New arrivals from Burundi between 29 April to 7 May total 13,000. A further 3,000 arrived from Cibitoke on 8 May. b) Closure of border with Burundi by Zairian officials on 6 May (following closure of the border by Burundi on 15 April) further constrains WFP operations in Uvira and Bukavu.
4. Tanzania a) WFP Executive Director visits Ngara camps 2 May. b) Refugees from Burundi continue to cross into Tanzania, escaping what they describe as Burundian army operations against Hutus.
C. ANGOLA
1. Update a) Strategy to stem deterioration in nutritional situation in Malange agreed upon by World Vision, Concern, MSF(H) and WFP. b) Flights to Jamba (Southern Kuando Kubango) recommence, to support resumed CARE distributions. c) Road convoys from Lobito to Lubango resume. d) FAO/WFP Food and Crop Assessment mission concluded.
D. FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
1. Food security throughout the region remains stable. No problems of access for humanitarian relief aid.
PART II - DETAILS
A. LIBERIA
1. UPDATE (information as of 9 May 1996)
1.1 Heavy shelling continued during the week in central Monrovia and in the outskirts, especially Sinkor, until 6 May, when NPFL's Charles Taylor accepted a cease-fire.
1.2 Fighting between the "Government" forces of NPFL/ULIMO-K and the Krahn factions coming from the former Schiefflin military camp also spread into Congo Town and Paynesville, thus provoking new influxes of internally displaced towards the relatively secure Bushroad Island and port areas.
1.3 As of 9 May, sporadic clashes and shooting had not however fully subsided in downtown areas and in particular at certain strategic points, such as at the New Bridge linking central Monrovia to the port.
1.4 The nine-nation ECOWAS summit which was to be held in Accra on 7-8 May has been boycotted by almost all concerned countries except Sierra Leone. The absence of such key players as the NPFL and ULIMO-K leaders, Charles Taylor and Alhadji Kromah, and especially the Nigerian President Abacha, does not leave much optimism for an early political settlement of the six-year long Liberian crisis.
1.5 WFP food assistance to the war-affected population in Monrovia resumed on Monday 6 May after being on hold since 29 April. Relief intervention was initially restricted to the ECOMOG secured Bushroad Island and freeport but could later expand to other parts of the town. Some 28 mt of much needed food commodities were delivered to over 4,000 displaced sheltered close to the ECOMOG base as well as 460 in-patients and health workers at the Redemption clinic in New Kru Town.
1.6 Emergency food distribution continued in Sinkor during the days leading up to 9 May for over 2,200 beneficiaries. Food rations were also supplied to in-patients and health personnel in the main JFK hospital, along with fuel. Food-for- work assistance is being provided by WFP for 100 workers of the White Plain water plant and fuel is being provided by EU, to ensure a potable water supply to at least the overcrowded Bushroad Island.
1.7 Security arrangements at the Monrovia port reinforced following a WFP and ECOMOG meeting on 8 May facilitated by the American Embassy and the USAID representative. Additional military protection has been deployed for both WFP and CRS warehouses at the port and escort guaranteed for food deliveries in Monrovia.
1.8 Transhipment of some 600 mt of food is planned for 11 May aboard WFP chartered vessel M/V Hollgan Star from Monrovia to Buchanan, for assistance through CRS to 165,000 residents and displaced as well as 655 disarmed fighters and families.
1.9 Commercial vessels leaving Monrovia with huge crowds and equipment have faced problems at sea. M/V Bulk Challenger sailed to Ghana with 4,300 refugees but had to stop in San Pedro, Cote d'Ivoire, because of taking in water. A Russian ship was obliged to return to Monrovia due to major breakdown.
B. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA
1. BURUNDI (information as of 7 May 1996)
1.1 Details emerging on an incident of 26 April in Buhoro village, Mutoyi (Gitega province), when 235 mainly Hutu women and children were massacred, allegedly by the army. In addition to this figure, at least 458 more people are said to have been killed in the fighting in 48 separate incidents throughout the province during the month of April 1996 alone.
1.2 Heavy arms fighting between rebels and government forces took place in several quarters of Bujumbura on 3 May. Fighting was most prominent in the areas of Mutanga North and South, Gishosho, and Nyakabiga. The Roi Khaled hospital in Kamenge was attacked leaving two people dead and four injured. Electricity supply to Bujumbura was cut following acts of sabotage to power pylons in Bubanza, the most serious power failure since mid-January.
1.3 Confrontations reported between the military and rebels in Karuzi and Kayanza. Other attacks reported in Cibitoke province and Kirundo, where 20 assailants were apprehended. Grenades exploded in Gitega, Bururi and Bujumbura.
1.4 As described below under Section 3.1 below, the fighting in Cibitoke continues to cause people to flee to Zaire.
1.5 A recent donation of USD 120,000 will enable the WFP Twin Otter aircraft to continue its services to the provinces of Ngozi, Gitega and Kirundo through end May. After this time WFP will be unable to continue necessary service unless the funding is secured through December 1996. Donors are urgently requested to confirm contributions.
1.6 Northern Burundi: a) Additional acts of violence and intimidation have been carried out over the week in Ngozi following last week's burning of the WFP national staff residence. Four persons were killed in Ruvumu refugee camp in Ngozi 5 May. b) Distribution of food packages for 40,231 IDPs in Muyinga province completed this week. Visits and distributions carried out under military and UNHCR Security Officer escort due to recent waves of violence in the area. Muyinga province borders with the province of Karuzi and is subject to large population movements. Action is currently being taken to assess the situation in Karuzi, with a WFP mission scheduled 8 May. c) 605 refugees from the 4 northern camps repatriated to Rwanda during reporting week (95 Magara, 124 Ruvumu, 34 Kibezi, 352 Rukuramigabu). The remaining Rwandan refugee population stands at 89,745.
1.8 Central Burundi: a) WFP restarted emergency operations in Gitega 2 May. The situation is still reported to be tense in and around the area. A new governor has not yet been appointed after the previous governor resigned mid-April. WFP has made contact with local authorities to study possible relief action (authorization, escorts, security conditions, etc.). More than 200 mt of food has been distributed in the province over recent weeks.
2. ZAIRE - GOMA
2.1 For detailed information on the changing situation in the Goma area, readers are urged to contact DHA/IRIN in Nairobi to obtain the latest "Situation Report on Masisi and Rutshuru, North Kivu, Zaire" dated 10 May 1996. (Fax: 254 2 448816 e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org). See also WFP Emergency Report No. 9 of 1 March 1996 for background on the conflict in Masisi.
2.2 According to the DHA report, the Masisi zone itself is now relatively stable for the first time in several months, but a spill over conflict has been generated in the Rutshuru area to the east, involving militia known as "Ngilima" (or "Maimai") and is resulting in large-scale population displacement. The gangs of militiamen are drawn from the Hunde (in the plural, Bahunde), Tembo, Nande, Nyanga and Kobo ethnic groups, and are threatening and sometimes attacking Banyarwanda - Zairians of Rwandan origin (both Hutu and Tutsi) - who are fleeing their villages. ICRC estimates that there are 50,000 recently displaced people in Rutshuru zone.
2.2 The instability in the Rutshuru area is close to the Goma refugee camps of Kahindo and Katale. As the trucking corridor from Kampala to Goma runs through the affected area, WFP may form truck convoys for sections of the route if this becomes necessary. To date (10 May) there have been no serious incidents targeted at disruption of relief traffic.
2.3 The Ngilima rebels have been at the centre of a number of attacks in the Rutshuru area, in particular an attack on a CARE truck collecting firewood for a refugee camp. The rebel group is reportedly occupying the Rwindi section of Virunga national park.
2.4 Inhabitants of the area north of the camps are arming themselves, with refugees reportedly selling weapons and ammunition to the Zairian Hutus.
2.5 In the Masisi area itself, Operation Kimya ("calming"), launched by the government 11 April to bring peace to the Masisi region, has had only limited effect. In the area west of Goma, now a Hutu stronghold, a degree of calm has been restored. However, in areas where the Hutu have not yet gained the upper hand fighting continues. To date only light arms have been recovered by the Zairian military in this area. The DHA report on Masisi of 10 May suggests that the current relative calm reflects the fact that much of central Masisi appears to have been extensively depopulated.
2.6 According to the DHA report, MSF-Holland and the International Committee of the Red Cross are the main international organisations working in the centre of the Masisi and Rutshuru zones. The other humanitarian organisations working in the area are concentrating their efforts on providing essential services in the camps for displaced people. The largest programmes are for the 22,000 displaced people at Sake, who are being assisted by ICRC, MSF-H, LWF, UNICEF and Caritas and the 25,000 displaced people in and around Minova, who are being assisted by MSF-H, OXFAM, UNICEF, Caritas and CEMUBAC. IOM and UNHCR are closely monitoring the situation in the Masisi and Rutshuru zones.
2.7 Firewood distribution in the Goma camps is expected to fall dramatically in the next month due to the tribal fighting in the Rutshuru area. As a result, projects promoting the use of fuel efficient stoves are being re-introduced and WFP has been approached to assist the projects through food-for-work. A further impact of the Rutshuru conflict is expected in the form of higher prices for beans and local vegetables in markets in the area. The fighting affects agricultural production in an arc extending from Lac Kivu near Goma through the Masisi region to Rutshuru. 2.8 From 29 April to 5 May, 68 trucks crossed the Ishasha border carrying a total of 1,245 mt of foodstuffs. 771 mt were dispatched by barge to Bukavu. Goma is currently rebuilding buffer stocks; present stocks are sufficient for two weeks of distributions. 3. ZAIRE - UVIRA
3.1 Large numbers of Burundian refugees continue to arrive in Uvira camps bringing the total number of new arrivals from 29 April to 7 May to 13,000. Approximately 4,500 Burundians arrived near Luvungi camp from Cibitoke province 6 May. A further 3,000 persons were registered 8 May.
3.2 New arrivals are rapidly registered and transferred (mainly to Luberizi camp) on an emergency basis by UNHCR and implementing partners. Food has been provided for these new arrivals by WFP. Refugees are reported to be in good overall health, with few wounded among the new arrivals. Most refugees are reportedly arriving from Rugombo commune of Cibitoke.
3.3 Only a few hundred refugees are reported as arriving from Bubanza province, where there are unconfirmed reports of a large scale massacre late last week (week ending 3 May), leaving as many as 1,000 persons dead.
3.4 Following the Burundian border closure with Zaire on 15 April, Zairian officials closed the border with Burundi at Kavimvira (Gatumba) 6 May. This constrains WFP operations as vehicles and staff are not authorised to cross the border. WFP was obliged to send its Uvira logistician from Bujumbura to Uvira via plane through Bukavu. Uvira is in need of sugar and salt from Bujumbura. Other commodities, sent direct from Kigoma, Tanzania, are not affected by the border closure.
4. TANZANIA
4.1 The WFP Executive Director, accompanied by the Public Relations Officer in New York and the Country Director in Tanzania, arrived in Ngara 2 May and, with Government of Tanzania officials, visited and observed the community distribution system and held meetings with refugee and women group representatives in the Lumasi camp.
4.2 Refugees from Burundi continue to cross into Tanzania through Ngara, Kasulu and Kibondo districts. In Ngara, 602 new arrivals were registered at Keza camp during the reporting week, of whom 93 per cent were Burundians claiming that the Tutsi dominated Burundian Army was conducting operations against Hutus. Kigoma reported an influx of 955 refugees during the week. According to the new arrivals, others were still trying to cross the border.
5. RWANDA
5.1 A certain number of armed confrontations and land-mine incidents have been recorded in the west over the past week.
5.2 HRFOR (High Commissioner for Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda) released its Security Situation Report for April 1996. The report concludes, inter alia, that cross-border incursions this past month, mainly heading into the western prefectures, have intensified and appear to be better organised than before. Insurgents are now going through Burundi in order to avoid the Zaire/Rwanda border.
5.3 More refugees from Masisi region in Zaire arrived last week at the Petit Barriere Refugee Camp in Gisenyi, where construction work is still under way. A serious level of malnutrition has been detected among the Zairian refugees.
5.4 Preliminary results of the recently undertaken survey of vulnerable groups in Rwanda, implemented by WFP, FAO and Ministry of Agriculture, indicate that the food security situation in the country seems to be improving, with some 12 per cent of the population considered to be vulnerable to food shortages. An estimated 10 per cent of Rwanda~s population are considered to be the structurally vulnerable groups whose economic situation is determined more by unequal land distribution (60 per cent of the farmers cultivate less than 1 ha of arable land) than by the 1994 war.
5.5 During the past week, transit centres in Rwanda received a total of 711 returnees from neighbouring countries: 316 from Zaire, 387 from Burundi and 8 from Uganda.
5.6 According to latest UNHCR statistics, 46,108 returnees arrived in Rwanda from January to April 1996. The majority, 20,950, returned from camps in Burundi, while 18,941 returned from Zaire, 2,677 from Uganda, 2,544 from Tanzania and 996 from other countries. About 68 per cent of the returnees fall into the "new caseload" category while the remaining 32 per cent are considered to be in the "old caseload" group.
C. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE
1.1 Further to the recent Concern/MSF (Holland) nutritional survey in Malange, World Vision, Concern, MSF(H) and WFP have agreed on a food aid strategy to stem the deterioration in the nutritional situation in Malange. Based on the premise that a return to general dry distributions to the entire population would not be the appropriate response, but recognizing that there is a serious food deficit in Malange and that about 70 per cent of the population is food-insecure, it was agreed that starting May and through July, approximately 95,000 people would receive a daily ration of 200 g of maize, 40 g of pulses and 25 g of vegetable oil. The figure of 95,000 people includes the population under the age of 15, the elderly, the handicapped and other vulnerable groups. A strategy to be followed from 1 August, in preparation for the planting season, is under discussion.
1.2 Flights to Jamba in southern Kunado Kubango have resumed following a recent nutritional survey conducted by CARE International, on the basis of which it was decided to resume a number of nutritional interventions until the end of June for 18,000 people.
1.3 A WFP/WV mission travelled to Massango (Kwanza Norte) to assess the damage caused by recent floods, and concluded that although part of the manioc and maize fields had been destroyed, no emergency food was required in response of the flooding.
1.4 Road convoys from Lobito to Lubango resumed this week following a temporary halt caused by the murder on 3 April of two UNAVEM officers and the OXFAM Deputy Representative. Until further notice, convoys on this route will be accompanied by an armed UNAVEM escort.
1.5 The FAO/WFP Food an Crop Supply Assessment mission returned to Rome on 3 May after an intense two week visit. The mission debriefed with the Minister of Social Affairs and the Vice Minister of Agriculture. The mission also debriefed the Food Aid Coordination group meeting. While the final report is still under preparation in Rome, the members of the mission indicated that they had observed a marked increase in yields in spite of a decrease in planted area, resulting in a large overall increase in production. However, because movement of people and goods is still extremely limited, as is access to land, it is likely that food aid requirements will remain important.
1.6 Over the period 29 April to 6 May, the following quantities were delivered: by road, 393 mt; by air, 465 mt; Total, 862 mt. WFP stocks in the country as of 3 May were 52,120 mt. Foreseen arrivals to end of May: 1,000 mt of beans.
D. FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
1. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
1.1 Following the arrival of a vessel at the Croatian port of Ploce one week ago, delivery of WFP relief food aid to the EDPs throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina is ongoing. This, combined with considerable in-country stocks of all major commodities and wheat grain being processed at local mills, has secured the May distribution at 100% of the target, in most areas.
1.2 WFP monitoring staff are investigating the reported sale of humanitarian aid in Zenica and in the Mostar region.
1.3 A WFP staff member was assaulted and a vehicle stolen in Banja Luka. WFP presence in the city is to be augmented in the coming week.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 18 of 1996 - 10 May, 1996)