This report includes: A) General B) Liberia and Sierra Leone C) Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and Tanzania D) Somalia E) Mozambique F) CIS - Russian Federation (Chechnya).
>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 (Details below in Part II)
A. GENERAL
1. WFP on the WEB update: new URL is http://www.unicc.org/wfp
B. LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE
1. Liberia a) Overall security situation improves during the week of 25- 31 May as ECOMOG is deployed throughout Monrovia without serious incident. b) WFP continues to bring much needed relief food aid to beneficiary populations not only in and around Monrovia but also in up-country areas of Liberia through cross-border deliveries from Cote d'Ivoire.
2. Sierra Leone a) Meeting with donors on update of the UN Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal held in Geneva on 20 May. Operations in Sierra Leone remain seriously under-funded. b) Peace talks between the government and RUF resume 24 May in Cote d'Ivoire, but break down 28 May.
C. EAST AFRICA 1: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA
1. Burundi a) Interior of the country remains troubled; situation in Gitega deteriorates dramatically. b) Southern Kayanza province inaccessible; MSF-Holland staff evacuated. c) French military to leave by 2 June; remainder of French community advised to leave. 2. Zaire - Goma a) New Zairian operation launched against elements fighting in the Masisi region. Hunde and Nandi villagers near Mweso are under threat from Hutu who have surrounded the village. b) Tutsis who fled from Motoko to Kichanga are now heading towards Rwanda. c) WFP vehicle attacked near airport military aviation unit on 23 May. Equipment stolen but later returned. d) CARE restricts movement of personnel and trucks amid continued concern for security on road north of Goma.
3. Tanzania a) Further restriction on movement on refugees in Ngara area announced by Government of Tanzania, effective 1 July.
4. Rwanda a) Downward trend in repatriation from neighbouring countries continues. b) A further 817 Zairian refugees arrive in Rwanda.
D. EAST AFRICA 2: SOMALIA
1. Update a) WFP is arranging assistance to drought displaced in the Juba valley.
E. MOZAMBIQUE
1. Current situation a) FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission gives provisional estimate of 1.375 million mt for 1995/96 production of cereals, 22 percent above last year. 160,000 mt food aid needed, some of which can be covered by local purchases in surplus areas of the country.
F. CIS - RUSSIAN FEDERATION (CHECHNYA)
1. Update a) Cease-fire announced. b) WFP distributions to displaced Chechens continues. A further group of displaced persons who left North Ossetia and Georgia in 1992/93 also to receive assistance. c) Further funding sought for expansion of WFP operations for the period 1 June 1996-31 March 1997.
PART II - DETAILS
A. GENERAL
1. WFP on the WEB - Update
1.1 The temporary URL announced in the last issue of the WFP Emergency Report (http://guardhouse.unicc.org/wfp) has been changed to http://www.unicc.org/wfp
B. LIBERIA REGIONAL (LIBERIA, COTE D'IVOIRE AND GUINEA) AND SIERRA LEONE
1. LIBERIA (information as of 30 May 1996)
1.1 ECOMOG started full deployment in Monrovia on 26 May, and in the process seized the weapons of fighters in Bushrod Island. NPFL leader Charles Taylor had initially strongly opposed the deployment exercise but later reversed his position and announced on local radio that all "Government forces" would be withdrawn from the city with effect from 27 May, and further urged ECOMOG to disarm the "dissident" Krahn factions in the BTC barracks. No major security incidents reported by 30 May as ECOMOG has been deployed over most of the town and armed fighters are no longer seen in central Monrovia. Captain Tsikata, Special Envoy of ECOWAS Chairman President Rawlings, arrived in Monrovia on 28 May to start discussions with Taylor and Krahn representatives.
1.2 WFP is continuing its expanded feeding programme in and around Monrovia: from 25 to 29 May, a total of 163,000 beneficiaries received 1,208 mt of assorted food commodities in Logan Town, Brewerville, Harrisburg, Zwana Town, Mount Barclay and other locations. Food distributions have targeted displaced persons and war-affected residents as well as hospital in-patients, vulnerable groups and food-for-work activities.
1.3 A plan is in place to transport 81 mt of food plus non-food items and medical kits to 8,000 displaced at the Baptist Seminary close to Schiefflin, 20 km south of Monrovia, as the road has been just cleared of all armed fighters. The condition of these people is particularly alarming as they have been trapped for the past few weeks without any assistance due to the fighting between NPFL and Krahn factions. WFP food convoys from Monrovia have also reached up- country locations: on 28 May, 242 mt of food were delivered to 28,000 displaced persons in shelters along the main road between Totota and Gbarnga.
1.4 Simultaneously, cross-border delivery of food has been undertaken from Cote d'Ivoire into Nimba and Bong counties to support school feeding in some 100 schools, vulnerable group feeding (through 18 institutions, i.e. hospitals, health clinics, orphanages and feeding centres), temporary assistance to returning refugees (total caseload of 27,000 to date) and finally distribution of food along with rice seeds and tools for some 29,000 farmers as well as food-for-work for road rehabilitation. The average monthly level of distribution to be carried out through LWS will be some 1,000 mt of food for all these activities.
1.5 Trans-shipment of food will continue from Monrovia to Buchanan as another cargo of approximately 600 mt is being loaded on board WFP-chartered vessel M/V Hollgan Star. Distribution to an estimated 165,000 beneficiaries in Buchanan will be carried out by CRS, Action Contre la Faim and MSF by mid next week.
1.6 The M/V Hollgan Star will sail to Buchanan as soon as the M/V Salvator I, the new support vessel chartered by WFP, arrives in Monrovia to serve as both floating operational base and evacuation facility.
2. SIERRA LEONE
2.1 Peace talks between the government of Sierra Leone and the RUF resumed on 24 May in Yamousoukro, Cote d'Ivoire. However the peace talks broke down on 28 May when the RUF held a press conference stating that they would not agree to demobilization until the South African mercenary group Executive Outcomes leaves the country.
2.2 On 23 May, rebels attacked the town of Tissoh, approximately two miles from WFP stores in Kenema. The combatants appear to have been in search of food and only one person was injured in the attack.
2.3 The UN Humanitarian Coordinator, the Minister for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, the WFP Country Director and the Head of the Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit (HACU) travelled to Geneva on 20 May to update the donor community on the changing situation in Sierra Leone. No substantial contributions were announced with the exception of one by France. As a result, the WFP emergency operation for Sierra Leone is still dramatically under- resourced with only 2,000 mt pledged against total food requirements of over 41,000 mt. Only loans from the regional Liberia operation presently allow WFP to maintain a regular food pipeline.
2.4 Institutional and targeted vulnerable group feeding in camps in Freetown is in progress. A total of 43 mt of food were supplied to the Jui refugee camp through the NGO Cause Canada on 23 May.
2.5 Between 24 and 27 May, 3,500 people in Magburaka camp were served with a one-month emergency ration.
2.6 From 9 to 25 May, general food distribution in Kenema and RTI camp was completed. Some 50,000 people were given 674 mt of cereals and vegetable oil.
2.7 Following recent cease-fire violations, an influx of about 871 displaced people in Bo were provided with an emergency ration. Between 19-20 May, a one-month ration was distributed in the camps.
2.8 Up-country road movements continue without problems, with all WFP extended delivery points receiving sufficient food supplies for two months of distributions. Five Rubb-Hall temporary warehouses have arrived in Freetown. Three of these units will be sent to Monrovia, and the remaining two will be used for the Sierra Leone operation.
C. EAST AFRICA 1: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE AND TANZANIA
1. BURUNDI 1.1 The Burundi/Zairian border remains closed.
1.2 The interior of the country remains troubled with sporadic fighting in Cibitoke, Bururi, Kayanza, Karuzi, Bujumbura and Bujumbura Rural. Skirmishes between military and rebel forces in these provinces over the past week have lead to casualties and many injured. The security situation in Gitega is worsening dramatically and is seriously affected with a high death toll in the Swahili neighbourhood of the town centre.
1.3 Southern areas in Kayanza province remain entirely inaccessible. Planned distributions in Buraniro (1,048 beneficiaries) and Gasenyi (5,833 beneficiaries) had to be cancelled until further notice, following evacuation of MSF- Holland staff. Distributions in Gahombo (436 beneficiaries) and Muhanga (6,413 beneficiaries) were carried out.
1.4 The French school in Bujumbura is closing, and all French military personnel in the country are to leave by 2 June; the rest of the French community although not being evacuated are being advised to leave. No official reason was given but it is assumed to be for security reasons.
1.5 Total caseload in Gitega province estimated at 90,779 beneficiaries. Since the initiation of ad hoc distributions in April, WFP has covered more than 76 per cent of needs (69,311 beneficiaries/544 mt food).
1.6 On 21 May, a manifestation of 800 people organized by the Union for National Progress (UPRONA) party was held in Bujumbura, calling for the closure of the office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) and protesting against all foreign military operations in the region.
1.7 The Great Lakes Regional Meeting on Refugee Issues in Geneva has ended. Its main recommendation is an intensified information campaign within the refugee camps to promote repatriation.
1.8 No tangible effect on repatriation outflow of Rwandan refugees from Burundi reported as an outcome of the visit of the Tripartite Commission on Repatriation of Rwandan Refugees. Only about 200 Rwandan refugees have repatriated this week. The last transfer of Rwandan refugees from Rukuramigabo camp is scheduled 29 May. Transfer of 3,660 refugees from Kibezi camp to Magara camp in Ngozi is under way and should be completed by end of month.
2. ZAIRE - GOMA
2.1 Fighting continues in Masisi region. In response to heavy military losses, the Forces Armes Zairoises (FAZ) launched operation Mbata ("slap") against Nigilima in Rutshuru area. According to the military authorities, over 100 Nigilima militia and civilians have been killed. A tea plantation in a Hunde and Nandi village near Mweso has been surrounded by Hutu who are expected to attack the village in the next few days.
2.2 Tutsis from Motoko (site of a serious attack early in the week of 12 May, in which an unknown number of people were killed), who had fled to Kichanga, have now started moving towards the Rwanda border at Gisenyi. An estimated 1,000 of this group have been transported to within one kilometre of the border by private means.
2.3 A WFP vehicle carrying three staff members was attacked near the airport military aviation unit on 23 May. Equipment and personal belongings were stolen but later returned.
2.4 Following the ambush of vehicles reported last week, CARE did not permit their social services personnel to go to the camps. In additions, inter-camp transfers were interrupted for two days when CARE restricted movements of trucking fleet due to concerns about insecurity on the corridor north of Goma.
2.5 Repair work is progressing along the Ishasha road, which is once again open to WFP trucks. The bridge at Puzi is still under repair. WFP is rebuilding stock levels as a result of the Ishasha road being reopened to traffic.
3. ZAIRE - BUKAVU
3.1 The security situation in Inera camp continues to be precarious. Fourteen refugees from this camp were transferred to Kinshasa, charged with intimidating refugees against repatriation.
3.2 On Idjwi Island several security incidents reported between the local population and the refugees.
3.3 Two local NGOs, Adi Kivu (supported by CARITAS) and Nyakavogo, carried out their first direct distribution to heads of households 20-26 May. 18 out of 24 camps now distribute rations directly to heads of households.
4. ZAIRE - UVIRA
4.1 Problems with fuel supplies for humanitarian agencies in Uvira seem to have been solved, as a special delivery to Bukavu is planned for UNHCR and its partners. Supplies of fuel for WFP (for generators and light vehicles) are being ensured from barge tanks.
5. TANZANIA
5.1 Owing to border closure (to refugee movements) between Tanzania and Burundi, UNHCR is unable to provide accurate figures of new Burundian arrivals into Ngara region. However, an estimated daily average of 80 to 100 persons is reported.
5.2 The Government of Tanzania and UNHCR have informed refugees that the restriction on movement to a maximum of four kilometres outside the camps (to be effected in Ngara camps from 1 July) means that refugees are no longer allowed to live in neighbouring villages. The move will also affect farming activities.
5.3 Following discussions on caseload figures in the Karagwe camps, WFP, UNHCR and camp management have agreed to a total of 124,046 persons as an official caseload figure for the camps in the region.
5.4 The community food distribution system, now used in the Karagwe camps, is to be adopted in the Kigoma camps.
5.5 As of 26 May, the refugee population is reported as being 638,450.
6. RWANDA
6.1 Transit centres in Rwanda received 720 returnees from 21 to 27 May, confirming the downward trend in the level of refugees returning to Rwanda.
6.2 Some 817 Zairian refugees arrived in Rwanda 21-27 May. UNHCR reports from Zaire continue to speak about a possible influx of an additional 6,000 people who are currently displaced in the Goma area.
D. EAST AFRICA 2: SOMALIA
1. UPDATE
1.1 Internally displaced movements continue in the Juba valley due to lack of rains in April and May. WFP is attempting cross-border deliveries of relief food to the valley from refugee stocks near Doblee. The first-phase crop assessment survey will begin 3 June.
E. MOZAMBIQUE
1. CURRENT SITUATION
1.1 The FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission which visited Mozambique in April 1996 has provisionally estimated the total 1995/96 production of cereals at 1.375 million mt, 22 percent above last year, and 75 percent higher than the 1993/94 harvest, when the country was hit by a severe drought.
1.2 The Mission estimated that 140,000 mt of cereals could be imported commercially. A further 160,000 mt will be needed as food aid, out of which 25,000 my should be provided as emergency assistance to 154,000 farming families, including recently resettled population, who experienced losses as a result of floods and other adverse weather conditions. The remaining food aid will be used as programme aid to stabilise the market and for development projects.
1.3 Most of the emergency cereal food aid requirements for direct distribution and food-for-work projects could be met with local purchases in surplus areas, mainly in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Zambezia, Manica, Niassa and Tete.
F. COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES - RUSSIAN FEDERATION (CHECHNYA)
1. UPDATE
1.1 Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev met for the first time early this week to hold direct talks on a solution for the Chechnya conflict. A cease-fire was announced, to take effect as of midnight Friday, 31 May.
1.2 In the meantime, WFP has received a donation of 2,300 mt wheat flour to be distributed to 87,000 Chechens who have remained displaced in the Russian Autonomous Republics of Daghestan, Ingushetia and North Ossetia due to the hostilities inside Chechnya. WFP will also target most vulnerable displaced persons from Prigorodny (North Ossetia) and Georgia who sought refuge in North Ossetia and Ingushetia, respectively, in 1992/93. The wheat flour donation will allow WFP to resume its relief feeding project, as suggested in the 1996 Extension of the UN Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal for the Victims of the Emergency Situation in Chechnya.
1.3 Taking into account that food aid needs peak during the winter, WFP's extended Appeal will be for the period 1 June 1996-31 March 1997. The total budget requested to feed an estimated target group of 91,500 displaced persons with a basic supplementary food ration of 245 gm per day/per person has been calculated at USD 5.2 million. So far, WFP has received only USD 2 million in confirmed pledges against this requirement. WFP urges donors to come forward with additional funding.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 21 of 1996 - May 31, 1996)