Report No. 43 of 1996 Date: 1 November 1996
This report includes: A) Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and Tanzania
B) Iraq C) Afghanistan D) Sri Lanka
>From P. Ares, Chief, Programming Service. For information
regarding resources, donors are requested to contact Mr. F.
Strippoli or Mr. M. Crosthwaite, WFP Rome (Ph. 39 6 5228 2504
or 5228 2004). Transmission problems should be reported by fax
to 39 6 5228 2837.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS
(Details below in Part II)
A. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE
AND TANZANIA
1. Zaire - Uvira
a) No direct contact with WFP office Uvira since 25 October,
following evacuation of humanitarian aid staff on 22 October.
b) Reports of continued heavy fighting in and around Uvira
town, and generalised looting, including WFP food stocks
(previous stock position 1,500 metric tons).
c) Banyamulenge reported to have taken over Uvira; some
displaced refugees said to be moving back towards Uvira town.
2. Zaire - Bukavu
a) Worsening of security situation from 25 October.
b) On 26 October, WFP evacuate 128 relief staff from Bukavu
to Entebbe, and onwards to Nairobi; remaining international
humanitarian staff in Bukavu depart 28 October.
c) Attempted food distribution on 28 October in Kashusha camp
incomplete due to insecurity and confusion.
d) Heavy artillery exchanges across the Bukavu/Cyangugu
border with Rwanda on 29 and 30 October. Several casualties
were reported in Cyangugu on Rwandan side of the border.
e) Reports on 31 October of people from Bukavu town moving
towards Kashusha and Inera camps, some 30 km north of Bukavu.
3. Zaire - Goma (Information as of 1 November)
a) Heavy fighting 31 October and 1 November in and around
Goma town; cross-border fighting at Goma-Gisenyi border.
b) Airport area highly insecure.
c) Evacuation of 107 UN and NGO staff is being attempted.
d) Violent fighting 29 October in Kibumba area; Kibumba camp
had been attacked on 26 October, with unconfirmed looting and
destruction of camp hospital. Some 200,000 people from Kibumba
camp move towards Mugunga.
e) Food distribution possible on 29 October by WFP and NGO
staff in Kahindo camp, 35 km north of Goma, with population of
200,000; Kahindo camp empty on 31 October and refugees moving
towards Goma.
f) Distributions of one-week half-rations started in camps of
Katale (northern axis), Mugunga and Lac Vert (western axis)
(estimated total population of 500,000) on 30 October.
4. Burundi (Information as of 31 October)
a) Regional Sanctions Coordinating Committee exempts
humanitarian aid for displaced persons from the embargo.
b) Kenyan Sanctions Committee gives permission to WFP to fly
Fokker 50 aircraft for Nairobi-Bujumbura flights.
c) Returnees arrive in daily increasing numbers from Eastern
Zaire; by 31 October some 4,000 people had crossed over into
Burundi and number at border estimated at 2,000. WFP and UNHCR
distribute rations to 3,000 returnees.
d) Clashes between army and rebels reported in Cibitoke
province near Zaire border; on-going insecurity in Bujumbura
Rural, Muramvya, and southern part of Kayanza province.
e) Fuel for humanitarian agencies leaves Kigali for Burundi.
5. Rwanda
a) Only small numbers of displaced Rwandan refugees in Eastern
Zaire returning to Rwanda.
b) Government opens a new camp for Zairian refugees in
Gisenyi; 4,400 new arrivals during the week.
c) Umubano camp to be closed; refugees are being moved to a
new camp in Kibuye.
d) Pre-positioning of rations in Rwanda continues.
B. IRAQ
1. Update
a) In New York, Heads of UN Agencies express concern over
deteriorating humanitarian situation in Iraq and weak response
by donor community to UN Interim Programme.
b) WFP Executive Director stresses critical food aid
shortfall at the beginning of harsh winter period.
c) US Government announces pledge of USD 7.3 million; total
UN needs for Iraq are USD 39.9 million through end of the year
(USD 19 million required by WFP). Confirmed contributions
before American announcement were US 1.6 million, including
USD 500,000 from Dutch Government to WFP.
C. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update (information as of 30 October)
a) Fighting near Kabul continues, with aerial bombing of the
capital and north of the city.
b) Temporary WFP suspension of food shipments lifted for the
north and the parts of the south, west and eastern provinces
where programmes for women can continue.
D. SRI LANKA
1. Update
a) WFP approves a USD 3.6 million food assistance operation
to benefit 50,000 internally displaced persons in the
provinces of Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.
b) Government of Sri Lanka continues to provide food to IDPs
living inside the conflict zone on the Jaffna Peninsula as
well as IDPs outside the conflict zone.
c) While routinely collected data do not indicate any
increase in the levels of mild or acute malnutrition in the
conflict areas, with the commencement of the north-west
monsoon rains many thousands of IDPs are without adequate
shelter and medical supplies.
PART II - DETAILS
A. EAST AFRICA: REGIONAL OPERATION FOR BURUNDI, RWANDA, ZAIRE
AND TANZANIA
1. ZAIRE - UVIRA
1.1 WFP has not had direct contact with its WFP office since
25 October (following heavy fighting, 47 humanitarian aid
staff were evacuated from Uvira on 22 October). However
reports of continued heavy fighting, in and around Uvira town,
from various sources, as well as reports of generalised
looting, including WFP food stocks, which stood at some 1,500
metric tons. There have also been reports that Banyamulenge
have taken over Uvira and some refugees have been moving from
Fizi, where they had originally fled, towards Uvira town.
2. ZAIRE - BUKAVU
2.1 Security situation significantly worsened from 25
October. Due to the insecurity, the possibility for a limited
airlift of urgent relief commodities was suspended. On 26
October, WFP successfully evacuated 128 relief staff from
Bukavu to Entebbe, and onwards to Nairobi, with its two
Buffalo aircraft. The last remaining international
humanitarian staff in Bukavu departed 28 October as the
security situation deteriorated even further.
2.2 Reports of looting in Bukavu, however no hard information
on WFP food stocks, which stood at some 1,000 metric tons.
2.3 WFP and NGO national staff tried to carry out food
distributions on 28 October in Kashusha camp. The distribution
began however was not completed due to insecurity and
confusion.
2.4 Heavy artillery exchanges across the Bukavu/Cyangugu
border occurred 29 and 30 October. Several casualties were
reported in Cyangugu (Rwanda side). It was reported on 31
October that people were moving from Bukavu town towards
Kashusha and Inera camps, some 30 km north of Bukavu; at that
time, the airport was reportedly still under the control of
the Zairian army.
3. ZAIRE - GOMA (Information as of 1 November)
3.1 The security situation significantly worsened 31 October
and 1 November with heavy fighting reported in and around Goma
town, including cross-border fighting at the Goma-Gisenyi
border. Interhamwe, ex-Forces Armees Rwandaises (FAR) soldiers
and tribal warriors (May-May) are reported in the town of
Goma. The airport area is reported to be highly insecure. Due
to the insecurity, the planned airlift for 31 October to
establish an emergency relief stockpile has been put on
stand-by. The evacuation of 107 UN and NGO staff is being
attempted.
3.2 Violent combat reported 29 October in Kibumba area with
several persons killed and injured. Attacks on Kibumba camp
(some 20 km north of Goma) on 26 October. Also on 26 October,
unconfirmed reports in Kibumba camp of looting of WFP
warehouse and looting and burning of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' hospital.
Some 200,000 people moved from Kibumba camp towards Mugunga
camp.
3.3 Food distribution was successfully completed on 29
October by WFP and NGO staff in Kahindo camp with population
of 200,000 (some 35 km north of Goma). By 31 October, Kahindo
camp was reported empty due to fighting in the area, with
refugees moving towards Goma.
3.4 Distributions started on 30 October in Katale camp
(northern axis), Mugunga camp and Lac Vert camp (western axis)
for a total estimated total population of 500,000.
Distributions were carried out at half-rations (800
kilocalories) covering immediate needs for a one-week period.
4. PLANNING FOR EASTERN ZAIRE
4.1 In the event that the refugee population does not return
to Rwanda in significant numbers, and moves further into
Zaire, WFP has been investigating alternative supply routes
for future operations.
5. BURUNDI (Information as of 31 October)
5.1 The number of returnees crossing into Burundi from Eastern
Zaire is increasing daily. As of 31 October some 4,000 people
had arrived with an estimated 2,000 at the border. At the
transit point, WFP staff, in collaboration with UNHCR, have
distributed a one-week food ration to approximately 3,000
Burundian returnees. Equilibre and UNICEF are providing water.
The transit site requires shelter, water and sanitation
infrastructure. Most of the group presently at the transit site
are women and children.
5.2 The Regional Sanctions Coordinating Committee, meeting in
Arusha, Tanzania, on 21 October, exempted humanitarian aid for
displaced persons from the embargo. The Committee specified
that aid for 250,000 Burundian displaced would be allowed to
enter Burundi. First on the list of exemptions is food aid.
Before importation is allowed, requests for specific
quantities need to be submitted to the chairman of the
Sanctions Committee. The other exempted relief supplies are
bean seeds, water purification agents, blankets, plastic
sheeting, jerry cans and buckets, cooking pots and utensils,
sanitary facilities, and mats.
5.3 The Kenyan Sanctions Committee has given permission to WFP
to fly a Fokker 50 aircraft for the Nairobi-Bujumbura flights,
with larger capacity than present WFP aircraft used for this
route. Service will begin next week. Flights are used for
moving passengers and cargo for the diplomatic and humanitarian
community in Burundi.
5.4 According to news reports, the Burundi army indicates
that it has been fighting rebels in the area near the Zaire
border in Cibitoke province. A civilian truck was reportedly
ambushed on the road to Cibitoke town during the week. This
road, as well as all of Cibitoke province, and most of Bubanza
province, continue to be off-limits to UN personnel.
5.5 During the past week, military operations continued in
Bujumbura Rural province, while insecurity was again reported
in Muramvya province, where according to news sources a
displaced camp in Bukeye was attacked by rebels (5 civilians
and 10 rebels dead). Also according to news reports, the
Burundi army has arrested several soldiers who are accused of
killing 60 peasants in Bururi province two weeks ago in
retaliation for a rebel attack which killed 40.
5.6 Reports indicate continuing insecurity in the southern
part of Kayanza province, causing population movements north
of Rango commune.
5.7 The caseload of WFP Burundi programmes totalled 53,362
persons, most in the Bujumbura and Kayanza areas.
5.8 Lack of fuel severely constrained WFP operations during
the week, preventing planned emergency relief evaluations and
distributions. Fuel trucks containing 215,000 litres of fuel
for all humanitarian agencies in Burundi left Kigali for
Burundi at the beginning of this week.
5.9 WFP food aid stocks in-country are sufficient for about
one month except for cereals. WFP is making every effort to
dispatch some 2,000 metric tons of food from Tanzania into the
country, but a proposal must first be cleared by the Sanctions
Committee.
6. RWANDA
6.1 Only a small portion of the displaced Rwandan refugees in
Eastern Zaire (see above) have returned to Rwanda. During the
week of 21-28 October, a total of 1,542 returned to Rwanda,
1,207 in Gisenyi and 318 in Cyangugu.
6.2 A large number of Zairian refugees arrived in Rwanda last
week. The Government has opened a new refugee camp in Gisenyi,
where 4,400 arrived during the week, to cater for these new
arrivals. Food distribution is carried out by the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies. In Cyangugu some 36 refugees arrived; Zairians are
accommodated at Bugarama transit centre and Burundians are at
the Bugarama refugee camp which also accommodates previous
arrivals of Burundian refugees. The nutritional situation
among the arriving refugees and returnees from Zaire is
reported to be good.
6.3 During the night of 23 October, almost all Zairian
refugees in Umubano camp, Gisenyi, sought refuge in the local
stadium, after rumours that the camp would be attacked from
Zaire. All refugees returned to the camp on the following
morning, escorted by the Rwandan Army.
6.4 Due to insecurity, the Rwanda Government has decided to
close Umubano camp and move the refugees to a new camp in
Kibuye prefecture. A total of 1,056 refugees have already been
relocated to Kibuye but are currently in the transit centre
until the preparations are completed in the new camp.
6.5 A total of 80,000 rations are being prepositioned in
Rwanda in order to cater for a possible increase influx of
returnees or refugees from Eastern Zaire. A total of 40,000
are being prepositioned in Kigali, 15,000 in Gisenyi, 20,000
in Cyangugu and 5,000 in Butare. In addition, a total of
300,000 rations will be prepositioned in Kampala and Isaka for
Rwanda should a massive influx take place.
B. IRAQ
1. UPDATE
1.1 At a press briefing in New York on 28 October, the
Executive Director of WFP, the Director of UNICEF, and the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs expressed
their concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation
in Iraq and the weak response by the donor community to the
Interim United Nations Humanitarian Programme for Iraq
launched in September 1996.
1.2 The WFP Executive Director stressed the Programme's
concern about the critical under-funding of emergency food aid
operations at the beginning of the harsh winter period.
1.3 WFP is targeting 2.15 million highly vulnerable people in
Iraq, comprising 900,000 individuals in households headed by
war widows, 780,000 destitute and internally displaced
persons, 200,000 pregnant or nursing women, 140,000 returnees,
64,000 refugees and 67,000 people in hospitals and social
institutions. Of the total, an estimated 180,000 are
malnourished children under the age of five. Eighty percent of
hospital in-patients in Iraq depend entirely on WFP food
assistance.
1.4 Of the USD 39.9 million needed to carry out the Interim
Programme through the end of the year, USD 19 million are
required by WFP. At the time of the press briefing, donor
countries had made confirmed contributions of only US 1.6
million to the Interim Programme (of which USD 500,000 is a
contribution by the Dutch Government to WFP).
1.5 In response to the UN Heads of Agencies appeal, the
American Government has announced a donation of USD 7.3
million to the Interim Programme.
C. AFGHANISTAN
1. UPDATE (Information as of 30 October)
1.1 Fighting close to Kabul continued during the week. Aerial
bombings were reported north of the capital and over Kabul
itself, close to the WFP office (which suffered minor damage).
1.2 Peace initiatives and conferences brokered by Pakistan,
Iran and the UN Special Envoy continue.
1.3 On 28 October, the WFP Executive Director lifted the
suspension of WFP food shipments into the areas of Afghanistan
such as the north and parts of the south, west and eastern
provinces, where relief activities in favour of men and women
can continue largely unaffected by the Taliban pronouncements
on women. Shipments of food had been temporarily suspended
while the possibilities of directly reaching and involving
women under the WFP programme were being reassessed.
1.4 WFP has resumed activities in favour of women in the
capital, including the bakery project for women. Relief
activities in most parts of the country continue except in
Jalalabad where WFP is currently reassessing needs.
1.5 The WFP Assistant Executive Director will be travelling
to Afghanistan on 5 November and is expected to meet with the
authorities in Kabul and Kandahar and other areas of the
country if security permits.
D. SRI LANKA
1. UPDATE
1.1 The World Food Programme has approved a USD 3.6 million
package of food assistance that will benefit 50,000 internally
displaced persons residing in welfare centres located in the
provinces of Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. This
latest WFP commitment will be provided over fourteen months
ending 31 December 1997.
1.2 WFP has been providing emergency food assistance to IDP
outside of the main conflict zone since February 1992. Not
including the latest commitment WFP has provided 38,700 metric
tons of food aid at a total cost of USD 11.5 million.
1.3 The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) continues to be
committed, in spite of the considerable cost, to supplying dry
rations to IDPs living inside the conflict zone on the Jaffna
Peninsula as well as to IDPs living with friends and relatives
outside the conflict zone. Since June 1996, an average of
7,350 metric tons has been sent each month to both cleared and
uncleared areas within the conflict zones of the Wanni Region
at a cost to the GOSL of USD 5.4 million. This amount is
sufficient to feed 490,000 persons at emergency rations. The
latest estimate of the number of IDPs is about 300,000.
1.4 However, the lack of reliable population data on numbers
of IDPs who are on the move at any given time and the
constraints on independently verifying the delivery and
distribution systems make it difficult to establish the extent
to which all eligible persons are receiving adequate food
supplies. WFP monitors the situation to the extent possible and
maintains close contact with the Government, International
Organizations and NGOs.
1.5 According to routinely collected data from various
sources, there are no reports of any increase in the levels of
mild or acute malnutrition in the conflict areas. The level of
undernutrition is estimated to be slightly higher than the
national average. However, with the commencement of the north-
west monsoon rains, many thousands of IDPs are without
adequate shelter and medical supplies.
1.6 The food supply situation in the Jaffna Peninsula is
stable. The GOSL has at its disposal three cargo ships with a
combined capacity of 8,200 metric tons and food cargoes are
being sent to Jaffna at regular intervals. The Food
Commissioner also reports that an average of 2,750 metric tons
of wheat flour are delivered to Jaffna from the Prima mill, in
Trincomalee each month. There is some concern, however, that
the coming monsoon season will slow offloading operations at
Kankesanturai and Point Pedro harbours. Vegetable production
on the peninsular is reported to be on the increase.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 43 of 1996 - November 1, 1996)
distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
Disaster Information Center lists: listproc@vita.org
sitreps nat-dsr
web: www.vita.org appeal fireline
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
World Food Program Reports: http://www.vita.org/disaster/wfp