Report No. 20 of 1999 Date: 21 May 1999
This report includes: A) FR Yugoslavia and region - Kosovo crisis B) Sudan C) Sierra Leone D) East and Central Africa: Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo/Brazzaville E) Zambia.
>From Manuel Aranda da Silva, Chief, Technical Support Service. Available on the Internet on the WFP Home Page at http://www.wfp.org/ or by electronic mail from Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org or Natasha.Nadazdin@wfp.org (fax 39 06 6513 2854). For information on resources, donors are requested to contact Aleesa.Blum@wfp.org or Marius.deGaayFortman@wfp.org at WFP Rome, telephone 39 06 6513 2004 or 06 6513 2250. The address of WFP is Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, 00148 Rome, Italy.
This issue of the Emergency Report was prepared by Natasha Nadazdin.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS (Details below in Part II)
A. FR YUGOSLAVIA AND REGION - KOSOVO CRISIS
1. Update - information as of 21 May
a) A UN inter-agency mission is assessing the condition and relief needs of IDPs in Kosovo, local population affected by the conflict and Serb refugees from Croatia. b) ICRC to re-establish office in Pristina and start food distributions in collaboration with Yugoslav Red Cross. c) Borders of Montenegro sealed by army of FR Yugoslavia. d) Total number of refugees and IDPs in region now estimated by UNHCR at 743,700; additional 60,000 refugees in Serbia reported by the Government. e) UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and Medecins sans Frontieres needs assessment of Kosovar refugees in transit centres and tented sites in FYR of Macedonia to begin on 24 May for a 13-day period. f) WFP has pre-positioned 17,500 tons of food in the region and is planning to have 25,000 tons in place by mid-June. g) UN Secretary-General visits Albania and FYR of Macedonia. h) Regional Coordinator for UN Assistance in the Balkans Martin Griffiths based in Skopje as of 17 May; WFP regional office also in Skopje.
B. SUDAN
1. Recent security incidents - information as of 20 May
a) Violations in mid-May of the renewed ceasefire covering Bahr el-Ghazal and parts of Upper Nile and Unity states. b) Akak and Nyamlell in northern Bahr el-Ghazal attacked; WFP distributions were taking place when the attacks happened. c) On 18 May a WFP barge convoy returning to Juba attacked in Adok (western Upper Nile); one person killed and two WFP staff members injured. WFP effort to increase river transport may be set-back as a result of the attack. d) WFP and OLS teams evacuated in May from Thiek Thou, Liethnom, Majakliet, Akak and Maper (all Bahr el-Ghazal) due to nearby fighting.
C. SIERRA LEONE
1. Update - information as of 13 May, with additions
a) Agreement reached 18 May for ceasefire to start on 24 May; peace talks to follow. b) Information from before ceasefire: Road access to Bo and Kenema closed to non-military traffic; funds sought from donors for planned WFP charter of a vessel to ship food and other commodities to Nitti port. Without access, WFP food for institutional feeding programmes in Kenema enough only to end of May. c) Government-led humanitarian mission to Songo in late April included WFP. d) Approximately 15,000 registered and unregistered IDPs are in Waterloo; population displaced by the fighting are moving back to the area, which is now secured by ECOMOG.
D. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: TANZANIA, D.R. CONGO AND CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE
1. Tanzania a) Joint UN/Government crop and food supply assessment mission scheduled for end May.
2. D.R. Congo a) Air attack on Goma on 11 May causes casualties and destroys housing; WFP to provide food aid and ICRC non-food items to those in need. Movement of population towards Bukavu and Kigali observed following bombing. b) Uvira also bombed; security situation in general in south Kivu remains precarious. In Bukavu, WFP equipment confiscated by unidentified uniformed men.
3. Congo/Brazzaville a) Some 20,000 IDPs return to Bacongo, Makelekele and Mfilou from ad hoc camps in southern area of Brazzaville following Government request; 10,000 persons remain in camps. b) Although many are still in the forest, 25,000 people return from forest area in Pool region and are hosted in nutritional centres, receiving WFP food in communal kitchens supervized by Caritas and MSF.
E. ZAMBIA
1. Assistance to refugees - information as of 13 May a) Government puts ban on travel by aid agencies north of Kaputa due to insecurity across the border in D.R. Congo. b) Refugees from D.R. Congo estimated at 27,400.
PART II - DETAILS
A. FR YUGOSLAVIA AND REGION - KOSOVO CRISIS
1. UPDATE - information as of 21 May
1.1 WFP is part of the UN inter-agency mission to assess the humanitarian needs of civilians throughout the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The mission, led by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Vieira de Mello, arrived in Belgrade on 16 May and in Pristina on 20 May, and is expected to complete its work by 27 May. Its primary task is to assess the condition and needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kosovo, ethnic Serb refugees from Croatia and local population affected by the conflict.
1.2 A team of six ICRC delegates has left Geneva for Belgrade to re-establish their office in Pristina. The ICRC staff expect to be in Pristina on 24 May and intend to start food distribution in coordination with the Yugoslav Red Cross.
1.3 All borders of Montenegro have been sealed by the army of FR Yugoslavia as of 20 May, and movement across the borders is restricted.
1.4 According to UNHCR, the total number of refugees and displaced people in the region was estimated at some 743,700 on 21 May, including 433,400 in Albania, 226,300 in the FYR of Macedonia (75,900 in camps, 120,400 with host families, and 30,000 refugees living elsewhere), 64,000 in Montenegro and 20,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to Government reports there are also 60,000 refugees in Serbia.
1.5 Agencies including UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and Medecins sans Frontieres are planning a needs assessment of Kosovar refugees in FYR of Macedonia to begin on 24 May. The survey will be carried out in all of the transit centres and tented sites over a 13-day period.
1.6 As a contingency measure, WFP has pre-positioned some 17,500 tons of food commodities in the region and plans to have available 25,000 tons by mid-June. WFP will also pre-position ready-to-eat foods including humanitarian daily rations. WFP continues to deliver ready-to-eat food commodities to refugees in camps with no cooking facilities. In the region, WFP keeps two weeks of food stocks at WFP delivery points (including Kukes, Elbasan, Shkoder, Fier, Korce, Tirana, Podgorica, Tetovo and Skopje), one month supply in the country ports (including Durres and Bar) and one month supply in the region (including in the ports of Ploce, Croatia, and Thessaloniki, Greece).
1.7 On 17 May, the moveable bakery in Shkoder in Albania will begin to produce an additional 32,000 loaves of 500g a day to be transported to Kukes. The Shkoder bakery will continue to do this until the bakery managed by the NGO War Child is operational. In FYR of Macedonia, WFP current daily bread production has increased to nearly 50,000 loaves. Since 7 May, WFP has distributed more than 1,200 tons of basic food commodities and 129 tons of ready-to-eat foods including 1,080,000 humanitarian daily rations.
1.8 Mr. Martin Griffiths, the new Regional Coordinator for UN Assistance in the Balkans appointed by the UN Secretary-General, is based in Skopje, FYR of Macedonia, as of 17 May. His responsibilities will include ensuring links between different sectors of assistance, coordinating the overall United Nations system operational response to the crisis, identifying gaps in assistance and ensuring they are covered, and looking ahead to ensure that the UN can respond not only to immediate needs, but also to medium-term ones. A WFP regional office has been established in Skopje, where the newly appointed UNICEF Special Envoy to the region will also be based.
B. SUDAN
1. RECENT SECURITY INCIDENTS - information as of 20 May
1.1 The ceasefire covering Bahr el-Ghazal and parts of Upper Nile and Unity states was renewed by both warring parties on 15 April for another three months. It was initially agreed in July 1998 and continued up to the second week of May 1999 when violations of the ceasefire began to occur.
1.2 WFP is extremely concerned that the recent bombings of Akak and Nyamlell in northern Bahr el-Ghazal clearly violate the agreed ceasefire. WFP had a field team conducting food distribution in both locations at the time of the bombings.
1.3 Another very serious security incident happened on 18 May when a WFP barge convoy was attacked in Adok (western Upper Nile). One employee of the Sudan River Transport Company was killed and two WFP staff members were injured. The barge was on its return trip from Juba, delivering over 3,000 tons of food to 34 locations along the Nile from Kosti to Juba. The river-tug boat was obliged to drop the barges and head towards the north fleeing the heavy fire. After a trip of nearly 30 hours, the boat reached Malakal and the injured were evacuated to a hospital in Khartoum.
1.4 WFP has made efforts to increase river transport since the beginning of the year to reach greater numbers of people in need and reduce transport costs. The security incident in Adok, however, may represent a set-back for such efforts.
1.5 During May, WFP and OLS teams were evacuated from Thiek Thou, Liethnom, Majakliet, Akak and Maper (all Bahr el-Ghazal) due to fighting in nearby areas, increased troops presence at these locations and movement of civilians from the area. Insecurity has also been reported in the eastern and western regions of Upper Nile.
1.6 These security incidents will be addressed, among other issues, at the forthcoming meeting of the Technical Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (TCHA) in Oslo, Norway, on 24-26 May. The committee comprises of OCHA, UNICEF, WFP, the Government of Sudan, SPLM/SPLA and representatives of the IGAD Partner Forum (IPF).
1.7 Until the recent incidents, improved security under the ceasefire had facilitated WFP's task to deliver relief assistance up to approximately 1.2 million people in the rebel-held areas as well as in the Government of Sudan controlled areas. About 70 percent of all the beneficiaries are located in Bahr el-Ghazal region.
C. SIERRA LEONE
1. UPDATE - information as of 13 May, with some additions
1.1 On 18 May it was announced that the forces of Sierra Leone's president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and rebel leader Foday Sankoh had reached a ceasefire agreement which is to commence on 24 May with peace talks to start the following day. The agreement provides for the release of prisoners of war and civilians kidnapped by the rebels. It is also expected to improve the access for aid agencies to needy people on all sides.
2. Information from the field before the ceasefire was announced:
2.1 Secure access to Bo and Kenema for humanitarian deliveries remains a critical problem for WFP and the Committee on Food Aid. Despite significant gains of territory by ECOMOG in the area, the main Freetown-Masiaka-Bo highway is still closed to non-military traffic. To ensure continued deliveries of relief assistance to some 66,320 beneficiaries in camps and feeding centres in the areas of Bo and Kenema, WFP has identified a chartered vessel to tranship food and other relief commodities to Nitti port and on to Bo. The vessel is to be operated also on behalf of other food aid agencies including CARE, WVI and CRS. However, funds are yet to be raised from donors.
2.2 In Kenema, WFP has supplied food to institutional feeding programmes (hospitals, therapeutic and supplementary feeding, handicapped and orphanages) sufficient until the end of May. Unless access improves, no food aid will be available for these programmes after the end of May.
2.3 WFP staff participated in a Government-led humanitarian assessment mission to Songo, 30 miles from Freetown, on 29 April. Residents had either fled to Freetown and Waterloo or had been hiding in the bush in anticipation of the rebel seizure of the area since last December. There are now approximately 15,000 registered and unregistered IDPs in Waterloo.
2.4 In collaboration with the Inter-Agency Food Committee WFP has carried out a population verification of over 9,000 registered IDPs living at the Waterloo IDP camp. As the area is now secured by the ECOMOG troops, people displaced during the fighting are coming back.
D. EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA: TANZANIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE
1. TANZANIA
1.1 A joint crop and food supply assessment mission comprising UN agencies and Government authorities has been scheduled for the end of May. The objective is to collect information on the prospects for the current season production and establish which are the areas at risk. The analysis will provide the necessary background for the final evaluation of the agricultural and food situation of the 1998/99 season and determine the eventual relief needs and modalities of intervention during the next lean season.
1.2 Between 3 - 9 May the refugee influx into Tanzania totalled 2,332 persons (1,338 Congolese, 968 Burundians and 26 Rwandese). Despite this influx, other refugees continue to repatriate, and in the first week of May 184 refugees returned home to Burundi and Rwanda. The repatriation of Burundians from Kasulu and Kibondo remains on hold due to the continuous arrival of Burundians into these two districts.
1.3 The current refugee population in Tanzania stands at 356,660 persons and WFP continues to provide them with food assistance. The WFP food pipeline faces a shortage of pulses due to delays in the arrival of scheduled shipments and for the next distributions the refugees will receive a half ration of beans.
2. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
2.1 On 11 May, during an air attack on Goma several people were killed, and many more were seriously wounded or left homeless. Based on the recommendations of a humanitarian coordination meeting held in the aftermath of the bombing, WFP was requested to provide food assistance and ICRC to provide non-food items such as kitchen sets, blankets and medical supplies. There are reports that some Goma residents are leaving the town and heading towards Bukavu and Kigali in fear of a repetition of the bombing.
2.2 Further south, the town of Uvira was also attacked by air on the same day. Reportedly, there were casualties and many were forced to flee towards Bukavu. In general, the security situation in south Kivu remains precarious and incidents are frequently reported. During the week WFP equipment in Bukavu was confiscated by unidentified uniformed men.
3. CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE
3.1 During May, displaced persons in ad hoc sites in the southern area of Brazzaville have started to return to their home areas, as requested by the Government. During the week 20,000 persons returned to Bacongo, Makelekele and Mfilou. Another group, estimated at 10,000 persons, whose houses have been destroyed, is still in the camps.
3.2 Thousands of Congolese are believed to be still in the forest. Recently some 25,000 people, including 5,000 malnourished children, have returned home from the dense forest area in the Pool region. The newcomers are hosted in nutritional centres where WFP provides food for the communal kitchen supervized by Caritas and MSF. A crisis committee including Government officials, WFP, UNICEF, ICRC, IFRC and non-governmental organizations has been put in place to provide assistance to these returnees.
E. ZAMBIA
1. ASSISTANCE TO REFUGEES - information as of 13 May
1.1 Reports earlier in May from Kaputa confirmed heavy fighting just across the border in D.R. Congo. The village of Musossa, located just opposite the Zambian town of Lambwe Chomba, was reportedly taken over by rebels.
1.2 Due to the tense security situation, the Government of Zambia has temporarily barred agencies from travelling north of Kaputa. Evacuation plans for UN staff in Kaputa are in place and the situation is being closely monitored together with the local authorities.
1.3 Estimated numbers of refugees in Zambia as of mid May were 7,000 in Kaputa town, 5,000 in surrounding villages of Mchenga and Lambwe Chomba, 2,000 in Chiengi (90 km west of Kaputa), 2,600 in Moshi (north of Sumbu) and some 8,800 in Mwange camp (Mporokoso), totalling some 27,400.
1.4 The refugee population in Kaputa and surrounding villages has decreased due to the ongoing transfer operation to Mwange camp. Site preparations at Kala camp are proceeding in anticipation of an influx of refugees from Pweto.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 20 of 1999 - May 21, 1999)
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