Report No. 36 of 1999 Date: 10 September 1999
This report includes: A) Indonesia - East Timor B) Afghanistan C) Angola D) Sierra Leone E) East Africa: Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda.
>From Manuel Aranda da Silva, Chief, Technical Support Service. Available 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. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. Update - information as of 12 September a) On 12 September, Government of Indonesia accepts UN peacekeeping force to restore order in East Timor; deaths and evictions of pro-independence East Timor population by militias since 30 August, following independence vote. b) Only essential UN staff remains in East Timor UNAMET headquarters - others evacuated on 10 September. c) Some 83,000 displaced from East Timor reported in West Timor on 10 September; not less than 100,000 believed to be displaced within East Timor. d) WFP to move 5,040 tons of rice from Surabaya to Dili, and to provide further 1,300 tons to NGOs (Posko, CARE, CRS and World Vision) for distribution. e) WFP in Kupang reports need for relief food aid for displaced population in district of Belu, West Timor, to supplement Government efforts. f) An additional WFP emergency operation being planned, to provide food aid (rice, pulses, vegetable oil, maize and blended food) for persons displaced by East Timor crisis. g) WFP logistics capacity ready to support operations of other UN agencies and NGOs in East Timor.
B. AFGHANISTAN
1. Update - information as of 9 September a) Kabul: Some 43,000 IDPs arrived in Kabul from Shomali Plains between 8 August and 4 September. In ex-Soviet embassy compound, some 10,000 displaced persons receive daily WFP distributions of CSB, sugar and oil. b) Further UN mission sent to Panjshir Valley expected to establish a UN base camp. c) Northern Provinces: over 10,000 displaced people, most of them believed to be in Taliban-held province of Kunduz, may be in need of food and shelter. d) WFP country director visits Mazar-i-Sharif; WFP preparing to reopen winter bakery for 112,000 beneficiaries in November.
C. ANGOLA
1. Update - information as of 9 September a) Security: Kuito bombarded 6-7 September, WFP non-essential staff relocated; shelling of Huambo and Malange continues; more fighting reported in Uige province; in Huila, thousands flee fighting in Kuvango/Cutato area and seek refuge in Cuchi. b) WFP activities in Kuando Kubango constrained by lack of transporters willing to carry food to outlying areas such as Cuchi. c) Some 14,000 families in Kuito area supported by WFP through agricultural resettlement. d) After rapid assessment mission completed on 2 September, WFP Senior Nutrition Advisor recommends: registration, for food aid distributions, of resident populations in besieged cities before hunger season; wet feeding and take-home rations for particularly vulnerable before distributions starts; further support to agricultural resettlement programmes for IDPs in Malange, Huambo and Luena areas.
D. SIERRA LEONE
1. Update - information as of 9 September a) Inter-agency food aid convoy of 60 trucks arrives in Makeni, the first convoy to reach Makeni since renewed hostilities began late 1998; distributions start for 97,000 beneficiaries in the area. b) Government requesting further delay of phase-out of IDP camps until December; WFP food distributions continue in camps in Freetown, Bo, Blama and Kenema. c) While awaiting delayed shipments, WFP borrows from other relief food agencies to respond to increasing number of beneficiaries as access expands.
E. EAST AFRICA: BURUNDI, TANZANIA AND UGANDA
1. Burundi - information as of 9 September a) Several Bujumbura suburbs attacked; Government extends curfew hours, to start at 22:00 hrs. UN curfew adjusted to 21:00 hrs. UN humanitarian operations continue, but additional security measures applied.
2. Tanzania a) Refugee influx in August down to 1,420 persons. Recyclers, refugees seeking double registration, still a concern. Some 7,730 Burundian and Rwandans refugees repatriated and received two-week WFP food rations.
3. Uganda a) A Government assessment indicates 700,000 Ugandans affected by drought and may need food assistance. WFP follow-up assessment of drought impact to start on 13 September, with participation of donors, UN agencies and NGOs.
PART II - DETAILS
A. INDONESIA - EAST TIMOR
1. UPDATE - information as of 12 September
1.1 Since 30 August when the majority of the East Timor population voted in favour of independence from Indonesia, there have been uninterrupted reports of killings and evictions of pro-independence East Timorese by militias. Indonesian President B.J. Habibie announced on 12 September that Jakarta would accept a UN peacekeeping force to restore order in East Timor. It is reported that the border between East and West Timor is currently insecure and kept closed by anti-independence militias.
1.2 The UN on 10 September evacuated all but a few essential staff members from its East Timor headquarters. Up to 80 UN staff, including the head of the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), Ian Martin, remained in the compound sheltering about 1,000 people fleeing from the militias which have been rampaging the island.
1.3 There were an estimated 83,000 people displaced from East Timor in West Timor on Friday 10 September, but the number was growing every hour. No assessment has been made in East Timor as of 12 September due to insecurity, but there appear to be not less than 100,000 displaced persons.
1.4 WFP is making arrangements for 5,040 tons of WFP rice to be shipped from Surabaya to Dili. In order to avoid delays in distributions, WFP will release from its stocks in Dili a further 1,300 tons to a consortium of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) named Posko, as well as to international NGO partners CARE, CRS and World Vision. These stocks had been positioned in Dili earlier and are stored in a Government warehouse. The origin of this rice is WFP emergency operation (EMOP 6006) to support victims of the economic crisis and has a provision of 20,000 tons of rice for internally displaced persons (IDPs). These stocks, merged with Government stocks, can be called upon anywhere in the country. On 10 September, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication agreed to implement the emergency assistance that had been stopped as a consequence of martial law in East Timor.
1.5 Information from the WFP sub-office in Kupang in West Timor indicates that in the West Timor district of Belu the number of displaced people from East Timor is too large for the Government to provide for through its traditional channels, and that relief food aid will be necessary. WFP is discussing the need for food assistance in West Timor with the Government and local and international NGOs.
1.6 An additional WFP emergency operation is being planned to provide food aid (rice, pulses, vegetable oil, maize and blended food) to people displaced as a result of the East Timor crisis. The exact quantities of the commodities as well as the number of beneficiaries have not yet been determined as the current security situation does not allow adequate assessments. WFP is also offering its logistics capacity to support the operations of UN agencies and NGOs in East Timor.
B. AFGHANISTAN
1. UPDATE - information as of 9 September
1.1 Kabul:
a) Almost 43,000 people are reported to have arrived in Kabul from the Shomali Plains between 8 August and 4 September. As indicated in earlier reports, the majority of the displaced have found shelter in the city. For the time being, conditions in the city are reported as stable.
b) Some 10,000 displaced persons sheltered in the ex-Soviet Embassy compound continue to receive daily WFP distributions of CSB, sugar and oil. Of that number, approximately 8,700 are women and children. Local authorities continue to distribute bread.
1.2 Panjshir Valley: A second UN mission to the Panjshir Valley left for Faizabad, in north-eastern Afghanistan, on 7 September. The mission, which includes WFP, left Faizabad for the valley by road and is expected to reach Bazarak, in the centre of the valley, by 10 September. The mission is intended to establish a UN base camp.
1.3 Northern Provinces: There are reportedly over 10,000 displaced people in the northern provinces of Afghanistan. The majority of this group are believed to have arrived in the Taliban-controlled province of Kunduz. Many of the displaced appear to be from the Shomali Plains area. Initial reports indicate that they are in need of food and shelter.
1.4 The WFP country director is visiting the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif for a week. WFP is preparing to reopen the winter bakery, targeting 112,000 people, in November. The sub-office is currently in the process of beneficiary selection.
C. ANGOLA
1. UPDATE - information as of 9 September
1.1 The bombardment of Kuito was renewed on 6-7 September, with some shells falling close to the WFP office. Heavy fighting has also been reported in surrounding areas. Due to the encroachment of UNITA forces, and based on an evaluation of the security situation in the area, WFP is relocating non-essential staff from the sub-office. Shelling of the cities of Huambo and Malange has continued.
1.2 Fighting has been reported in northern areas, particularly Uige province. It appears that fighting in the Kuvango/Cutato area in the south province of Huila has caused further displacements of thousands of persons toward Cuchi. The road corridor between Lubango in Benguela province and Menongue in Kuando Kubango province remains closed and market prices of food are still extremely high. WFP activities in Kuando Kubango are currently constrained by the lack of transporters willing to carry food to outlying areas such as Cuchi.
1.3 WFP convened a meeting in Huambo with its principal partners to discuss strategies for expanding food aid assistance to cover the growing needs in the city.
1.4 Under WFP-supported agricultural resettlement activities in the Kuito area, approximately 14,000 families have planted in lowland fields already, with more families expected to be resettled in the coming months, security allowing.
1.5 The WFP Senior Nutrition Advisor completed a rapid assessment mission on 2 September, to towns of Huambo, Malange and Luena.
a) Preliminary conclusions of the assessment indicate that more attention must be paid to the resident population in besieged cities, particularly with the onset of the hunger season. Consequently, registration of both IDPs and eligible residents should be carried out as soon as possible. In the interim before residents are included in distributions, wet feeding through kitchens and take-home rations are suggested for the most vulnerable categories (children under five, pregnant and nursing mothers, elderly and handicapped persons).
b) The agricultural resettlement programmes for IDPs in the besieged towns of Malange, Huambo and Luena are limited by the lack of land and the food produced through them will only be available after the next harvest in April. However, the assessment shows that they present a useful initiative to supplement poor food supply and need to be supported.
c) Large-scale food aid distributions to IDPs and residents in Malange in early August alleviated the acute food crisis. However, the present global malnutrition level, estimated at 20-25 percent, needs to be lowered. In Huambo, where the global malnutrition rate is 16 percent, immediate food assistance for the resident population is necessary, at least until the April harvest. Residents of Huambo with access to land should receive seeds and tools.
D. SIERRA LEONE
1. UPDATE - most information as of 9 September
1.1 Latest information: On 12 September, an inter-agency food aid convoy of 60 trucks reached Makeni, travelling via Masiaka and Lunsar, the first convoy to arrive in the area since the renewed started late in 1998. The convoy travelled without a military escort and encountered no security problems on its way. A joint WFP/ UNOMSIL security assessment mission to Makeni on 8 September established that there appeared to be sufficient security for unescorted vehicle traffic on the route, including the section which transits the Occra Hills area. Distributions have started in Makeni for 97,000 beneficiaries, based on the previous registration of beneficiaries on 27-31 August by WFP, CRS, CARE and World Vision International.
1.2 Recent security incidents in the Occra Hills, the area through which runs the highway connecting Freetown with up-country Sierra Leone, had caused repeated delays in WFP emergency distributions in Port Loko, Masiaka, Rogberi and Makeni. Apart from abduction cases, several incidents of looting of commercial food trucks have been reported in the area.
1.3 WFP continues its emergency food assistance to IDPs in camps in Freetown, Bo, Blama and Kenema. The closure of the Freetown camps, initially planned for end of September, has been delayed at the request of the Government due to a large number of IDPs. In Kenema, malnutrition has increased among both IDPs and residents and WFP is currently investigating the ways to help the areas of chronic food insecurity and those where food needs of the displaced populations exceed available food sources.
1.4 Now that access is being gained to new areas, WFP will have to provide assistance for an increasing number of beneficiaries. Due to delayed arrivals of shipments, WFP has borrowed commodities from food pipeline NGOs in order to meet its operational requirements in September.
E. EAST AFRICA: BURUNDI, TANZANIA AND UGANDA
1. UPDATE - information as of 9 September
1. BURUNDI
1.1 Following recent attacks on several suburban areas surrounding Bujumbura, the Government has extended the curfew hours from midnight to 22:00 hrs. The UN curfew has also been adjusted to begin at 21:00 hrs. UN humanitarian operations continue, but all UN agencies must apply additional security measures, such as the use of military escorts in less secure areas.
2. TANZANIA
2.1 The refugee influx decreased during the month of August when some 1,420 refugees sought refuge in Tanzania. Recyclers, refugees seeking double registration, remain a matter of concern and refugee leaders have been requested to help curb this practice. Since the beginning of the year, the refugee influx into Tanzania totalled 100,459 persons arriving from D.R. Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. During the same period, a total of 7,726 Burundian and Rwandan refugees were repatriated to their home countries. WFP provided all returning refugees with a two week food ration.
2.2 The refugee caseload in camps in Tanzania is now estimated at 371,465 refugees in both Kigoma and Ngara regions. WFP provides food rations to all registered refugees in the camps and additional food commodities are also being distributed to over 13,000 vulnerable refugees under the supplementary and therapeutic feeding programmes.
3. UGANDA
3.1 Following reports of drought in several districts in Uganda, the Government has sent five teams to 33 districts to assess the food, agriculture and livestock situation. The Government's assessment indicates that 700,000 Ugandans have been affected by drought and may require food assistance. WFP is organizing a follow-up assessment of the drought impact at household and district level which is planned to start on 13 September with the participation of donors, other UN agencies and NGOs.
Note: all tonnage figures in report above refer to metric tons
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 36 of 1999 - September 10, 1999)
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