UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
for Central and Eastern Africa
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Fighting in the southeast

Rebels of the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD)last week began fighting their way towards two key government supply lines with a view to taking control of the DRC's border with Zambia. Reuters on Sunday quoted Zambian, rebel and intelligence

Rome, 21 December 2000 - Some 28 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are facing severe food shortages as serious food supply problems persist in a number of countries, mainly because of prolonged drought and civil strife, according to a report released today by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The situation is most critical in eastern Africa, where 20 million people face serious food shortages that will require continued food aid well into 2001.
The

UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
for Central and Eastern Africa
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Opposition leader in peace call

Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the leader of the Union pour la democratie at le progress social (UDPS) opposition party in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) met President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and former South African President Thabo Mbeki, and subsequently

S/2001/49
Letter dated 16 January 2001 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council

I have the honour to transmit to you herewith the interim report of the Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, submitted to me by the Chairperson of the Panel, in pursuance of the statement by the President of the Security Council S/PRST/2000/20, dated 2 June 2000 (see annex).

UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
for Central and Eastern Africa
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: RCD rebels fighting to cut supply lines

Rebels of the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD)are fighting their way towards two key government supply lines with a view to taking control of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) border with Zambia. Reuters on Sunday quoted

Refugee news briefings
SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT AGREES TO TALKS BUT NO DE-ESCALATION

The government of Sri Lanka has agreed to hold peace talks with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) but has rejected the rebels' demand for de-escalation of hostilities before the talks start. The LTTE reiterated that "genuine peace talks could not be held under conditions of war, violence and hostility" and called on the international community to persuade the government to abandon its "hard-line" approach. Last month, the LTTE leader, Velupillai

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received pledges totalling $214.7 million towards the $953.7 million it requested in a global appeal for 2001, launched today in Geneva.
The United States topped the list of donations with $125 million, followed by Sweden with $40 million, the Netherlands with $23 million and Norway with $18 million. The pledges followed hard lobbying by UNHCR's outgoing High Commissioner, Sadako Ogata, who repeatedly warned donors that underfunding jeopardized the essence of the organization's work.

UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
for Central and Eastern Africa
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org

DRC: Security Council extends MONUC mandate

The UN Security Council on Thursday extended by six months the mandate of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), and agreed to a proposal by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to increase the number of military observers monitoring the disengagement

Highlights
Continued sales of highly subsidized government food in November improved the food security status of 1.3 million highly food insecure people in 33 districts in 11 regions.

Availability of on-farm stocks, domestic food movements and stable prices of staples in markets provide satisfactory food security conditions for other populations in the country.