Fighting poverty is a key weapon in the global war against terrorism, a congressional US aid delegation to Ethiopia said on Thursday. "I think we should be careful in how far we go in saying poverty leads directly to terrorist attacks, but clearly it provides a breeding ground in which terrorist groups can find fertile soil," senior Congressman Jim Kolbe told a press conference in the capital, Addis

A Djibouti delegation led by the president of that country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Tuesday in Addis Ababa that Djibouti port authorities had brought the leak under control

Needs identified by the UNDAC mission

Situation

1. Following the request of the Government of Djibouti for international assistance on 26 February, a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination (UNDAC) team was dispatched between 04 and 12 March 2002 to further assess the toxic spill of chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a wood preservative and fungicide, at the Port of Djibouti.

2. Nearly three months after the

Fears of a widespread environmental and humanitarian crisis rose after 10 containers holding a highly toxic substance,

Introduction

Situation

1. Ten shipping containers loaded with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) were received at the Port of Djibouti by ship in November 2001. CCA is used as wood preservative. It is highly corrosive and toxic.

2. The containers were immediately off-loaded and transferred to the "Hazardous Materials Storage Area" (HMSA) of the Port. They were stocked in this spot from their date of arrival until the discovery of a leak in January 2002.

(B) West and Central Asia Region: (1) Afghanistan, (2) Pakistan

(C) Central Africa Region: (1) Democratic Republic of Congo, (2) Angola

(D) East and Southern Africa Region: (1) Uganda, (2) Tanzania, (3) Djibouti, (4) Eritrea

(E) Latin America and Caribbean Region: (1) Colombia, (2) Peru

(F) Eastern Europe Region: (1) Northern Caucasus, (2) Balkans

From Francesco Strippoli, Director of the Office of Humanitarian Affairs; available on the Internet on the WFP Home Page (www.wfp.org),

Two-hundred tonnes of copper chomate arsenate (CCA) arrived in late January in the port of the tiny Horn of Africa country from Britain, bound for Ethiopia.

The cargo was immediately blocked by port authorities, because the chemicals were beginning to seep out of their containers, said to be in poor condition.

A UN expert sent to investigate the hazardous