Hopper bands in Israel for the first time in 50 years; adult groups in interior of Saudi Arabia

As a result of egg-laying in mid-March and low temperatures, hatching occurred from mid-April onwards in the western Negev Desert of Israel and in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt where hoppers are now forming groups and bands in both areas.

Floods and droughts have been particularly devastating to the region, bringing significant water shortages, economic losses and adverse social consequences.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 16 – 29 April 2013, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

In Focus 1
North Africa 2
Northeast Africa 4
Horn of Africa 5

Overview

The North Africa region, made up of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, is economically and demographically diverse. These five middle income countries were generally on track in 2010 to achieving the health Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target by 2015, even if facing significant rural and urban disparities and gaps in coverage.

04/16/2013 21:03 GMT

RABAT, April 16, 2013 (AFP) - Morocco on Tuesday warned of "harmful consequences" for regional stability from US-backed plans to broaden the mandate of the UN mission in the disputed Western Sahara to probe human rights abuses.

The initiative, to be decided by the 15-nation Security Council this month, has set off a furious lobbying campaign by Morocco, which annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975 in a move not recognised by the international community.

Hopper bands continue to form along the Nile River in Sudan

The Desert Locust situation continues to be serious in northern Sudan where a few groups of adults are still laying eggs, hatching is in progress and hoppers are forming small bands near crops along a 1,000 km stretch of the Nile Valley between Wadi Halfa and Ed Damer. Survey and control operations are in progress against mainly second instar hopper bands to prevent new swarms from forming in May.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 19 March – 01 April 2013, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

Inside this issue

In Focus 1

North Africa 2

Northeast Africa 4

Horn of Africa 5

Located in the sweltering desert of south-west Algeria, the refugee camps of the Saharwi are home to more than 200,000 people, displaced from Western Sahara in 1979 when Morocco annexed the disputed territory in a conflict the world has long since forgotten. A new generation is growing up in the camps – eager to return to their homeland by whatever means, and frustrated by the Polisaro movement's slow dealings with Morocco and the UN.

Posted by John Harris, Regional Outreach and Communications Specialist on Sunday, March 24th 2013

Note: This is the fourth post in a 4-part series. Read part one, part two and part three.