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Horn of Africa: IRIN Weekly Round-up 91 covering the period 25 - 31 May 2002

UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
AFRICA: OAU chief urges more action to stamp out conflict

Africa has to act more decisively in stamping out the wars that blight the continent, the head of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) said on Tuesday. In a speech to mark the OAU's 39th anniversary, Secretary-General Amara Essy said it was imperative to find lasting solutions to conflicts across the continent. He said the new African Union - due to be launched in South Africa in July to replace the OAU - would give fresh impetus to promoting peace and security in Africa.

"We have to show greater determination and political will and mobilise more resources, means and talents to take up, in a decisive manner, the challenges of conflicts faced by the continent," he said. "The Constitutive Act of the African Union intends also to give a new impetus aimed at promoting peace and security, which are indispensable for the economic and social progress of our continent." Essy said the persistent wars in Africa "summon us and remind us of the imperative need to find lasting solutions to these conflicts which afflict our continent and annihilate its efforts for socioeconomic recovery". [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID(007]

ETHIOPIA: Meles blasts western governments

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi launched a stinging attack on western governments on Monday on the eve of a visit to Ethiopia by US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. Speaking at the opening of the Africa Development Bank annual meeting, he accused the west of hypocrisy by calling on African countries to open up their markets, while imposing tariffs and handing out enormous subsidies to farmers. The visit by O'Neill and Irish rock star Bono comes barely a week after US President George W. Bush signed a new farm law increasing dairy and crop subsidies by 67 percent. The pair are on a 12-day, four nation, fact-finding tour of Africa to assess the effectiveness of development aid.

"They [western governments] are erecting tariff and non-tariff barriers and doling out enormous subsidies affecting the very products that we have comparative advantage in," Meles said. "This is clearly and blatantly hypocritical."

"But perhaps more importantly, it serves to drastically reduce the global cake for us all," he said. "If such trading practices are not changed, nothing our partners can do is going to promote Africa's structural transformation." [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID'982]

ETHIOPIA: Poverty undermining global security - Meles

Also on Monday, addressing a New Partnership for Africa's Development (NePAD) summit in Addis Ababa, Meles warned that global security was being undermined by massive poverty and political instability in Africa. He said huge immigration from the continent had sparked mounting political instability in Europe, leading to the re-emergence of fascism. Meles said the 11 September attacks were conclusive proof of the growing divide between wealthy developed countries and the impoverished third world.

Meles said both the developed world and Africa must seize the opportunity that NePAD offered to escape the problems which had blighted the continent. He argued that NePAD could only work if both Africa and the developed world accepted it as a partnership to be honoured by both sides. He criticized western countries, such as the US, which had called on Africa to open up its markets while at the same time offering massive subsidies to their farmers. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'961]

ETHIOPIA: At least 15 killed in Awasa riots

At least 15 people were shot dead - including two policemen - and 25 injured after security forces and demonstrators clashed in southern Ethiopia on 24 May, the federal authorities confirmed on Monday. Running battles broke out between the police and protesters demonstrating against a change in the political status of the regional capital, Awasa. The deaths mark the worst clashes between police and demonstrators since 39 people were killed and 250 wounded during the Addis Ababa University riots in April last year.

State Minister of Information Netsannet Asfaw told IRIN that armed rioters had been drafted in from nearby towns, bent on looting shops and businesses in Awasa. She said that the protesters opened fire on the police, who shot back in self-defence, and confirmed that 15 people had been killed. About 3,000 protesters took to the streets of Awasa, about 155 miles south of the capital Addis Ababa, on the afternoon of 24 May. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'964]

ETHIOPIA: Wildlife under threat of extinction

Ethiopia is in imminent danger of losing its rare wildlife, the national Institute of Biodiversity Conservation and Research (IBCR) has warned. At least four mammals and two bird species are facing extinction, the Ethiopian-based wildlife institute said. According to experts, the Walia ibex, Ethiopian wolf, mountain nyala and Grevy zebras, as well as the white-winged fluff tail and Ankober Serin bird species are all threatened. The institute said there are only 514 Walia ibex, less than 2,000 mountain nyala and 800 Grevy zebras. Wildlife experts say the rare species - all of which are endemic to Ethiopia - need a population of around 2,500 to survive.

"Unless we start doing something and enhance their conservation they could definitely disappear," said Dr Abebe Demissie, general manager at the IBCR. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID(005]

ERITREA: Ethiopia "essentially contesting" border ruling - Isayas

Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has accused Ethiopia of "conjuring up new pretexts" to challenge last month's ruling on the border between the two countries. Speaking on the occasion of Eritrea's 11th independence anniversary on 24 May, he described the border ruling by an independent Boundary Commission as a "second referendum", which had "reasserted" the country's independence and sovereignty.

On 13 April, the Commission in The Hague issued a "final and binding" verdict on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, following a bitter two-year war. Isayas said the Ethiopian government was "essentially contesting" the decision. "The TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front] regime has conjured up new pretexts, couched in a 'request for clarification'," he said. He urged "those who pamper the TPLF regime" to "reconsider their approach".

In a statement, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) confirmed that the Ethiopian government had, on 13 May, filed a "request for interpretation, correction and consultation" regarding the border ruling. The statement said the request had been sent to the Eritrean government for comment. "In due course, the Commission will give its decision regarding the request," the EEBC statement said. "The pleadings and arguments of the parties in the case are not in the public domain." [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'958]

SOMALIA: Over 60 killed in latest Mogadishu fighting

At least 60 people have died in the latest fighting in Mogadishu, with hundreds wounded, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday. The bloodiest fighting in Somalia in the last few years erupted on Tuesday morning after militia, reportedly loyal to Mogadishu faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow, clashed with forces of the Transitional National Government (TNG) in north Mogadishu, "in the same general area where clashes between the two sides occurred last Friday [24 May]", Muhammad Tahlil, a north Mogadishu resident, told IRIN. The fierce battle lasted "until midday today [Tuesday] when each force returned to its base", he said. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'990]

SOMALIA: Uneasy calm returns to Mogadishu

Two days later, an uneasy calm was reported to be returning to the city, local sources told IRIN. "There is a general calm, with some businesses reopening in north Mogadishu. "Public transport is back on the roads, but of a lesser volume than usual, with some people waiting to see how things develop," a local journalist told IRIN on Thursday."

A humanitarian source in Mogadishu told IRIN on Thursday that the fighting had displaced thousands of families, particularly in north Mogadishu. "There has been a large movement of people in the past two days. Some families are moving back to north Mogadishu today, while others are leaving," he said. "The whole situation is very confused, and people don't know what will happen next." [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID(035]

SOMALIA: Rahanweyn Resistance Army denies split

The Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), which controls the Bay and Bakol regions in southwestern Somalia, has denied reports of a split within its senior ranks which is reputed to be giving rise to tension in Baidoa, capital of Bay Region. Muhammad Ali Adan Qalinle, senior RRA official and governor of Baidoa, the headquarters of the RRA, described the reports as "mere gossip propagated by rumour-mongers and enemies of our people".

There have been persistent reports in the Mogadishu-based media of such a split following the visit of the two RRA vice-chairmen, Shaykh Adan Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, to Ethiopia. They had now had returned to Baidoa after spending over a month in Ethiopia, a local source in Baidoa told IRIN on Tuesday. According to this source, the two had asserted that inasmuch as the RRA chairman, Col Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, was now president of the self-declared South West State of Somalia, Shaykh Aden, the first vice-chairman, should become chairman of the RRA. This had led to rising tension in the town, the source added. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'985]

SOMALIA: Kidnapped UN staffer freed

A UN staff member, who was kidnapped by gunmen in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, last month, was released at the weekend, according to a UN statement. "We all welcome the release of our colleague, Prof Abukar, who was abducted while carrying out his duties as a staff member of the United Nations," said the statement, issued on Saturday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). "The UN strongly condemns attacks on humanitarian personnel, and calls upon all parties in Somalia to respect fully the security and safety of its staff."

Muhammad Ali Abukar was abducted by gunmen while travelling in a bus from his office to his home in the Medina district of southwest Mogadishu. Abukar, who suffers from high blood pressure and was denied access to medical help by his captors, was "physically and emotionally exhausted", but otherwise "is doing fine", a family friend told IRIN on Monday. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'955]

DJIBOUTI: Food supplies for refugees running out

Some 25,000 refugees living in Djibouti are at risk of malnutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday. It said supplies for the refugees were "rapidly running out" and appealed for an emergency 8,000 mt of food to deal with the crisis.

Last month WFP cut the rations for the refugees by 20 percent in an effort to save precious resources. It said in a statement that the refugees were no longer receiving rations of corn-soya blend, a nutritious flour enriched with vitamins, while vegetable oil rations had been halved. "Refugees are now getting rations well below agreed international nutritional standards," said Fatma Samoura, the WFP Representative in Djibouti. "If we do not quickly restore normal rations, malnutrition will sharply increase in the camps." According to WFP, food assistance for the refugees is crucial, because they have no other source of food. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'928]

SUDAN: Investigators say slavery "commonplace"

An international group investigating alleged slavery practices in Sudan has described the abduction of civilians by both government and rebel forces as "commonplace", and called on President Umar Hasan al-Bashir to lead a campaign against the practice. The report by the US-led eminent persons group on slavery, abduction and forced servitude in Sudan, released on 22 May, urged the Bashir to "take the lead in launching a campaign to make clear to all his government's firm opposition to these practices in all their forms." This should include immediate release of all such victims, an announcement of the government's intent to prosecute persons who committed such abuses and the enactment of new criminal legislation, it added.

Of particular concern was a pattern of abuses occurring in conjunction with attacks by pro-government militias known as murahilin on villages in areas controlled by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) near the boundary between northern and southern Sudan, the expert panel said. These abuses were characterised by: capture through abduction; forced transfer of victims to another community; subjection to forced labour for no pay; denial of victims' freedom of movement and choice: and often, assaults of personal identity such as renaming, forced religious conversion, and the prohibition on the use of native languages, the report stated. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID(003]

SUDAN: No rapid solutions in Ugandan anti-LRA campaign

A senior official in the Ugandan army has rejected claims that a number of rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters have offered to surrender following clashes with the Uganda's People's Defence Forces (UPDF) inside southern Sudan. Shaban Bantariza, the UPDF spokesman, told IRIN on Monday that LRA rebels had neither surrendered nor had they been surrounded by the UPDF, as had been reported in the local media.

Radio Uganda reported on 23 May that a "sizeable number" of LRA fighters, including two senior officers, who were under siege by the UPDF, had written to the army seeking to surrender. The UPDF fourth divisional commander, Francis Okello, was said to have "welcomed the idea", and had assured the group that they would be offered an amnesty, the report added. "There was no such thing as a surrender. Some people were just trying to provoke the situation to see what the government was going to say," Bantariza added. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'970]

SUDAN: Food deliveries vital for Nuba ceasefire

A recent resumption of humanitarian aid flows to the rebel-held areas of the Nuba Mountains must translate into the achievement of minimum delivery targets to avert a looming food crisis in the region, according to a group of concerned aid agencies. "At least 3,000 mt of food must be received in Nuba before the end of June, a further 8,000 mt before October, and all planned seed an tool inputs by the end of May," the group said following a recent assessment mission to the areas of the Nuba Mountains held by the SPLM/A.

While it was widely expected that the agreement would be renewed for a further six months, there was a danger that an insufficient or delayed humanitarian response could put the ceasefire in jeopardy. "Without immediate and sustained resolve to ensure that the food crisis is averted and that the mechanisms to oversee the agreement are fully functioning, there is a grave danger that this remarkable achievement will have been prematurely squandered," the agencies' statement said.
[Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'971]

Meanwhile, a grouping of nine prominent aid agencies working in Sudan on 23 May warned of the potential for a worsening humanitarian crisis in the south of the country as increased conflict and ongoing flight bans have cut off access to hundreds of thousands of people at a critical time. "All the conditions are in place for a crisis: lots of fighting, no access for humanitarian assistance, and many frightened, hungry, displaced people," said Jeff Seed, Director of CARE International's operations in southern Sudan. [Full report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID'932]

ALSO SEE:

ERITREA: Interview with Yemane Gebreab, PFDJ political boss at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID'952

ERITREA: Rehabilitation reversing trail of destruction at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID(010

ERITREA: Returnees happy to be home after years away http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID'966

ETHIOPIA: Interview with Afar president at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID'937

SUDAN: Focus on aerial bombing of Rier at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID'939

[ENDS]

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