Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 16:52:32 +0300 (BEAUT)
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HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN News Briefs, Tuesday 25 April

CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: Hungry families cross into Kenya
ETHIOPIA: Kenyan residents complain of border aggression
ETHIOPIA: Hit by AIDs pandemic
ETHIOPIA: War crimes officers released
SOMALILAND: Ethiopian delegation visits airports
SOMALIA: Cholera epidemic
SOMALIA: Talks held in Ethiopia
SOMALIA: Puntland seizes ships
KENYA: Minors in Kakuma Refugee Camp need protection



ETHIOPIA: Hungry families cross into Kenya

More than 200 Ethiopian families camping at Dukana border town, Marsabit,
are threatened with eviction by Kenyan authorities, who say Ethiopians
migrating because of hunger have put stress on local resources and
populations. According to Kenya media reports, Marsabit District
Commissioner Joash Miyoma told local journalists in Marsabit town that
while there was "sympathy" for hunger-stricken Ethiopians in the North
Horr border region, there was only enough relief food to feed locals. He
appealed to the Ethiopian government to take responsibility for the
families.  The Ethiopians have been given two weeks to leave voluntarily,
or face forcible eviction by the Kenyan authorities. Locals have been
warned against sharing food with migrating Ethiopians. 

ETHIOPIA: Kenyan residents complain of border aggression

Kenyan residents of the northern border towns of Moyale, Isiolo and
Marsabit have appealed for protection against alleged aggression by the
Ethiopian government, the Kenyan 'Daily Nation' reported. An opposition
spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Galgalo, claimed Ethiopia is targeting local
Borana people whom it accuses of harbouring the rebel Oromo Liberation
Front. A former Kenyan administration police officer was quoted by the
newspaper as saying there was a grenade attack on his Moyale home after he
appeared before the Moyale District Security Committee last month to
complain. Others who appeared have allegedly been kidnapped or killed.
There have been reports of OLF activity in the northern Kenyan border area
since the movement left the Ethiopian coalition government in 1993, and
local officials have blamed the OLF for recent mine explosions on Kenyan
border roads. There have also been reports of Ethiopian troops pursuing
OLF rebels inside Kenyan territory.  However the Kenyan government has
denied it is accommodating the rebels. 

ETHIOPIA: Hit by AIDS pandemic

President Negasso Gidada admitted that Ethiopia has become one of the
countries hardest hit by the AIDs pandemic. While launching the National
AIDS Council he said 9.3 percent of the population aged between 15 and 45
are HIV positive according to "foreign experts", state television
reported. The launch was attended by several ministers, religious
dignitaries, diplomats and NGO representatives. President Negasso said
Ethiopia's fight against AIDS had been held back because of poor
coordination. Ethiopia initiated HIV awareness and AIDs projects after the
fall of Mengistu Haile Miriam in 1991, when it faced the return and
demobilisation of some 400,000 soldiers, one of Africa's largest armies.
In the early 1990's - in a tacit recognition of the size of the problem -
consultants from Uganda were brought in. According to President Negasso
and head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abuna Paulos, AIDS had affected
"the most productive forces in the country", Ethiopian state radio said. 

ETHIOPIA: War crimes officers released

Since 19 April, 10 officials from Mengistu Haile Mariam's regime have been
released on bail after nearly nine years in detention, the private
Ethiopian press reported. They are among hundreds of officials charged
with human rights violations and war crimes. The 10 included three
ministers and an air force brigadier. It is the third group of officials
from the former regime released by the state. 

SOMALILAND: Ethiopian delegation visits airports

An Ethiopian delegation, including representatives from the ministries of
foreign affairs and transport, visited Somaliland to assess its airports,
reported local Somaliland newspapers. Somaliland's foreign affairs
minister, Mohamed Salah Nur Fagadhe said the mission examined how airports
in Somaliland could be used in airlifting supplies donated by the
international community to regions affected by famine in Ethiopia. The
delegation also visited Berbera port. 

SOMALIA: Cholera epidemic

A cholera epidemic currently sweeping southern Somalia has killed hundreds
of people, health officials say. According to Reuters, some 50 people have
died in Dinsor and Qansahdhere in the Bay region in the last few days, and
nearly 400 deaths have been recorded over the last two weeks. Lack of
institutions and communications in Somalia means the death rate is likely
to be higher than official estimates. Local officials and spokesmen warn
that prolonged drought and hunger have made people vulnerable to the
epidemic.  International news agencies are quoting local authorities who
say an average of five people a day in Gedo are dying from a combination
of disease and drought.  WFP has appealed for aid to feed 600,000 Somalis
affected by drought, particularly in north and northwest Bakool and Gedo.
On Sunday a convoy of about 50 trucks carrying food donated by WFP and
Care International reached Baidoa from Mogadishu, becoming the first
successful delivery on that route for nine months. The convoy carried 580
mt of maize, sorghum, beans and porridge for Bay and Bakool regions, and
was escorted by heavily-armed militiamen. Insecurity increased in the
region when the controlling militia, the Rahanweyn Resistence Army, was
accused by Mogadishu-based leader Hussein Aideed of receiving arms from
Ethiopia. 

SOMALIA: Talks held in Ethiopia

The Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) chairman, Mohamed Hasan Nur,
reportedly held talks in Addis Ababa with members of the Digil and Mirifle
clans to discuss ways of ending local clan conflict. The issue of drought
and hunger in the Bay and Bakool regions was also raised, and an appeal
sent out to international aid agencies to get assistance to the area, the
Mogadishu "Ayaamaha" newspaper reported. 

SOMALIA: Puntland seizes ships

Puntland officials say they have seized a Spanish trawler fishing
illegally in northwestern Somalia. A statement issued by the navy
headquarters in Bossaso port said the ship, the Al-Bacora Quattro, had 24
crew members aboard and was carrying 400 mt of skipjack tuna. The trawler
is reported to be operating on an illegal fishing licence. Since the
central government collapsed in 1991, defunct fishing authorities and
illegal companies - some based in European countries - have continued to
issue fishing licences without the agreement of local Somali authorities. 
Puntland officials have also reported seizing a ship belonging to a Swiss
firm, arresting six crew, carrying some 400,000 mt of fish. 

KENYA: Minors in Kakuma Refugee Camp need protection

Unaccompanied children are likely to suffer in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp
after missing out on a major resettlement initiative in the US by the
State Department, says a Refugees International bulletin. The "great
majority" of the unaccompanied minors are survivors of an "unpublicised
massacre of several thousands"  near Sudan refugee camps in Ethiopia in
June 1991, during the overthrow of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile
Miriam, says the report.  An estimated 1,500 unaccompanied minors remain
in the camp where resettlement is slowed by underfunding and
understaffing. Most suffer from anxiety and depression, and are alone in a
situation they still perceive as dangerous.  The Refugees International
report recommends a new system of priority, additional funding and renewed
consideration for resettlement of unaccompanied minors by third countries
that customarily accept Horn of Africa refugees.

[ENDS]

[IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail:
irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ]





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