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Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 19:40:54 +0200 
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN News Briefs, 9 November

CONTENTS:

MOZAMBIQUE: RENAMO supporters killed in demo
MOZAMBIQUE: Donors slow to respond to food appeal
MOZAMBIQUE-ZIMBABWE: Limpopo line reopens
SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: Mbeki snubs Tsvangirai
SOUTH AFRICA: New cholera infections in KwaZulu-Natal
NAMIBIA: Defence spending leaps 
NAMIBIA: Back to normal in Osire refugee camp
ANGOLA: Antonov flights banned

MOZAMBIQUE: RENAMO supporters killed in demo

At least seven people died on Thursday when police dispersed demonstrating
supporters of the opposition RENAMO party in central and northern
Mozambique, AFP said. The dispatch reported police spokesman Nataniel Macamo
as saying that three people died in the northern Cabo Delgado district of
Balama, three in Moma in the central province of Zambezia and one person in
Nampula city, capital of the northern Nampula province. Macamo said the
demonstrators were so aggressive the police had to use force to disperse
them.

The clashes occurred as RENAMO supporters came out on the streets to protest
the outcome of general elections held last year which the party alleged were
rigged. Mozambique's Supreme Court recently ruled that the governing FRELIMO
had won the elections fairly. FRELIMO's general secretary Manuel Tome on
Tuesday had urged Mozambicans not to take part in the anti-government
demonstrations planned by RENAMO, the former rebel movement. Although RENAMO
claimed that the protests were intended to be peaceful, Tome said their real
intention was to create unrest and force FRELIMO into sharing power. 

"In fact, it is not the public who do not accept the election results," Tome
said. "Those who don't accept them are RENAMO and its leader, Afonso
Dhlakama." 

MOZAMBIQUE: Donors slow to respond to food appeal

Donors are yet to adequately respond to a WFP appeal in Mozambique to cover
food assistance for flood victims until March next year.

A WFP official told IRIN on Thursday that "only one or two donors" have
responded to the agency's US $5.8 million extended appeal to cover the
period September 2000 to March 2001. He said the food pipeline was stable
until December, "but after that we'll have to see".

The funding is needed to cover food assistance to 172,000 people a month in
Mozambique, the victims of two devastating cyclones earlier this year. The
WFP official said even if donors contributed to the appeal now, it would
take time for the funds to be translated into food supplies for
distribution. 

MOZAMBIQUE-ZIMBABWE: Limpopo line reopens

After seven months of paralysis, the Limpopo rail line that runs from Maputo
to Zimbabwe reopened on Thursday, PANA reported. The line was severely
damaged during floods that hit southern Mozambique in February. It has
undergone US $7.5 million worth of emergency repair work. However, a
post-flood assessment put the figure needed for a thorough rehabilitation at
US $55 million, PANA reported. 

SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: Mbeki snubs Tsvangirai

South African President Thabo Mbeki has refused to meet with the leader of
Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a spokesman
for the South African leader said on Wednesday. 

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has launched a diplomatic offensive to convince
regional leaders to back his party's calls for Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe to resign and call early presidential elections, PANA reported. He
visited Botswana two weeks ago and held meetings with three cabinet
ministers, labour and business leaders but efforts to arrange similar
meetings with other regional leaders have been fruitless. 

The opposition leader announced in London this week that he would hold
meetings with Mbeki before returning home to ask the South African leader to
put pressure on Mugabe to step down. But Mbeki's spokesman, Nazeem Mahatey,
told Zimbabwean newspapers the South African leader had no scheduled
meetings with Tsvangirai. "As far as I know the president has made it clear
that he only deals with legitimate heads of state and not opposition
parties," he said. 

SOUTH AFRICA: New cholera infections in KwaZulu-Natal

At least 35 new cholera infections have been reported in South Africa's
KwaZulu-Natal over a 24-hour period, but there have been no reports of any
deaths, SABC reported the province's department of health as saying on
Wednesday.

Thirteen cases were reported in the lower Umfolozi districts where the
disease originally broke out, while eight new cases were reported at
Eshowe/Nkandla. A total of 14 new cases were reported in the Ugu region on
the south coast, a new area of infection. The total number of cases reported
stands at 4,516 and the death toll remains at 33.
 
NAMIBIA: Defence spending leaps 

Namibia spent US $13 million in allowances for over 2,000 troops deployed in
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past seven months, Finance
Minister Nangolo Mbumba said on Wednesday. 

Tabling the revised budget for 2000/2001 in the National Assembly, Mbumba
said the unbudgeted expenditure was approved in terms of the Namibia State
Finance Act, news reports said. In addition to the allowances paid to the
Namibian troops in the DRC, the finance minister granted another US $6
million to the defence ministry for the purchase of military equipment. 

Namibia's defence expenditure has soared by over 100 per cent since 1998
when it sent troops to the DRC to back President Laurent-Desire Kabila,
alongside soldiers from Zimbabwe and Angola, Reuters said. The country plans
to spend 65 percent more on defence during the financial year compared to
the 1999/2000 fiscal year. 

NAMIBIA: Back to normal in Osire refugee camp 

The Namibia Red Cross has redeployed all project personnel to the Osire
refugee camp, 150 km north of Windhoek, and activities are back to normal,
the organisation said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Due to the recent introduction of new rules by the government of Namibia
pertaining to the movement of Red Cross personnel and visitors to the
refugee camp, and misunderstandings which occurred, some Red Cross
personnel, including visiting Red Cross colleagues, were denied access to
the camp on 28 October. Subsequently, the Namibia Red Cross temporarily
withdrew some personnel pending the clarification of new rules regarding
access, the statement said.

But it stressed: "At no time was the welfare of the refugees in the camp at
risk. The scheduled food distribution on Thursday 2 November took place as
planned. The issue is being resolved through a series of meetings with all
the parties concerned.  Discussions are ongoing with all concerned to ensure
that there will be no further misunderstandings in the future."
 
ANGOLA: Antonov flights banned

Russian-made Antonov aircraft are forbidden to fly in Angola until
investigators determine the cause of the 31 October crash that killed 44
passengers and crew, the Portuguese Lusa news agency quoted a local report
by Radio Eclesia as saying.
 
The head of the Angolan Civil Aviation Bureau, Branco Ferreira, told
Luanda-based Radio Eclesia on Wednesday that the flight ban covered AN-24,
AN-26 and AN-32 aircraft. Eyewitnesses to the crash in the Mona Quimbundo
region of northeast Angola unanimously said the AN-26 was in flames before
it hit the ground, killing all aboard. However, it has still not been
determined whether the crash was caused by a technical problem or by the
UNITA rebel movement, which claims it shot down the plane. The ban on
Antonov flights, responsible for most domestic air links in Angola, has
caused major problems in some regions not otherwise served by the national
airline TAAG, Lusa said. 
     
[ENDS]

IRIN-SA - Tel: +27-11 880 4633
Fax: +27-11 447 5472
Email: irin-sa@irin.org.za 


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