Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 14:23:59 +0300 (BEAUT)
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HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN Update, 7 November 2000


CONTENTS:

SUDAN: UN envoy bemoans ceasefire collapses
SUDAN: Church criticises government bombing campaign
KENYA: Food for 3.9 million people arrives in Mombasa
KENYA: Supplementary feeding in 11 districts
KENYA: Land competition causes tension in Garissa
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN pushes for access to border areas
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Peace mission prepares for next phase
ETHIOPIA: Refugees leave camps after 9 years
ETHIOPIA: Patriarch honoured for helping refugee cause
ERITREA: Water-borne disease problems in Anseba
SOMALIA: Parliament considers government work plan
SOMALIA: Refugees again repatriating from Ethiopia
UGANDA: WFP extends Karamoja relief operation


SUDAN: UN envoy bemoans ceasefire collapses

Ambassador Tom Eric Vraalsen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special
Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, has criticised "the collapse of
the unilateral humanitarian ceasefires" in Sudan which had been in effect
since July 1998. Vraalsen, who chaired a meeting of the Technical
Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (TCHA) in Geneva late last week,
expressed displeasure during the meeting at the cessation of the
ceasefires, and noted the loss of life and damage to property from
war-related ground and air offensives. He said they had resulted in
large-scale displacements of civilian populations, "bringing further
misery to a people who can barely meet their basic needs", according to a
final statement from the meeting.  Vraalsen also urged the parties to
consider establishing an independent Grievance Committee, noting that such
a body could reinforce adherence to ceasefires and build confidence.=20

During the Geneva meeting, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM), parties to the conflict in the Sudan, agreed
to establish a cross-line road corridor from Kenya to southern Sudan, in
order to ensure secure delivery of relief aid to affected Sudanese
populations, a UN press release stated on Monday. The agreement to link
Lokichoggio in northern Kenya to Kapoeta in southeastern Sudan was reached
during this the fourth meeting of the TCHA, held in Geneva from 2-3
November. The participants unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to the
principle of unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to people in
need, and acknowledged the importance of the national campaign to
vaccinate children against polio, following an appeal by Vraalsen, the
final communique stated.=20

SUDAN: Church criticises government bombing campaign

The Catholic Information Office for Sudan on Friday reported that Torit
district, near the Kenyan border, was the latest target of government air
bombardments which had seen the air force drop 60 bombs in 10 days. These
attacks were directed at civilian structures, including schools,
hospitals, churches and cultural facilities, in Nimule, Ikotos, Ngaluma
and now Torit, a press release by the Church office stated. The government
had generated population displacement, created "a climate of fear" and
blocked the progress of projects to stabilise the population, restore
their confidence and involve them in longer-term development. The Office
called for a ban on military planes flying over South Sudan, and demanded
the presence of UN observers to monitor the Sudanese conflict.=20

KENYA: Food for 3.9 million people arrives in Mombasa

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday received a shipment of 21,500 mt
of maize at the Kenyan port of Mombasa for emergency drought distributions
in the country. The consignment, the first instalment of a 40,000 mt ($19
million) pledge by the US government, would be distributed immediately
across the country, providing a maize ration for two months for 3.9
million people, the agency said in a press release. The remaining 18,500
mt was expected in another shipment in the coming days, WFP said. For the
first time since June, a full food ration comprising maize, lentils and
oil would be given to beneficiaries in November and December, it added.=20

Due to sluggish donor response at the beginning of the drought appeal,
coupled with the time lag between donor pledges and food supplies arriving
in Kenya, many donations were only arriving now, Monday's WFP press
release stated. This large donation "has come at a critical time",
allowing the agency to respond to the needs of people in the worst
drought-affected areas in Kenya, it quoted Regional Manager Arthur
Holdbrooke as saying.=20

KENYA: Supplementary feeding in 11 districts

The number of food vulnerable people in Kenya has reached almost 2.89
million, with 659,000 of the most vulnerable in 11 districts to reach
supplementary feeding, according to the latest emergency report by WFP,
released on Friday 3 November. In addition, over 1.04 million children
were being targeted through emergency school feeding, it said. The
supplementary feeding programme is ongoing in 10 districts, with a
particular focus on children under five, women pregnant beyond six months
and nursing mothers with babies up to six months old. All those targeted
for supplementary feeding are also receiving general rations for their
households. The highest number of beneficiaries for supplementary feeding
are currently in Turkana, Mandera, Wajir and West Pokot districts,
according to WFP. In addition to the 10 districts prioritised for
supplementary food under WFP's emergency operation, 33,726 people in
Baringo district are to receive supplementary food from the
nongovernmental organisation World Vision.=20

KENYA: Land competition causes tension in Garissa

An influx of pastoralists from Tana River district caused tension in
Garissa district, eastern Kenya, particularly on the banks of the Tana,
where pastoralists and agriculturists were competing for land space as a
result of the prolonged Horn of Africa drought. The influx comes at a
difficult time in the area, and "suggests that the numbers of vulnerable
people are set to rise", WFP reported on Friday. Meanwhile, the issue of
beneficiary figures continued to be an issue in Wajir District in the
northeast, with the lead implementing agency advocating a higher figure
than that established by WFP and the Government, it said. Inter-tribal
tensions have been reported in Wajir, while banditry continues to be a
problem throughout northern and eastern districts, it added. The impact of
Kenya's worst drought in 40 years seems set to continue beyond December
2000, with long-range forecasts grim for the worst-hit pastoralist and
agricultural communities in the north and northeast - despite the recent
onset of short rains in some parts of Kenya, according to humanitarian
sources.=20

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN pushes for access to border areas

The United Nations has asked Ethiopia and Eritrea to provide access to
people in need along their border, where UN peacekeepers are set to arrive
to oversee the withdrawal of troops, the UN Special Coordinator on
Internal Displacement Dennis McNamara said on Friday, after returning to
the US from the region. "We've asked for that access. ICRC [the
International Committee of the Red Cross] has it, we don't have it, we
should have it -- there are civilians there," McNamara told reporters in
New York.=20

McNamara said there were hundreds of thousands of displaced on both sides
as a result of the past conflict between the two countries. He observed
that these people were "civilians caught in the fighting and, as usual,
the women and children [were] bearing the brunt of the men's war." Despite
this lack of access, the authorities in both countries had responded well
to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). "They welcomed us, were
with us, were in the debriefings, supported the mission's findings and
have been very positive about it," he said. Meanwhile, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is on Tuesday (7 November) expected to
introduce his new Special Representative for the UN Mission in Ethiopia
and Eritrea, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila of Botswana. The new envoy is
scheduled to leave for the Horn region the same day.=20

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Peace mission prepares for next phase

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has completed the second
phase of its deployment, with some 100 UN military observers now on the
ground in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and preparations being made for the final
phase deployment of up to 4,200 military personnel in the two countries,
according to a UN spokesman in New York. In the coming weeks, military
specialists - wearing UN patches and blue berets - would be arriving in
Ethiopia and Eritrea to prepare the ground for the greater body of troops
and "conduct detailed reconnaissance in those areas where their national
contingents are likely to be deployed as members of the peacekeeping
force,"  he said.=20

The reconnaissance teams from the Netherlands, Canada, Jordan, Kenya,
Denmark and Italy would include experts in logistics, operations,
communications and aviation, according to the UN. In assessing possible
deployment locations, they would look into the availability of water,
communication facilities, and safe transportation access - free of
landmine danger - for road vehicles and aircraft. The UN Security Council
established UNMEE in July to monitor a temporary security zone between
Ethiopia and Eritrea, the cessation of hostilities and the repositioning
of troops on both sides under the terms of an OAU-brokered peace
agreement. Arriving in Asmara over the weekend, UNMEE Force Commander
Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert pledged to build on what has been accomplished so
far in the quest for peace. "All are committed to the task ahead and ready
to work with the people and governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea to bring
about a lasting peace," Cammaert said.=20

ETHIOPIA: Refugees leave camps after 9 years

During the past fortnight, about 600 Ethiopian returnees who had been
living in refugee camps since they returned to Ethiopia after the fall of
the Siad Barre regime in Somalia in 1991 were assisted to go back to their
regions of origin within Ethiopia, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said on
Friday. They received the same package as Somali refugees on their
departure, including food and non-food items as well as a transportation
allowance, he said. So far this year, some 7,000 Ethiopians have been
assisted in this manner to start a new life in their home country, he
added.=20

ETHIOPIA: Patriarch honoured for helping refugee cause

The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos, has been
chosen as a recipient of the Nansen Medal awarded annually by the UNHCR to
those who have helped the refugee cause. Paulos, "a renowned scholar,
peace advocate and former exile in the US", has worked on reconciliation
between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a UN press release stated. The refugee
agency this year departed from the usual practice of awarding only one
medal and the Ethiopian cleric was one of four people honoured to mark the
50th anniversary of the UNHCR. The others were: Dr Lao Mong Hay, a
pro-democracy activist in Cambodia; Bosnian film producer Jelena
Silajdzic; and Argentine pianist Miguel Angel Estrella. The medals will be
given out in separate ceremonies to be held in Addis Ababa, Bangkok,
Prague and Buenos Aires later this month, the press release stated. The
Nansen Medal was launched in 1955 by UNHCR=92s first High Commissioner, GJ
van Heuven Goedhart, and named after the Norwegian polar explorer and
humanitarian, Fridtjof Nansen, who was first League of Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees and winner of the 1922 Nobel Prize for Peace.=20

ERITREA: Water-borne disease problems in Anseba

Preliminary findings from monitoring efforts that have followed food
distributions in Aibaba and Gheleb distribution centres in Anseba region,
eastern Eritrea, indicate that the beneficiaries have limited access to
clean drinking water, which has led to incidents of water-borne diseases
such as diarrhoea. Malaria, tuberculosis and pneumonia are also reported
as common diseases in the area, WFP reported in its latest emergency
report.  Malnutrition cases had been on the decrease, according to local
administration officials cited by the WFP. A total of 9,882 mt of WFP food
was distributed to 511,700 beneficiaries in the first 20 days of October,
including to war-affected people in Debub, Gash Barka, and Northern Red
Sea regions, and to drought-affected people in Anseba and Northern Red Sea
regions. Meanwhile, there was ample rainfall in Debub region and the
winter rains appeared to have started early in the Northern Red Sea,
though limited in its spatial distribution, WFP added.=20

SOMALIA: Parliament considers government work plan

The third session of the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia
met on Sunday and Monday in Lafweyn Hotel in the capital Mogadishu to
consider the proposed programme of the interim government of President
Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, according to local media reports. Prime Minister
Ali Khalif Galayr, who called on the MPs to approve the interim
government's working plan, informed members of parliament that ministers
would not be allowed make independent decisions but would be responsible
for implementing the collective decisions and policies made by cabinet.
Galayr also said the interim government would allow and encourage freedom
of the press for the first time in Somalia since 1969, but would expect
media practitioners to be fair, professional and objective in their
reporting, the Mogadishu newspaper 'Qaran' reported.=20

Meanwhile, the BBC on Tuesday reported that the TNG had called upon former
soldiers to register and enrol themselves in army training camps. Defence
Minister Abdullahi Bogor Muse said all former soldiers who were still
physically and mentally fit should register in their regional capitals,
the report said. Somalia has had not national army or police force since
the regime of Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, and former soldiers have
since joined the different factions and militias throughout the country,
it said.=20

SOMALIA: Refugees again repatriating from Ethiopia

The voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from eastern Ethiopia to
northwest Somalia resumed at the end of October, when 3,000 returnees left
the eastern Ethiopian camp of Dharwanaji in two convoys for northwest
Somalia, one of the safest and most stable areas in Somalia. The
repatriation operation, started in March 2000, has been stalled since late
August due to financial constraints, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski told
reporters on Friday. Despite the delay, UNHCR managed to assist a total of
45,000 people with repatriation this year, bringing to 115,000 the number
of Somalis from northwest Somalia repatriated since 1997, Janowski added.
UNHCR plans to continue organising convoys in the coming months for
approximately 130,000 Somalis remaining in eight camps scattered along
Ethiopia's eastern border.=20

The 130,000 Somali refugees in Ethiopia are mostly from north and
northwestern areas of Somalia. There are an additional 164,000 Somali
refugees from southern parts of Somalia in neighbouring countries, most of
them in two camps in Kenya, and others in Jijiga camp in the Somali Region
of Ethiopia. In all, Ethiopia hosts more than 200,000 refugees, a majority
from Somalia but also including people from Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti,
according to UNHCR.=20

UGANDA: WFP extends Karamoja relief operation

A food relief operation for the most vulnerable population in the
drought-affected Karamoja region in northeastern Uganda has been extended
by six months by the WFP, which has appealed for $7.1 million in
additional funding. The operation is expected to provide 12,000 mt of
emergency food to some 190,000 semi-nomadic people living in Moroto and
Kotido districts, who are suffering consequences of a widespread,
drought-related crop failure.  WFP has been feeding drought victims in
Karamoja since April, with the beneficiary number peaking at 250,000
during the hunger gap period in July.  Meanwhile, the Ugandan government
has started sustained efforts to address chronic problems plaguing
Karamoja, such as recurrent drought-induced food shortages, cattle
rustling, ethnic clashes and widespread insecurity.=20

[ENDS]

[IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon=
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