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Part 1 of 2
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME EMERGENCIES UNIT
FOR ETHIOPIA
HORN OF AFRICA REVIEW
20 JULY 1996 - 31 AUGUST 1996
The following is the fourth in a series of updates prepared by the UNDP Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (UNDP/EUE) on the general situation in the countries of the Horn of Africa. Updates cover events in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia and Uganda.
Information in this update has been obtained from UN, NGOs and media reports; reference is made to the sources as appropriate. No claims are made by the EUE as to the accuracy of these reports.
IGAD
The Rwandan government has asked to join the Inter-Governmental
Authority on Development - IGAD (currently comprised
of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda
and Somalia) and the East African Co-operation (comprised
of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) in an effort to boost
the country's economic recovery. The request was announced
by the Rwandan President, Pasteur Bizimungu, at the
end of a four day visit to Kampala in early August.
(IRIN, Nairobi, 12-18 August)
**** It is now anticpated that consultations will take place in Addis Ababa from 9 September to review and refine the project profiles previously presented to the donor community by IGAD. Participants will include members of the IGAD Secretariat, experts from IGAD member states and international partners.
**** A tentative date has also been set for the official
launching of the revitalised IGAD, now expected to
take place 25-26 November 1996 in Djibouti.
(United Nations, Addis Ababa, August)
****
DJIBOUTI
Defectors from the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progres
(government party), who include several ex-ministers
such as Moumin Bahdon Farah, Ahmed Bouleh Barreh, Ali
Mahamade Houmed and Ismail Gedi Hared (former chef
de cabinet) were called to stand trial before a magistrates
court. The four former officials have been charged
with offending President Gouled by drafting a communique
criticising Gouled's policy.
(Indian Ocean Newsletter, 27 July)
ERITREA
Tension on the border between Sudan and Eritrea has been rising with Sudanese rebel groups in Eritrea saying they are mounting attacks into eastern Sudan. Western diplomats meanwhile said Sudan's armed forces have received a number of helicopter gunships from Eastern Europe in the last six months for use against rebel groups. An aid official in the region said the gunships were believed to be Ukrainian but diplomats could not confirm this.
A spokesperson for the UN World Food Programme said
the agency had suspended its food aid operations in
eastern Sudan from 8 July because of insecurity.
(Reuters, Asmara, 29 July) ****
Discussions between Eritrea and Yemen to settle their
territorial conflict over the Hanish Archipelago have
been lengthy. Following the signing of an agreement
by the two countries' foreign ministers (Paris, 21
May) , a first round of discussions was held in the
French capital at the beginning of July, followed by
a second round on 18 July. From these meetings only
a new time and place have been agreed on for continued
negotiations; the delegations of Eritrea and Yemen
are expected to resume talks in Paris 4-5 September.
This rendezvous is very close to the 15 October deadline
for setting up a special arbitration court.
(Indian Ocean Newsletter, 27
July)
**** Meanwhile, the President of the UN Security Council
has told Eritrea it should immediately withdraw its
troops from the Hanish Islands.
(Reuters, United Nations, 7 August)
**** President Issayas Afeworki of Eritrea arrived in
Ethiopia on 27 August to hold discussions with Ethiopian
government officials.
(The Ethiopian Herald, 28 August)
**** The governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia have agreed
to intensify economic, political, cultural and diplomatic
co-operation. A joint communique issued by the fourth
session of the Ethio-Eritrean joint ministerial commission
expressed satisfaction on the progress made in implementation
of economic, political and social agreements, and urged
relevant authorities and institutions to increase efforts
to expedite the implementation of all agreements. A
unit is to be set up in each country to serve as focal
points for co-operation.
(The Ethiopian Herald, 21 August)
**** Quoting Sudanese sources, the latest issue of the
Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Front (opposition
party) newsletter has reported a new split in the Islamic
Jihad (Islamic fundamentalist opposition party) headed
by Abu Sihel. The split, which occurred along regional
ethnic lines, has resulted in two sides: a sessionist
group supported by the Eritrean lowlands population,
and a group formed by the people of the highlands and
the Keren area.
(Indian Ocean Newsletter, 27
July)
ETHIOPIA
Ethiopian forces, supported by tanks, armoured vehicles
and air support have attacked and occupied, on 8 August,
the Somali border towns of Dolow, Luq, Bulohawo and
Bohol Garas. The reports indicated that the hot pursuit
was the result of extended fighting in the border area
between the Ethiopian forces and Muslim fundamentalist
guerrillas of the Al-Itihaad Al-Islam. The group is
suspected of having bombed the Wabi Shebelle hotel
in Addis Ababa on 6 August, and had already claimed
responsibility for an attempt to assassinate the Ethiopian
Minister of Transport and Telecommunication (Abdulmejid
Hussein) in early July, as well as bombing in other
hotels in the country. Reports reaching Nairobi said
stray shells struck the Kenyan town of Mandera, at
the apex of the triangle where Ethiopia, Kenya and
Somalia met.
(Agence France Presse, Mogadishu, 9-10 August)
**** Ethiopian forces crossed the Somali border again on Saturday, 9 August, attacking bases manned by Ethiopian Somalis in the central Galgudud region, according to reports coming into Mogadishu over field radios operated by clan militia. Radio reports indicated that fighting continued into the next day. (Agence France Presse, Mogadishu/Nairobi, 19 August)
**** A statement issued by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 13 August said that a contingent of the Ethiopian defence forces had taken military action in hot pursuit of a multi-national fundamentalists extremist group which for sometime has been engaged in terrorist activities along the Ethio-Somalia border and in other areas within Ethiopia.
The statement said a limited military counter-offensive
launched by a contingent of the Ethiopian defence forces
against the terrorist group on the night of August
8, and well into the following day, was essentially
aimed at destroying the bases and sanctuaries of the
multinational terrorist group, adding the operation
was concluded after the objectives set for it were
achieved. The spokesman said anti-aircraft and anti-tank
rocket launchers were seized during the offensive,
and gathered documents revealed the groups in Somalia
were designed to destabilise not only Ethiopia but
also other countries in the Horn of Africa
(Ethiopia News Agency, Addis Ababa & Reuters,
Nairobi, 13 August & Statement of the
Ethiopian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
**** According to the Ethiopian Television (ETV) the
Ethiopian Defense Force killed 232 fundamentalists
and destroyed three military camps during its military
operation in Somalia. The television, citing a government
spokesman, said that several fundamentalists (supporters
of the Al-Itihaad Al-Islam) were injured in the operation,
about a dozen were taken prisoner.
(Agence France Presse, Addis Ababa, 15 August)
(Ethiopian News Agency, Addis Ababa, 15
August)
**** The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi will
make an official visit to Japan on 17 September. During
his four day visit, the Ethiopian premier is expected
to meet with his Japanese counterpart Ryutaro Hashimoto
and Emperor Akihito.
(Agence France Presse, Tokyo, 20
August)
**** A news release from the United States Embassy in
Addis Ababa has indicated that the US Government is
granting 2.92 million dollars to the Organisation for
African Unity in support of the OAU's Conflict Resolution
Mechanism. The funds are especially earmarked for equipment
and personnel focused on conflict prevention, management
and resolution.
(USIS, Addis Ababa, 8 August)
**** Unusually heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in the Awash river basin (Koka reservior). Although accurate figures are not available, as many as 30,000 people may have been affected by these floods.
The Government of Ethiopia has set up a task force to
coordinate relief efforts
and preposition relief items. According to government
sources, the situation is well in hand and an international
appeal will not be launched at the present time.
(United Nations, Addis Ababa, August)
**** The economic committee of the Global Coalition
for Africa (GCA) met in Addis Ababa 26 August to discuss
African debt alleviation and agricultural development.
The two-day committee meeting also discussed the issue
of African reform programmes, a subject which is also
scheduled for in-depth review at the GCA annual conference
in October 1996.
(The Ethiopian Herald, 25-27 August)
**** Two people were killed and 10 injured as a result
of the 6 August bomb blast at the Addis Ababa Wabi
Shebelle Hotel. The blast took place in the early evening
near the main entrance of the hotel.
(Seven Day Update, 12 August)
KENYA
The ruling Kenyan African National Union dismissed calls
by opposition groups for an inter-party meeting to
discuss the make-up of an electoral commission, saying
they could only submit such a proposition to President
Daniel arap Moi. Under the Kenyan constitution only
the president can nominate members of an electoral
commission.
(Daily Nation, Nairobi, 5 August)
**** A UN relief flight from Burundi was turned back
by Kenya on 6 August as part of the economic sanctions
against the central African state. Economic sanctions
were imposed against Burundi by the Governments of
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon
and Zaire on 31 July, following the change of Government
by the Tutsi-dominated army (supporters of the newly
elected Tutsi president, Major Pierre Buyoya) a week
earlier.
WFP Rome also indicated concern that East African sanctions
against Burundi could stop relief food aid being delivered
to hundreds of thousands people, exacerbating the emergency.
Requests by the UN for permission to dispatch food aid
to more than 700,000 war refugees in Burundi were forwarded
to the presidents of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
(Reuters, Nairobi & Rome 31-6 August,
1996)
SOMALIA
At least nine people were killed and another 12 wounded
in renewed fighting between rival Somali factions.
According to witnesses, clashes began on 28 July near
Balidogle airport (90 kms south-west of Mogadishu),
which Ali Mahdi forces had earlier claimed to have
captured, but which the Aideed faction later recaptured
on 26 July.
(Reuters, Mogadishu, 2 August)
**** Somali warlord, Mohamed Farah Aided, who died from
wounds sustained in factional fighting, was buried
on Friday, 2 August near his home is southern Mogadishu
at a ceremony attended by thousands of mourners. Shortly
after his burial, his main rival Ali Mahdi Mohamed
called an immediate cease-fire and said he was ready
to improve dialogue with Aideed's successors.
Humanitarian sources in Nairobi said they feared Aideed's
death could precipitate further violence, as his supporters
sought to wreak revenge. At the same time, his death
could remove a serious political obstacle to peace.
HORN OF AFRICA REVIEW Part 2 of 2
(Agence France Presse, Mogadishu, 2 August)
**** With the death of Somali faction leader Mohamed
Farah Aideed as a result of wounds inflicted during
inter-clan conflicts, Hussein Aideed was named his
father's successor. Hussein Aideed, 31, who is a US
citizen and ex-marine, was swiftly enlisted to fill
in the vacuum left by the death of his father (1 August).
(Reuters, Mogadishu, 2 August)
**** Opponents of slain Somali warlord Aideed said they had put their forces on alert after Aideed's son, Hussein Aideed, took over as his father's successor. Clan leaders, who had joined forces against Aideed, said his followers had thrown away a chance for peace by choosing his 31-year-old son to head the self-declared government, which is only recognised by Libya and Sudan. "We have put our forces on alert and Hussein will bear the consequences of his actions," said Ali Mahdi Mohamed, leader of opposing clan militia based in north Mogadishu.
In a radio contact with Nairobi, Osman Ali "Atto", another Aideed rival and ally of Ali Mahdi with forces in south Mogadishu, said the election of Hussein Aideed would further ignite the already complicated situation in Somalia.
In the aftermath of Aideed's death, Ali Mahdi had initially urged all factions to join peace talks, but with the new developments told reporters that ". . . unfortunately it is a lost opportunity (for peace)," indicating he and Osman "Atto" will now have to ". . . reconsider the unilateral cease fire that we recently adopted."
Hussein Aideed, addressing his first rally on 4 August,
told an estimated 10,000 supporters that he would promise
to lead them " . . . in the footsteps of Mohamed
Farah Aideed." This "no change" message
and the strong reaction of opposition leaders has dashed
the thin hopes of some Somalis that Mohamed Farah Aideed's
death may lead to a quick peace.
(Reuters, Mogadishu 5-6 August)
**** UN Security Council members on 6 August urged factions in Somali to take advantage of the situation created by the death of warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed and declare a truce. According to the Council President, Tono Eitel, "they (the factions) were asked for a peaceful settlement to their conflict and to refrain from any action which might lead to a further worsening (of the situation)." Eitel said the Council would be discussing the issue of Somalia (closed session) on 13 August. (Reuters, United Nations, 6 August)
**** Asked to comment on the events in Somalia (relating to the death of Mohamed Farah Aideed) at the regular US State Department briefing on 2 August, spokesman Nicholas Burns called on all factions "to exercise restraint and to end hostilities." Asked if the US would mount another diplomatic effort to bring the factions together in Somalia, Burns commented that ". . . the United States does not recognise any government in Somalia . . . However, Embassy officers . . . visit Mogadishu from time to time to have talks with the various factions," adding that "we've repeatedly urged a peaceful approach to problem-solving between the faction. . . Our (US Government) hope now is that it can be a more peaceful dialogue." (USIA, Washington - USIS, Addis Ababa, 5 August, 1996)
**** The UN Security Council on Tuesday urged international
compliance with a UN arms embargo (in place since January
1992) against Somalia amid reports that factional
fighting had again broken out following the death of
Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed. Council president
Tono Eitel of Germany said the Security Council reminded
"all states, in particular neighbouring countries,
of their obligation to implement fully the general
and complete embargo imposed on all deliveries of
weapons and military equipment to Somalia."
(Agence France Presse, United Nations 13
August)
**** A group of 10 Somali refugee representatives visited
north-west Somalia on 14 August to review the start
of a UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) programme
to promote the voluntary repatriation of some 275,000
Somali refugees currently in Ethiopia. The group crossed
Ethiopia's border town of Teferiber last Saturday and
entered Somalia through Togwajale and to examine 10
potential returnee areas which have enjoyed relative
peace and stability over the past 19 months.
(UNHCR press statement, Agence
France Presse, Nairobi, 14 August)
****
A Somali faction leader denied his forces fought alongside
Ethiopian troops in a thrust into western Somalia to
oust Moslem fundamentalists. Omar Haji Mohamed, a former
general in the Somali army, who heads the Somali National
Front of the Marexaan sub-clan, refused at a news conference,
however, to condemn the Ethiopian incursion.
(Reuters, Mogadishu, 14 August)
**** At least 14 people were killed in clan fighting
between forces loyal to Ali Mahdi Mohamed and Hussein
Aideed. Officials at three hospitals in Mogadishu said
22 people were wounded in fighting over control of
Balad, a town 30 kms north of the capital. Aideed's
radio station said Balad had been seized by his forces,
but a spokesman for Ali Mahdi's alliance denied the
report.
(The Ethiopian Herald, 13 August)
**** International initiatives were underway to convene peace talks between warring Somali factions, but it appeared unlikely all factions would agree to sit round the same table, faction sources said Thursday.
South Mogadishu faction leader Osman Hassan Ali "Atto" is currently in the Yemeni capital Sanaa for preliminary talks on an Arab League proposal for a conference in Cairo, and north Mogadishu leader Ali Mahdi Mohamed is expected to join him there shortly.
The Ethiopian government has meanwhile issued invitations
for factions to meet in Addis Ababa. Delegations representing
both Ali Mahdi and south Mogadishu warlord Hussein
Aidid were due to travel to the Ethiopian capital soon.
An Aidid faction spokesmen, however, has said that
they were planning only to hold discussions with Ethiopian
officials on the cross border attacks into Somalia
by Ethiopian troops earlier this month.
(Agence France Presse, Mogadishu, 29 August)
SUDAN
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) accused, on
30 July, a Canadian company and its British financiers
of colluding with the Government of Khartoum and has
warned them to leave Southern Sudan. The SPLA believes
that Khartoum is stealing oil and moving it by barges
on the White Nile river.
(Reuters, Nairobi, 30 July)
**** According to a UN Security Council source on 5 August, UNSC members were considering an air embargo against Sudan. The new mandatory sanctions (in addition to existing ones) would include a ban on international flights by Sudan Airways and other Sudanese government aircraft and closing the airline's offices abroad. A Security Council Committee would be set up to oversee the sanctions.
The Sudanese Government, however, has called the move
by the UNSC as unfair and stated it wants to discuss
outstanding problems (referring to UN sanctions imposed
following the assassination attempt on the life of
President Mubarak of Egypt). Sudan opposes the UN sanctions
on the grounds that Ethiopia and Egypt have withheld
information on the assassination attempt but has so
far refused to hand over the alleged suspects.
(Reuters, United Nations, 5 August &
Nairobi 12 August; ENA, Addis Ababa,
15 August)
**** Egypt reiterated on 6 August its strong refusal
to impose tougher sanctions against Sudan, which has
been facing UN diplomatic and travel sanctions for
several months, but warned Khartoum it could not keep
up this stance for long. An Egyptian Foreign Ministry
official urged Sudan to fulfil the Security Council's
resolutions so sanctions are not increased.
(Reuters, 6 August)
**** The Government of Sudan gave approval, on 8 August,
for the United Nations Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS)
to undertake relief flights to Pochalla, a flood-stricken
area on southern Sudan's eastern border with Ethiopia.
Following requests of the United Nations for clearance
by the Sudanese Government, Sudan's Permanent Representative
to the UN, in letter to the UN Under-Secretary General
for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, reiterated
that "the primary and main concern of my (the
Sudanese) government is to ensure the safe and prompt
provision of humanitarian assistance to the affected
population of all the southern Sudanese citizens."
OLS officials called this a welcome development, stating
that relief assistance would start with an immediate
assessment of the situation.
The first airlift of relief supplies to the affected
population (reported to be between 15,000 - 25,000)
began on 13 August, co-ordinated by the World Food
Programme. Relief supplies would include WFP relief
food and medical supplies provided by UNICEF and Medecins
sans Frontieres.
(UN-OLS Press Release, Nairobi, 9 August)
**** Sudan, on 14 August, appealed for help to cope
with floods that have left many homeless in central
and southern Sudan. A statement carried by the government
news agency Sudan News Agency (SUDA) called on relief
organisations to help avoid epidemics, reporting that
the Sudanese civil defence force was put on alert following
the recent floods.
On 15 August, the Ministry of water resources warned
of the possibility of further rises in the levels of
both the Blue and White Niles.
(Reuters, Khartoum 14-15 August)
**** The Zurich-based Christian Solidarity International
has accused Sudan's National Islamic Front (NIF) Government
of not only persecuting the country's Christians, but
also waging war against a Muslim minority group. According
to a report on Radio Deutsche Welle, two leading members
of CSI, who briefed UN human rights investigators in
Geneva, claimed to have witnessed oppression of the
Muslim Beja tribe during a secret visit to northern
Sudan earlier in August.
(The Ethiopian Herald, 10 August)
**** According to an official of the Sudanese army,
Eritrean forces with armoured vehicles attacked the
border town of Jabal Abu Qamal on 15 July.
(Foreign Report, 1 August)
UGANDA
According to UNHCR Geneva, rebels of the Lord's Resistance
Army killed 107 Sudanese refugees at a camp in northern
Uganda, injuring many and destroying 350 huts and a
health centre. The camp, which is home to 15,000, was
attacked over a two day period by the LRA rebels. Many
refugees fled the camps into the surrounding countryside
during the attack.
A UNHCR official told Radio France International that
the in addition to the high death rate, UNHCR vehicles
had been taken and their warehouses destroyed during
the attacks. One World Food Programme driver was reported
missing.
(West African 22-28 July & USIA,
Geneva, 16 July)
**** According to the state-owned newspaper "New
Vision", on 4 August the Lord's Resistance Army
(LRA) had carried out a raid on an army unit in the
northern village of Kilak, killing 24 civilians. The
raid was said to have been an apparent attempt to recapture
a strategic base lost to army troops in July.
(Reuters, Kampala, 28 July and 6 Aug
& New Vision Newspaper, 6
August)
****
Uganda has stepped up its fight against the Lord Resistance
Army Christian rebels (supporters of Joseph Kony's
LRA) with sweeping changes in top military ranks and
increase defence spending.
President Museveni announced an extensive military shake-up,
sacking eight top officers and rearranging 23 others,
in a move to boost the fight against northern insurgents.
The Finance Ministry also announced defence spending
would rise to US 131.4 million dollars in the 1996/7
financial year - an increase of 6.9 percent.
(Reuters, 7 August)
**** The Ugandan Parliament has ordered its select committee
on defence and internal affairs to investigate insurgency
by the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) in the northern parts
of the country and make recommendations on how to resolve
the conflict. LRA rebels, although claiming they are
fighting to overthrow the Ugandan President, Yoweri
Museveni, have killed hundreds of civilians this year.
(IRIN Nairobi, 12-18 August)
**** Fresh doubts are being voiced about the credibility
of Uganda's new parliament, following a statement by
President Museveni's senior legal advisor denouncing
the 27 June parliamentary elections as undemocratic.
The criticism follows that of opposition leaders and
is reported to be a further blow to an exercise already
condemned as flawed.
(IRIN, Nairobi, 12-18
August)
**** Baroness Lynda Chalker, British overseas aid minister,
said on 7 August she was cancelling a trip to Burundi
in line with sanctions imposed by East African regional
leaders.
Chalker's announcement, on a stop over in Kampala during
a regional visit, was the first sign of support for
action against the military government of Buyoya from
a member of the UN Security Council.
(Reuters, Kampala, 8 August)
**** The Ugandan parliament has approved the request
of President Museveni to increase the number of cabinet
ministers from 21 to 25, and deputy ministers from
21 to 36. This change is intended to accommodate ethnic
and religious balance.
(The West African, 15-21
July)
**** A newly created rebel group, the Equatorial Nile
People's Liberation Army (ENPLA), has appealed to the
United Nations for the creation of safe havens for
the indigenous people of Uganda's western region of
Karamoja. The ENPLA has called on the people of the
region to take up arms and fight for regional autonomy.
(IRIN, Nairobi, 12-18
August)
**** Ugandan government troops battled rebels in a suburb
of the main northern town of Gulu (a provincial capital
345 kms north of Kampala) following LRA attacks on
a military post outside the town. There were no reports
of casualties on either side.
(Reuters, Kampala, 14 August)
**** The Ugandan National Task Force, (headed by Local
Administration Minister, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, and
including several key personalities) which successfully
ran President Museveni's re-election campaign, is now
trying to transform itself into a new secretariat within
the National Resistance Movement (governmental).
(Indian Ocean Newsletter, 27
July)
****
From: UNDP__EUE_at_UNECA@un.org Date: Fri, 06 Sep 96 12:01:56 EST Message-Id: <9608068420.AA842061312@mail-out.un.org> Subject: Horn of Africa Review - August 1996