IRIN Update 533 for 28 Oct 1998.10.28

U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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IRIN Update No. 533 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 28 October 1998)

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Lusaka talks end with "draft" agreement

DRC peace talks in Lusaka, Zambia, ended yesterday (Tuesday) without agreement on a truce, but the meeting produced a draft ceasefire accord and a "mechanism" for rebel involvement in its implementation, news agencies said. A statement issued at the end of the two-day meeting said that foreign and defence ministers from 19 African countries had requested Zambian President Frederick Chiluba to continue regional consultations on how to end the war, Reuters reported.

"Proximity" talks between the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) and the government of President Laurent-Desire Kabila will be facilitated by Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, the UN, the OAU and the Southern African Development Community, AFP said.

Burundian refugees in poor shape

Burundian refugees in South Kivu are facing a "fairly serious humanitarian situation", humanitarian sources told IRIN today (Wednesday). The refugees, hosted by the local population, were reported to be in poor health with high malnutrition rates registered, the sources said. UNHCR estimated in July that more than 11,000 Burundian refugees remained scattered in various areas of South Kivu, mainly in the Uvira region. Plans were underway before the start of the conflict to set up sites in the Fizi area to accommodate the refugees. The sources added that Congolese populations stranded for weeks on the Ubwari peninsula, hoping to cross into Tanzania, were starting to return to their home areas in South Kivu.

Conflict-displaced registered

A Christian Aid official told IRIN today that the NGO had registered about 15,000 families displaced in South Kivu as a result of the conflict. The displaced had fled from Goma, Bukavu and Uvira to their home villages in various areas of South Kivu, including Fizi, Kabare, Mwenga and Walungu, the official said.

The displaced, who are staying with local families, have created an extra burden for the host communities that were already facing precarious living conditions, the official said. A survey on the displaced population is currently being conducted.

Meanwhile, WFP reported today that local authorities in Goma have requested assistance for 31,750 people, most of whom have lost their homes following conflict in the area. Humanitarian sources said Goma was presently hosting thousands of displaced persons, mainly from the Masisi and Walikale areas. The Goma displaced have been been integrated into local families, the sources said.

BURUNDI: Attack near Bujumbura

Some 30 people were killed and 20 others wounded in an attack by an "armed gang" some 20 km south of Bujumbura, AFP reported today, quoting state radio. The number of casualties from the overnight attack was still provisional, according to the radio report. The incident occurred in the

town of Kanyosha, where an earlier attack in September had left 14 civilians dead, AFP added.

SUDAN: Senior UN official to seek solutions to conflict

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast is scheduled to travel to east Africa next month to explore how the UN could help end the war in Sudan, the Secretary-General's spokesman said in New York yesterday. The announcement follows a call by SCF, MSF, Oxfam and CARE for a more active UN Security Council role in ending the conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis in the country.

Prendergast will visit Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Khartoum between 9 and 18 November, the spokesman said. During his visit, he will also seek to advance the peace process in Somalia.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Bangui floods displace thousands

At least 5,000 people were made homeless by heavy rains in Bangui over the past several days, AFP said yesterday. Citing Red Cross officials, AFP said the homeless were being housed in public schools. The rains were reported to be continuing in the city.

Nairobi, 28 October 1998 15:00 GMT

[ENDS]

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Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 17:59:36 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: IRIN - Central and Eastern Africa <irin@ocha.unon.org> Subject: Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN Update 533 for 28 Oct 1998.10.28 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.981028175858.29672A-100000@sasa.ocha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, aadinar@sas.upenn.edu