Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN Weekly Round-up 4-98 16-22 Jan 98.1.23

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[The weekly roundup is based on IRIN daily updates and other relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and the media. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community, but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original sources.]

Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN Weekly Round-up 4-98 covering the period 16-22 Jan 1998

RWANDA: Interahamwe kill 35 in Gisenyi attack

Interahamwe militia on Monday killed at least 35 people when they ambushed a bus carrying workers of the Rwanda Breweries Company in Gisenyi. The Rwanda News Agency said the attackers attempted to separate the employees along ethnic lines, but upon being discovered they opened fire indiscriminately and set the bus alight.

Thousands protest against killings

Some 10,000 people took to the streets of Gisenyi on Wednesday to protest against ongoing violence in the region, the Rwanda News Agency reported. It said they had come from all over the country to bury the victims of Monday's rebel attack. "We condemn the ongoing genocide," read one of the banners. "Collaborators of terrorists should be arrested and punished," said another. RNA said the demonstrators were preceded by a convoy of 15 coffins carrying some of the victims. Life in Gisenyi came to a complete standstill with schools, public offices and businesses closed for the day.

The UN meanwhile warned Rwanda may be on the verge of a new wave of violence after an upsurge of killings in the northwest. Omar Bakhet, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Kigali, interviewed by the BBC, described the situation as "very precarious".

Kagame calls for EU aid

Rwandan Vice President and Defence Minister Paul Kagame, on a visit to Belgium, called for EU aid to Kigali, AFP reported. "We are told we must resolve our problems before we can get aid, but we need this aid to resolve them," he told the European Parliament's development and cooperation committee on Tuesday. "The best way to help us is by refusing to get involved in our problems but getting involved in our solutions," he said.

BURUNDI: More rebel attacks north of Bujumbura

Heavy weapons' fire rocked areas north of Bujumbura over the weekend. Burundi radio said rebels attacked the areas of Gasenyi, Gikungu and Gihosha on Sunday morning. Seven rebels were reported killed as the army repulsed the attack. Three soldiers and a civilian were injured, the radio added. Hundreds of people fled into the surrounding countryside. Local people said the attack had been expected "because so many offences had been committed in the area over the past few days". Humanitarian sources said one civilian was killed, but according to the authorities no civilian lives were lost.

Army spokesman Colonel Isaie Nibizi, speaking on Radio France Internationale, said the fighting followed a rebel attack on a military post at Gikongo. He described the incident as minor, lasting some 30 minutes. AFP said about 500 people had sought refuge in the Johnson and Le Gentil camps, five km north of Bujumbura.

Over 60 die in upcountry violence

In further violence, at least 33 people died in a rebel attack on the southern town of Rumonge on Monday. Twenty of the victims were rebels, the rest being civilians and one soldier, military sources said. On the same day, 32 civilians were killed by rebels in the northwest village of Gitukura, some 100 km northwest of Bujumbura. Military spokesman Colonel Isaie Nibizi blamed the killings on the rebel Parti pour la liberation du peuple hutu (PALIPEHUTU).

Buyoya pledges continued commitment to dialogue

On Wednesday, President Pierre Buyoya told journalists the rebels were too weak to take Bujumbura but his government was still committed to negotiations, Reuters reported. Nairobi representative of the rebel Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD), Innocent Nimpagaritse, however said there was no other solution but to continue fighting. Meanwhile, both sides in the Burundi conflict were represented at an international seminar on conflict resolution in the Tanzanian town of Arusha which opened on Wednesday. Direct talks were not expected, senior diplomats told IRIN.

KENYA: FAO says Rift Valley Fever an international disaster

FAO categorised the outbreak of the haemorrhagic disease Rift Valley Fever as an international disaster, according to the BBC. The UN agency feared that infected mosquitos and animals may spread the disease across national borders. It is already estimated to have killed more than 400 people in flood-swept northeastern Kenya and southern Somalia.

Humanitarian sources told IRIN the flood situation in Garissa town itself was easing. Floodwaters in the area have receded as there has been no rain for about a week. Floodwater is still affecting some of the Daadab refugee camps, particularly Ifo. One of the major problems caused by the recent flooding is that displaced people are coming to the camps in search of humanitarian assistance. Aid workers say it is difficult to screen them for genuine refugees. The main Thika to Garissa road is still cut off by floodwater and it is feared the current dry spell is only a lull. More heavy rain means the situation can change overnight.

Chaos as part of Nairobi-Mombasa road washed away

The main Nairobi-Mombasa road, a lifeline for regional transport, was impassable over the weekend as rains washed away a crucial bridge. According to Kenyan press reports, a 30 km jam built up on both sides of the bridge and hundreds of trucks bringing goods to and from Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda were bogged down in mud. By Monday, the highway was partially reopened after engineers repaired a section of the affected area.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rains threaten Bukavu-Uvira road

Torrential rain caused landslides on the Bukavu-Uvira road and there were fears that continued storms could block the route, humanitarian sources reported. Prices have already doubled in Uvira due to the difficulty in transporting goods along the traditional Dar es Salaam-Kigoma-Uvira supply line. Importers are now exploring the Mombasa-Uganda-Goma link. Meanwhile, the railway bridge from Kalemie to Kindu collapsed, forcing UNICEF to find an alternative route to ferry supplies.

Repatriation to Baraka begins

Some 800 DRC refugees were repatriated by boat from Kigoma to Baraka in eastern DRC last Friday. The operation marked the first direct refugee return to the town, and was facilitated by the building of a port at Baraka by UNHCR. Approximately 85 percent of the returnee caseload in Tanzania are from the difficult-to-reach Baraka and Fizi areas.

Tshisekedi rally barred

Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi was prevented from holding a public meeting on Saturday after police blocked access to the offices of his Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party. AFP said party members had been urged to rally in front of the building. On Friday, Minister of State for Internal Affairs Gaetan Kakudji warned that the ban on political parties remained in force and violators would be brought before a military court.

UGANDA: Museveni to host regional economic summit

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was to host a two-day 13-nation summit on Africa's economic future this Friday and Saturday. Jim Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, was due in Kampala on Thursday. Countries invited were: Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

340 die from cholera

The state-owned 'New Vision' said on Sunday at least 340 people had died from cholera since the first cases were reported last month. Another 6,574 people were said to be suffering from the disease in some 21 of Uganda's 43 administrative districts.

Rebels attack Kitgum refugee camp

NGO sources reported a rebel attack on the Acholpii refugee camp in the northern Kitgum district last Friday. The dawn attack, by members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), occurred after two groups of rebels entered the area and began looting shops. Three refugees were wounded, one seriously. The same camp was attacked in July 1996 when 110 refugees were brutally killed. The sources point out that heightened rebel activity in the Kitgum district is seriously hampering humanitarian activities. UNHCR confirmed the latest attack on the camp which houses some 18,000 Sudanese refugees and described the incident as "unacceptable".

Since late December, some 400 refugees from Rwanda and DRC, have arrived in Uganda's Kisoro district which borders the two countries. UNHCR said there were a total of 27,600 registered Rwandan and Congolese refugees in the area, plus a further 3,000 "unofficial" refugees whom it was assisting on a humanitarian basis.

TANZANIA: Minister warns of famine threat

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Paul Kimiti on Friday warned of the potential threat of famine due to heavy rains which had increased the numbers of vermin and insects attacking food crops. He told a donor meeting in Dar es Salaam food availability would be greatly reduced. Armyworms, rodents and locusts were destroying thousands of hectares of land across the country, he said. In Singida area alone, some 24,000 hectares had been affected. Worst-hit areas included Singida, Dodoma, Tabora, Lindi, Mtwara, Mbeya, Tanga and Morogoro.

ANGOLA: UN says peace process advancing

Talks began on Wednesday between the government and a UNITA delegation to decide on operational details of the planned 400-strong security force for UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. A spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Angola (MONUA) told IRIN that although Wednesday's deadline for a decision may not be met, "in general we can say the peace process is advancing on major issues." The final demobilisation of UNITA troops is slated for 28 January, but delays have been encountered over logistical problems like the lack of forms. Some 7,800 UNITA "residual" forces have been registered, awaiting demobilisation. Eighty-eight localities remain to be handed over to government administration by the end of the month, the spokeswoman said.

CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: DHA calls for urgent action to assist recovery

A DHA report on Congo-Brazzaville released this month warns that "the country appears delicately poised between what might be called a post-emergency and a pre-recovery phase. It is feared that unless action is taken to assist in the move towards a state of normality, the country could revert to a state of dire humanitarian need." According to an Oxfam census, close to 70 percent of residents who fled Brazzaville have returned.

SUDAN: More rebel defections reported

Some 1,600 Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels have defected to government ranks in East Equatoria province, the southern state's governor claimed on Wednesday. Abdallah Kafelo said the defections are "as a result of the peace agreement (of last April) which has met all demands of the southerners," the official SUNA news agency reported, according to AFP. The government has issued a string of reports in recent months of the surrender of large numbers of SPLA rebels. An SPLA source in Nairobi told IRIN on Thursday that "defections in war time are a normal phenomenon." He however disputed the "proportions the government claims" and said Khartoum was "trying to make propaganda".

Nairobi, 23 January 1998

[ENDS]

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Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 11:32:30 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: UN IRIN - Central and Eastern Africa <irin@dha.unon.org> Subject: Central and Eastern Africa: IRIN Weekly Round-up 4-98 16-22 Jan 98.1.23 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.980123113045.21047A-100000@dha.unon.org>