IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up covering the period 25 November – 1 December 2000

CONTENTS SOMALIA: Libya reportedly in attempt to broker talks SOMALIA: Budget and livestock agreement SOMALIA: EU delegation visits Mogadishu SOMALIA: Appeal emphasises Somalia’s needs SOMALIA: Cholera reportedly kills 35 in Adale SOMALIA: Southern areas hit by flooding SUDAN: More government bombing raids SUDAN: Bashir welcomes al-Mahdi’s return ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: First land access route opened ETHIOPIA: Mine awareness successful ETHIOPIA: Feeding centre re-opened in Denan ETHIOPIA: Patriarch attends US HIV/AIDS summit

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SOMALIA: Libya reportedly in attempt to broker talks Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, leader of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, has been invited to Libya. There has been no confirmation of his arrival in Libya despite reports by local Somali media that he had left by plane from Garoowe, Puntland. Diplomatic sources told IRIN that the Libyan government would attempt to broker talks between Abdullahi Yusuf and President Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, who is currently paying an official visit. Spokesman for the Somali government Idris Hasan Diriye told the BBC on Wednesday that Abdiqasim was waiting for more information from the Libyan government regarding the talks. This would be the third attempt to broker talks between the Puntland leader and the new government. Faction leaders had twice been invited by the President Ali Abdullah Salih of Yemen for talks, including an inconclusive attempt this week, Somali political sources said. SOMALIA: Budget and livestock agreement The presidents of Libya and Somalia have signed a trade agreement, which includes a pledge from Libya to contribute to the new national Somali budget. Spokesman for the Somali government Idris Hasan Diriye told the BBC in an interview from Tripoli, Libya, that the interim government had drawn up a US $470 million budget. Libya had pledged to meet a share of the budget, he said. According to the spokesman, the Libyan government had also promised to buy 120,000 goats and 20,000 camels from Somalia annually, as well as fruits and vegetables. Humanitarian sources confirmed to IRIN that Libya had announced its intention of purchasing 120,000 head of livestock, which would begin over the next four months. The agreement was unprecedented, and would be a boost for Somalia at a time when its regional livestock exports had been arrested by a ban imposed by the Gulf states due to Rift Valley Fever, said the source. The animals are likely to be transported by sea and air, with part of the cargo consisting of chilled meat. SOMALIA: EU delegation visits Mogadishu A delegation led by the European Union (EU) representative to East Africa, Sigurd Illing, made a three day visit to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, this week. Illing met the prime minister on Tuesday, and held talks with the Speaker of parliament, Abdullah Derow Isaq, on Wednesday. The EU delegation is on a tour of Somalia and the region, including Hargeysa, in the self-declared state of Somaliland, and Djibouti. Diplomatic sources said UN security personnel were known to be “extremely cautious” over opening up access to Mogadishu, but other international organisations were beginning to review means of engagement now that President Abdiqasim Salad Hasan’s government was in place. Emphasis was placed on progress made in peace talks with faction leaders, and reconstruction. According to the source, the recent visits to Mogadishu of the Nairobi-based Italian envoy to Somalia, Francesco Sciortino, and Illing, indicated a new willingness to visit the capital, which had been virtually abandoned by international organisations for the past five years. Mogadishu - laid to waste by competing faction leaders - has been shunned on account of its lawlessness, politically-motivated assassinations and kidnappings, militia-manned road blocks, and the absence of a usable airstrip. By contrast, the self-declared state of Somaliland in northwest, and the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, have attracted aid and diplomatic attention. Efforts by the new government to establish forces of law and order were in the early stages, said the source. SOMALIA: Appeal emphasises Somalia’s needs Somalia appeared at the top of the list in the annual appeal to donors by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The appeal focused in particular on the needs of three countries, including Somalia, said an FAO press release issued in Rome, 29 November. Highlighting the problems of Somalia, Tajikistan and Angola, the FAO appealed for some US $101.5 million for Somalia alone. It said special emphasis would be put on Somalia’s “governance and development, mine awareness and the return of Somali nationals with relevant qualifications”. Food security, health and nutrition also figured high up on the list of proposed projects, said the appeal. Full details of the appeal can be found at http://www.reliefweb.int with further FAO information available on http://www.fao.org SOMALIA: Cholera reportedly kills 35 in Adale At least 35 people were confirmed dead and another 80 were in hospital in Adale, central Somalia, the transitional health minister, Ahmad Shaykh Mahmud ‘Amore’, told IRIN on Monday. The worst-hit areas were the villages of Masajid, Ali Gadud and Gel Gub, all in the vicinity of Adale town, he said. According to ‘Amore’, there were also suspected cases of cholera in the Gubta and Buulo Huubey areas in south Mogadishu, and in Karan in the north of the city. So far no deaths had been reported in the capital, and both people and the government were organising emergency help to send to Adale, he said. The WHO told IRIN that they had not yet confirmed that what was happening in Adale was an outbreak of cholera. Dr Firdosi Mehta, a medical officer with WHO Somalia, said stool samples from the affected people would be sent to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday or Tuesday for analysis. WHO did have reports of “increases in diarrhoea cases in Adale,” he said. According to Dr Mehta, 65 cases and three deaths were reported to WHO, which had “repositioned supplies for initial response” and had a cholera plan in place in every region. Local health workers “appear to have things under control,” Dr Mehta added. The local health team consists of nine nurses and three auxiliaries, supportedby a doctor sent by UNICEF. SOMALIA: Southern areas hit by flooding Large areas of the Juba Valley in southern Somalia have been flooded, with thousand of hectares inundated, according to sources close to the office of the new prime minister, Ali Khalif Galayr. The floods had destroyed farms, livestock and houses in the Lower and Middle Juba regions, the source added. Kismaayo businessman Adan Hasan Dhakoke told IRIN that all business activity between Kismaayo and Mogadishu had come to a halt because the main road linking the two cities had been cut by the floods. Meanwhile, UNICEF reported that the situation did not appear grave. “There is flooding, but at this point it does not look massive,” said UNICEF emergency officer Sheldon Yett. So far, the information available to agencies indicated that 100 families in Arare village, north of Kismet, had been affected, and UNICEF had already distributed blankets, sandbags and mosquito nets, Yett said. UNICEF was monitoring the situation and would “respond accordingly”, the official added. The problem of flooding is exacerbated by farmers, who intentionally breach river embankments as a means of irrigating their farms, according to humanitarian sources. SUDAN: More government bombing raids Sudanese government planes carried out several bombing raids in the Eastern Equatoria region at the weekend, demolishing part of a school and causing people to flee in panic, humanitarian sources said on Monday. The attacks began on 24 November in Twic county, when 14 bombs were dropped in three raids, hitting the Panlit missionary school. Two classrooms were demolished and most of the 700 children at the school fled into the bush in panic or returned to their villages. A spokesman for the Sudan Production Aid (SUPRAID) NGO, which works in the area, told IRIN the children were slowly returning from the bush, but were too afraid to resume classes. See http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/sudan/20001127.phtml SUDAN: Bashir welcomes Mahdi’s return Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir has welcomed the return of opposition leader al-Sadiq al-Mahdi. Mahdi, leader of Ummah Party (UP), received an ecstatic welcome at the airport by supporters on 23 November, news agencies said. The official Sudanese news agency (Suna) said on 24 November that the ruling party, the National Congress, and the UP were close to concluding an agreement. Bashir affirmed that Mahdi could participate in the political life of the country in the government, or in opposition, Suna stated. Al-Mahdi met Bashir on Saturday and the two discussed ways of ending the civil war in Sudan, Reuters news agency reported. ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: First land access route opened The first land corridor has been successfully opened between Ethiopia and Eritrea for use by the United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNMEE). UNMEE Force Commander Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert and several key staff members travelled in a two-vehicle convoy by road from Adi Keyih in Eritrea, along the Adigrat road into Ethiopia, an official UNMEE statement said on Tuesday. The Force Commander and his party were met by senior military officials on both sides, and checkpoint crossings were facilitated on both sides by UN military observers. According to the UNMEE statement, the crossing “is a positive step in the ongoing effort to peacefully resolve the dispute... In addition to reducing tensions between them, access routes are essential for the effective deployment of UNMEE’s peacekeeping force, which will be positioned between the two armies”. Maj-Gen Cammaert said the next step would be to open two additional land and air routes in the next few weeks. Access routes were necessary for the mission’s freedom of movement, for supply and logistical purposes and to deal with medical emergencies, the statement said. Meanwhile, South African Deputy Defence Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge has announced South Africa will send soldiers to join the Ethiopia-Eritrea mission. It was the first time South Africa had sent soldiers on a peacekeeping mission, she said. Two military officers were leaving on Thursday for Addis Ababa, followed by seven officers next week, AFP said. ETHIOPIA: Mine awareness deemed successful Land mine awareness programmes for displaced populations in Ethiopia have had a positive impact, and have changed attitudes. A UNICEF review of Land Mine Awareness (LMA) in Ethiopia showed that before the programme, there were reports of people “keeping mines as objects of curiosity in their homes and using them as work implements”. Such attitudes had changed in target areas, said UNICEF. Civilian causalities had increased in the period immediately following the signing of the cessation of hostilities agreement on 18 June, as some people were moved into areas understood to be “demined”, noted the report. The LMA strategy had changed with the return home of internally displaced people (IDPs), and had placed greater emphasis on schools, using drama, poetry and discussion. A radio programme was carrying information and debates on mine-related issues on a weekly basis, said the UNICEF report. ETHIOPIA: Feeding centre reopened in Denan Persisting high levels of malnutrition in Denan in the Somali region has resulted in MSF-Belgium reopening its therapeutic feeding centre. A UNICEF situation report on Ethiopia said the reopened centre had admitted 60 children “due to persisting high levels of malnutrition in the area”. Meanwhile, improved conditions in Gode - the site of a major humanitarian intervention this year - have led to Save the Children-USA’s (SC-USA) therapeutic feeding centre being phased out on 14 November. The eight remaining children were transferred to Gode zonal hospital, where they would continue receiving therapeutic treatment under the supervision of SC-USA, the UNICEF situation report said. Supplementary feeding centres run by SC-USA and the Ogaden Welfare Society (OWS) continue to support 1,400 recipients with take-home rations. ETHIOPIA: Patriarch attends US HIV/AIDS summit A religious delegation headed by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abuna Paulos, left on Wednesday to attend a meeting on HIV/AIDS in Washington, US. The five-day summit would be held at the White House, and would look at ways to form a joint forum among religious institutions in the fight against HIV/AIDS, said an official press release. The role of religious institutions in the global fight against the disease would be debated, the office of the Patriarchate said.