War intensifying with dire humanitarian consequences - Annan

The humanitarian situation in Angola remained "serious, particularly in inaccessible regions where credible evidence indicates that conditions have deteriorated markedly", UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his latest report to the Security Council. "Contrary to expectations, access to at-risk populations, particularly in new areas, did not increase during the reporting period. Security perimeters around provincial cities and towns remained restricted and in six areas (Moxico, Bie, Malange, Uige, Bengo and Cuando Cubango) perimeters contracted under intense pressure," Annan said in his report - a follow-up to a one he submitted to the Security Council in April. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Angola, about 500,000 vulnerable people remain beyond the reach of help in the war-torn southern African country. "Agencies also estimate that at least 20 locations may have populations in acute distress," an OCHA spokesperson said in response to IRIN questions before Annan submitted his report. "Access to at-risk populations continues to be compromised by war-related activities, poor condition of airstrips, insecure surface routes, damaged bridges and lack of fuel. Populations living in unsafe areas along the eastern and southern borders remain largely out of reach for humanitarian agencies, due to lack of security guarantees and threats from armed groups," OCHA said. Annan said there had been "tangible progress" in the past six months in stabilising populations in accessible areas. He also said that intense fighting continued between government and UNITA forces in spite of increasing pressure from civil society for a political settlement to the conflict. He said that UNITA's guerrilla activities had spread to several parts of the country in recent months. The intensification of warfare in the central Bie province had "produced very serious conditions", he added. "In Camacupa, global malnutrition rates exceeded 41 percent in four sites in April and reached as high as 46.6 percent at the Descasque de Arroz transit centre. By the end of April, agencies were estimating that at least 40 percent of all affected children in Camacupa were at mortal risk. Mortality levels at therapeutic feeding centres in nearby Kuito reached 24 percent during early June, before receding at the end of the month. "Despite intermittent insecurity, a new corridor into Camacupa was opened in April and a major humanitarian operation launched, involving large-scale distributions of food and survival items and emergency interventions in nutrition, health and water and sanitation. "By mid-July, as a result of humanitarian assistance, global malnutrition rates had dropped significantly in both Camacupa and Kuito (the provincial capital). Although conditions in the two locations remained relatively stable from July onwards, displaced persons from inaccessible areas of Bie province continued to arrive in both locations through September. In Camacupa, the number of newly displaced persons increased from 8,000 in June to more than 23,000 by mid-September," he told the Security Council. Annan also said that human rights continued to me undermined in Angola by the ongoing conflict and that Jonas Savimbi's rebel UNITA movement had "begun to target civilians with greater intensity". Humanitarian principles were largely ignored and civilians were subjected to a wide range of human rights abuses, he said, adding that ambushes and landmines still endangered civilian's lives and limited their freedom of movement. "There were also reports of lootings, rapes, kidnappings and the abduction of under-age children for use as porters," Annan said. He also said that the precarious health situation in the country, particularly among the displaced, was exacerbated by limited supplies of essential medicines and by understaffed health facilities. "These conditions lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases, including measles in Uige province and meningitis in Benguela province," he said. Turning to security, Annan said the situation remained "volatile", with more than 300 armed attacks on commercial convoys, resettlement sites and population centres. Protection also posed problems he said: "Protection problems remained a serious concern, particularly in militarily contested areas where counter-insurgency and guerrilla warfare aimed directly at civilian populations have resulted in widespread abuses. During the period, violations included forced displacement, abductions, looting of property, harassment, physical assault and under-age recruitment." As a result of the security situation, humanitarian partners in the country had only managed to resettle 67,000 displaced people from March to September, instead of the 500,000 they had planned for, according to Annan. He said that in a worrying trend, resettlement sites came under increasing attack, with 33 attacks reported from April to mid-August. Regarding political developments, Annan said deep animosity and distrust between the Angolan government and UNITA continued to be fuelled by hate propaganda. He said UNITA and the government's acceptance that the 1994 Lusaka Protocol should form the basis for future peace talks signalled some progress, but that the two parties still differed substantially on certain aspects of the agreement, its interpretation and implementation. "At the beginning of the year, there was a glimmer of hope that the conflict might be giving way to what appeared to be a dialogue that could lead the parties towards a peaceful settlement of their differences. Unfortunately, the intensification and the frequency of the guerrilla attacks by UNITA, particularly on innocent civilians, including women and children, plunged the country into another political and military stalemate," Annan observed. However, after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Annan said in New York on Friday that efforts to find solutions would be intensified. "It is difficult to make peace without talking to the enemy. After all you make peace with your enemy and not your friend. It ultimately comes down to coming to the table but I think we may have seen some cracks and we may be able to exploit it and get them back."