Appeal for northwest

The government, in conjunction with the UN, on Tuesday launched an extension of its December 1998 donor alert for northwestern Rwanda, appealing for US $19.6 million - including US $6.9 million in food aid - to cover funding gaps from the previous appeal. The alert also covers additional nutrition and agriculture needs to the end of this year. Only 58 percent of arable land in the northwest had been cultivated for the
late 1999 season, increasing an already substantial demand for food aid between now and December. Approximately 600,000 people were relying on emergency materials that provided minimal and short-term protection, the appeal document, received by IRIN on Wednesday, stated. The northwest was recovering slowly but remained "a time bomb", it added.

Up to 30,000 Rwandan returnees from the DRC are anticipated in the next few months, to join more than 21,000 who crossed between January and June, so the funding was important to consolidate the relative stability of the region, a UN report from Kigali added. Referring to the repatriation of Rwandans, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata on Monday said
there would be a collection point in the Kivu region where refugees would gather, as long as they were unarmed. The government of Rwanda would then take them, without the need for screening, Ogata added.