BURUNDI: Homes, schools for returnees inaugurated, 21/Feb/06
BUJUMBURA, 21 February (IRIN) - Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has inaugurated 1,100 homes and two schools financed by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in two previously war-torn southern provinces of the country.... Full Report... Email Report

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Donors pledge support for humanitarian crisis, 21/Feb/06
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON, 21 February (IRIN) - A donor conference for the Central African Republic (CAR) has ended in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, with funding assurances to the poverty-stricken nation. ... Full Report... Email Report

YEMEN: Two killed in flash floods, 21/Feb/06
SANA, 21 February (IRIN) - Two people were killed and a number of houses destroyed in flash floods that hit the village of Ma’abar, in the southwestern Thamar governorate, on the night of 20 February.... Full Report... Email Report

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Donor conference begins in Cameroon, 20/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 20 February (IRIN) - A donor conference for the Central African Republic began on Monday in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, organised by the United Nations.... Full Report... Email Report

BENIN: Refugees flee camp after clashes with villagers, 17/Feb/06
COTONOU, 17 February (IRIN) - Thousands of Togolese refugees have fled the Lokossa camp in Benin after fierce clashes with local residents in which 29 people were hurt, some by gunfire, local officials told IRIN on Friday.... Full Report... Email Report

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Policy revised to shed light on urban refugee blind-spot, 17/Feb/06
JOHANNESBURG, 17 February (IRIN) - The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, is taking a fresh look at its policy for urban refugees amid concerns that it is not meeting their particular needs. ... Full Report... Email Report

NEPAL: Escaping rural violence and hardship – the reality of displacement, 17/Feb/06
NEPAL, 17 February (IRIN) - Since the start of the Maoist insurgency in February 1996, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people are thought to have been internally displaced in Nepal. Largely from rural communities, the displaced have fled violence and economic hardship. The... Full Report... Email Report

MIDDLE EAST: MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 61 for 10 - 16 February 2006, 16/Feb/06
DUBAI, 16 February (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

DRC: Aid arrives for displaced thousands but fears over safety persist, 16/Feb/06
KINSHASA, 16 February (IRIN) - Despite relief aid having reached some 6,000 war-displaced people in the northeastern district of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian officials are worried that tentative calm in the area could deteriorate.... Full Report... Email Report

UGANDA: Northern conflict taking a heavy toll, say NGOs, 16/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 16 February (IRIN) - At least 131 people die every day in northern Uganda as a result of violence and poor conditions in camps for people displaced by war in the region, a coalition of nongovernmental organisations said on Thursday. ... Full Report... Email Report

WESTERN SAHARA: Tens of thousands of refugees homeless after rains wipe out shelters, 16/Feb/06
DAKAR, 16 February (IRIN) - Aid agencies are rushing to help some 60,000 Western Sahara refugees after freak rains late last week wiped out houses and schools and damaged hospitals in camps in eastern Algeria.... Full Report... Email Report

YEMEN: UNHCR warns of danger of illicit sea passage from Horn of Africa, 15/Feb/06
DUBAI, 15 February (IRIN) - The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has warned would-be migrants from the Horn of Africa against making the sea passage to Yemen by way of illegal smugglers.... Full Report... Email Report

BURUNDI: Food shortages, insecurity cause thousands to flee into Tanzania, 15/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 15 February (IRIN) - Thousands of Burundians have crossed the border into Tanzania since the beginning of the year, citing lack of food and security in their homes, an official of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said. ... Full Report... Email Report

TURKMENISTAN: Interview with United Nations Resident Representative, 15/Feb/06
ASHGABAT, 15 February (IRIN) - Richard Young is the United Nations' new Resident Representative in Turkmenistan. In an interview with IRIN in the capital, Ashgabat he spoke about the need to formulate an emergency preparedness plan for the earthquake-prone republic and about new... Full Report... Email Report

ANGOLA: Head count holds back refugee registration, and food, 15/Feb/06
JOHANNESBURG, 15 February (IRIN) - Refugees returning to their home province of Bié in central Angola will have to wait for a head count before they can be registered and get access to food aid. ... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: New arrangements for Afghan refugees under discussion, 15/Feb/06
ISLAMABAD, 15 February (IRIN) - Speakers at a conference in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday called for realistic policies to regulate Afghan population movements in Pakistan, citing migration as not only a reaction to war and insecurity but also a key livelihood... Full Report... Email Report

DRC: Humanitarian action plan a turning point, UN envoy says, 14/Feb/06
BRUSSELS, 14 February (IRIN) - A US $681 million humanitarian action plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo launched by the United Nations and the European Commission seeks to meet the needs of 30 million vulnerable Congolese.... Full Report... Email Report

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Conflict, development and natural disasters fuel internal displacement, 14/Feb/06
JOHANNESBURG, 14 February (IRIN) - Internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain a problem in Southern Africa, despite the resolution of many of the conflicts that forced people to flee their homes. ... Full Report... Email Report

GUINEA: Repatriation of 35,000 Liberian refugees underway, 14/Feb/06
CONAKRY, 14 February (IRIN) - The voluntary repatriation of 35,000 Liberian refugees from Guinea has begun, but time is short if they are to be back home and on their farms before seasonal rains begin in April.... Full Report... Email Report

SUDAN: Interview with Daniel Toole, director, Office of Emergency Programmes of UNICEF, 13/Feb/06
KHARTOUM, 13 February (IRIN) - Escalating violence, including attacks on two towns in South Darfur in January, has forced up to 70,000 people to flee their homes, often for the second or third time.... Full Report... Email Report