CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 403 for 13 - 19 October 2007
NAIROBI, 20 October 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:
DRC: International Court takes second ex-rebel commander into custody over war crimes
DRC: Displaced in North Kivu could face epidemics due to limited access
DRC: Nkunda's forces given another three weeks to join army
CONGO: Government launches measles vaccination campaign
CONGO: Antonov ban brings hardship to many
CAR: Insecurity in north persists - UNICEF
UGANDA: Plan to reconstruct the north
UGANDA: Satellite phones to mitigate flood disaster
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KENYA: Credit key to breaking cycle of poverty
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UGANDA: Boom time in Gulu
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DRC: International Court takes second ex-rebel commander into custody over war crimes
A former rebel commander accused of committing atrocities in the Ituri district of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been flown to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague as part of continuing efforts by the tribunal to tackle the culture of impunity in the volatile country.
Germain Katanga, 29, also known as "Simba", was put on a plane chartered by the ICC and transferred from Kinshasa, the capital, to the ICC's detention centre in The Hague on 18 October to face war crimes charges.
Katanga, a former senior commander of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), had been in the custody of Congolese authorities.
"Today we are prosecuting Germain Katanga, leader of a militia group, who we allege is personally responsible for the brutal crimes his forces committed. His name will forever be associated with the name of Bogoro, an ordinary village, which he ordered fighters under his command to 'wipe out'. Hundreds were slaughtered. Women were forced into sexual slavery," according to a statement by Fatou Bensouda, deputy prosecutor in charge of the case.
full report
DRC: Displaced in North Kivu could face epidemics due to limited access
Aid workers in the strife-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo fear measles and cholera epidemics may break out among displaced people who cannot be reached by humanitarian agencies because of fighting between government forces and dissident soldiers in North Kivu province.
Meanwhile, President Joseph Kabila said on 17 October that the dissidents would be disarmed by force after their leader, Laurent Nkunda, rejected fresh calls to reintegrate his fighters into the national army.
"Considering the reduction in access, a large number of vulnerable people have not received any assistance," said Christophe Illemassene, senior public information officer with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kinshasa.
full report
DRC: Nkunda's forces given another three weeks to join army
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have given fighters loyal to dissident general Laurent Nkunda another three weeks to reintegrate into the national army, a process known as brassage.
Fighting between Nkunda's forces and government troops in the eastern North Kivu province has intensified since September. The violence has forced at least 370,000 civilians in the strife-torn region to flee their homes.
"We have given another 21 days to the military personnel taken hostage by this criminal Nkunda to rejoin the army through the integration process and live a normal military life," Defence Minister Chikez Diemu said on 15 October.
full report
CONGO: Government launches measles vaccination campaign
The Congolese government has launched a five-day nationwide measles vaccination campaign to be accompanied by the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to reduce malaria.
"The role of the media is crucial in the provision of information and in the mobilisation of the population to ensure their [the population's] participation," Emillienne Raoul, the minister of health, said on 15 October. According to the government the success of the campaign would require the contribution of all the relevant sectors and the community
full report
CONGO: Antonov ban brings hardship to many
The indefinite grounding of all Antonov aircraft in the Republic of Congo has brought much of the country’s domestic aviation to a standstill and many people who depended on the sector are feeling the pinch.
The Civil Aviation Agency banned Congolese airlines from using Antonov planes on 9 October after 50 people were killed five days earlier when an Antonov crashed shortly after take-off from Kinshasa, the capital of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Life for us and our families was already hard enough,” said Just Ndouli, who made a living from the meat trade between northern parts of Congo and the capital, Brazzaville.
full report
CAR: Insecurity in north persists - UNICEF
A continuing wave of violence in northern Central African Republic (CAR) has led to the displacement of at least 290,000 civilians since 2005 and the "complete decimation" of public infrastructure, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said.
"The security situation remains volatile throughout northern CAR, particularly in the northwestern prefectures bordering Chad where government troops, rebel groups and highway bandits continue to clash," UNICEF said in a report on 15 October.
The UNICEF report, covering the month of September, said lack of protection was a major issue for many women and children caught up in the CAR's "multi-faceted" crisis.
full report
UGANDA: Plan to reconstruct the north
War-ravaged northern Uganda is to be reconstructed at a cost of US$600 million, according to the government.
The rehabilitation, announced by President Yoweri Museveni on 16 October, is intended to restore stability to the region after 20 years of warfare pitting the Ugandan government against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a brutal insurgency that often targeted civilians for murder, maiming and abduction. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and forced to live in crowded camps.
full report
UGANDA: Satellite phones to mitigate flood disaster
In an effort to facilitate coordination of humanitarian aid delivery to tens of thousands of people in areas of eastern and northern Ugandan ravaged by severe flooding, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has provided government and humanitarian agencies with 25 satellite telephones.
Unusually heavy rainfall – the worst in 35 years – has fallen in the region since July, destroying much of the first season harvest and disrupting second season planting.
full report
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Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Gender Issues, (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Human Rights, (IRIN) Natural Disasters, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs
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[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] |
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