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HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN-EA/HOA Weekly 222 for 4-10 December 2004 - OCHA IRIN

Sunday 16 January 2005


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IRIN-EA/HOA Weekly 222 for 4-10 December 2004

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Cautious optimism on stalled peace process
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Kofi Annan welcomes any step that may bring peace
ERITREA: Ship delivers donated food to Massawa port
ETHIOPIA: WFP appeals for donations to feed refugees
SOMALIA: Relief agencies seek $164 million for 2005
SOMALIA: Somali political leaders urged to support peace
SUDAN: Security Council concerned over Darfur
SUDAN: Gov’t, SPLM/A resume talks on southern conflict

ALSO SEE:
SOMALIA: Interview with Jan Egeland, UN USG for Humanitarian Affairs
Full report

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Cautious optimism on stalled peace process

The recent announcement by Ethiopia that it would accept "in principle" a ruling to end a simmering border dispute with Eritrea was broadly welcomed, but the complex issue of when and how the two countries can enter into dialogue to try and normalise relations still remains.

"I am not jumping up and down, but at least there is more traction there than there was," the UN special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Lloyd Axworthy, told IRIN from Winnipeg, Canada. "It could be the beginnings of a new chapter for peace, but there has to be another step, which is how the two countries begin engagement."

Ethiopia had refused, until now, to respect an April 2002 ruling by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague. Axworthy believes the international community should work to build on the momentum generated by the new pledge by Ethiopia.

Full report

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ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Kofi Annan welcomes any step that may bring peace

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday he welcomed any step that may bring peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea. He spoke after studying a five-point proposal unveiled by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to break a deadlock between the two countries over their common border.

"The Secretary-General welcomes any step which may contribute to full implementation of the 2000 Algiers Agreements and the subsequent decision of the boundary commission, to the initiation of dialogue between Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as to the restoration of normal relations between these two neighbouring countries," a statement by Annan’s spokesman said.

Ethiopia had refused to respect the April 2002 ruling by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague. Meles announced in parliament on 25 November that Ethiopia would accept the ruling "in principle".

Full report

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ERITREA: Ship delivers donated food to Massawa port

Some 42,500 mt of donated wheat worth US $13.8 million has arrived in Eritrea, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Monday. The wheat, it added, would help alleviate the suffering of nearly a million people affected by war, widespread drought and the combined economic impact.

WFP Country Director Jean-Pierre Cebron said the donation would support its emergency and recovery operations in the particularly hard-hit areas of Gash Barka, Debub and Anseba.

The wheat was donated by the European Commission and the governments of Ireland, Japan and the United States.

Full report

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ETHIOPIA: WFP appeals for donations to feed refugees

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned on Wednesday that it would be forced to reduce food rations to more than 118,000 refugees in camps in Ethiopia unless it received vital donations.

The agency said, in a statement issued in Addis Ababa, it needed US $4.2 million "to provide enough food for the refugees for at least the next six months". It also said it required an extra 8,500 mt of cereals, vegetable oil, pulses, salt and blended foods.

If fresh assistance did not materialise, it said, WFP would "reduce rations to beneficiaries by 30 percent from January 2005", in addition to the expectation that cereal stocks could end by April.

Full report

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SOMALIA: Relief agencies seek $164 million for 2005

The UN and other relief agencies in Somalia launched an appeal on Monday for about US $164 million to, among other things, provide urgently needed aid and services to hundreds of thousands of conflict and drought-affected people in the war-ravaged nation.

The Somalia 2005 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) also targets the promotion of human rights and access to basic services, support for good governance and building the capacity of the Somali civil society.

According to the appeal, the agencies are seeking the funds to tackle food shortages, improve health services, support education and enhance protection and respect for human rights in 2005.

Full report

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SOMALIA: Somali political leaders urged to support peace

The UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, has urged Somali political leaders to encourage a peaceful resolution of conflict in the war-ravaged, Horn of Africa country.

"They have to stop their old practises of fighting each other every time they have a problem," Egeland, who visited Somalia from 3 to 5 December, told IRIN in the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Hargeysa. "They have to learn peaceful conflict resolution."

Describing the conditions in Somali returnee camps as "really bad", Egeland called for more international assistance to the returnees.

Full report

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SUDAN: Security Council concerned over Darfur

The UN Security Council expressed deep concern on Tuesday over the recent escalation of violence in the western Sudanese region of Darfur and called on all parties to the conflict to stop renewed clashes.

"The members call on all parties to cease all acts of violence and implement provisions of Security Council resolutions," the ouncil president for December, Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali, said in a press statement.

The call followed a briefing by the UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, Kieran Prendergast, who said the humanitarian situation in Darfur was "dire". He said the number of people affected by the conflict had risen to almost 2.3 million – more than a third of the total population since the November.

Prendergast said November had been characterised by violence and a marked deterioration in the security situation.

Full report

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SUDAN: Gov’t, SPLM/A resume talks on southern conflict

The Sudanese Vice President Ali Uthman Taha and the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), John Garang, resumed high-level talks on Monday in their latest attempt to end two decades of war in the south, officials said.

The resumption of talks, the officials added, had raised hopes that a comprehensive peace accord between the two parties could be signed before the end of the year, as agreed in a memorandum of understanding signed by them in November.

"The SPLM/A is optimistic and determined to have a comprehensive peace agreement before the end of the year," spokesman Yasser Arman, who is attending the talks in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, told IRIN on Tuesday.

The two leaders arrived to resume high-level negotiations more than a week after delegations from both parties had started discussing details of a permanent ceasefire and security measures.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Other recent HORN OF AFRICA reports:

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 226 for 8-14 January, Ê14/Jan/05

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 226 for 1-7 January 2005, Ê7/Jan/05

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 225 for 25-31 December 2004, Ê31/Dec/04

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 224 for 18-24 December 2004, Ê24/Dec/04

IRIN-HOA Weekly 223 for 11-17 December 2004, Ê17/Dec/04

Other recent reports:

MIDDLE EAST: MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 4 for 8-14 January 2005, 14/Jan/05

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 213 for 8-14 January 2005, 14/Jan/05

HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 226 for 8-14 January, 14/Jan/05

CENTRAL & EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 261 for 8-14 Jan 2005, 14/Jan/05

LESOTHO: New trade regime threatens economy, 13/Jan/05

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