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Sunday 25 December 2005


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IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 288 for 23-29 July 2005

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

CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: Five killed in grenade attacks in Somali region
ETHIOPIA: Amnesty concerned over pilots
ETHIOPIA: Elections to be repeated in 20 constituencies
SOMALIA: Kenyan crew of hijacked ship to be freed
SOMALIA: Interim president moves to Jowhar
SOMALIA: Dozens killed in clashes in southwestern town
SUDAN: Fresh violence could affect Darfur peace process
SUDAN: CPA implementation facing obstacles - ICG

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SUDAN: The forgotten nomads of Darfur
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ETHIOPIA: Five killed in grenade attacks in Somali region

A series of grenade attacks that killed five people in Ethiopia's Somali region was designed to disrupt forthcoming elections there, officials said. Simultaneous attacks occurred in six places across the region on Sunday, Ali Mohammed Kunaye, speaker of the Somali regional parliament, said.

"These attacks are an attempt to disrupt the elections because the registration of voters is due to start today," Kunaye said. "This is an attack by anti-peace elements who want to reject the elections."

The attacks targeted a bar and a nightclub in Jijiga, the capital of Somali region, and the homes of four regional officials. The police were carrying out investigations, federal police deputy commissioner Hassan Shauffa said. Eastern Ethiopia’s Somali region, with a population of around four million, is one of the country’s poorest and most remote. The region has been blighted by skirmishes between a separatist rebel group and the government.

Full report

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ETHIOPIA: Amnesty concerned over pilots

Two of three Ethiopian pilots who allegedly defected to neighboring Djibouti may have been forcibly returned against their will, Amnesty International (AI) said on Friday. "Amnesty fears that they may have been forcibly returned without having had their asylum claims assessed in a fair and satisfactory procedure in accordance with international refugee law and standards," the organization said. AI was concerned that the two pilots could be at risk of further torture or ill-treatment and prolonged detention without charge or trial, or a military trial that might fall short of international fair trial standards, in which they might be sentenced to death for desertion.

The Ethiopian defence ministry said they had no information on the fate of the three pilots, who reportedly flew their Ethiopian military helicopter to neighbouring Djibouti around 10 June. In a statement Amnesty urged the Ethiopian authorities to reveal the whereabouts of the pilots and allow them immediate access to relatives, lawyers and any medical treatment they may require.

Full report

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ETHIOPIA: Elections to be repeated in 20 constituencies

Ethiopia is to repeat elections in at least 20 of the 524 constituencies contested in the disputed 15 May polls, the chairman of the National Election Board (NEB) said. Kemal Bedri said the fresh vote would take place in mid-August. Investigators, he added, had found evidence of abuses in more than 100 polling stations in these constituencies.

"We don’t have all the investigation details in but at the moment we will hold re-elections in around 20 constituencies," he said. The election board was also awaiting results of investigations in 139 constituencies – but had thrown out complaints by political parties in 75 others. Kemal blamed delays in releasing results on the poll probe investigation process, which he said was new to the country.

Full report

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SOMALIA: Kenyan crew of hijacked ship to be freed

The men who hijacked a Kenyan-registered vessel laden with food aid off the northeastern coast of Somalia over a month ago have agreed to release some of the crew, sources said on Thursday. A spokesman for those holding the vessel said the eight Kenyan crewmembers would be freed soon, following the intervention of Kenya's ambassador to Somalia, Muhammad Abdi Afey. "We have spoken to the ambassador and we will release the Kenyans," Muhammad Abdi Afweyne, the hijackers’ spokesman, told IRIN by phone.

He added that the Sri-Lankan captain and a Tanzanian crewmember would, however, remain on the ship. A humanitarian source said: "Local [Somali] leaders were asked to intervene but had failed to secure the release of the ship and its crew."
The MV Semlow was hijacked on 27 June between Haradhere and Hobyo, some 400 km northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, on its way to the Gulf of Aden port of Bossaso, in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland.

Full report

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SOMALIA: Interim president moves to Jowhar

Somalia's interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, on Tuesday arrived in the town of Jowhar, 90 km north of the capital, Mogadishu, to join the prime minister in the temporary seat of the transitional government, officials said. "He is there to set up base and will continue to work from there [Jowhar]," Dahir Mire Jibril, the president's chief-of-staff, told IRIN on Wednesday.

Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi and supporters in the fractious Transitional Federal Government (TFG) are trying to set up interim state institutions in Jowhar pending the restoration of security to the capital, which they say is currently too unsafe. Yusuf travelled to Jowhar from his northeastern hometown of Galkayo in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland. Jibril said the president would visit other parts of Somalia, "especially the south", although no date had been set for the visit.

Full report

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SOMALIA: Dozens killed in clashes in southwestern town

Dozens of people were feared dead and many more injured in clashes that broke out on Friday and continued over the weekend in the town of Boru-Hache, also known as El-Waaq, in southwestern Somalia's Gedo region, sources said. "Violations of human rights and international law occurred, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians in time of war," Abdullahi Alas Jimale, chief investigator of the Mogadishu-based Isma'il Jim'ale Human Rights Centre (IJHRC), said.

Boru-Hache is situated on Somalia's border with Kenya. IJHRC said thousands of people displaced by the clashes between two clans had fled across the border to seek refuge in the neighbouring Kenyan border town of El Wak. The weekend clashes pitted militias from the Garre clan against those from the Marehan. Both sides, Alas said, had used heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, which were fired "without regard to the lives and property of the civilian populations".

Full report

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SUDAN: Fresh violence could affect Darfur peace process, warns UN

The recent outbreak of violence in the western Sudanese region of Darfur could threaten ongoing efforts to bring lasting peace to the strife-torn region, the UN warned on Tuesday. "The violence is a matter of serious concern to us, especially given that we had just reported to the [UN] Security Council that the situation was quiet and both sides seemed to be respecting the ceasefire agreement," Radhia Achouri, spokesperson for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), said.

Achouri said UNMIS was yet to establish which party started the fighting. The mission, she added, had however learnt that the fighting involved Sudanese government forces and rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). Other reports gave conflicting accounts of the clashes that occured on Friday and Saturday. The official Sudanese news agency said a group of Darfur rebels had attacked a convoy of civilian vehicles guarded by the armed forces on the road between Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

Full report

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SUDAN: CPA implementation facing obstacles - ICG

The implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January between the Sudanese government and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) is badly behind schedule, a think-tank said on Monday. In a report titled: "The Khartoum-SPLM Agreement: Sudan's Uncertain Peace", the International Crisis Group (ICG) said implementation of the CPA had been delayed by several obstacles.

These included Khartoum's lack of will to embrace genuine power-sharing and elections, and lack of capacity in the south to establish and empower basic structures of governance. "To keep the accords on track, the international community must focus on broadening participation and transparency, particularly handling of oil revenues, promote SPLM/[A] dialogue with the government-allied militias and quickly deploy the UN peace support mission," the report said.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Other

Other recent HORN OF AFRICA reports:

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 306 for 17-23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 305 for 10-16 December 2005, 17/Dec/05

UNMEE monitoring tense border despite setbacks, 16/Dec/05

UN relocates expelled staff from Eritrea to Ethiopia, 15/Dec/05

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 304 for 3-9 December 2005, 12/Dec/05

Other recent reports:

RWANDA: Body found in Brussels canal confirmed that of ex-minister's, 23/Dec/05

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap, 23/Dec/05

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 309 covering 17 - 23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

CENTRAL ASIA: IRIN-Asia Weekly Round-up 51 covering the period 17 - 23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 262 for 17-23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

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