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Tuesday 21 February 2006


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IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 315 21-27 January 2006

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

CONTENTS:

DRC: Armed group kills 8 UN peacekeepers in Garamba park
DRC-UGANDA: Military hands over 36 armed men to Congolese authorities
DRC: Mayi-Mayi attack new area of Katanga
CONGO: MSF pulls out of Pool region
CAR: Displaced civilians still need relief aid, UN official says
TANZANIA: Government waives tax on maize imports
UGANDA: Opposition leader's wife to stand trial for libel
KENYA: Calls for action against officials cited in graft claims
SUDAN: UNHCR warns of potential "catastrophe" in Darfur

ALSO SEE:
UN investigations into allegations of sexual offences by peacekeepers
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CONGO: Profile of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, new AU head
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DRC: Armed group kills 8 UN peacekeepers in Garamba park

An armed, unidentified group killed eight peacekeepers from Guatemala and injured five others on Monday, during an ambush in Garamba National Park, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) near the borders of Sudan and Uganda, according to the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUC).

MONUC spokesman Kemal Saiki said the ambush occurred in Aba, north of Bunia, the main town in Ituri district, Orientale province.

"We have yet to confirm the identity of those behind the attack," Saiki said, "but we have received reports of the presence of fighters from the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army [LRA] in the region."

Full report

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DRC-UGANDA: Military hands over 36 armed men to Congolese authorities

Ugandan military officials on Monday handed over to Congolese authorities some 36 armed men who were among thousands of refugees who fled to Uganda following recent heavy fighting in eastern DRC.

Thousands of Congolese have crossed into western Uganda since last week, fleeing fighting between the Congolese army and rebels, according Lt Kinconco Tabaro, the Ugandan military spokesman.

Tabaro said the 36 men, along with 48 family members, were handed over to Congolese authorities at Mpondwe border post, about 450 km west of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in the presence of officials from MONUC as well as the Congolese military.

Full report

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DRC: Mayi-Mayi attack new area of Katanga

Relief workers say that fighting between the Congolese army and Mayi-Mayi militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga Province has spread to a new area south of the town of Mitwaba in recent days, with militiamen there becoming increasingly dangerous and destructive.

"We never saw them this aggressive before," said Phillip Havet, a Medècines Sans Frontiéres (MSF) logistics expert who was in the area last week. He said the Mayi-Mayi had "completely wiped out" the town of Kyubo, 160 km south of Mitwaba, on 16 January.

Full report

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CONGO: MSF pulls out of Pool region

Following several armed hold-ups during the last two months in the Republic of Congo's Pool region, the Dutch branch of Medècines Sans Frontiéres (MSF-Holland) has temporarily suspended its activities in the area.

"MSF has decided to temporarily suspend all its activities in the districts of Kindamba, Mindouli and Vindza. The activities in the districts of Kinkala are continued," MSF announced in a statement on Thursday.

"On 17 January, marked MSF ambulances with patients and medical equipment on board were stopped by armed men. MSF staff and patients were harassed, and the material was stolen," MSF said. After three such incidences, MSF suspended its operations on 20 January.

Full report

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CAR: Displaced civilians still need relief aid, UN official says

Thousands of civilians displaced since late December 2005 following banditry attacks in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR) urgently require relief aid, an official of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said.

"This is a serious humanitarian emergency with a real catastrophe looming ahead, and lack of resources for NGOs and other organisations helping these people has hampered efforts of providing relief," said Maurizio Giuliano, OCHA public information officer, on Wednesday.

Michel Salle, the CAR minister for home affairs, declined to comment on the plight of the displaced civilians. He said on Friday that the government had deployed soldiers, backed by troops from the Economic Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), to the Chad-CAR border to fight the bandits.

Full report

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TANZANIA: Government waives tax on maize imports

In a move designed to boost food supply in the country, the Tanzanian government has authorised a three-month tax exemption for the importation of maize, the nation's staple, with immediate effect.

"In order to encourage the business community to import more food in the face of anticipated food shortage, the government is offering tax exemption on importation of maize beginning 23 January to 23 April," said Peniel Lyimo, the permanent secretary in Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives, in a statement on Wednesday.

"The move aims at boosting maize supply and thus keeping its prices low," he said.

Full report

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UGANDA: Opposition leader's wife to stand trial for libel

The wife of Ugandan opposition leader Kiiza Besigye and a legislator from his party are to stand trial in February for alleging that President Yoweri Museveni bribed court officials, court officials have said.

Winnie Byanyima and Jack Sabiiti, a senior member of Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), were on Tuesday indicted on charges of libel and giving false information.

They are accused of defaming two High Court judges and disseminating false information via a letter they wrote to the country's chief justice, Benjamin Odoki, demanding that he investigate reports that the judges had received bribes from the government.

Full report

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KENYA: Calls for action against officials cited in graft claims

Claims of corruption involving high-ranking Kenyan government officials have rattled President Mwai Kibaki's administration, with civil society activists and the opposition calling for action against those who have been implicated.

John Githongo, who resigned in February 2005 as permanent secretary in charge of governance and ethics, was quoted by local and international media as saying on Sunday that senior ministers were involved in the so-called "Anglo-Leasing" scam, which involved plans to print passports with improved security features and the building of a modern forensic laboratory for the police.

Full report

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SUDAN: UNHCR warns of potential "catastrophe" in Darfur

The international community could face a catastrophe in Darfur if instability in the Chad-Sudan border area continues to worsen, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned.

In his address to the 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday, Antonio Guterres described the Chad-Sudan situation as probably the "largest and most complex humanitarian problem on the globe".

"Today, violence and impunity - never completely in check - are again everyday occurrences in Darfur," he said. "Humanitarian workers are regularly cut off from the displaced and those they are trying to help."

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Other

Other recent CENTRAL & EASTERN AFRICA reports:

Regional ministerial meeting opens, 20/Feb/06

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 318 11-17 February 2006, 17/Feb/06

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 317 4-10 February 2006, 10/Feb/06

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 316 28 January - 3 February 2006, 3/Feb/06

Regional summit to be held after DRC polls, UN envoy says, 1/Feb/06

Other recent reports:

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Donors pledge support for humanitarian crisis, 21/Feb/06

ANGOLA: Ready to play larger security role in Africa, 21/Feb/06

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap, 17/Feb/06

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 270 for 11-17 February 2006, 17/Feb/06

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 317 covering 11-17 February 2006, 17/Feb/06

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