Weekly anb12134.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-12-2001      PART #4/7

* Gabon. Fever deaths rise  -  7 December: A total of 45 people are known 
to have died in two outbreaks of fever in two isolated places in the 
Republic of Congo and neighbouring Gabon. The World Health Organisation has 
warned that the outbreak in Gabon looks likely to be the deadly disease 
Ebola, although Congo health officials say the fever is unlikely to be 
Ebola, as had been earlier feared. There is no known cure for Ebola and 70% 
of its victims bleed to death within days. So far 17 people have died in 
Gabon and 28 in Congo. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says a number of 
its local and international staff are working with the Gabon health 
ministry to try to establish what the mystery fever is, but warned it was 
difficult trying to reach the area where the virus had occurred. A 
spokesman for the WHO said everything was being done to identify the 
disease. 10 December: The WHO has confirmed that the outbreak of fever in 
Gabon is Ebola and that two teams of specialists are on their way to Gabon 
to help deal with the outbreak. The Gabon outbreak is in the remote 
province of Ogooue Ivindo. A team of epidemiologists and doctors is on its 
way to carry out further tests and treat the sufferers. The WHO 
sub-regional Epidemic Response Team has also been sent to Kasai Occidental 
province, in Congo RDC. In 1995, 265 people died in Kikwit, Kasai 
Occidental province of DRC. Uganda's New Vision (11 December) reports that 
Uganda has issued an Ebola Virus alert in areas bordering Congo RDC. 
(ANB-BIA, Brussels 12 December 2001)

* Gabon. La maladie d'Ebola  -  7 décembre. L'Organisation mondiale de la 
santé va dépêcher le 10 décembre une deuxième équipe médicale au Gabon pour 
tenter de juguler la maladie d'Ebola qui a été confirmée dans au moins un 
cas déjà. L'OMS a rapporté dans son bulletin hebdomadaire, avoir reçu des 
cas de fièvre hémorragique suspecte dans la province d'Ogooué Iveindo, dans 
le nord-est du Gabon, et avoir envoyé une première équipe enquêter. - 10 
décembre. L'OMS a confirmé la flambée de fièvre hémorragique due au virus 
d'Ebola. Dix personnes de la même famille élargie d'un petit village à 60 
km au sud-est de Mekambo, proche de la frontière avec le Congo, sont déjà 
mortes de la maladie. Les examens spécifiques ont permis d'établir qu'il 
s'agissait bien d'un virus Ebola. -Dans la nuit du 11-12 décembre, une 
femme atteinte de la fièvre Ebola a disparu du village de Ntolo. Elle 
pourrait s'être enfuie en République du Congo, augmentant les risques d'une 
propagation de la maladie.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 décembre 2001)

* The Gambia. Experimental malaria vaccine looks promising  -  Medical 
trials in the West African state of Gambia have shown that an experimental 
anti-malaria vaccine can give a measure of protection against the disease. 
According to a study published in the medical journal, The Lancet, almost 
half the men participating in the trials developed immunity to malaria 
after four doses of the vaccine. The treatment -- developed by a British 
pharmaceutical company works by stimulating the body's immune system to 
produce more antibodies against the parasitic organism that causes malaria. 
Correspondents say the test results are particularly welcome as the malaria 
parasite has developed increasing resistance to many of the current 
treatments. Malaria kills several million people world-wide each year, many 
in Africa.   (BBC News, UK, 7 December 2001)

* Ghana. Ex-minister sentenced for fraud  -  In Ghana, a high ranking 
official in the government of the former President, Jerry Rawlings, has 
been sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud. The former deputy 
finance minister, Victor Selormey, was found guilty of embezzling more than 
$1m meant to fund a programme to computerise court records. His lawyers 
said they would appeal against the sentence which also included a $2,500 
fine. The current president of Ghana, John Kufour - who defeated Mr 
Rawlings in January's presidential election - has pledged to fight 
corruption in what he has called a "zero tolerance policy".   (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels, 10 December 2001)

* Guinée-Bissau. Nouveau Premier ministre  -  Le 8 décembre, le chef de 
l'Etat, après consultation des principaux partis d'opposition, a nommé le 
ministre de l'Intérieur Alamara Nhassé (51 ans) Premier ministre en 
remplacement de Faustino Fudut Imbali, limogé la veille moins de dix mois 
après sa nomination. Le limogeage serait lié notamment au scandale de la 
disparition de 15 millions de dollars du trésor public. Au cours d'une 
réunion tenue après la nomination du nouveau chef de gouvernement, 
l'opposition a réaffirmé sa position d'ouverture au dialogue pour favoriser 
un gouvernement viable en vue de relancer l'économie du pays. - Le 12 
décembre, M. Nhassé a annoncé la composition de son gouvernement qui 
comprend 25 membres, dont 18 du Parti de la rénovation sociale (au 
pouvoir).   (PANA, Sénégal, 8-12 décembre 2001)

* Guinea-Bissau. Going through a constitutional crisis  -  8 December: 
President Kumba Yala of Guinea-Bissau has given the job of prime minister 
to his interior minister Alamara Ntchia Nhasse, a day after sacking the 
previous incumbent, Faustino Imbali. An agronomist educated in the former 
Soviet Union and Cuba, Mr Nhasse served as agriculture minister in the 
previous administration and is a member of the political bureau of Mr 
Yala's Party for Social Renewal (PRS). PRS parliamentary group leader Sola 
Nkilim said the appointment was welcomed with "rejoicing.There's no doubt 
Faustino Imbali was a disappointment to us all," he said. Mr Nhasse is the 
third prime minister to be appointed in the tiny West African state in less 
than two years. 12 December: President Yala names a new 25-strong 
government by decree. All but six members are from Yala's Party for Social 
Renewal.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2001)

* Horn of Africa. Health concerns  -  Ethiopia: The number of AIDS orphans 
in Ethiopia has reached the one million mark, according to the Ministry of 
Health, placing an even greater strain on the country's already limited and 
stretched social services. Ethiopia has the third largest population in the 
world with the HIV virus. Only India and South Africa have a greater 
number. "Tackling AIDS is the most serious problem that Ethiopia now 
faces," says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. "The situation is very 
severe with all the associated social and economic problems that follow. We 
now have around one AIDS million orphans. It places a burden not only on 
the health system and families but also has a severe impact on industry 
because it affects the workforce. The Ethiopian Government needs 
international help to help deal with the crisis". Also it has been reported 
that an outbreak of meningitis has reportedly killed six people in Gambella 
regional state, western Ethiopia, since early October, the pro-government 
Walta Information Centre (WIC) reported on 11 December. The disease which 
was originally reported in three districts over the last 10 days is now 
spreading to other districts, the head of the state's health bureau, Kor 
Patch said, according to WIC. WIC quotes Kor as saying that in the last few 
days 17 new cases have been reported. Somalia: An outbreak of meningitis 
has been reported in Hargaysa, the capital of the self-declared independent 
state of Somaliland, northwest Somalia, according to the United Nations 
World Health Organization (WHO). Since 13 October, 49 cases of the disease 
have reported with 6 deaths, said WHO. Laboratory tests have confirmed and 
identified the disease as Neisseraia meningitides serogroup A. This type of 
the disease if not controlled quickly can spread rapidly and become an 
epidemic, "specially in a crowded setting of a city like Hargaysa", a local 
doctor in Hargaysa, said.   (IRIN, 12 December 2001)

* Kenya. Clashes in Nairobi  -  6 December: Women's groups in Kenya have 
urged the government to take action on claims that hundreds of women and 
children were raped during the clashes in the Nairobi slum of Kibera. They 
have accused both police and rioters of raping women during the fighting. A 
police spokesman says the allegations are untrue, and no evidence of rape 
has been presented to them. The same day, a peace march and interfaith 
prayers are held in the city's Uhuru Park, with speakers appealing to 
Kenya's leaders to restore calm in all the troubled areas of the 
country.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 December 2001)

* Kenya. Fresh land clashes  -  The authorities in Kenya say at least 20 
people have been killed in fresh ethnic fighting over land and river rights 
in the south east of the country. The ongoing dispute is between the Orma 
pastoralists and Pokoma farmers in the Tana River District. The 6 December 
violent confrontation was the deadliest since the two sides resumed 
hostilities this week. The death toll is being put at 38 for the week with 
more than 100 people estimated to have died this year. The assistant police 
commissioner for the area has confirmed the figures, and added that on the 
night of 6 December, over 100 houses were set on fire.   (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels, 8 December 2001)

* Kenya. Female Genital Mutilation banned  -  Female Genital Mutilation 
(FGM), traditionally known as circumcision, has been outlawed among young 
girls in Kenya. In a speech marking independence day, President Daniel arap 
Moi said the circumcising of girls under the age of 17 was now a crime 
punishable by at least a year in jail. The practice remains widespread in 
much of rural Kenya, and President Moi has promised police protection for 
those at risk. "Anyone found circumcising a girl of 16 will go straight to 
jail," he told the crowd. He said the prohibition of FGM on young girls was 
one of the measures contained in the 2001 Children's Bill passed by 
parliament recently. "But for girls above the age of 16 years, it is their 
choice to be circumcised or not. Should they not want to be circumcised, 
they shall also be protected by the new law," he said. According to a 1998 
survey in Kenya, 38% of women aged between 15 and 49 years old were 
estimated to have undergone FGM.   (BBC News, UK, 12 December 2001)

* Kenya. Riot over mistaken identity  -  Demonstrators in Kenya protesting 
over the arrest of a man whom they say has been wrongly labelled a 
terrorist suspect have destroyed a Catholic church and a polytechnic in the 
north-eastern town of Mandera. Police spokesman Dola Indidis announced on 
Tuesday they were holding Sheilk Ahmed Salim Swedan for his alleged 
involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that 
killed more than 200 people and injured 5,000. But Muslim leaders insist 
the man being questioned is Ahmed Hassan Mursal, otherwise known as "Ahmed 
Sudan", and that the authorities have got the wrong man. The FBI, soon 
after the 11 September terror attacks on American targets, issued a list of 
22 suspected terrorists, including Mr Swedan, wanted in connection with 
crimes committed since 1985. His supporters have described him as a 
respected preacher and someone who has been in charge of an orphanage in 
Mandera for the past decade. Newspapers in Kenya on 12 December said that 
police had been asked to either produce the man, who has been taken to the 
capital Nairobi, in court by 14 December or give suitable reasons for his 
continued detention. An opposition politician Faalim Farah has accused the 
government of victimising and harassing Muslims in return for development 
aid from Washington.   (BBC News, UK, 12 December 2001)

* Kenya. Eglise détruite - Excision interdite  -  Le 11 décembre, une 
église catholique et une école ont été détruites à Mandera (nord du Kenya) 
par des manifestants qui protestaient contre l'arrestation d'un imam 
musulman injustement confondu, selon eux, avec un terroriste recherché par 
le FBI. - D'autre part, le 12 décembre, le gouvernement kényan a annoncé 
l'interdiction de la pratique de l'excision des jeunes filles de moins de 
17 ans. Le nouveau texte de loi prévoit une peine minimale d'un an de 
prison et/ou une amende de 50.000 shillings ($633) pour les 
contrevenants.   (Le Figaro, France, 13 décembre 2001)

* Liberia. Les rebelles du LURD  -  Un autre membre du gouvernement 
libérien a été tué par des présumés dissidents dans la région de Lofa, au 
nord du pays, ont annoncé le 7 décembre des sources dignes de foi. Emmet 
Ross, ministre adjoint chargé des opérations au ministère de la Sécurité 
nationale, aurait été tué il y a trois jours, alors qu'il était en mission 
officielle à Lofa. Mais le gouvernement, dans un communiqué prudent, a 
déclaré que Ross et des officiers de rang inférieur était "portés disparus" 
et qu'une enquête était ouverte. Ils seraient tombés dans une embuscade. 
Mais le groupe rebelle "Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la 
démocratie" (LURD) n'a pas revendiqué cette embuscade. Le premier officiel 
de haut rang tué dans la région de Lofa était le ministre de la Jeunesse et 
des Sports, François Massaquoi, qui a été tué il y a six mois. Rien n'a 
filtré d'une enquête concernant cet incident. -D'autre part, le 
gouvernement libérien a annoncé avoir tué, dans le nord du pays, un haut 
commandant et 27 autres dissidents du LURD. Randall Mulbah, chef 
d'état-major adjoint du LURD et ses hommes ont été tués au cours de combats 
violents pour le contrôle de la ville de Foya, indique un communiqué. - 
Selon un communiqué gouvernemental du 9 décembre, les combattants du LURD 
seraient en train de se diriger vers la localité de Kungbor, dans une 
région frontalière avec la Sierra Leone, dans le but de se regrouper. Les 
combattants seraient en "désarroi", coupés de leur base d'approvisionnement 
près de Kolahun, à la frontière avec la Guinée. Selon le communiqué, des 
troupes gouvernementales sont déployées à Kungbor pour couper les rebelles 
de la frontière sierra-léonaise. D'autre part, d'intenses combats 
continuent à Kolahun (nord) et à Belle Fassama et Geingba (nord-ouest). 
Selon un communiqué du 11 décembre d'Amnesty International, les civils sont 
devenus les cibles principales dans le conflit.   (ANB-BIA, de sources 
diverses, 11 décembre 2001)

Weekly anb1213.txt - #4/7