Weekly anb0515_3.txt #6

[anb-bia <anb-bia@village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 15-05-2003      PART #3/6

* Congo (RDC). The battle for Bunia  -  8 May: A number of people have been 
killed in north-eastern Congo in a day of fighting and looting. Thousands 
of residents are spending the night in buildings protected by UN 
peacekeepers. Clashes between rival ethnic militias broke out in Bunia 
following the withdrawal of Ugandan forces. The violence came as the 
President of Uganda and Rwanda met in London to discuss --among other 
issues -- peace in Congo where they have both supported rival rebel groups. 
Hundreds of militia fighters --some children -- roamed Bunia's streets, 
today, some armed with machetes and spears, others with guns. Reports say 
there have been heavy casualties and widespread looting and that thousands 
of people have fled the town. 9 May: No fighting has been reported today in 
Bunia but the UN spokesperson in Bunia, Patricia Tome, says the situation 
is volatile. She appeals for emergency food supplies and said about 1,000 
students have mobbed the UN headquarters in the town to ask for help. The 
UN spokesperson says hundreds of families sheltering in a UN base had come 
under mortar fire and the UN troops have fired back. She says some 5,000 
people had left their homes and sought protection from UN peacekeepers. 11 
May: The United Nations has held talks with rival ethnic militias to try to 
end fierce fighting in the north-east of Congo. The Hema and Lendu 
militias, battling to control the town of Bunia, have been urged to 
withdraw to camps on the outskirts. More bodies of civilians from the 
latest fighting have been found -- including three babies -- while the few 
remaining aid workers in the area are battling to feed thousands of 
refugees. The situation will be discussed by the UN Security Council on 12 
May -- which is expected to be asked to deploy more peacekeeping troops. 
There are currently 625 UN troops in Bunia, struggling to keep apart as 
many as 28,000 tribal fighters from across the region. "The problem is that 
there are too many armed groups in the town and as long as they remain in 
close proximity, it is easy for them to resume fighting," Amos Namanga 
Ngongi, head of the UN mission in Congo, said. He said that if the fighters 
went to the camps and disarmed, aid workers would provide them with food 
and medicine. The UN has been unable to calculate exactly how many people 
have been killed in the four days of fighting as some parts of the town are 
still off limits to them, but Mr Ngongi said the death toll would be "quite 
heavy". UN representative Patricia Tome said the bodies of five men, four 
women and three tiny babies were found in the centre of Bunia on 11 May. 
The adults had suffered gunshot wounds and cuts, and the babies had had 
their throats slit. She said that UN workers also found 13 nuns hiding at 
the site of a massacre near a church on 10 May, in which 20 people, 
including two priests, were killed. 12 May: Well-armed ethnic Hema fighters 
have taken control of Bunia. They forced out Lendu militiamen who had been 
in control for the past week after a two-hour battle, say United Nations 
officials in the town. The latest fighting came ahead of a meeting of the 
UN Security Council, today, to discuss the situation in Bunia. Senior 
figures including South African President Thabo Mbeki have urged the UN to 
increase its force there and strengthen its mandate. Following the takeover 
by the Hema Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), ethnic Lendus are leaving 
the town, says UN spokeswoman Patricia Tome. "If [UN peacekeeping] troops 
are going to be deployed they have to deployed quickly," she said. "The UPC 
say they have warned their men against committing abuses in the town but 
the Lendu are not going to take the word of the UPC and they are leaving." 
UN officials within Bunia say the Hema fighters launched their attack at 
0600 local time (0500 GMT). Using artillery and mortars, they chased out 
the town's Lendu defenders within two hours. The officials said the 
militiamen, many of whom are drugged teenage fighters armed with machetes 
and spears, turned and ran in the face of superior fire power. The two 
sides have been fighting for control of Bunia and the gold rich region that 
surrounds it for the past week, since the Ugandan army withdrew following 
an agreement with the Congolese Government. President Joseph Kabila has 
invited all militia leaders to peace talks and called on them not to target 
Bunia's population. Because of the ethnic aspect of the conflict -- the 
Lendu and Hema are traditional foes -- many civilians have been killed. 13 
May: An article in today's Belgium's La Libre Belgique wonders if the 
capture of Bunia by the Hema is the prelude to an internal Hema feud? The 
question is asked because of differing views expressed yesterday by a 
senior Hema leader, Thomas Lubanga, and Colonel Prince Mugabo, another Hema 
leader. -- A UN official says that heavy artillery is again heard in Bunia. 
Floribert Ndjabu Ngabu, leader of the Lendu Front of Nationalists and 
Integrationists, says his troops have launched a counter-attack. -- The UN 
Security Council has been discussing sending more peacekeepers to the Ituri 
district around Bunia. France has offered to contribute troops but the 
Hemas say they would consider them as enemies. The United Nations is to ask 
other countries to follow France's example in offering to send peacekeepers 
to the north-eastern Ituri region in Congo. The Security Council's 
president says a final decision on what should be done in Congo is not 
expected to be reached until later this week. -- The UN Children's Fund 
(Unicef) has announced that two planeloads of humanitarian aid supplies 
have been sent to Ituri. Medicine and water purification tablets were 
delivered to the UN military contingent (MONUC) for distribution, Unicef 
spokesman Damien Personnaz said. -- Carla del Ponte, prosecutor for the 
International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia warns that the 
conflict in north-eastern Congo could constitute genocide. This term brings 
with it obligations under international law for the outside world to 
intervene. 14 May: Heavy fighting is once again raging in Bunia. Dead 
bodies are reported to litter the streets of the town. UN spokeswoman, 
Patricia Tome, says: "There's fire everywhere, from mortars, from 
Kalashnikivs and other heavy arms". Thousands of displaced people in Bunia 
are suffering in desperate conditions. The latest attacks come as Congo's 
President Kabila flies to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for a regional summit 
to discuss the crisis in eastern Congo. Ethnic Hema and Lendu leaders are 
reported to have also left Bunia airport to attend the talks along with 
Congo's Human Rights Minister Ntumba Luaba who is sheltering at the UN 
compound.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 14 May 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Situation improving  -  10 May: The government of national 
reconciliation has approved a decree lifting a curfew imposed after the 19 
September rebellion began. The decision was announced over the national TV 
service. 13 May: The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously 
to send a new peacekeeping mission to Côte d'Ivoire to try to enforce a 
fragile ceasefire between government and rebel troops. The new resolution 
authorises the establishment of a small force of up to 76 military 
observers in the West African nation, which has suffered eight months of 
civil war. The resolution was adopted just hours after the Security Council 
postponed a fact-finding mission to West Africa which would have included a 
stop in Côte d'Ivoire. The token force will work alongside UN humanitarian 
agencies and the UN special representative. The mission, known by the 
acronym Minuci, will include 26 military officers and is expected to play a 
co-ordinating role between the existing West African and French forces on 
the ground in Côte d'Ivoire and to monitor the implementation of the peace 
agreement.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 May 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Fin de l'état de guerre  -  Le vendredi 9 mai au soir, le 
gouvernement ivoirien de réconciliation nationale a officiellement proclamé 
la fin de l'état de guerre en Côte d'Ivoire et la suppression de toutes les 
"zones de guerre" sur l'ensemble du territoire national. Le 10 mai, le 
président Gbagbo a aussi signé un décret levant le couvre-feu instauré 
depuis huit mois en Côte d'Ivoire. Ce décret vient consolider la signature 
d'un cessez-le-feu sur tous les fronts décidé il y a une semaine. Le 
gouvernement d'union s'est également engagé à rétablir l'autorité de l'Etat 
dans les territoires sous contrôle rebelle. La proclamation de la cessation 
définitive de l'état de guerre met officiellement fin à la crise 
politico-militaire qui secoue le pays depuis septembre 2002. A partir du 15 
mai, une mission du Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu entreprendra une tournée 
dans la sous-région, avec comme principal objectif l'évaluation de 
l'application des accords de Marcoussis de janvier dernier. - 10-11 mai. 
Durant le week-end, le gouvernement a mis au point un programme 
d'application des accords de Marcoussis, qu'il entend soumettre 
prochainement à l'Assemblée nationale. Il s'agirait en particulier des 
dispositions concernant la nationalité, l'identité, la présidence de la 
République, le foncier rural et le désarmement. - 13 mai. Le Conseil de 
sécurité de l'Onu a approuvé l'envoi d'une mission en Côte d'Ivoire 
(intitulée Minuci) chargée de faire respecter l'accord de paix. Le conseil 
a autorisé l'envoi pour six mois d'une mission pouvant compter jusqu'à 76 
observateurs, chargés de surveiller la situation et de collaborer avec la 
force ouest-africaine et les militaires français. Kofi Annan avait 
initialement préconisé l'envoi de 255 hommes, mais les Etats-Unis ont 
souhaité que ce nombre soit réduit. Par ailleurs, le conseil a reporté une 
mission en Afrique de l'Ouest qui devait débuter jeudi. - D'autre part, 
selon des sources militaires et locales, plusieurs dizaines de personnes, 
hommes, femmes et enfants, de l'ethnie Guéré, auraient été tuées, les jours 
précédents, au cours de nouvelles violences interethniques dans la zone 
occidentale du pays. Les soldats français n'ont pu confirmer 
l'information.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mai 2003)

* Djibouti. Etat-major américain  -  Le général américain John Sattler, 
précédemment embarqué à bord du navire de commandement Mount Withney, qui 
croisait dans le golfe d'Aden et en océan Indien, a reçu l'ordre 
d'installer son état-major à Djibouti dans le cadre des actions entreprises 
par les Etats-Unis contre le terrorisme international. De là les forces 
spéciales américaines seront engagées dans des actions antiterroristes dans 
la Corne de l'Afrique (Djibouti, Ethiopie, Erythrée, Kenya, Somalie et 
Soudan). Au camp Lemonnier, une ancienne base de la Légion étrangère en 
République de Djibouti, 1.200 soldats américains stationneront au terme 
d'un accord signé en février 2003.   (Le Monde, France, 9 mai 2003)

* Ethiopie/Kenya. Inondations  -  Tout comme au Kenya (voir nos 
informations du 5 mai), les pluies torrentielles ont fait des ravages en 
Ethiopie. Dans l'est du pays, qui avait connu des mois de sécheresse, au 
moins 40 personnes se seraient noyées. "Des villages entiers ont été 
détruits et les habitants ont dû chercher refuge dans les montagnes", a 
déclaré à la BBC le ministre éthiopien de l'Energie, Mohammed Dirir. La 
rivière Shebelle a débordé et quelque 100.000 habitants des villages 
riverains sont sans abri. - Au Kenya, selon des sources locales de l'agence 
Misna, les pluies restent violentes et la situation semble empirer. Selon 
les dernières données de la Croix-Rouge, au moins 40 personnes ont péri 
dans les inondations. Le 7 mai, le gouvernement a déclaré l'état d'urgence 
national et fait savoir que l'armée serait mobilisée pour secourir la 
population. Les métérologues affirment que les pluies continueront pendant 
tout le mois.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 mai 2003)

* Gambie. Sécheresse - aide d'urgence  -  Le conseil d'administration de la 
Banque africaine de développement (BAD) a approuvé un don de 500.000 
dollars à la Gambie pour une aide d'urgence aux victimes de la sécheresse. 
Ce don servira à aider les populations les plus touchées par les pénuries 
alimentaires consécutives à la longue sécheresse qui a touché 235.000 
habitants dans 10 des 35 districts du pays en 2002. Quelque 1.600 tonnes de 
semences seront aussi fournies aux populations pour la prochaine campagne 
agricole qui commence en juin.   (PANA, Sénégal, 10 mai 2003)

* Guinea-Bissau. Strike bites  -  13 May: Unpaid civil servants in 
Guinea-Bissau have begun a series of week-long strikes. On 12 May, schools 
and hospitals were closed and energy and water supplies switched off by the 
workers who have not been paid for six months. The strikes have deepened 
tension in the former Portuguese colony where officials have twice 
postponed a planned general election because of a lack of cash. 
Correspondents say the conditions are already terrible in the country of a 
population of one million. Food shortages have reportedly worsened in 
recent months. Teachers say they will strike for two weeks, while staff at 
hospitals and clinics and water and energy workers are refusing to work for 
a week, Portuguese state radio Radiodifusao Portuguesa reported. At least 
80% of workers stayed away from work, the Portuguese news agency Lusa 
reported. President Kumba Yala is reported to have met privately last week 
with senior military officers angry that the army has received no pay since 
last year. Senior officers last week were said to have stayed away from the 
swearing-in ceremony of new Defence Minister Filomena Tipote. The previous 
minister, Marcelino Cabral, was fired by President Yala for criticizing the 
government and was later arrested on slander charges.   (BBC News, UK, 13 
May 2003)

* Kenya. Concerns grow over flower farms  -  BBC One's "Real Story" has 
been in Kenya to expose the cheap labour, health risks and environmental 
damage at farms which supply supermarket flowers to the UK. The flower 
farms around Lake Naivasha are set in beautiful scenery with prolific 
wildlife. But for the men and women who work on them life is an endless 
grind. They travel to work in the early morning in company trucks that are 
grossly overcrowded, causing some to faint. In huge greenhouses, often in 
sweltering heat, they tend miles of plants which are sprayed regularly with 
toxic pesticides. Kenya exports 35,000 tonnes of cut flowers to Europe, 
putting it only behind Colombia and Israel for global flower exports, and 
giving it 60% of the US $165 million African flower trade. Almost half is 
creamed off by the supermarkets. Another complaint from the workers is that 
the toxic chemicals in the pesticides they are exposed to are affecting 
their health. Rashes, chest complaints, nausea, and even miscarriage, have 
been associated with spraying.   (BBC News, UK, 12 May 2003)

* Kenya. Alleged British war crimes  -  Scotland Yard has launched a war 
crimes inquiry into events 50 years ago in Kenya, where British officials 
are accused of involvement in atrocities during the Mau Mau insurgency. It 
is thought to be the first time that British police have investigated acts 
by British citizens that could lead to their prosecution for breaching the 
Geneva Convention.   (The Guardian, UK, 14 May 2003)

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