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Conflict/Refugees
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2 March 2008
Israel: Israel pledges increased Gaza offensive as U.N. condemns recent violence. Escalating Israeli attacks caused the deaths of 61 people on Saturday, the worst single day of violence for the Palestinians since the 1980s. The current offensive is in response to Islamist insurgents firing a long-range rocket into a major southern Israeli city.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02193181.htm
Kenya: Peace deal signed after two months of post-election violence. Kofi Annan left Kenya after a coalition deal was signed on Thursday between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. The recent violence has caused a drop in tourism of nearly 90%, hurting the nation's economy.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01117223.htm
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24 February 2008
Kenya: Power sharing deal nearly completed.In a critical step to restoring peace in Kenya, government and opposition leaders are close to completing a power sharing deal. The government has agreed to create a prime minister position, which was one of the opposition’s main demands. Lawmakers are also working to rewrite the constitution, which many feel gives too much power to the president, and might be the root of the current crisis.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/22/africa/22kenya.php
Uganda: Rebels and government sign permanent ceasefire. After warring for two-decades, the Uganda Lord’s Resistance Army rebels and the government have signed a permanent ceasefire. A final peace settlement may be signed next week. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted nearly two million.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23150811.htm------------------------
17 February 2008
Eritrea: UN calls emergency session as Eritrea blocks food and fuel delivery to peacekeepers.In recent months, Eritrea has prevented UN peacekeepers stationed at the Eritrea-Ethiopia border from patrolling the Ethiopia side. Both countries agreed to an independent commission in 2002 to remark the official border, but Ethiopia has since rejected the new border.
Kenya: Peace progressing slowly, as negotiations stall.Despite promising words from Kofi Annan, political negotiations between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga are at a standstill. Although each side has agreed to a coalition government, neither can agree on the specifics. However, fighting and demonstrations around the country have subsided.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/15/africa/nairobi.php
Chad: After rebel attack, president declares state of emergency.Chadian President Idriss Deby has set media limits and a curfew in order to restore order after a coup attempt last week by rebels, allegedly from Sudan. Along the Chad-Sudan border, tensions are rising as gunman prevented humanitarian workers from moving Sudanese refugees into Chad, speeding up the deployment of an EU peacekeeping force to stabilise the region.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/15/africa/AF-GEN-Chad.php
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03 February 2008
Chad: Rebels threaten capital, France and U.S. prepare to evacuate nationals. Nearly 300 rebels are advancing towards the capital city of N’Djamena, calling for the president, Idriss Deby, to share power or step down. Chad claims the rebels are backed by the Sudanese government, which Khartoum denies. France and the United States have called for the evacuation of all nationals.
Kenya: Violence spreads to contryside. Violence in the Nirobi after the recent elections and stemming from ethnic clashes has quited in recent days, being replaced by lawless banditry in the countryside motivated more by money than ethnicity.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/02/africa/kenya.php
Somalia: MSF pulls out of country as two foreign aid workers killed. A roadside bomb killed one local and two foreign Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) workers, causing MSF to suspend all operations in Somalia. More than 6,500 people have been killed from the violence since 2006. The UNHCR continually calls Somalia the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01217660.htm
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27 January 2008
Kenya: Post-election violence continues, despite mediation efforts. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Ananan led peace talks earlier this week, as President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga met for the first time since the elections, which Odinga claims were rigged. Despite mediation efforts, violence between rival tribes has escalated. In Kipkelion, a group of youths attacked a monastery harboring over 600 refugees, and 27 people have died in the last few days due to the violence. In total, the death toll is reaching 800, with nearly 225,000 displaced.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76422
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26608784.htm
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20 January 2008
Kenya: Post-election violence continues as 13 killed by police. Police fired at a Nairobi slum on Friday in response to continued protests against President Kibaki’s re-election, killing 13 people and wounding at least a dozen. Amnesty and other human rights groups condemned the police actions, with MSF declaring it a ‘massacre.’
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18055344.htm
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13 January 2008
Kenya: Post-Election Crisis Leaves Thousands in Need of Aid.As the violence following the controversial Kenyan election subsides, several aid agencies have rushed to provide food and shelter to those affected. The UN has estimated that as many as 500 000 could need long-term assistance while the World Food Programme has identified Nairobi's slums, where 60% of the city's populace live, as a priority.
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/kenya
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2739
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_42396.html
Democratic Republic of Congo: Humanitarian Crisis Continues. Refugees from the fighting in North Kivu continue to arrive in South Kivu in greatneed of aid reports the International Red Cross. In addition to providing essential items such as food and shelter the Red Cross has also been involved in treating many war wounded. Numerous accounts of sexual assault and rape against the displaced have been reported.
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/congo-kinshasa-news-281207!OpenDocument
Iraq: Aid Agencies Attempt to Feed One Million Displaced Iraqis. The World Food Programme has announced the start of an initiative to feed the vast numbers of displaced Iraqis in both Iraq and Syria. This comes as the WHO calculates the number of people killed by the violence in Iraq may now exceed 151 000.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2008/pr02/en/index.html
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2732
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18 November 2007
Somalia: UN Special Envoy calls Somalia’s humanitarian crisis ‘the worst in Africa’. Over 170 000 have fled Mogadishu in the last fortnight, as repeated rounds of violence plague the country. Nearly 500 civilians have been killed since October. Temporary housing capabilities are so stretched that families are sleeping under trees, as aid agencies struggle with transportation, communication, and safety barriers.
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11 November 2007
Sudan: Sudanese officials expel the chief U.N. humanitarian official, hindering aid to 1 million. The head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, Wael al-Haj-Ibrahim was expelled amidst accusations of unspecified rule violations. The Aegis Trust claims he was forced out due to resisting a policy amounting to further ethnic cleansing.
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4 November 2007
Somalia: Deepening crisis leaves 1.5 million in need of humanitarian aid. In the last week, nearly 100 000 people have fled Mogadishu amidst the worst fighting in months, only to find themselves in overcrowded areas with little aid. The main constraint is lack of security and high levels of violence, restricting humanitarian agency movements.
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28 October 2007
DR Congo: As thousands flee to Uganda, human rights organisations concerned current violence will escalate to mass ethnic killings.Mass violence in the eastern provinces of DRC between the Congolese army and rebel troops loyal to General Nkunda has displaced over 700,000 people. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty documented murders and rapes of civilians, and are concerned that increased violence may renew ethnic killings.
Somalia: Independent reporting threatened as eight journalists killed. The Somali government has failed to investigate the murders of eight journalists, and continues to close media outlets and harass reporters, damaging independent media in war-torn Somalia. This year, conflict between Ethiopian-Somali troops and a coalition of Islamist insurgent groups has displaced 400,000 people from Mogadishu. The International Rescue Committee has just opened its first field-office in Somalia’s central Mudug region, where tens of thousands are displaced and have not had humanitarian support for years.
Iraq: Refugee crisis continues unabated, with 4.5 million displaced Iraqis. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has reported that violence has contributed to the constant increase in refugees, with half fleeing to neighboring countries, and the remainder displaced inside Iraq.
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