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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 408 for 17-23 November 2007

23 Nov 2007 12:13:00 GMT
Source: IRIN

NAIROBI, 23 November 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS

KENYA: UN agency targets presidential candidates in campaign for children's rights KENYA: Locusts infest Mandera district UGANDA: Rebels ask for forgiveness at scene of LRA massacre DRC: Clashes prompt new wave of IDPs as army readies for offensive DRC: Poor harvest threatens food security, transport problems close feeding centre DRC: The deserted village – a casualty of North Kivu's continuing conflict CONGO: Disappeared but not forgotten: Brazzaville's missing refugees

KENYA: UN agency targets presidential candidates in campaign for children's rights

With only a month to Kenya's general election, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is asking the country's citizens to support politicians who will respect, protect and fulfil children's rights.

Under its campaign, Look Out For Leaders Who Look Out for Children, UNICEF Kenya has obtained pledges from the three leading presidential candidates to invest in quality education, child survival and social protection for vulnerable children should they win the election. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75438

KENYA: Locusts infest Mandera district

Swarms of locusts have infested parts of northeastern Kenya's district of Mandera, ravaging pasture and crops in the arid area frequently hit by drought, officials said.

The locusts reportedly originated from neighbouring Somalia where authorities in the northeastern self-declared autonomous region of Puntland in September appealed for international aid following the loss of thousands of hectares of pasture and farmland to locust infestation. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75474

UGANDA: Rebels ask for forgiveness at scene of LRA massacre

Representatives of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have visited the camp where 400 people were slaughtered by members of the Ugandan rebel group during a bloody attack considered the worst in nearly a decade.

LRA delegate Santa Okot said a team met the victims, widows and orphans of the February 2004 massacre in Barlonyo displaced people's camp, 20km north of Lira town, on November 16. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75380

DRC: Clashes prompt new wave of IDPs as army readies for offensive

Many civilians have fled the Democratic Republic of Congo town of Rutshuru amid fresh clashes between regular and dissident soldiers - renegade troops who the head of the army announced would soon be disarmed by force.

"Hundreds, perhaps several thousands of people have left Rutshuru [in North Kivu province] and moved in the direction of a MONUC [UN mission in Congo] base to the north, towards Kiwandja, or to the south, after fleeing rather serious skirmishes that lasted fours hours [on the morning of 21 November]," said Colonel Pierre Chareyron, MONUC spokesman. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75457

DRC: Poor harvest threatens food security, transport problems close feeding centre

Many tens of thousands of displaced people in Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict-ridden South Kivu province face serious food shortages in the coming months after their crops were destroyed by heavy rainfall in the region, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

"In the forest areas of Mwenga and Shabunda, more than 150,000 newly and previously displaced will not have sufficient food because of the bad harvest," said WFP spokeswoman Aline Samu. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75452

DRC: The deserted village – a casualty of North Kivu's continuing conflict

It may only be a short walk from its bustling neighbour Sake, but Kimoka is a ghost town. Homes are abandoned, the school is deserted and the brand new church empty. Light streams in through the open door onto huge leather drums beside the pulpit.

When the congregation fled, the drums became redundant. Now the only percussion comes from the small arms fire echoing through the mountains. Outside, dirty scraps of cloth and one child's shoe are strewn across the black volcanic earth - signs that there was once a community here. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75451

CONGO: Disappeared but not forgotten: Brazzaville's missing refugees

More than eight years and numerous court cases later, security officials, relatives and human rights advocates are still trying to find out what happened to the 'missing of Brazzaville Beach' - several hundred returning Congolese refugees who disappeared after being detained.

"Today we ask for truth, justice and reparation," said Vincent Niamankessi, president of the Brazzaville Beach Missing Peoples' Collective. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75431]

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Last updated:Fri Nov 23 12:16:42 2007