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MIDDLE EAST: IRIN-ME Weekly round up 144 for 15 – 21 September 2007

23 Sep 2007 10:18:34 GMT
Source: IRIN

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DUBAI, 23 September 2007 (IRIN) - Contents:

IRAQ: Ethnic violence forces more Arabs to flee Kirkuk IRAQ: Diyala the worst province for basic services IRAQ: New cholera cases in north, says Health Ministry IRAQ: Youssef Ahmed, "Now I understand how hard life is for people living with HIV"

IRAQ-SYRIA: Iraqis stream into Syria ahead of visa clampdown IRAQ-JORDAN: Visas to control flow of Iraqi refugees IRAQ: Lawyers accuse government of concealing information about detainees IRAQ: Sharp drop in number of violence-related deaths, government says ISRAEL-OPT: World Bank says donors need long term plan for OPT ISRAEL-OPT: Aid groups, UN protest Israeli sanctions move on Gaza

LEBANON: All to lose and much to gain in divisive presidential election OPT: UN moves to counter deteriorating Gaza education levels SOMALIA-YEMEN: Yemenis take big risks fishing in Somali waters

YEMEN: Moves afoot to reduce number of fire-arms in cities

IRAQ: Ethnic violence forces more Arabs to flee Kirkuk

Iraqi Arab residents of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, some 250km from Baghdad, say scores of Arab families are fleeing the city as ethnic violence increases there.

Read this story in Arabic: http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=316

"The attacks on our community have worsened since February 2007. We are being forced to leave the city almost empty-handed and the government isn't taking any action to support us," said Ali Akram Mahmoud, a spokesperson for Kirkuk's Arabs Association (KAA), formed in 2003 with the aim of safeguarding the rights of Arabs who had settled in the city.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74321

IRAQ: Diyala the worst province for basic services

Diyala province, on Iraq's eastern border with Iran, is the scene of some of the worst violence in Iraq today, making the province's shortages of basic services worse than anywhere else in the country, according to the local council and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

"Few schools are functioning properly, with few numbers of teachers and students. Hospitals lack essential supplies as the militants and insurgents fight over them. On top of that, some police stations are under the control of local militias," Fatah Ahmed, a spokesman for the Iraq Aid Association (IAA), said.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74323

IRAQ: New cholera cases in north, says Health Ministry

The number of suspected cholera cases in northern Iraq continues to rise, but the outbreak has so far been limited to three provinces, a Health Ministry official said on 15 September.

Since the disease broke out on 23 August, 10 people have died, some 1,100 have been confirmed with cholera, and 15,000 are showing symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, Muhsin said.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74329

IRAQ: Youssef Ahmed, "Now I understand how hard life is for people living with HIV"

Youssef Ahmed (not his real name), aged 27, says he was ostracised by his family after they discovered he was HIV-positive. Unemployed and forced to leave his family home, Ahmed could not find anywhere to stay so lived on the streets for months, always fearful of being attacked in the night by militias or insurgents.

"I discovered I was carrying the HI virus in October 2006 after donating blood. A doctor in the centre called me and asked me to visit him and I was given the sad news I was living with HIV.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74331

IRAQ-SYRIA: Iraqis stream into Syria ahead of visa clampdown

Iraqis are once again crossing into Syria in large numbers, taking advantage of the Syrian government's relaxation, for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, of newly-introduced visa regulations that prevent asylum seekers from Iraq entering the country.

Read this story in Arabic: http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=320

According to Syrian witnesses working at the main border crossing of Al-Tanf, over 1,000 Iraqi refugees are now making their way into Syria each day.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74350

IRAQ-JORDAN: Visas to control flow of Iraqi refugees

Iraqis fleeing their country's sectarian violence and wishing to enter Jordan will be required to obtain visas, Jordanian officials told IRIN on 18 September. But it is not clear when the new requirement will take effect. The measure is meant to regulate the flow of refugees and allow security personnel to conduct thorough checks before allowing anyone to enter the country, said Ziad Zubi, a spokesman of the Interior Ministry.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74368

IRAQ: Lawyers accuse government of concealing information about detainees

Lawyers representing families of Iraqi detainees have accused the government of concealing information about detainees, including their whereabouts.

"Hundreds of Iraqis have been detained by the Iraqi police or army in the past three years and their locations and conditions are unknown," Ayad Daraji, a lawyer representing 15 Iraqi families in Baghdad, said. "There is no evidence as to whether they are alive or not. Families aren't allowed to visit them and this raises big questions about the detainees' situation," he said.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74379

IRAQ: Sharp drop in number of violence-related deaths, government says

The number of victims of violence in Iraq has dropped by over 50 percent since February 2007, health and security officials said on 19 September.

"Between January and September 2006, the number of violence-related deaths in all [of] Iraq was about 27,000, while in the same period of 2007 the number of dead was about 7,000," Adel Muhsin, the Health Ministry's inspector-general, told IRIN in a phone interview.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74397

ISRAEL-OPT: World Bank says donors need long term plan for OPT

A new report by the World Bank warns that international aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been "reactive" and not governed by long-term development goals. Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP) has become more dependent on foreign aid and remittances from abroad, and was down a third from its 1999 level, it said.

The report, entitled Two Years After London: Restarting Palestinian Economic Recovery, will be presented at a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, a major donors' group, on 24 September in New York, during a preparatory meeting for a larger conference later this year.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74366

ISRAEL-OPT: Aid groups, UN protest Israeli sanctions move on Gaza

An Israeli cabinet decision on 19 September, which declared the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity" and which would allow the state to cut fuel and electricity supplies to the enclave, has been immediately condemned by aid and human rights organisations.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned "such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population under international humanitarian and human rights law".

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74410

LEBANON: All to lose and much to gain in divisive presidential election

Hajj Mustafa Zaatari, a baker from the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, has little patience for his country's beleaguered politicians as they struggle to overcome deep divisions ahead of electing a new president.

"Why would I want to talk politics?" he asks. "It's the holy month of Ramadan, and politics in this country is blasphemy, pure blasphemy."

With parliament set to re-open on 25 September, for the first time in just under a year, to begin electing a replacement to current President Emile Lahoud, analysts and citizens alike say their hopes for an end to divisions remain laced with fears of further instability.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74404

OPT: UN moves to counter deteriorating Gaza education levels

In an attempt to curb deteriorating standards of education in the Gaza Strip over the past year UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has announced a plan to reverse the high failure rates of students.

Read this story in Arabic: http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=322

"Current failure rates of 80 percent in Arabic and 40 percent in mathematics, especially dire in the boys' preparatory schools, are largely due to the devastating situation in Gaza which has adversely impacted the lives of residents," John Ging, UNRWA's Gaza director, told IRIN.

UNRWA is working to hire an additional 1,558 remedial teachers, Ging said, with one to be placed in every classroom in grades two, three and four to help improve learning.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74327

SOMALIA-YEMEN: Yemenis take big risks fishing in Somali waters

Yemeni fisherman Fadhel al-Nawbi, aged 27, swore he would never sail in Somali waters again. However, as soon as he returned to Mukalla (750km south of Sanaa) from yet another fishing expedition, he reassessed his two options: stay jobless or embark on yet another potentially dangerous fishing trip to the autonomous Somali region of Puntland.

"I have been sailing to different Somali cities for four years. To get to Somali waters can take up to three days depending on sea conditions. We go to coastal cities like Bosasso [Puntland's main port]. We take food, ice [to keep the catch fresh] and fuel," he said.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74375

YEMEN: Moves afoot to reduce number of fire-arms in cities

"Guns have caused us to suffer and lead a miserable life," said Ashwaq Mohammed, 27, remembering her husband who was killed four years ago in a shooting incident. "My husband was waiting for lunch in our yard when his close friend jokingly pointed a pistol at his head. A bullet was fired and ended his life."

Ashwaq, from Sanaa Province, is a mother of five, has no job and depends on her family to survive, but her plight is not uncommon.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74402

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Last updated:Sun Sep 23 10:21:04 2007