HORN OF AFRICA: HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 354
for 2-8 December 2006
08 Dec 2006 13:49:08 GMT Source: IRIN
NAIROBI, 8 December (IRIN) - CONTENTS:SOMALIA: Floods increase risk of malnutrition, diseases
SOMALIA: Lifting of arms embargo
dangerous, UIC says
SOMALIA: Fears of humanitarian crisis as war talk escalates
SUDAN: Darfur at risk of mounting HIV/AIDS epidemic
SUDAN: Tension mounts after attack on North Darfur town
SUDAN:
Conflict undermining food security in the southSee Also: HORN OF AFRICA: More funds needed to cope with floods at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56652SOMALIA: Floods increase
risk of malnutrition, diseasesFloods in Somalia have destroyed meagre food stocks for communities that were struggling to recover from the effects of a severe drought earlier in the year, putting
children at a higher risk of malnutrition, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)."In many areas, community food supplies traditionally stored underground have been completely
lost," Bob McCarthy, Emergency Officer, UNICEF Somalia Support Centre in Nairobi, told IRIN on Thursday. [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56668]SOMALIA: Lifting of arms
embargo dangerous, UIC saysThe Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) condemned on Thursday a decision by the United Nations Security Council to lift an arms embargo on Somalia, warning it would lead to
further instability. The move paves the way for the deployment of African troops to protect the interim government."This is a misguided decision," Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the UIC's head of foreign
affairs, said. "It will contribute to further instability in the country." [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56649]SOMALIA: Fears of humanitarian crisis as war talk
escalatesThe United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed concern over reports of imminent war in Somalia, as increased insecurity could worsen the
humanitarian crisis in the war-scarred country. "The consequences of any widespread conflict would be disastrous, including massive internal movement, civilian casualties, and further livelihood and
asset erosion," Philippe Lazzarini, head of OCHA in Somalia told IRIN on Wednesday. [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56636]SUDAN: Darfur at risk of mounting HIV/AIDS
epidemicThe United Nations is raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in Sudan, but has warned that infection rates may be on the rise in the unstable Darfur region."There are suggestions that the number
of people who have the disease [in Darfur] is increasing," UNAIDS Country Coordinator Musa Bungudu told reporters in the Sudanese capital Khartoum recently.
[Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56655]SUDAN: Tension mounts after attack on North Darfur townTension has mounted in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, amid
fears that rebels may launch an offensive on government forces being reinforced to defend the town, humanitarian sources said on Tuesday.Militias attacked the cattle market on Monday and clashed
with former rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), according to African Union (AU) sources. [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56627]SUDAN: Conflict undermining food
security in the southAttacks on communities in southern Sudan, such as the fighting in Malakal in Upper Nile State last week, are affecting food security and hampering improvements from recent
harvests, an early-warning agency warned.In Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Warrap States, the June-September harvest could sustain food needs until early next year, but increasing civil insecurity
threatened to worsen an improving situation, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net), said in an alert on Monday. [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56622]ah/
