ASIA: IRIN-ASIA Weekly Round-up 120 for 16-22 April 2007
23 Apr 2007 11:00:18 GMT Source: IRIN
DUBAI, 23 April 2007 (IRIN) - DUBAI, 23 April 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS: About IRIN: IRIN to launch Sri Lanka coverage
AFGHANISTAN: Civilians the main victims of conflicts
AFGHANISTAN: Roadside bomb kills five UN staff and contractors
AFGHANISTAN: Disaster management
system needs urgent improvement
KAZAKHSTAN: Southern mineral mining industry centre hit by floods
KYRGYZSTAN: Southern villages hit by floods and mudslides
NEPAL: Delayed elections threaten peace NEPAL: Registration of weapons completed with UN help
NEPAL: Ethnic groups threaten nationwide strike
NEPAL: HIV awareness amongst MSM still low
NEPAL: Hi-tech monitoring system set for expanded
role
PAKISTAN: UN-assisted repatriation drive resumes for registered refugees only
SRI LANKA: Government promises inquiry into 'disappeared' while families wait in anguish
SRI LANKA: IDPs in
transit centre face uncertain future
TAJIKISTAN: New studies reveal major gap in HIV/AIDS awareness among youth About IRIN: IRIN to launch Sri Lanka coverage Starting from mid-April 2007, IRIN is
to include Sri Lanka as part of its international humanitarian news and analysis service. IRIN e-mail subscribers wishing to add Sri Lanka to their profiles can do so after logging into their IRIN
account online: http://www.irinnews.org/subscriberlogin.aspx. In case of any difficulties, or to request IRIN to update your profile on your behalf, please contact e-mail: subs@irinnews.org. Sri Lanka
will be the tenth Asian country covered by IRIN. The IRIN Sri Lanka web page will be at: http://www.irinnews.org/Asia-Country.aspx?Country=LK http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71641 AFGHANISTAN: Civilians the main victims of conflicts The United Nations and two prominent human rights organisations have raised grave concerns about the increasing number of civilians affected in
armed conflicts in Afghanistan. On Monday, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on the dramatic rise in civilian casualties during insurgent attacks in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has said that in 2006 alone, more than 650 civilians were killed in fighting between Islamic insurgents and Afghan government forces backed by
the US and NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF). http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71647 AFGHANISTAN: Roadside bomb kills five UN staff and contractors Four
Nepalese men contracted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to do security work and their Afghan driver died on Tuesday in a roadside bomb explosion in the volatile province of
Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, UN and Afghan officials said. On 4 April, insurgents abducted two French and three Afghan health workers as they were heading to Kandahar city after visiting a camp
for displaced people in the outskirts of the restive province that was once a Taliban stronghold. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71659 AFGHANISTAN: Disaster management system needs
urgent improvement Weeks after floods and avalanches caused extensive destruction across a third of Afghanistan, the Afghan government, United Nations agencies and NGOs agree that better relief
coordination systems need to be in place for future natural disasters. The Afghan government has reported more than 130 deaths and about 10,000 houses damaged in the country's recent natural disaster.
But there is still no reliable data on the exact numbers of dead and the full extent of damage. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71701 KAZAKHSTAN: Southern mineral mining industry
centre hit by floods Heavy downpours in southern Kazakhstan have flooded 200 houses and mining facilities in the mineral industry centre of Kentau, the Ministry of Emergencies (MOE) has said. Along
with the 200 houses and mining facilities, a plant for enriching polymetallic ores, a transformer factory, and an excavation company have all been flooded, Yermukhambetov said. Water is also being
pumped out of a mineral ore mine. A further 49 houses were flooded in the commercial capital of Almaty following heavy rain on Saturday, the MOE said. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71644 KYRGYZSTAN: Southern villages hit by floods and mudslides Floods and mudslides caused by heavy downpours hit southern Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday,
damaging houses and displacing families, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergencies (MOE) has said. At least six families were evacuated from their homes in southern Jalalabad province after mudslides hit the
villages of Charbak and Juzumjan in Aksy district, emergencies ministry reported on Wednesday. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71704 NEPAL: Delayed elections threaten peace Nepal's
key political parties have expressed concern that the country's hard-earned peace is at risk due to delayed national elections. The elections had been set for June, but the recent announcement by the
Election Commission (EC) to postpone voting has caused fear and frustration among the main political parties. According to the parties, holding national elections for the Constituent Assembly (CA) in
June was among the key agreements to pave the way for a politically stable and peaceful nation. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71628 NEPAL: Registration of weapons completed with UN
help The United Nations in Nepal has completed the first phase of the arms registration process, said officials from the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), which has been supervising and monitoring the
arms management process in the country. After nearly a decade of armed conflict that killed over 14,000 people and internally displaced nearly 200,000 persons, a truce was finally reached in November
2006. One of the key agreements of the deal was the management of arms and armies on both sides. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71653 NEPAL: Ethnic groups threaten nationwide strike Nepal's indigenous ethnic groups - known locally as the 'Janjati' - have threatened to hold an indefinite nationwide strike and blockade if the government fails to hold talks with them soon, leaders
of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NFIN) told IRIN on Wednesday. NFIN is the leading organisation of the indigenous groups and has been spearheading a nationwide movement over the
past three months fighting for their recognition, equal political rights and their right to self-determination. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71680 NEPAL: HIV awareness amongst MSM
still low Nepal has recorded almost 9,000 cases of HIV since the first case was reported in 1988, but UNAIDS puts the estimated number of HIV infections at closer to 75,000, in a population of 27
million. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are considered one of the groups most at risk and in need of HIV/AIDS education. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71738 NEPAL: Hi-tech
monitoring system set for expanded role Lack of access and poor communication in many districts of Nepal have proven to be the greatest challenges for local inhabitants and the international
humanitarian community trying to assist them. A World Food Programme hi-tech surveillance initiative launched three years ago is set to expand to include other themes, such as health and education. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71739 PAKISTAN: UN-assisted repatriation drive resumes for registered refugees only The United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR) has resumed its assisted
repatriation drive for more than two million Afghans living in Pakistan, the agency said on Thursday. According to a tripartite agreement between UNHCR and the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan,
Afghan refugees will not be forced to leave Pakistan. However, they are required to register their presence in Pakistan and can choose to repatriate voluntarily. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71708 SRI LANKA: Government promises inquiry into 'disappeared' while families wait in anguish Seven-year-old Angel Yogarajan held a photograph of her
family and stared blankly, while her brother and mother fought hard to keep back the tears. On 2 March, their family of seven was suddenly reduced to three people who have been desperate ever since.
Angel's father, Emmanuel Yogarajan, and three of her brothers were abducted in the coastal town of Negombo, 40 km north of the capital, Colombo. The family has no information of the whereabouts of the
four or even if they are still alive. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71679 SRI LANKA: IDPs in transit centre face uncertain future Some of an estimated 40,000 Trincomalee residents
displaced south - principally to Batticaloa District - by Sri Lanka's conflict as it intensified in 2006 are in the process of returning to their home areas. The Kiliveddy transit centre in southern
Trincomalee district was set up in early March 2007 to meet their needs and already it has the feel of a crowded bus station, with small numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) coming and
going. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71682 TAJIKISTAN: New studies reveal major gap in HIV/AIDS awareness among youth The results of two surveys released this week in Tajikistan
warn of low levels of HIV/AIDS awareness among young people and a lack of knowledge about preventive measures. One of the studies, conducted between November 2006 and January 2007 with support from
UNAIDS, found that 77 percent of respondents between the ages of 15 and 24 had heard of the HIV virus, but only a little over half knew how to protect themselves from infection. The majority of
HIV-infected people are between 24 and 39 years old. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71694
