NEW REBEL GROUP THREATENS DR CONGO

A new rebel group is threatening the key town of Bunia in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Firing on the outskirts of the town led to a stampede as local people left and shut shops hurriedly, according to the BBC’s Thomas Fessy, in Kinshasa. Bunia is the capital of Ituri province and an important base for United Nations peacekeepers. It was also the scene of bloody fighting before a 2006 ceasefire led to a peace deal.

The new rebel coalition, the Popular Front for Justice in Congo – known by its French acronym, FPJC, had earlier taken a village close to Bunia, killing soldiers and sending thousands fleeing for their lives into the bush. Mayhem broke out in Bunia on Friday after government troops clashed with the rebels less than 10km (6 miles) south of the town.

Local people, hearing the firing and fearful that fighting could erupt in the town centre, fled from the main market. All the shops shut down and children were told to leave their schools and go home, our correspondent says. United Nations troops reinforced their positions on the outskirts of the town and as night fell the situation calmed down and stability returned.

The area around Bunia suffered almost a decade of war, which ended with a peace deal in 2006. But the rebels say they represent a new coalition, formed to force the implementation of that deal, which included an amnesty for all those who participated in the previous fighting.

Tension in the region has been growing over the past two weeks, with fighting between Congolese troops and the rebels moving closer to Bunia.

SOURCED FROM BBC.

IVORY COAST REBELS URGE NEW DATE FOR NOVEMBER 30 POLL

Ivory Coast’s New Forces rebels have asked electoral authorities to postpone a presidential election set for November 30, citing delays in voter registration and in the demobilization of civil war combatants. The poll, in which President Laurent Gbagbo is expected to stand for re-election, is the culmination of a peace deal he signed last year with the rebels, who have controlled the north of the world’s top cocoa grower since the 2002-2003 conflict.

But the November 30 date for the vote is seen as almost certain to slip because of the slow progress of voter identification and delays in programmes to demobilize thousands of former rebel fighters and pro-government militia. Gbagbo, the rebels and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, who helped mediate the 2007 Ivorian peace deal, are due to meet at the end of this month to decide whether or not to set a new date for the election.

After a weekend seminar at their stronghold of Bouake, New Forces rebel military and civilian leaders said the slow pace of voter registration and the absence of adequate security at voter enrolment centres made it advisable to postpone the vote.

“Following analysis and in a bid to ease the constraints, the (New Forces) seminar invites the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) to propose another date for the ballot, taking into account the difficulties raised,” Andre Ouattara, the rapporteur of the rebel seminar, said late on Saturday.

The rebels did not immediately suggest a new date for the vote, which could be postponed to the first quarter of 2009.In recent months, dissident former rebel combatants have staged armed protests to demand bigger demobilisation payouts.

This has raised fears of renewed unrest and violence which could unravel the March 2007 peace deal signed between Gbagbo and New Forces rebel leader Guillaume Soro, who is serving as prime minister until elections are held. New Forces military chief Soumaila Bakayoko said many former fighters were impatient about the slow pace of their payoffs.

“The way things are going, we’ll need five years to reabsorb the 26,000 demobilized fighters we have. Five years is a long time, will they want to wait?” he said, suggesting that each be given a 500,000 CFA franc one-off “safety net” payment.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS.

ETHIOPIAN NEED SHOULD NOT BE UNDER-ESTIMATED

Aid agencies are warning that Ethiopian authorities are under-estimating the scale of the country’s drought. Official estimates of the number of people facing hunger and hardship stand at 4.6m but agencies warn the real figure could be more than 8m. There is also confusion over the amount of money needed to meet the crisis, with the Oxfam agency estimating it at about $500m.

However, the United Nations reports that $772m has already been pledged. Ethiopia is in the grip of severe food shortages after rains failed across a large swathe of the east and south of the country. But attempts to deal with the crisis have been hindered by disputes over the number of people affected.

CHANGING AID TARGETS April appeal: 2.18m in need June appeal: 4.6m in need October assessment: 6.4m in need Aid agencies: 8m in need Source: Government reports and aid agencies

In April the first government appeal spoke of more than 2m in need of food aid. By June that figure had risen to well over 4m. Aid agencies now say the official estimate has reached 6.4m – but has not yet been released. But, say the agencies, even this underestimates the scale of the problem.

Ethiopians are a proud people, who hate the image of their country forever extending a begging bowl. And they are suspicious of the motives of the aid community. In an interview with Time magazine in August, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said there were pockets of severe malnutrition but that the situation was manageable.

There has not been a famine on our watch – emergencies, but no famines Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

He questioned the way some agencies operated, saying they tended to use “hyperbole” to get the aid they needed. “That can convey the message that the situation is hopeless when in fact it is not,” said the prime minister. Yet if the 8m figure is correct, and if this is added to the approximately 7m who are chronically short of food, then as many as 20% of all Ethiopians could need food aid this year.

Oxfam has just released a fresh appeal. It says the aid required is $260m short of its target. But figures produced by the United Nations office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs show that $772m has already been pledged, the vast majority from the US, which has nearly trebled its aid to Ethiopia this year. The current crisis in Ethiopia is being lost in a swirling mist of competing figures.

SOURCED FROM BBC.

TSVANGIRAI THREATENS TO PULL OUT OF POWER-SHARING DEAL

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of a power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe. The MDC leader accused Mr Mugabe of trying to secure all key ministry posts for his ruling Zanu-PF party. The MDC has reportedly said if Zanu-PF gets defence, then home affairs – which covers policing – must go to the MDC.

The two bitter rival parties agreed to share power on 15 September but have been deadlocked over cabinet posts. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, on Monday in an attempt to break the impasse over the appointment of cabinet posts. AFP news agency quoted Mr Tsvangirai as telling a rally in Harare on Sunday: “If they [Zanu-PF] do it that way, we have no right to be part of such an arrangement.

“The people have suffered. But if it means suffering the more in order for them to get what is at stake, then so be it. “We will renegotiate until an agreement is reached but that does not mean we will compromise for the sake of it.”

Mr Tsvangirai’s warning follows news on Saturday that Mr Mugabe had allocated key ministries to his own party – in violation of the deal. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said this was “Zanu-PF’s arrogant wish list” and warned it was putting the deal in jeopardy. Under the existing agreement Mr Mugabe remains president while Mr Tsvangirai becomes prime minister.

The continuing political impasse is not thought to have helped ease the country’s crippling economic crisis. On Thursday, it was announced that Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate had soared to 231,000,000%.

SOURCED FROM BBC.