NAIROBI, 18 May 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

KENYA: Hundreds of families displaced by flooding KENYA: Hundreds displaced in cattle-rustling clashes BURUNDI: Armed banditry, sexual violence increasing, says watchdog DRC: Violations of human rights common – Arbour DRC: Accelerate prison reforms, urges UN human rights commissioner CONGO: Ex-rebels accuse state of reneging on deal CONGO: Poor health system catalysing cholera in southwest

Also see: CONGO: Stepping up fight against malaria Full report

KENYA: Education, healthcare disrupted by clashes Full report

UGANDA: IDPs begin slow journey home amid concerns over peace process Full report 

KENYA: Hundreds of families displaced by flooding

Hundreds of families were displaced by flooding in Mombasa along the Kenyan coast after days of heavy rain, a humanitarian official said.

"One hundred and thirty families [an average family has six members] have been affected by the flash floods," Anthony Mwangi, the public relations manager of the Kenya Red Cross Society said on Tuesday.

At least two children were killed when the roof of the house they were sleeping in collapsed due to the heavy rain, he said. Another person was injured. Full report

KENYA: Hundreds displaced in cattle-rustling clashes

Clashes sparked by a cattle-rustling incident in the Marsabit district of northern Kenya left about 15 people dead and displaced hundreds more in the past week, aid workers said.

Fighting between the Gabra and Turkana communities erupted on 8 May when members of one group raided villages inhabited by the other and stole about 1,000 cattle, sheep and goats, prompting revenge attacks by the livestock owners.

An estimated 1,000 people have fled Moite and Komote villages in the Loyangalani division of Marsabit, the scene of the clashes, according to David Timado, a social worker and peace activist in the area. Full report

BURUNDI: Armed banditry, sexual violence increasing, says watchdog

Human rights violations, including executions by armed bandits and sexual violence against women and children, have continued in Burundi despite an improvement in the political landscape, a national watchdog has said.

At the launch of its annual report, Jean-Marie Vianey Kavumbagu, head of the Ligue Burundaise des Droits de l'Homme, ITEKA, said the inauguration of the government in 2005 should have helped to improve the situation.

Instead, the continuing circulation of weapons among civilians and the slow reintegration of demobilised fighters into society have led to daily reports of armed banditry in 2007. Full report

DRC: Violations of human rights common – Arbour

Serious human rights violations take place almost daily with total impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, on a visit to the country this week.

Arbour stayed five days in the DRC, where she met Congolese authorities as well as human rights activists, local and international non-governmental organisations, diplomats and the special representative of the UN Secretary-General, William Swing.

Discussions focused on the fight against the culture of impunity and the implementation of the means to protect fundamental freedoms, and on the efforts towards reconciliation and reconstruction. Full report

DRC: Accelerate prison reforms, urges UN human rights commissioner

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, criticised the appalling conditions in prisons in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while also suggesting the authorities compile an inventory of earlier serious human rights violations.

"Congo's prisons are overpopulated because there are many prolonged detentions as most detainees don't have access to justice," she said after visiting the Kinshasa penitentiary re-education centre. Arbour added reforms to improve the detention system in the country needed to be accelerated.

She also proposed that the human rights violation inventory cover the period 1993–2003 - before the International Criminal Court was set up. Full report

CONGO: Ex-rebels accuse state of reneging on deal

A former rebel group turned political party in the Republic of Congo has criticised the government's decision to change the post offered to its leader, Frédéric Bintsangou, alias Pastor Ntoumi, in an agreement aimed at bolstering the peace process.

The Conseil National de Résistance (CNR) said it had been told Ntoumi would be appointed head of humanitarian affairs instead of being councillor at the convention for peace and reconstruction as decided on 25 April.

"CNR was informed during a meeting presided over by the prime minister on 8 May of the change in Pastor Ntoumi's status. CNR would like to let national and international opinion know that the government has failed to respect its own signature," CNR said in a statement.

Full report

CONGO: Poor health system catalysing cholera in southwest

Lack of appropriate health and sanitation facilities and poor sensitisation of local communities have encouraged the spread of cholera in the Bouenza area of Congo, officials said.

According to an epidemiological bulletin published by Congolese health authorities, 21 cases of the disease have been reported in Loutété, of whom seven died. Another 207 cases have been reported in Loudima, of whom eight died, since the beginning of May.

The bulletin was produced by the national cholera crisis committee headed by Jeannine Bahou. The most affected areas are more than 200km southwest of the capital, Brazzaville.  Full report

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