DUBAI, 28 October 2007 (IRIN) - Contents:

IRAQ: Violence-related deaths drop 'remarkably', say authorities and UN IRAQ: Aid agencies prepare for displacement near Turkish border IRAQ: Humanitarian concerns growing near Turkish border IRAQ: Government says cholera is under control despite 21 deaths IRAQ: Mental problems and stress disorders increase IRAQ: Child prisoners abused and tortured, say activists ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza residents unable to get medical care, aid workers say LEBANON: Lack of environmental policies costs $550m, says ex-minister SOMALIA-YEMEN: Over 3,000 Somalis living in harsh conditions, community leader says YEMEN: Aid agencies say humanitarian situation could worsen in north SOMALIA-YEMEN: Mohammed Hassan Ali: "What can I do with this kind of life?" HORN OF AFRICA-YEMEN: IOM to create database for African migrants

IRAQ: Violence-related deaths drop 'remarkably', say authorities and UN

Iraqis are breathing a sigh of relief as violence in their war-torn country is ebbing and the number of violence-related victims has dropped sharply since the beginning of this year, according to statistics compiled by the country's interior, defence and health ministries.

[Read this story in Arabic: http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=383] [Read this story in French: http://www.irinnews.org/fr/ReportFrench.aspx?ReportId=74916]

"Violence-related deaths in September dropped remarkably to levels not seen in more than a year as the number [of violence-related deaths] stood at 290 while in September 2006 the number was about 1,400," Adel Muhsin, the health ministry's inspector-general, told IRIN in a phone interview.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74892

IRAQ: Aid agencies prepare for displacement near Turkish border

Aid agencies working in Iraq's northern provinces have put in place emergency supply programmes in anticipation of a threatened invasion by Turkish troops to clear Turkish-Kurdish rebels operating in the area.

"We are storing supplies to the maximum and we urge international NGOs to send us food parcels and medicines to tackle a possible huge displacement in the coming days," said Rastgo Muhammad Barsaz, a spokesman for the NGO, Kurdistan Campaign to Help Victims of War. "Some families have already left villages and towns near the Kurdish border with Turkey and have been displaced for the past week.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74903

IRAQ: Humanitarian concerns growing near Turkish border

Dozens of families have been leaving villages near the Iraq-Turkey border since 21 October, joining the hundreds who have already fled the area as tension rises between Turkish-Kurdish rebels and the Turkish army, local officials say.

A cross-border ambush on 21 October by Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq killed at least 17 Turkish soldiers, ratcheting up pressure on the Turkish government to launch a military offensive into Iraq.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74926

IRAQ: Government says cholera is under control despite 21 deaths

UN agencies and the Iraqi government say the cholera outbreak is under control, despite the fact that since August there have been about 4,200 laboratory-confirmed cases and 21 deaths from the disease.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74927

IRAQ: Mental problems and stress disorders increase

Salah Hashimy, 14, has lost his parents, sisters and many friends since the US-led invasion in 2003; finally there was no one to look after him. He lacks education, love and support, a combination that, according to doctors, caused his mental health problems.

"My memory is very weak but I cannot forget when I saw my sister being raped by militants until she died," Hashimy said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74972

IRAQ: Child prisoners abused and tortured, say activists

Iraqi NGOs have raised concerns about the condition of children in local prisons, saying they are abused and tortured during interrogation.

"Children are being treated as adults in Iraqi prisons and our investigations have shown that they are being abused and tortured," said Khalid Rabia'a, a spokesman for the Prisoners' Association for Justice (PAJ).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74984

ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza residents unable to get medical care, aid workers say

Dozens of patients in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive medical treatment, in some cases life-saving procedures, due to the continued border closures with Israel and Egypt, health officials and international aid workers said.

"At least three patients denied exit permits have died since June, and others have lost limbs or sight," Human Rights Watch reported. The Palestinian organization Al Mezan in Gaza said a fourth man, Nimir Muhammad Shuheibar, aged 77, died on 23 October while awaiting treatment.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74979

LEBANON: Lack of environmental policies costs $550m, says ex-minister

Ramzi Msharrafyeh stepped carefully between the burned bushes and trees in the village of Ayn Trez, 34km southwest of Beirut, where the air is still heavy with the smell of smoke.

[Read this report in Arabic: http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=391]

Earlier this month, 242 forest fires blazed across Lebanon's central mountain range, destroying 1,526 hectares of forest - more than one million trees - killing one woman and injuring dozens of residents, according to the Association of Forest Development and Conservation (AFDC).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74920

SOMALIA-YEMEN: Over 3,000 Somalis living in harsh conditions, community leader says

Abu Bakr Hussein, 40, was among 100 Africans who crossed the Gulf of Aden by boat to reach Yemen on 8 October. "Each of us paid US$60 to the smugglers but the journey was horrible," he said.

[Read this report in Arabic: http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=381]

Even worse were the conditions he soon found himself living in, accentuated by severe pain he began feeling in his left eye upon arrival in Yemen. "I don't know where to go for treating my eye; nor do I have money to buy medicine."

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74891

YEMEN: Aid agencies say humanitarian situation could worsen in north

Aid agencies are concerned that as tension looms between government forces and Shia rebels in the northern Saada province, near the border with Saudi Arabia, following sporadic clashes between them, the humanitarian situation in the area could deteriorate.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74947

SOMALIA-YEMEN: Mohammed Hassan Ali: "What can I do with this kind of life?"

Mohammad Hassan Ali, a 27-year-old Somali, is one of 3,800 African migrants who arrived by boat in Yemen in October. He is living in al-Basateen, a poor neighbourhood in Aden. He sleeps rough and has no job.

"On the night of 10 October, as our boat was approaching the Yemeni coast, smugglers threw me into the sea along with 110 other passengers. I could hear some female passengers crying as the smugglers were beating us with sticks to leave their boat. We swam for about five minutes until we reached the coast. Fortunately, none of us died. It was a horrible moment. We were in a miserable condition and very hungry as we had nothing to eat for hours.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74971

HORN OF AFRICA-YEMEN: IOM to create database for African migrants

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Sanaa is to create and manage a database that will register migrants and asylum seekers from Africa who have arrived in Yemen by sea after crossing the Gulf of Aden, according to Stefano Tamagnini, head of office.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74982

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