NAIROBI, 23 March 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

DJIBOUTI: Dry spell causes food insecurity in northwest

SOMALIA: More civilians abandon homes as skirmishes continue SOMALIA: Fighting erupts in Mogadishu as gov't collects illegal guns SOMALIA: AU to support peace and reconciliation efforts SOMALIA: Acute watery diarrhoea kills 80 SOMALIA: Warnings of possible flooding KENYA-SOMALIA: Government asks Kenya to reopen airspace SUDAN: Darfur camps reaching capacity SUDAN: Thousands of Chadian refugees flee to Darfur

see also: HORN OF AFRICA: Cattle rustling 'goes commercial'

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70837 SOMALIA: Hoping for better times in Mogadishu http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70866

DJIBOUTI: Dry spell causes food insecurity in northwest

Poor urban households and thousands of pastoralists in northwestern Djibouti will experience food insecurity in the coming months because of the ongoing dry spell, a famine early warning agency said on Friday.

The dry spell means the condition of animals in the northwest is not good enough to sell them, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) said in a report . In some inland areas, animals are showing signs of stress commonly associated with this time of the year.

Djibouti's northwestern region is highly dependent on livestock for income and food. The current dry spell and poor livestock conditions are already creating household spending deficits of up to 20 percent and chronic high levels of malnutrition. full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70769

SOMALIA: More civilians abandon homes as skirmishes continue

Civilian families caught up in skirmishes between Somali government forces and

insurgents in Mogadishu continued to abandon their homes for safer areas of the city on Thursday as the government vowed to take full control of the capital.

"There were some skirmishes early

morning at Fagah area [north Mogadishu] but that died down," said a local resident. Fierce fighting erupted at the former military academy, however, at about 11am [local time] with reports of casualties, he added.

Clashes erupted on Wednesday morning between Ethiopian-backed government forces and residents supported by unknown militiamen, suspected of being the remnants of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). The violence claimed at least 34 lives and wounded dozens of others. full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70868

SOMALIA: Fighting erupts in Mogadishu as gov't collects illegal guns

Hundreds of families fled their homes in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Wednesday as fighting between Ethiopian-backed government troops and

unidentified insurgents raged on, claiming the lives of at least 34 people. The fighting erupted in Shirkole, south of the city, when government forces tried to extend their control over the area, said an eyewitness.

"They [government forces] came less than an hour after morning prayers [5am]. As soon as they tried to move into the area they met stiff resistance [from residents]," he said. Government forces were pushed back, towards the former defence ministry headquarters, where Ethiopian troops are based, he said, adding that residents were "quickly joined by courts militias [remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts]".

Another 92 people were reportedly wounded in the fighting, which started at about 6am on Wednesday, hospital sources said.

full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70842

SOMALIA: AU to support peace and reconciliation efforts

The African Union will support a reconciliation conference being organised

by Somalia's transitional government in an effort to build peace in the war-torn country, a top AU official said.

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is planning to hold the

conference in April that will last two months and is expected to include 3,000 representatives of various clans and the diaspora, as well as religious and political groups.

"I was highly

encouraged by the government of Somalia, which is strongly committed to discussion and reconciliation," AU Peace and Security Commissioner, Said Djinnit, told reporters in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday. "We will be glad to take part [in the conference] as the African Union; to help and advise in whatever way we can."

The AU has so far deployed two battalions of just over 1,500 Ugandan peacekeepers, out of a planned 8,000, for six months. Burundi, Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi have also pledged to contribute. full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70838

SOMALIA: Acute watery diarrhoea kills 80

An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea in and around the town of Bardhere, southwestern Somalia, has killed at least 80 people in the past three weeks, medical sources said on Tuesday.

"Fifteen people have died in hospital and over 70 died in the town and the villages around it," Bashir Usman, a doctor in the town, said.

The Bardhere hospital, which has not functioned properly for the past 10 years, is being used as a treatment centre for Bardhere and surrounding villages,

Usman said.

A task force was set up by the authorities two weeks ago to deal with the outbreak, according to Abdifatah Muhammad Ali, of Himilo Relief and Development Association, a local

non-governmental agency and part of the task force.

Usman blamed the outbreak on contaminated water drawn from wells. "We suspect the problem is the water people are drinking," he said. Floods, mostly in late 2006, displaced thousands of people in the region, with large tracts of farmland and water points submerged.

In a report last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Somalia said: "Between 1 January and 10 March, the number of acute watery diarrhoea cases registered in south/central was 5,542, with 252 deaths." full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70817

SOMALIA: Warnings of possible flooding

Above-normal precipitation in the April rainy season could lead to another floods crisis in southern Somalia, where river banks were eroded after torrential rainfall in 2006, a food security analysis unit reported on Friday..

"There is a high probability that some parts of the upper catchments of the Juba and Shabelle rivers in the highlands of Ethiopia will receive near- to above-normal rains. If the rains in the upper catchments are above normal, this will likely result in another season of flooding in the riverine areas of southern Somalia as reports indicate that river-bank breakages remain open," the Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) for Somalia said in a quarterly briefing.

Serious flooding in October-November 2006 in Juba and Shabelle river valleys destroyed an estimated 53,000ha of maize, 70,000ha of sesame, and 9,500ha of cow peas. full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70764

KENYA-SOMALIA: Government asks Kenya to reopen airspace

Somalia's interim government has requested neighbouring Kenya to allow direct flights to resume between Mogadishu and Nairobi, an official said.

Mohamed Ali Nur, Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, told reporters that a delegation of Kenyan officials had visited Mogadishu airport. "The delegation from Kenya will make an assessment and recommendations," the ambassador said. "The Kenyan government will also open its embassy in Mogadishu soon."

Kenya suspended direct flights to Mogadishu in November, citing security reasons, just before a combined force of Ethiopian and Somali troops routed the Union of Islamic Courts from the capital. African Union (AU) troops have since been deployed around the airport.

Somalia has had no effective central government since 1991, when Siyad Barre was toppled and the country disintegrated into

fiefdoms controlled by warlords. The TFG, which was set up in Kenya in 2004, is the latest attempt at rebuilding the failed state. full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70859

SUDAN: Darfur camps reaching capacity

Camps for internally displaced persons in the western Sudanese region of Darfur are almost at full capacity due to a continuing influx of people fleeing violence, an assessment report compiled by the United Nations and other aid agencies have said.

In North Darfur, As Salaam camp cannot take any more displaced people due to water shortages, while Abu Shouk has been closed to newcomers and Zam Zam is very close to maximum capacity, said the Sudan Humanitarian Overview for February. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government, accusing it of neglect and discrimination against the region.

The government armed Janjawid militias in a bid to suppress the uprising, but the militias have been widely accused of carrying out a scorched-earth campaign of murder, rape and pillaging that has targeted mainly non-Arab inhabitants of Darfur. The conflict has since spilled over into eastern Chad and the Central African Republic. full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70756

SUDAN: Thousands of Chadian refugees flee to Darfur

Thousands of people fleeing conflict in Chad have sought refuge in Sudan's western region of Darfur despite the humanitarian crisis there, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday.

An estimated 20,000 Chadians have sought refuge in West Darfur since 2005, while 16,000 had opted to remain close to the border to access their land. "These people are fleeing the conflict in their country to camps in West Darfur where there is food and security," said Annette Rehrl, UNHCR spokeswoman in Sudan.

Conflict in Darfur has displaced at least two million people since fighting between insurgents and the Sudanese government erupted in 2003. About 230,000 Sudanese refugees are sheltered in camps and along border areas in eastern Chad. full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70869

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