NAIROBI, 27 April 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

DJIBOUTI: Government declares drought in pastoral zones SOMALIA: Return home, gov't tells civilians as guns fall silent SOMALIA: Kismayo fighting forces civilians to flee camps

SOMALIA: UN, EU urge humanitarian action SUDAN: Aid agencies suspend work in Darfur town AFRICA: Continent needs 2.4 million new jobs every year, says ILO AFRICA: Working poor to increase by 20 percent - ILO

Also see: SOMALIA-YEMEN: 500 Benadir families seek resettlement in a third country [Full report at http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71803]

SOMALIA: Struggling to help displaced Mogadishu residents [Full report at http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71807]

DJIBOUTI: Government declares drought in pastoral zones

The Djibouti government has declared drought in the inland pastoral zones that have witnessed a prolonged dry spell since October.

The worst-affected areas are the Northwest pastoral zone and the Southeast border subzone, although the regions reported some rains in April.

The Djiboutian government, in an appeal for aid, said the drought had affected the livelihoods and food security of the pastoralists, particularly those who did not receive remittances from urban areas and depended solely on livestock. [Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71845]

SOMALIA: Return home, gov't tells civilians as guns fall silent

The Somali transitional government has urged civilians who fled fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, to return home, saying the violence has ended.

"This [fighting] is over," Madobe Nuunow Muhammad, the Minister of Information, said. "Major operations are over and government forces are engaged in mop-up operations. We are now calling on the people to return to their homes."

To facilitate returns, he added, the government had set up a special committee to resettle the displaced, but did not give details of how it would operate.

After nine days of continuous heavy fighting, Mogadishu was quiet on Friday, although there were reports of looting and some shots fired. A civil society source said civilians were still fearful that the fighting was far from over. "We are waiting for the new phase," he added. [Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71844]

SOMALIA: Kismayo fighting forces civilians to flee camps

Fighting between different clans serving in Somali's interim government in the port city of Kismayo forced displaced persons living in camps to flee again, sources said on Monday.

Many internally displaced families in the Faanole neighbourhood of the city abandoned their camps as fighting broke out. Some set up temporary shelters away from the area and others headed towards the Kenyan border. At least 25 people reportedly died in the town. Kismayo is 500km south of the capital, Mogadishu. [Full reports http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71779]

SOMALIA: UN, EU urge humanitarian action

John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, warned that Somalia had become the most dangerous place in world for aid workers.

Holmes told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that none of the sides in the deadly fighting that has raged in Mogadishu in recent weeks was respecting the rules of war or making any allowance for aid operations.

"Civilians in Mogadishu are paying an intolerable price for the absence of political progress and dialogue and the failure of all parties to abide by the rules of warfare," said Holmes, also the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Separately, the European Union (EU) has reiterated its concern regarding the humanitarian situation in southern Somalia, and has appealed to Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf to personally intervene as a matter of utmost urgency. [Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71805]

SUDAN: Aid agencies suspend work in Darfur town

Several aid agencies working in West Darfur have suspended work in Um Dhukun, affecting about 100,000 people, including refugees from Chad and Central African Republic (CAR), a spokesperson said.

Citing continuing violence, the charities Oxfam GB, Save the Children-Spain, Mercy Corps and Triangle said they had temporarily suspended all but essential work after increases in violent attacks on aid workers in the area.

"We have temporarily withdrawn; we need local authorities and the people of Um Dukhun to give us assurances that this will be secure when we return," Caroline Nursery, country director for Oxfam in Sudan, said. [Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71748]

AFRICA: Continent needs 2.4 million new jobs every year, says ILO

Africa needed to create 2.4 million jobs per year to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, the International Labour Office (ILO) said.

Regina Amadi-Njoku, ILO regional director for Africa, told journalists the continent needed 11 million jobs every year to meet the MDGs; however, only 8.6 million jobs were available.

There are 368 million workers in Africa, which accounts for 11.9 percent of the total world labour force. [Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71756]

AFRICA: Working poor to increase by 20 percent - ILO

The number of people working in extreme poverty in Africa would increase by 20 percent by 2015, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said at the opening of the 11th regional meeting in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

"Most of the work in Africa is of a near-subsistence nature, with more than eight out of 10 workers in the informal economy [operating] with low pay, low productivity and low protection," said Somavia.

ILO's recent report, "The Decent Work Agenda in Africa: 2007-2015", stated that Africa had the largest working poor in total employment of any region. In sub-Saharan Africa, 55 percent live on less than $1 a day and 80 percent on less than $2 a day. [Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71775]

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