NAIROBI, 7 December 2007 (IRIN) -

 IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 410 for 1 - 7 December 2007

CONTENTS:

SOMALIA-YEMEN: Over 80 African migrants die as boat capsizes off coast SOMALIA: Civilians caught in the crossfire - UN humanitarian chief SUDAN: National census to be postponed KENYA-SUDAN: Clashes halt refugee returns to Jonglei state SUDAN: Darfur relief to cost $825 million in 2008 - UN

See Also SOMALIA: Risking all for a new life in Yemen http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75672

AFRICA: Safety nets help to climate-proof the poor http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75709

SOMALIA-YEMEN: Over 80 African migrants die as boat capsizes off coast

Scores of African migrants, mostly from Somalia, died on 29 November when their boat capsized off the Yemeni coast, the Somali consulate in Yemen's southern province of Aden has said.

Somalia's consul-general in Aden, Hussein Haji Ahmed, told IRIN the death toll was over 80, including women and children. The boat was carrying over 120 African migrants and was heading for the southern Yemeni province of Hadhramaut. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75670

SOMALIA: Civilians caught in the crossfire - UN humanitarian chief

Despite ongoing relief efforts, humanitarian agencies have yet to meet the needs of many internally displaced persons (IDPS) in Somalia, especially those who remain inaccessible, John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said.

Indiscriminate violence had continued in the capital, Mogadishu, malnutrition rates in IDP camps were alarming and family members were being separated as they fled the violence, Holmes told a news conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 3 December, at the end of a day-long mission to Somalia.

Travelling along a 17km stretch of road between Afgoye and Mogadishu where at least 200,000 IDPs have sought refuge, Holmes visited IDP camps and a therapeutic feeding centre for malnourished children in a clinic run by a renowned Somali doctor Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75667

SUDAN: National census to be postponed

Sudan's fifth national population and housing census, which is key to the 2009 elections, will be delayed, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the principal organiser.

"The census was due to take place between 2-16 February 2008, but due to delays in preparations, the technical committee has recommended that it takes place from 15-30 April," Abu Baker Waziri, UNFPA-Sudan census project advocacy officer, said.

"Some of the technical work has not been finished, such as printing work, so it needs more time," Waziri told IRIN from Khartoum on 6 December. "There is no other reason for the delay. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75718

KENYA-SUDAN: Clashes halt refugee returns to Jonglei state

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has temporarily halted the repatriation of Sudanese refugees to Jonglei state in the south where recent clashes have left 34 dead.

The fighting is blamed on conflicts sparked by cattle thefts between the Murle and Dinka communities.

"The situation remains tense, with fears that the revenge attacks could spread to other parts of Jonglei state, including Pibor, Boma and Porchalla - major return areas for refugees and internally displaced persons," UNHCR stated on 4 December. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75676

SUDAN: Darfur relief to cost $825 million in 2008 - UN

The costs of humanitarian operations in Darfur during 2008 are estimated at US$825 million, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, said in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

The Sudan Work Plan, to be launched on 11 December, includes UN and some non-governmental organisations' activities and goes beyond humanitarian relief to embrace "early recovery" and development projects.

For the whole country, the 2008 Sudan Work Plan will come with a US$2.2 billion price tag. The humanitarian component for the appeal for 2007 was $1.8 billion, of which, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), one billion US$ has been received for projects across the country. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75637

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