NAIROBI, 16 June 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

CAR: UN movement ban still in place DRC: Conflict causes state of permanent displacement CONGO: Ex-rebel leader renounces violence ahead of polls CONGO-DRC: Human rights groups urge release of detainees EAST AFRICA: Increased spending pledged for social services and IDPs TANZANIA: Fistula aggravated by inadequate resources and ignorance KENYA: Risk of disease as thousands hit by floods

See Also:

BURUNDI: Land tops list of challenges for returnees http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72726

CAR: UN movement ban still in place

Aid operations in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR) have yet to resume, four days after an international staff member of the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was killed, because the situation there is still worrying, the United Nations said.

"I think the whole aid community was horrified by what happened," Toby Lanzer, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in CAR said on 15 June. "We are very concerned about the situation in the northwest." Elsa Serfass, 27, was struck by a bullet while travelling in the Ngaoundai region on 11 June. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72748

DRC: Conflict causes state of permanent displacement

Intermittent clashes and frequent attacks on civilians by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have created a state of permanent displacement in the volatile central African country, an official of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

"There are a million internally displaced persons [IDPs], but each time there is a successful return of IDPs, there are new displacements because of conflicts elsewhere," said Judy Cheng-Hopkins, UNHCR's assistant high commissioner for operations. "For us, the great challenge is to provide protection and assistance to the IDPS, especially protection against physical and sexual violence, protection of children, civil protection," Cheng-Hopkins told IRIN in an interview in Kinshasa on Tuesday. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72700

CONGO: Ex-rebel leader renounces violence ahead of polls

Congo's former rebel leader, Frédéric Bintsangou, alias Pastor Ntoumi, has renounced violence and vowed to work for the strengthening of peace and democracy two weeks before legislative elections in which his former armed group will participate.

"I am not a bandit, neither am I a barbarian or a turncoat," said Ntoumi during a ceremony on 8 June to destroy weapons used by his Ninja militia during the civil war. The rebels transformed themselves into a political party this year. "I will keep my word. I will play my part in the institutions so that we can maintain peace together," he said.

"I am determined to maintain peace and defend democracy," he added during the ceremony in Kinkala, 75km south of the Congolese capital, Brazzaville. About 60 small arms and six rifles were burned. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72656

CONGO-DRC: Human rights groups urge release of detainees

Human rights groups in the Republic of Congo and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have called for the release of detainees in the custody of security services in the two central African countries.

"We demand the immediate release, without condition, of all those arrested and detained by security services in the two states," Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, the president of the human rights NGO, La Voix des sans voix (Voice of the voiceless), said at a news conference in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. He spoke after a meeting attended by human rights groups from the two countries. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72657

EAST AFRICA: Increased spending pledged for social services and IDPs

In their budget proposals for 2007-2008, Kenya and Tanzania pledged to boost spending on education and health, while Uganda set aside funds for rehabilitating the conflict-ravaged north, where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are returning to their villages. Finance ministers of the three countries made the pledges when they simultaneously unveiled their national budgets on 14 June.

Kenyan Finance Minister Amos Kimunya announced that the education budget would be increased by 11 percent. Some of the extra money will be used to hire 11,000 teachers. The country's free primary education scheme, which is in its fifth year of implementation, would benefit from an extra 8.1 billion shillings [US$122 million]. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72744

TANZANIA: Fistula aggravated by inadequate resources and ignorance

Poverty, inadequate investment in healthcare services, lack of knowledge about maternal health and pregnancy-related emergencies are some of the limitations aggravating the problem of obstetric fistula in Tanzania, according to a new report.

Obstetric fistula is a hole that forms between the bladder and vagina or between the rectum and vagina during prolonged and obstructed childbirth. The constant pressure of the foetal skull against the soft tissue around the vagina and bladder or rectum cuts off the blood supply to the tissue, causing it to disintegrate. Urine or faeces leak continuously through the resulting hole and from the vagina. In nearly all cases of obstetric fistula, the baby dies, according to the report.

The 12 June report, Risk and Resilience: Obstetric Fistula in Tanzania, by the NGO EngenderHealth and the Tanzanian Women's Dignity Project, showed that antenatal care services, while widely available in the east African country, were inconsistent and inadequate. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72732

KENYA: Risk of disease as thousands hit by floods

The number of people affected by flooding caused by heavy rainfall in Kenya's Indian Ocean Coastal region has risen to 23,000, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said, expressing concern that diseases could break out in some areas where sanitation facilities have been destroyed.

"People are experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea. These are the first indicators that diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid are taking root," said Anthony Mwangi, the KRCS public relations manager. Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72660

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