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New Jokadu NAM Appeals for Help as 49 Homes are Burned

HonourableKebba Gaye, the newly elected National Assembly Member for Jokadu constituency,has appealed to government, philanthropists and NGO’s to help the people of hisconstituency. 49 houses and compounds in the are were gutted by fire early lastmonth with the owners of the homes losing all their possessions in the blazes.Their losses, including foodstuffs, cash and other equipment, are said to runinto thousands of Dalasi’s. Accordingto Hon. Gaye, the fire destroyed 49 houses in ChesimaVillage...

WEST AFRICA: Widespread flooding tests governments, aid community

When the residents of 680 households in the Burkinabé province of Kouritenga found their homes flooded in early June, they could not have known the significance the incident would hold for the rest of the region and in fact the continent. It was one of the first instances of flooding that would within three months affect 1.5 million people in Africa -- more than 680,000 of them in West Africa. And some governments and aid groups in the region say the relief effort has been slow off the mark. ...

UGANDA: Residents cheer as first camp is officially closed

Residents of a camp for internally displaced people in northern Ugandan sang and ululated at a ceremony to mark the formal closure of the settlement and the return of most of the 18,000 inhabitants to their villages now that prospects for peace seem promising. "I declare the camp closed, for God and my country," declared Musa Ecweru, the minister of state in change of disaster preparedness, relief and refugees, as he formally announced the shutting-down on 11 September of the Atwal Railway...

DRC: Fresh clashes reported in North Kivu

Even before civilians who fled fighting between the national army and forces loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda in North Kivu province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, could return to their homes after a truce, another outbreak of violence was reported in the area. Militias known as Mai Mai clashed with other armed groups on 9 September in the villages of Kitshanga and Bwila, about 100km northwest of Goma, the main town in North Kivu, according to Colonel Delphin Kahindi, the...

BURUNDI: Calm returns as army warns it may crack down on rebels

Residents of Buterere commune near the Burundian capital of Bujumbura have returned to their homes after fleeing clashes between rebel factions that left 20 fighters dead. An uneasy calm enveloped the commune, with residents saying the fighters had left the area. The Burundian army, however, vowed to crack down on the rebels unless they abandon their current positions. "Our defence forces did not react quickly to calls to chase the combatants away from the population's neighbourhood," the...

BURUNDI: Hundreds flee as 20 die in rebel clashes near capital

Hundreds of families fled their homes in the northern suburbs of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, as factions of the rebel Forces nationales de libération (FNL) clashed, leaving 20 fighters dead. "The clashes took place at Mugaruro where one of FNL wings opposed to [Agathon] Rwasa [FNL leader] has retreated into a small forest," the administrator of Buterere commune, Moise Ndayisenga, said on 3 September. Other witnesses heard heavy gunfire and bomb blasts near the capital, as the fighting...

WEST AFRICA: Floods prompt greater focus on risk reduction

After the floods that have this season affected over 130,000 people in nine West African countries, according to the latest UN figures, humanitarian actors are urging international donors to invest in risk reduction and the mitigation of floods. “We know there have been floods in West Africa. This is not new,” said Herve Ludovic de Lys, head of the regional UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for West Africa. “[But] there is no interest in prevention among the...

NIGERIA: Flooding, rainstorms force people from homes in the north

Flooding and rainstorms in two northern Nigerian states have left thousands more people displaced and killed many livestock, local officials said. Heavy rains lasting more than 12 hours in northeastern Kebbi State on 28 August submerged at least 300 houses in Dakingari village, leaving more than 3,000 people homeless, Bala Yusuf, an official of the Suru local council in charge of the area said. “Nobody died in the flood but survivors lost their farms and animals,” said Yusuf. “And they have...

ZIMBABWE: Operation Murambatsvina victims at the back of the queue for housing

Scarce building materials, earmarked to rehouse victims of Zimbabwe's Operation Murambatsvina, have been diverted to other projects, including work on a mansion for President Robert Mugabe in an exclusive suburb of the capital, Harare. In the winter of 2005, informal homes and markets were demolished in the ZANU-PF government's Operation Murambatsvina, aimed at clearing slums and flushing out criminals, but which left more than 700,000 people homeless or without a livelihood. Uprooted...