Africa

Largest convoy of Liberian refugees head for home - UN

27 October 2004
Whether buoyed or shaken by what they have learnt about the damage to their districts during 14 years of civil war, the largest convoy of Liberian refugees today started a United Nations-organized road trip home from Sierra Leone, becoming the fourth group among the 340,000 of their countrymen in West African camps to make the journey so far.

Humanitarian aid in Sudan limited by insecurity, road closures, says UN mission

27 October 2004
Insecurity and transport restrictions are hampering the delivery and distribution of humanitarian relief to the massive population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the strife-torn Darfur region, the United Nations Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS) reported today.
SRSG Ibrahima Fall addresses Council

UN welcomes security agreement between Rwanda, Uganda and DR of Congo

27 October 2004
The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today welcomed a tripartite agreement signed by the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda and designed to promote security in the conflict-wracked Great Lakes region of Africa.
Security Council

Security Council to meet in Nairobi next month to discuss Sudanese issues

26 October 2004
The Security Council voted unanimously today to hold a two-day meeting next month in Kenya – only the eleventh time in its history that it will have met away from United Nations Headquarters in New York – to discuss the civil conflicts engulfing Sudan.

UN-secured centres in Burundi ready for ex-fighters when demobilization begins

26 October 2004
The United Nations has secured areas in Burundi where former fighters will lay down their arms in a process that could start next month, an official serving with the UN peacekeeping mission there said today.

Heavy rain devastates largest camp for homeless in northern Uganda - UN

26 October 2004
A heavy rainstorm has devastated the largest camp for war-displaced people in northern Uganda, tearing away makeshift roofs and washing away food supplies, the United Nations relief coordination office said today.
Refugee women carrying full jerry cans of water

UN envoy heads to Darfur to verify claim that displaced are returning voluntarily

26 October 2004
A senior United Nations envoy to Sudan will travel to the strife-torn region of Darfur tomorrow to inspect the areas where the Sudanese Government has claimed about 70,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have voluntarily returned to their homes.
Council President Amb. Emyr Jones Parry

Security Council says any new UN involvement in Somalia must increase slowly

26 October 2004
Anticipating a call for the United Nations to intensify its peace-building activities in Somalia, the Security Council today said any enhanced role for the Organization must be incremental and based on the outcome of discussions with the new transitional government.

Funding shortage forces UN agency to cut rations for refugees in Tanzania

25 October 2004
Severe funding shortages has forced the United Nations emergency feeding agency to cut rations to some 400,000 Burundian and Congolese refugees living in western Tanzania.
Desert locusts are particularly voracious

Desert locust swarms decline in Sahel but rise in northwest Africa – UN agency

25 October 2004
The swarms of desert locusts devouring pastures and cropland across West Africa have finally started to decline in the Sahel zone after pesticide operations were stepped up there over the past month, the United Nations agency leading the battle has reported.