* Congo-Brazzaville. Congolese flee Ebola scare — 1 March: Thousands of people have fled from Kelle, a town in one of the two areas of Congo-Brazzaville most affected by the Ebola virus, which in the last two months has killed more than 80 people. It is now completely deserted. The World Health Organisation has been holding meetings with local leaders trying to raise awareness about what causes Ebola — in particular the dangers of eating wild animals or touching the bodies of whose who have died of the disease. About 2,000 of Kelle’s inhabitants have gone into hiding. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 1 March 2003)

* Congo-Brazzaville. Brazzaville - the world’s worst city — Brazzaville is the worst city in the world to live, according to a new survey. The capital of Congo was ranked below Baghdad and Bangui in the Central African Republic. About half of the city’s houses are still in ruins because of the decade-long civil war. You never know when there will be electricity and some areas of the city only have water for two hours a day. Congo’s second city, Pointe Noire, came in fourth-bottom of the survey commissioned for Mercer Human Resources Consulting. African cities took up 17 of the bottom 20 places, while the Swiss city of Zurich came top. «It will take time for many of those African cities to recover from such prolonged periods of political and economic turmoil and to re-establish stable, law-enforcing democracies,» said Slagin Parakatil, a senior researcher at Mercer. The Worlds worst cities: Brazzaville —215/215; Bangui — 214; Baghdad — 213; Pointe Noire — 212; Khartoum — 211; Ouagadougou — 210. The analysis was based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life criteria for each city including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services. The Worlds most dangerous cities: Bangui, Abidjan, Pointe Noire, Luanda, Brazzaville, Jerusalem. (BBC News, UK, 3 March 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Rapport de Kofi Annan — Depuis le 18 octobre 2002, plus de 100.000 personnes ont été déplacées dans le nord-est du Congo-RDC à la suite d’offensives militaires de grande ampleur ayant donné lieu à d’horribles violations des droits de l’homme, indique le dernier rapport de M. Kofi Annan au Conseil de sécurité sur la situation du pays. Rendu public le 26 février à Kinshasa, le rapport précise que les dirigeants congolais ont été impliqués dans “certaines de ces violations”. Il exhorte la communauté internationale à ne pas se détourner des graves et complexes problèmes du Congo. Au plan militaire, M. Annan signale que malgré l’accord de Pretoria, les activités militaires se sont poursuivies dans presque toutes les régions du pays, notamment au Kivu et au nord-est. Quant à la situation humanitaire, elle est marquée par le déplacement, à ce jour, de près de 2,5 millions de personnes à l’intérieur du Congo. (PANA, Sénégal, 28 février 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Activité sismique à Goma — Les scientifiques de l’Observatoire du Volcan de Goma (est) ont annoncé, le 27 février, que l’activité sismique est en très forte augmentation sur le mont Nyamuragira, ajoutant que l’éruption du volcan était “une question de semaines, voire de jours”. Les chercheurs tentent de prévoir le moment exact de l’éruption afin d’empêcher un éventuel mouvement de panique au sein de la population. Le Nyamuragira est entré en éruption en 2001, sans faire de victimes. En revanche, le volcan voisin du Nyiragongo, entré en éruption le 17 janvier 2002, avait provoqué la fuite de 350.000 habitants de Goma. (IRIN, Nairobi, 28 février 2003)

* Congo RDC). Radio Mandeleo — Les journalistes qui couvrent les discussions des commissions du dialogue intercongolais à Pretoria (Afrique du Sud), ont annoncé qu’ils ne rapporteraient plus ce qui s’y passe tant que la guérilla du RCD-Goma maintiendrait sa décision de fermeture de Radio Mandeleo, à Bukavu, a indiqué l’ONG congolaise “Journalistes en danger”. L’émetteur est fermé depuis décembre dernier pour avoir diffusé un programme sur le mécontentement de la population devant l’obligation, imposée par le RCD-Goma, d’acheter (fort cher) de nouvelles plaques de voitures, non reconnues dans les pays voisins. La population y voit l’indice d’une volonté de séparatisme. (La Libre Belgique, 1er mars 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Congo’s war refuses to end — Pro-government forces have slaughtered hundreds of civilians in Congo in one of the worst massacres since a peace deal was signed, rebels claimed on 2 March. A coalition of loyalist troops, tribal militia and Ugandan army soldiers rampaged for two days last week in Bogoro, south of the town of Bunia which is near the Ugandan border, according to Thomas Lubanga, leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC), a small rebel group backed by Rwanda. «Until yesterday we had counted up to 467 people had been killed. We’re still receiving more reports today. They were all civilians,» Mr Lubanga told Reuters. A rival rebel group, RCD-Kisangani, also said there had been a massacre but said the toll was 250 and rising. An official from the United Nations mission in Congo (MONUC) confirmed there was an attack and said the higher death toll «could be true». The war, which has devastated the vast central African country for the past four years, is supposed to be winding down, following accords between neighbouring countries which became involved, as well as between Congolese factions. However, fighting in Ituri province in the north-east has continued, as different groups vie for control in a power vacuum, sending tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes in recent months. More than a million civilians are thought to have died in the war, most through disease and hunger, but many as the victims of massacres. There was often confusion and doubt over which of the myriad groups were responsible. Rwanda and Uganda have denied breaching the accords but sceptics say both countries are still hooked on plundering a chaotic neighbour rich in diamonds, gold and other mineral reserves. Residents of Bunia said Ugandan troop reinforcements arrived in recent weeks following heightened tension with the UPC rebels. (The Guardian, UK, 3 March 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Massacres en Ituri — Dans une dépêche du 28 février, l’agence congolaise DIA rapporte que depuis la semaine du 16 février, on assiste à une montée de tension à Bunia. On signale des affrontements entre les éléments de l’UPC (Union des patriotes congolais) de Thomas Lubanga et les miliciens lendu à Niangaray, Lipri, Bambu et Kobu. Des sources signalent des massacres de la population lendu par les éléments de l’UPC. Le 25 février, Bogoro, un village hema, a subi une attaque qui a mis en déroute les forces de l’UPC. L’ampleur de cette attaque et les armes utilisées par les assaillants posent question sur la véritable identité de ceux-ci, indique DIA. L’UPC accuse l’armée ougandaise, dont des militaires ont été retrouvés parmi les morts. Les rescapés parlent de la présence de Lendu parmi les assaillants. A Bunia, on craint une attaque de la ville. — Le 2 mars, Thomas Lubanga, président de l’UPC, a dénoncé qu’un groupe de soldats gouvernementaux, de miliciens et de soldats ougandais ont tué plus de 400 civils à Bogoro. “Nous avons compté 467 morts. Mais nous continuons à recevoir des informations. Tous étaient des civils”, a-t-il précisé. Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader du Mouvement pour la libération du Congo (MLC) a accusé le RCD-ML de Mbusa Nyamwisi, un groupe rebelle allié aux forces gouvernementales. L’Ouganda a démenti avoir des soldats à Bogoro. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 mars 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Hundreds killed — 3 March: A rebel leader has called for an international investigation into a reported massacre of civilians in eastern Congo. Jean-Pierre Bemba, head of the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), said that hundreds of people had been killed by pro-government soldiers and other militias. Last year, the main antagonists in the four-year Congolese war signed a peace deal. The government of Joseph Kabila, Rwanda, Uganda and the main rebel groups agreed to set up a new power-sharing government. But fighting has continued in Ituri province near Bunia, featuring a myriad of different groups and shifting alliances. About 150,000 people have fled the fighting. Mr Bemba said he was shocked by the lack of an international reaction to the fighting. «We urgently call for an investigating commission into these grave violations of human rights so that those responsible both political and military can be brought before international justice,» he said. 4 March: MISNA says that the UN Mission in Congo will send a special team to the Bogoro area in the next few days to collect information on the massacre reported by Bemba. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 March 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Mercenaires pour la Monuc? — Des entreprises militaires privées cherchent à participer aux opérations de maintien de la paix de l’Onu au Congo-Kinshasa, indique la lettre d’information sur l’Afrique australe “Southscan” (7 févr. 2003). L’Onu a du mal à trouver des troupes pour cette mission, dont il est prévu de doubler les effectifs. Un consortium d’entreprises militaires privées (autrement dit, fournissant des mercenaires) basé aux Etats-Unis est candidat, “pour un coût de 10 à 20% de celui des habituelles missions de l’Onu”, écrit la publication, éditée à Londres. La Monuc coûte actuellement 608 millions de dollars, dont un quart est financé par Washington. Le consortium comprend les entreprises PAE, ICI (Oregon), MPRI (ex-officiers américains), AirScan International et TASK International (utilisant des vétérans Gurkhas de l’armée britannique). (La Libre Belgique, 5 mars 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Police repress Kinshasa demonstration — On 5 March, MISNA reported that the struggle continues between Joseph Kabila’s government and Etienne Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). The previous day, the police in Kinshasa had violently repressed peaceful demonstrations by political protestors, in favour of Tshisekedi’s candidature for one of the four vice-presidential seats foreseen by the so-called «4+1» formula adopted by the Pretoria Agreement. The Agreement designates a leadership formed by one President and four Vice-Presidents. (MISNA, Italy, 5 March 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Dialogue intercongolais — Réunis à Pretoria depuis le lundi 3 mars, les délégués congolais se préparent à conclure à propos des derniers points encore en litige. C’est ainsi qu’une force internationale de 3.200 hommes pourrait être dépêchée à Kinshasa pour assurer la protection des leaders rebelles qui participeraient au gouvernement de transition. Cependant, dans l’Ituri, la situation continue à se dégrader et l’Onu a envoyé une commission pour enquêter sur le récent massacre de Bogoro. (Le Soir, Belgique, 6 mars 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Massacre denied — 27 February: Rebels have denied accusations that they executed in cold blood about 60 policemen and their sons last year. Human rights group Amnesty International said the policemen were detained by members of the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) when they captured the central city of Bouake in mid-September at the beginning of the uprising. The Amnesty report, based on testimony from survivors, says a few weeks later the rebels went to the army barracks where the police and their families were living, and opened fire. But almost immediately after the allegations were made public, MPCI political leader Guillaume Soro said that the deaths occurred during fighting around Bouake in mid-September. «For health reasons and humanitarian reasons we had to bury them in a communal grave. We consider that this is thus something which was done with clarity and openness,» he told French television. Survivors quoted in the Amnesty report said that some two weeks after the clashes in Bouake, rebels went to the detainees massed in Bouake’s military prison three times and opened fire, killing and wounding dozens of people. «I heard children screaming: “We are not gendarmes! Don’t kill us”,» said one policeman quoted in the report. Another survivor was hiding in his cell when they came. «One of the rebels came close to us and glanced into our cell, saying: “Hell, there are still a lot of them here!” He sprayed the room with bullets, then loaded another magazine and fired randomly. When he left, I smeared myself in blood and hid under a body,» he said. Survivors say they were then forced to dig mass graves for the victims. About 10 have since «disappeared» and are believed to have been killed after they buried their comrades. Others paid sums of money to the rebels to be freed. Witnesses say some 40 policemen, 30 of their children and five civilians detained with them were killed. But Amnesty said it could only confirm the death or «disappearance» of 60 people. (BBC News, UK, 27 February 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Exactions devant la CPI — 27 février. Le président Gbagbo a décidé de saisir, via le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu, la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) pour enquêter sur l’ensemble des exactions commises dans son pays depuis septembre dernier. Lors d’une conférence de presse à Paris, deux avocats travaillant pour les autorités d’Abidjan, ont justifié cette décision par la situation de guerre prévalant dans le pays. Selon eux, la police et la justice ne sont pas en mesure de mener à bien leurs enquêtes, y compris à Abidjan où sévissent des “escadrons de la mort”, dont les avocats sont “dans l’incapacité de dire qui ils sont”. Le MPCI a catégoriquement réfuté les affirmations d’Amnesty International qui accuse les rebelles d’avoir exécuté, le 6 octobre à Bouaké, une soixantaine de gendarmes. — Le 28 février, une équipe d’experts de l’Onu est arrivée à Abidjan pour faire la lumière sur les crimes commis. Sa mission devrait durer jusqu’au 11 mars. Le 1er mars, M. Gbagbo a fait devant la presse un discours très offensif, où il a nié toute implication dans les escadrons de la mort. Il a annoncé qu’il comptait attaquer devant la justice française les journaux Le Monde et La Croix. Il a par ailleurs précisé, à propos des crimes commis en zone gouvernementale, que 38 personnes avaient été arrêtées, dont 23 inculpées d’atteinte à l’autorité de l’Etat. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 mars 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Amnesty to review human rights situation — A team from Amnesty International, arrived in Côte d’Ivoire on 3 March to investigate human rights violations perpetrated since the beginning of an armed conflict in the West African country. The 10-day mission will focus mainly on the economic capital, Abidjan, where Amnesty plans to investigate ‘Death squads’- groups of armed men in military uniforms who have kidnapped and killed — usually at night — opposition activists and other civilians in recent months. The four-member mission will meet President Laurent Gbagbo, officials of the defence and justice ministries, other top government officials, political leaders and representatives of civil society, Amnesty sources told IRIN on 4 March. The team is also scheduled to visit prisons and other detention centres, something Amnesty was unable to do during its last mission — in October 2002. Security forces had said then that such visits required a «green light» from the Minister of Defence even though, according to Amnesty, Justice Minister Desire Tagro had authorised the visits. The Abidjan mission follows last week’s highly publicized report on killings committed by Côte d’Ivoire’s main rebel group, the Patriotic Movement of Côte d’Ivoire. The report accused the MPCI of executing soldiers, gendarmes and their children. The MPCI denied this, saying the victims died in the heat of battle. (IRIN, Kenya, 4 March 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Un gouvernement annoncé — Le 2 mars, les rebelles ont accusé les forces gouvernementales d’avoir tué, la veille, 20 civils au cours d’un bombardement par hélicoptères de combat sur la ville de Bin-Houyé, dans l’extrême ouest du pays. Abidjan a de son côté indiqué avoir repoussé une offensive rebelle dans cette zone. D’autre part, le Premier ministre Seydou Diarra n’est toujours pas parvenu à former un gouvernement de réconciliation nationale. — 3 mars. M. Diara s’est rendu à Bouaké. Il y a mené à huis clos des entretiens avec les responsables des trois mouvements rebelles (MPCI - MPIGO -MJP). Il a ensuite déclaré que le gouvernement de réconciliation nationale sera annoncé “au plus tard” à la fin de la semaine ou au début de la semaine prochaine, sinon il menace de démissionner. —4 mars. Dans un entretien public, Simone Gbagbo, l’épouse du président, considérée comme une “dure” du régime, a déclaré pour la première fois accepter les accords de Marcoussis et la présence de rebelles au sein du futur gouvernement de réconciliation, “si c’est le prix à payer”. — Le 6 mars, des représentants des trois mouvements rebelles doivent se rencontrer à Accra (Ghana) pour discuter avec les signataires de l’accord de Marcoussis sur la formation du gouvernement. Des responsables des grands partis politiques ivoiriens y sont également invités. La veille au soir, on ignorait encore si le président Gbagbo sera associé aux discussions. Il fera en tous cas le déplacement, étant invité par le président ghanéen John Kufuor, pour assister aux manifestations marquant les 46 ans d’indépendance du Ghana. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 mars 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Fresh fighting breaks out — 2 March: Fresh fighting has reportedly broken out in the west, despite continuing discussions on a new power-sharing government for the country. The claims, from rebel and government officials, come shortly after neighbouring Liberia accused Côte d’Ivoire of employing Liberian mercenaries to carry out cross-border attacks. Felix Doh, head of the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West (Mpigo), accused the government on 1 March of killing more than 20 civilians in a helicopter gunship attack on the town of Binhouye, close to the Liberian border. He says that in response to the attack his rebel group will now go on the offensive. «Once helicopters start bombarding I think the ceasefire is over. I have given orders to take the offensive.» 3 March: Prime Minister Seydou Diarra says he may resign if his latest attempt to form a government of national unity fails. Mr Diarra made this statement to reporters in the rebel-held town of Bouake, today, after an hour-and-a-half of discussions with representatives of three rebel movements. Few details of what was said have been made public. But the prime minister did say he believed a national unity government would be set up by the beginning of next week. 5 March: The United Nations special representative for Côte d’Ivoire, Albert Tevoedjre, has spoken for the first time about the current impasse in forming a new government of reconciliation for the country. He said that although neither side has yet agreed on a government, the new prime minister must keep up his efforts of persuasion. The apparently bland statement was more than a simple statement of support; it was a plea for perseverance. Mr Tevoedjre seemed to be asking the country’s new prime minister not to give up. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 March 2003)

* Egypte. Verdict léger pour la tuerie d’Al-Kocheh — Le 27 février, la cour criminelle de Sohag, dans le sud de l’Egypte, a condamné deux personnes à des peines de quinze et trois ans de prison pour l’assassinat de 20 chrétiens et un musulman en 2000, et a acquitté les 93 autres accusés. Lors des troubles interconfessionnels d’Al-Kocheh, qui avaient éclaté en janvier 2000 à la suite d’un simple différend entre deux commerçants, la minorité copte (chrétiens) avait été prise pour cible pendant plusieurs jours par des émeutiers musulmans. Un premier verdict, en février 2001, avait provoqué un tollé chez les chrétiens qui le jugeaient trop clément. Il avait été annulé par la Cour de cassation. (Libération, France, 28 février 2003)

* Egypt. Call for Coptic Christians’ human rights — Rifaat Said, a member of the Egyptian Parliament from a small liberal party, has for years called for a restoration of constitutional rights, a more open electoral system and greater freedoms for the country’s Coptic Christians. He spent 14 years in prison under Gamal Abdel Nasser for uttering the word «democracy.» He now lives under armed guard, having criticized Islamic extremists. When President George W. Bush argues that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein could spread the seeds of democracy across the Arab world, Said scoffs, naming autocratic Arab countries the United States has long supported as strategic allies, including Egypt. «Why do they continue to support Saudi Arabia?» Said said in his office in the centre of Cairo. «Why do they support the prince of Qatar? Why did they support Saddam Hussein in the past? Why do they believe that democracy will create a paradise in Egypt?» Even those who might benefit most from democracy in Egypt — people like Said or Essam Erian, whose political organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, is officially banned — argued that the imposition of democracy by force in Iraq would be viewed as American repression, not liberation. «By destroying Iraq,» said Erian, a pathologist who has spent six years in prison under Egypt’s emergency laws, «you are opening the door not to democracy, but to hell.» (International Herald Tribune, USA, 1 March 2003)

* Egypte. Manifestation pro-irakienne — Le 27 février au Caire, plus de 100.000 Egyptiens ont manifesté leur soutien à l’Irak et aux Palestiniens à l’appel d’un collectif regroupant les partis d’opposition légale et les syndicats officiels. Le rassemblement s’est tenu au stade du Caire avec la bénédiction des autorités, visant à calmer les esprits “en ouvrant légèrement une valve de décompression”. Elle avait aussi pour objectif de démontrer à Washington le risque encouru par le régime du président Moubarak en cas de décision unilatérale américaine à déclencher les hostilités contre l’Irak. (D’après Le Monde, France, 1er mars 2003)

* Egypt. Arab League meets in Egypt — 28 February: Arab governments reject a plea by the US for them to press Saddam Hussein to go into exile. Colin Powell, US secretary of state, urges Arab rulers meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh to issue a strong statement demanding that Iraq complies with UN disarmament requirements or suggest that it might be in Mr Hussein’s best interest to step down to avoid a war. The hope that the Iraqi leader could be persuaded to go into exile hangs heavily over the meeting intended to forge a common Arab position against war on Iraq. Yet leaders can ill afford to tackle the subject in an official Arab League forum. As Ahmad Maher, the Egyptian foreign minister, says, the League has no business changing leaders. Naji Sabri, the Iraqi foreign minister, says it is President George W. Bush who should step down to avoid a war that the world opposed. 1 March: The United Arab Emirates make a dramatic intervention at the Arab summit on Iraq, suggesting publicly in a letter that Arabs adopt an initiative calling on the Iraqi leadership to step down. The letter was sent to the summit by the ailing Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, president of a confederation of seven wealthy Gulf states. It forces the highly controversial issue of Saddam Hussein’s exile onto the discussions between heads of states a day after Arab League officials insisted that it would not be included on the agenda. However, the proposal does not form part of the meeting’s final declaration which «totally rejected any attack on Iraq». Most Arabic press hail the outcome of the Arab League Summit. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 1 March 2003)

* Egypt. Fire hits Alexandria library — 2 March: A fire breaks out in Egypt’s newly-opened Alexandria library, and 29 people are rushed to local hospitals suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire is blamed on a short circuit. The extent of damage at Bibliotheca Alexandrina has yet to be determined, but the fire appears to be restricted to fourth-floor administrative offices. Sixteen fire engines rushed to the scene and put out the blaze in about 45 minutes. Fifteen ambulances were seen outside the evacuated library. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 March 2003)

* Egypte. Incendie à la bibliothèque d’Alexandrie — Le 2 mars, un incendie s’est déclaré à la nouvelle bibliothèque d’Alexandrie, inaugurée en octobre dernier sur le site du célèbre joyau de l’Antiquité, disparu il y a 16 siècles. L’incendie, déclenché par un court-circuit, a été circonscrit au bout d’une heure. Au moins 35 personnes ont été intoxiquées par les émanations de la fumée, deux autres ont souffert de brûlures graves. Le système d’alarme a fonctionné et le bâtiment a été évacué avant que la fumée se répande à travers le système de climatisation. Le feu s’est déclenché au 4ème étage abritant les bureaux de l’administration. La section comprenant les livres et les documents historiques n’a pas été atteinte par le feu. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 mars 2003)

* Egypt. Egypt requests aid as currency slides — 3 March: Egypt’s prime minister Atef Obeid is to meet World Bank officials to ask for a $1.5bn loan to prop up the pound. The government floated the pound in January, a move which effectively devalued the pound, to increase its foreign currency reserves. But despite falling 20% in value since the float, Egypt is still experiencing shortages of foreign currencies. Economists expect some of the World Bank money would be used to add liquidity into the banking system and underwrite the pound. While the pound is officially trading at a rate of 5.57 to $1, the black market exchange rate is about 6.75 pounds to $1, and has reportedly touched 7 to $1 recently. Egypt originally requested the loan after the tourism revenues slumped in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Talks were postponed after the tourist industry and foreign currency revenues picked up again. Any World Bank loan will be tied to further free-market reforms. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 March 2003)

* Egypt. Egyptian rights group yearns for break with emergency law — On 3 March, a local human rights group lamented that «a whole generation of Egyptians has been brought up in an exceptional judicial environment that grants law-enforcement officials very broad and powers of arrest». Launching the body’s 5th Annual Report on Detention and Detainees in Egypt Mohamed Zarei, head of the Human Rights Centre for Assistance to Prisoners (HRCAP) said nothing justifies the renewal of the Emergency Law — not even the war the US is about to wage against Iraq.» He was reacting to the recent renewal in Parliament for another three years, of a 22-year old Emergency Law that restricts basic rights and gives large prerogatives to security forces to crackdown on dissent. (PANA, Senegal, 3 March 2003)