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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 05-02-1998      PART #1/  

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Sierra Leone: On 29 January,
IFEX reported that of the 40 newspapers which operated in Sierra
Leone before the 25 May 1996 coup, less than six have survived to
date. Also, at least 35 journalists have fled the country. South
Africa: Newton Kanhema, a senior reporter for The Sunday
Independent and a citizen of Zimbabwe, has been ordered to be
deported from South Africa. Zambia: On 27 January, the Lusaka High
Court dropped its intentions to have The Post newspaper's editor-
in-chief, Fred M'membe and three others, to answer contempt of
court charges. On 28 January, National Assembly deputy-Speaker
Simon Mwila, ruled that the editorial published in The Post on 16
January, headlined "Useless House", was contemptuous of Parliament. 
 (IFEX, Canada, 29 Jan-3 Feb 1998)

* Afrique. Dette exterieure  -  La dette exterieure de l'Afrique
s'elevait a 315 milliards de dollars fin 1997, selon les dirigeants
de trois importantes institutions africaines. Dans un communique
commun publie le 27 janvier a Abidjan, le secretaire general de
l'OUA, le secretaire executif de la Commission economique des
Nations unies pour l'Afrique, et le president de la BAD expriment
leur "grande preoccupation" a l'egard de cette dette, qui equivaut
a un quart des recettes d'exportation des pays africains. Les trois
dirigeants "appellent la communaute internationale a adopter une
attitude plus souple, envisager de nouvelles initiatives et assurer
des ressources suffisantes pour regler le probleme de la dette des
pays africains".   (Marches Tropicaux, France, 30 janvier 1998)

* Africa. New light on AIDS history  -  The first hard evidence
that AIDS began in Africa has been found in a blood sample taken
from a patient in 1959, in what was then the Belgian Congo. The
discovery pushes back by more than a decade, the history of a
disease that has so far infected 30 million people and claimed 5
million lives. It is evidence of a mutation that infected one
single human perhaps five decades ago, and which spread quietly in
Africa before suddenly becoming a worldwide nightmare. The blood
sample was taken from a Bantu man with sickle cell anaemia, who was
working at the time in Leopoldville, in the Belgian Congo. Out of
more than 1,200 blood samples taken in Africa between 1959 and
1962, only one turned out to be HIV positive by all tests.   (The
Guardian, U.K., 4 February 1998)

* Africa. Child labour set to soar  -  The number of child
labourers in Africa could shoot up from 80 million to 100 million
by the year 2015, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said
on 4 February. In a report, the UN agency said Africa already had
the highest incidence of child labour worldwide, with 41% of
children between 5 and 14 already at work, mainly in rural areas.
But their ranks could swell by at least 1 million new child workers
per year if economic and social trends persisted, ILO said in a
report: "Child Labour in Africa -- Targeting the Intolerable".  
(InfoBeat, USA, 4 February 1998)

* Afrique. Cour penale internationale  -  Une conference regroupant
une vingtaine de ministres et de nombreux experts s'ouvre le 5
fevrier a Dakar dans le but de mobiliser les pays africains sur la
creation d'une Cour penale internationale permanente chargee de
juger les crimes de guerre et contre l'humanite et le genocide. Un
premier projet avait vu le jour en 1949, mais n'avait pu aboutir a
cause de la guerre froide.   (La Libre Belgique, 5 fevrier 1998)

* West Africa. Entering the premier league of crime  -  West Africa
has entered the "big league" in organised crime, ranging from
financial fraud to drugs, a top police official in the UK, John
Abbot, warned on 3 February. Particular reference is made to
Nigeria, where Nigerian fraudsters are involved in so-called
advance-free fraud, in which individuals or companies are drawn
into bogus transactions in letters purportedly signed by local
government or banking officials.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 4 February
1998)

* Algerie. Terres aux paysans  -  Le gouvernement algerien va
distribuer 600.000 hectares de terres a des paysans dans le cadre
d'un programme de mise en valeur des terres dans des zones
montagneuses et de steppes. La decision a ete prise le 27 janvier
par le Conseil de gouvernement qui a indique, dans un communique,
que cette operation, qui s'etalera sur trois ans, permettra de
creer 498.000 emplois grace a l'octroi de 48.000 concessions,
notamment a des jeunes.   (La Croix, France, 30 janvier 1998)

* Algerie. Reactions internationales  -  Dans une interview a la
radio nationale le 29 janvier, le ministre algerien des Affaires
etrangeres, Ahmed Attaf, a rejete avec vivacite l'appel a une plus
grande transparence lance par son homologue britannique Robin Cook,
au nom de l'Union europeenne. Il a accuse l'UE de ne rien
comprendre a la situation en Algerie. - D'autre part, le meme jour,
le haut commissaire aux refugies de l'ONU, Sadako Ogata, a indique
que les violences ont fait fuir 500.000 personnes d'Algerie et a
demande que les pays s'abstiennent de renvoyer les refugies
algeriens jusqu'a ce que les violences cessent. - Quant au
departement d'Etat americain, il estime que 70.000 personnes ont
ete tuees en Algerie depuis 1992 (Alger parlait de 26.500), dont
6.000 a 7.000 en 1997. Tout en accusant en premier lieu les
islamistes, le rapport s'interroge aussi sur "l'indifference ou la
complicite des forces de securite" et releve que certains massacres
pourraient etre attribues a des "actes de vengeance, de banditisme
et a des confiscations de terres". - Selon les journaux algeriens
du 1 fevrier, 32 civils, dont un enfant de 3 ans, et 16 rebelles
islamistes ont ete tues les derniers jours dans divers attentats.
Le 2 fevrier, les journaux annoncaient la mort de 60 rebelles et de
13 civils.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 fevier 1998)

* Algeria. Algerian forces kill 31 rebels  -  Algerian government
forces have killed 31 Muslim rebels in their latest offensives
against guerrilla strongholds, Algerian papers said on 4 February.
A bomb exploded in central Algiers on 4 February, wounding four
people, security forces said. Algiers, late last month, was hit by
a series of bomb attacks blamed on Muslim fundamentalists. Several
of the devices, which killed about 18 people, exploded in the city
during a visit by a team of European Union ministers. El Watan
newspapers said troops shelled a rebel base in Bouhanifia, killing
19 gunmen on 2 February. In other operations near Algiers, 10
rebels were killed on 2-3 February, said Al Khabar newspaper.  
(InfoBeat, USA, 4 February 1998)

* Botswana/Namibie. Affrontements  -  Des patrouilles namibienne et
botswanaise se sont affrontees la semaine derniere pres de l'ile de
Situngu, sur la riviere Linyanti, que les deux pays se disputent,
a rapporte le 2 fevrier le ministre botswanais des Affaires
etrangeres, qui s'est declare "tres preoccupe". L'armee namibienne,
equipee de vehicules blindes, de transport de troupes et
d'helicopteres, a tente de traverser la riviere pour penetrer en
territoire botswanais, selon le communique. La tension entre les
deux pays s'est accrue en 1997, depuis que l'armee botswanaise
occupe l'ile de Situngu, ou des Namibiens font pousser des cereales
depuis plusieurs decennies. Le 23 janvier, une commission
bilaterale n'est pas parvenue a regler le differend.   (Le Monde,
France, 4 fevrier 1998)

* Burkina Faso. Reunion de l'UEMOA  -  Les ministres des Affaires
etrangeres des huit pays (Benin, Burkina, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinee
Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo) membres de l'Union economique
et monetaire ouest-africaine (UEMOA) ont tenu leur premiere
conference a Ouagadougou (siege de l'Union) les 17 et 18 janvier
1998. La reunion a recommande la creation d'un Conseil politique,
cadre permanent de concertation periodique entre les ministres des
Affaires etrangeres, et la mise en place d'un Comite des
ambassadeurs accredites aupres de l'Etat hote. Le president de la
Commission, M. Moussa Toure, a propose d'ouvrir une Maison de
l'UEMOA a Berlin, regroupant l'ensemble des chancelleries des Etats
membres.   (Marches Tropicaux, France, 30 janvier 1998)

* Burundi. Minister's death caused by fog  -  Bad visibility caused
the helicopter crash which killed Burundi's Defense Minister,
Col.Firmin Sinzoyiheba and 4 others on 28 January. "The pilot
didn't see the hill and hit the mountain", army spokesman
Lt.Col.Isaie Nibizi said on 29 January after an investigation. Army
sources said Sinzoyiheba's helicopter flew into a thunderstorm and
slammed into a 6,500 foot ridge blanketed in thick clouds at Mwaro,
some 25 miles east of the capital, Bujumbura. Sinzoyyiheba kept a
low profile, but was regarded as being instrumental in the July
19996 military coup which ousted Hutu civilian president, Sylvester
Ntibantunganya.   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 January 1998)

* Burundi. Detentions secretes et disparitions  -  Dans un
communique du 27 janvier, la Ligue burundaise des droits de l'homme
"Iteka" signale plusieurs disparitions suspectes. "Depuis un peu
plus de trois mois, des informations faisant etat de personnes
arretees et detenues dans des cachots du marche central de
Bujumbura parviennnent a Iteka. L'an dernier (decembre) deux cas de
detenus disparus apres leur detention dans ces cachots furent
rapportes. La Ligue declencha une action de recherche sans
resultat. Au marche, il semble que toute personne qui veuille en
faire apprehender une autre alerte la police qui procede a son
arrestation, sans procedure quelconque. La personne arretee peut
etre acheminee vers n'importe quel poste de police ou lieu de
detention". Le document signale une dizaine de noms et plusieurs
cas de disparitions ou "les recherches effectuees par leurs
familles et la Ligue Iteka pour les retrouver n'ont donne aucun
resultat".   (ANB-BIA, 30 janvier 1998)

* Cameroun. Journaliste condamne  -  Severin Tchounkeu, journaliste
et directeur du tri-hebdomadaire L'Expression, a ete condamne, le
27 janvier, a trois ans de prison avec sursis pour "diffamation".
Il est le quatrieme journaliste a etre condamne a une peine de
prison pour ce motif en quelques semaines. M. Tchounkeu a ete
condamne en outre a 500.000 fcfa d'amende.   (Le Monde, France, 30
janvier 1998)

* Centrafrique. Maintien de la paix  -  Dans un rapport au Conseil
de securite remis le 26 janvier, le secretaire general de l'ONU,
Kofi Annan, se montre partisan d'un prolongement du mandat de la
Misab (Mission inter-africaine de suivi des accords de Bangui), qui
doit s'achever le 6 fevrier, jusqu'au 15 mars, puis de son
remplacement par une force de l'ONU de 1.400 hommes pour une duree
limitee a quelques mois. Pour M. Annan, le retrait de la Misab
"mettrait en peril le fragile processus de paix dans le pays". Par
ailleurs, le groupe des onze partis de l'opposition centrafricaine
a motive, le 26 janvier, son refus de participer a la Conference de
reconciliation nationale, prevue a la mi-fevrier. Selon lui, le
president Patasse "utilise tous les subterfuges pour ne pas
respecter ses engagements".   (Marches Tropicaux, France, 30
janvier 1998)

* Comoros. Secessionists to free government prisoners  - 
Secessionists in the Indian Ocean Comoros Islands have agreed to
free the final 18 government soldiers imprisoned after a thwarted
invasion last year, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) said on
30 January. The agreement is part of a deal brokered by the OAU
aimed at resolving a secessionist dispute involving Anjouan and
Moheli which split from the archipelago republic last year. More
that 100 government troops were captured last September after
President Mohamed Taki launched an invasion of Anjouan from Grande
Comore in an attempt to quell the rebellion. About 60 government
troops were killed. Anjouan has since released the government
troops piecemeal.   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 January 1998)

* Comoros. Cholera in the Islands  -  An outbreak of cholera has
been reported in Grande Comore Island. The first case was reported
on 19 January. To date, 44 cases and 3 deaths have been reported in
the most affected area which is the Mbi District situated 40 kms
from Moroni. A few isolated cases have been reported in Moroni and
surrounding villages. WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health to
co-ordinate appropriate preventive and control measures.  
(Peacelink, Italy, 30 January 1998)

* Congo-Brazza. Shooting heard in Brazzaville  -  Sporadic shooting
was heard during the night of 28 January and on 29 January in
Congo-Brazza's capital, Brazzaville, and residents blamed it on
disgruntled former militia fighters. The shooting was heard in
Kinshasa, capital of Congo RDC, which lies across the river from
Brazzaville. Residents of Brazzaville's Bacongo district said the
shooting on 29 January came from their part of town. They blamed it
on militiamen seeking to be incorporated into the army. The origin
of the shooting during the previous night was not clear. President
Denis Sassou Nguesso, a former military ruler who seized control of
Brazzaville again in October, is struggling to control elements of
the Cobra militia that helped him back to power. Residents say
large quantities of arms are still in militia hands, six weeks
after a disarmament deadline.   (InfoBeat, USA, 29 January 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Meningococcal meningitis  -  Meningococcal
meningitis group A has been confirmed in an outbreak in Tembo,
Bandundu Region, which is close to Lunda Norte Province in
neighbouring Angola. Up to 25 January, 114 cases of which 32 were
fatal (case fatality rate 28%), had been reported. The first case
was reported on 2 January and coincided with the return of over
9,000 Congolese citizens from Angola. 13 cases (1 death) were
reported in the second week of January, 35 cases (166 deaths) in
the third week and 65 cases (14 deaths) in the fourth week. The
weekly attack rates based on an estimated population of 46,000 in
Tembo, increased from 2.2 to 141.3 during the first four weeks of
January. A team from the Ministry of Health, WHO and Medecins Sans
Frontieres has visited Tembo to assess the situation and plan
control measures such as a vaccination campaign, training of health
care staff, and public health education. Meningitis has also been
reported in Kikwit and in Panzi health zones, in particular at
Kingwangala and Kahemba. Apparently 80 cases of meningitis were
also hospitalized across the border in Angola.   ((Peacelink,
Italy, 28 January 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Justice not served by government killings  -  In a
News Release, Amnesty International says that the execution of 21
people on 27 January is contemptible and does not serve the
interests of justice or crime prevention. Amnesty International
urgently calls for the immediate suspension of the death penalty
and ultimately its abolition by the government.   (Amnesty
International, 29 January 1998)

* Congo (RDC). IMF says arrears stops it lending  -  On 28 January,
an International Monetary Fund expert visiting Congo RDC said that
arrears on past debts, prevented the IMF lending money to its cash-
strapped government. Paul Akwa, leader of a delegation that arrived
in Kinshasa on 27 January, told state TV that the team's first task
would be to help map out a plan for economic reform. "Our
contribution will first be the elaboration of a macro-economic
framework, which will be principally the support of the monetary
reform program", he said after meeting President Laurent Kabila's
cabinet director, Abdoulayi Yerodia. The arrears were built up
under Mobutu, ousted by Kabila.   (InfoBeat, USA, 29 January 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Inquietudes dans l'est du pays  -  Le 27 janvier au
Sud-Kivu, a l'issue d'une visite du president Kabila a Bukavu, les
services de renseignements (ANR) ont arrete: les þmwamis' (chefs
coutumiers) de Kabare et de Ngweshe, le recteur de l'universite
evangeliste de Bukavu, le recteur de l'universite libre des pays
des Grands Lacs a Goma et un de ses assistants. Ils sont accuses
d'intelligence avec le mouvement de resistance des Mai-Mai, mais il
apparait qu'ils se sont permis de dire la verite aux autorites. Ces
arrestations ont provoque une vive inquietude parmi la population.
- D'autre part, le ministre congolais de l'Interieur, Gaetan
Kakudji, a accuse, le 29 janvier, la France et le Vatican de
soutenir une insurrection dans l'est du Congo. Lors de sa visite a
Bukavu, le president Kabila aurait dit avoir appris que le HCR, le
gouvernement francais et Caritas aideraient les Mai-Mai, sans
preciser comment. Le lendemain, un porte-parole du HCR a Geneve a
formellement nie une telle implication. - Par ailleurs, les
inondations catastrophiques qui touchent principalement la region
de Kisangani se sont etendues, faisant quelque 40.000 sans-abri. On
a deja denombre 15.000 habitants du Nord-Shaba prives d'habitation
pres de Kongolo. Le cholera a deja cause la mort d'au moins 300
personnes dans le secteur de Kisangani.   (ANB-BIA, de sources
diverses, 4 fevrier 1998)

* Egypt. Feasts between fasts  -  A report by a government
ministry, published on 29 January, said that Egyptians' consumption
of flour, sugar, cooking oil and meat, rose by thousands of tons
during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. About 90% of Egypt's 63
million people are Muslims. Holding banquets for the meal that
breaks the daily fast, is blamed for this month's extravagance.  
(The Guardian, U.K., 30 January 1998)

* Grands Lacs. Rapport americain  -  Le rapport annuel du
departement d'Etat sur les droits de l'homme, publie a Washington,
se montre tres inquiet. Il souligne qu'au Congo "le bilan du
gouvernement Kabila est mitige"; qu'au Burundi "la situation
demeure insatisfaisante"; et au Rwanda, il accuse l'armee
patriotique rwandaise "d'avoir tue des centaines de civils;
certains meurtres avaient des raisons politiques, d'autres etaient
des actes de vengeance ou etaient commis lors d'operations de
ratissage des forces de securite".   (Le Soir, Belgique, 2 fevrier
1998)

* Kenya. Opposition disrupts parliament opening  -  On 3 February,
dozens of opposition Members of Parliament staged a demonstration
inside the National Assembly during the first parliamentary session
since the elections. About 50 opposition Members chanted and waved
placards protesting against perceived government indifference to a
wave of ethnic violence, in which over 100 people have died since
11 January.   (InfoBeat, USA, 3 February 1998)
* Kenya. Affrontements dans la vallee du Rift  -  Les violents
affrontements dans la province de la vallee du Rift continuent a
faire des victimes. Dans un communique publie le 28 janvier, 21
missions diplomatiques a Nairobi ont exprime leur vive inquietude
et appele le gouvernement kenyan a prendre des mesures pour mettre
fin aux troubles. Le 29 janvier, le president Moi a appele a la fin
des hostilites, mais a accuse l'opposition de faire "des remarques
incendiaires" qui alimentent le conflit. Selon un rapport publie le
2 fevrier par deux observateurs occidentaux depeches par les Pays-
Bas, la police est restee passive lors des attaques menees par les
Kalenjins contre les Kikuyus, qui ont vote massivement pour
l'opposition aux elections generales de decembre. Quelque 2.000
Kikuyus de Njoro ont ete affectes par ces violences et chasses de
leurs maisons. Le bilan des affrontements depuis le 14 janvier
s'elevait a 116 morts le 2 fevrier, alors que les combats
s'etendent au nord, autour du lac Baringo, et a l'ouest.   (ANB-
BIA, de sources diverses, 4 fevrier 1998)

* Lesotho/Afrique du Sud. Projet d'eau  -  Le president Mandela et
le roi du Lesotho Letsie III ont inaugure le 22 janvier l'un des
plus importants systemes d'acheminement d'eau et d'irrigation au
monde, le þLesotho Highland Water Project', alimentant six
provinces sud-africaines depuis le Lesotho. Le reseau, dont le
projet fut signe il y a 11 ans par le regime de l'apartheid,
achemine 26 metres cubes d'eau par seconde vers six des neufs
provinces d'Afrique du Sud, dont le Gauteng.   (Marches Tropicaux,
France, 30 janvier 1998)

* Libya. Diplomatic activity  -  On 3 February, President Afeworki
of Eritrea left Libya after a four-day official visit, during which
the two countries agreed to open a joint bank in Asmara, Eritrea's
capital. The same day, it is reported that Presidents Alpha Oumar
Konare of Mali, Ibraham Bare Mainasara of Niger and Idriss Deby of
Chad are expected in Jerba, Tunisia, on the border with Libya, for
a summit of countries bordering the Sahara, due to begin on 4
February.   (PANA, 3 February 1998)

* Madagascar. Revision de la Constitution  -  Opposition malgache
et partisans du president Ratsiraka s'affrontent depuis le 3
fevrier au Parlement, avec en toile de fond un projet de revision
de la Constitution. La reforme prevoit un renforcement des pouvoirs
presidentiels, conteste par l'opposition, et une large autonomie
des six provinces de Madagascar. Les parlementaires doivent se
prononcer sur une motion signee par 49 deputes de l'opposition,
dont l'ancien president Zafy, demandant la recusation au chef de
l'Etat pour violations de la Constitution. Les deputes se
pencheront egalement sur les reformes constitutionnelles que le
president a prevu de soumettre a referendum le 15 mars.   (Le
Monde, France, 5 fevrier 1998)

* Malawi. Harder times ahead  -  Malawians must brace themselves
for harder times, as commodity prices are likely to go up. The
World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), main backers of
Malawi's economic reforms, have recommended to government, to raise
more revenue to make up for over-expenditure. The donors have
described Malawi's economic situation as "the third crisis within
four years." They say that between July and September 1997, the
government incurred massive expenditure, resulting in the deficit
widening from 6.7% in July to 11.5% of GDP in September. More than
US $22 million was spent on "activities and in areas that were not
part of the original budget" which had been approved by the
government, e.g. Cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and judges all
received salary increases. The lending institutions say that over-
expenditure has resulted in government departments being
underfunded and foreign reserves have been depleted. This led to a
steep fall in the value of the Kwacha vis-a-vis the United States
dollar. "The ability of the Ministry of Finance to execute fiscal
policy has been fundamentally compromised," says the IMF. The
donors have requested the government to revise fuel prices, so as
to reflect the current value of the currency. The Government is
expected to introduce a 20% surtax on all commodities (except
exports). Basic commodity prices have already started going up.
Bread, for example, has gone up by 38%. Government recently
intervened when the price of maize, the staple food, was increased. 
 (Patrick Mwanza, Malawi, 28 January 1998)

* Maroc. Premier ministre socialiste  -  Abderrahmane Youssoufi,
leader de l'Union socialiste des forces populaires (USFP), un
avocat de 74 ans, a accepte, le 4 fevrier, la charge de Premier
ministre, que lui offrait le roi Hassan II. C'est la premiere fois
depuis la creation en 1956 du Maroc moderne, que cette charge sera
occupee par un socialiste. M. Youssoufi devra composer une majorite
gouvernementale dans un paysage politique emiette, puisque aux
dernieres elections en novembre quatorze partis repartis en trois
blocs a peu pres equivalents se sont repartis les sieges a
l'Assemblee.   (d'apres Le Soir, Belgique, 5 janvier 1998)

* Mozambique. 143 feared killed in landslide  -  The death toll
from a landslide in central Mozambique last week could reach 143,
Minister of State Administration, Alfredo Gamito, said on 29
January. First reports of the disaster in the Milange district near
the Malawi border spoke of 13 dead, but by 28 January, 73 bodies
had been recovered. Seventy people are still missing and Gamito
said on 29 January that the missing must now be considered dead.
Gamito, who headed a government team which visited the region to
assess the disaster, said he believed that torrents of mud and
rocks had swept the missing victims into a nearby river, and their
bodies had been carried downstream.   (InfoBeat, USA, 29 January
1998)

* Niger. L'Eglise fete ses 50 ans  -  Le 18 janvier, l'Eglise du
Niger a fete ses 50 ans, en presence du nonce apostolique, du
cardinal Etchegaray et des eveques des pays limitrophes. En fait,
le premier missionnaire (SMA, Societe des missions africaines)
s'installa deja a Niamey en 1931, mais en 1948 fut erigee la
prefecture apostolique, confiee aux Peres redemptoristes, devenue
diocese en 1961. Le Niger est un pays presque totalement musulman.
On y denombre 20.000 catholiques, dont les trois quarts ne sont pas
nigeriens. Le diocese de Niamey couvre l'integralite du territoire.
A l'occasion de l'anniversaire, le cheikh Aboubacar Hachim a ecrit
a l'eveque, Mgr. Romano: "C'est avec beaucoup de bonheur que nous
constatons qu'un demi-siecle durant, les communautes musulmanes et
chretiennes du Niger ont ecrit ensemble une des plus belles pages
de l'histoire en matiere de tolerance, de solidarite et de paix". 
 (d'apres La Croix, France, 30 janvier 1998)

* Niger. Difficultes alimentaires  -  Le ministere des Finances a
suspendu les droits de douane et taxes a l'importation de huit
produits de premiere necessite (dont le mil, le mais et le manioc),
en raison des difficultes alimentaires que connait le pays. Les
prix n'ont cesse de grimper depuis un trimestre, a cause de la
faible production, presentant un deficit cerealier de 150.000
tonnes. Le Niger est aussi confronte a des difficultes
d'approvisionnement, notamment en mil, car le Nigeria, son
principal fournisseur, n'a pas connu une bonne recolte. En
situation normale, le Niger importe 100.000 tonnes de cereales du
Nigeria et plus du double en periode de mauvaises recoltes.  
(Marches Tropicaux, France, 30 janvier 1998)

* Nigeria. Jailed activist Ransome-Kuti in hospital  -  A Nigerian
pro-democracy activist jailed for an alleged plot to topple the
military government has been hospitalized for an undisclosed
illness, his daughter said on 29 January. Beko Ransome-Kuti,
chairman of the Campaign for Democracy, has been serving a 15 year
sentence in the northern city of Kaduna on charges of involvement
in a 1995 coup plot. His daughter, Nike, said he had been admitted
to intensive care at the city's university teaching hospital. The
plights of dozens of political detainees is a major sticking point
in Nigeria's relations with Western countries, which are suspicious
of military ruler General Sani Abacha's promise to restore
democracy in October. On 3 February, the army said a military
tribunal will be set up "this week" to try those accused of
plotting to overthrow General Abacha.   (InfoBeat, USA, 29 Jan & 3
Feb 1998)

* Nigeria. Visite du pape en mars  -  Le Vatican a confirme
officiellement, le 30 janvier, que Jean Paul II se rendra au
Nigeria du 21 au 23 mars prochain pour beatifier le P. Cyprian
Michael Iwene Tansi, moine trappiste nigerian. Le pape quittera
Rome le 21 mars au matin pour se rendre a Abuja, ou il rencontrera
le chef de l'Etat, le general Abacha. Les autres etapes prevues
sont Enugu et Onitsha, le dimanche 22. Ce sera le 82e voyage de
Jean-Paul II et son deuxieme au Nigeria ou il s'etait deja rendu en
1982.   (La Croix, France, 1 fevrier 1998)

* Nigeria. Human rights  -  On 3 February, Human Rights Watch
published a Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Nigeria. The
document states that the human rights situation in Nigeria
continues to deteriorate. Among the many serious human rights
abuses committed by the Nigerian government against its people, the
central issue is the denial of the right to choose their own
government. The Submission also gives details concerning arbitrary
detentions and harassment of the Opposition, conditions of
detention, extrajudicial executions, the rule of law undermined and
the creation of so-called "Special Tribunals."   (Human Rights
Watch, Brussels, 3 February 1998)

* Rwanda. Soldier executed publicly  -  A Rwandan government
soldier was publicly executed after being convicted of shooting to
death a journalist with state-run radio Rwanda, the radio said on
30 January. Private Emmanuel Rutayisire was executed by firing
squad on 29 January in the northwestern town of Gisenyi after
conviction by an exceptional military court for shooting at a
provincial soccer stadium. Rutayisire shot journalist Wilson
Ndayambaje, himself a second lieutenant in the army, three times
after an argument, according to local government officials in
Gisenyi.   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 January 1998)

* Rwanda. Father Curic killed in Kigali  -  Precise details have
not yet been given regarding the murder of 45 years old Father
Vjekoslav Curic. He was killed on the night of 31 January, round
about 8 pm local time, by an unknown assailant. Father Curic used
to be the director of the Caritas branch of the Kabgai dioceses,
and was still working in the same dioceses, as priest of Kivumu.
Father "Vjeko", as he was known, always stood out for his
solidarity gestures within the Rwandan Church. According to the
investigators, he was shot while he was driving his car in the
streets of the capital. The news caused great commotion amongst the
city's humanitarian circles.   (MISNA, Rome, 2 February 1998)

* Rwanda. Pretre croate assassine  -  Un pretre croate, le P.
Vjekoslav Curic, a ete abattu le 31 janvier au soir dans sa voiture
au centre de Kigali, pres de l'eglise de la Sainte-Famille. Le P.
"Vjeko" travaillait au Rwanda depuis 17 ans. Il etait reste a son
poste, meme aux pires heures du genocide. Avec les fonds de Caritas
et le soutien du Programme alimentaire mondial, il avait lance des
programmes "Food for work", reparant et construisant des maisons
pour les victimes du genocide. Il est peut-etre mort parce qu'il
portait un peu d'argent sur lui ou parce qu'il connaissait tout le
monde...   (d'apres Le Soir, Belgique, 2 fevrier 1998)

* Rwanda. 24 genocide suspects killed in mob justice  -  Some 24
genocide suspects released recently from prison because of their
age or poor health were killed in January in separate "mob justice"
attacks, Radio Rwanda said on 3 February. Most of the victims
released from prison, because they were either elderly, minors or
in poor health, were killed after being caught stealing food in
southern Butare province. The death toll was announced, after a
meeting on 2 February, of security officials in Butare city.
Officials condemned the killings and warned "those who took the law
into their own hands would be pursued and punished".   (InfoBeat,
USA, 4 February 1998)

* Senegal/Guinee-Bissau. Officiers arretes  -  Plusieurs officiers
bissau-guineens ont ete arretes dans le cadre d'une enquete sur un
trafic d'armes vers la Casamance, a indique le 31 janvier le
ministre bissau-guineen de la Defense. La Guinee-Bissau a accru sa
surveillance a la frontiere pour empecher les rebelles du Mouvement
des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) de se refugier sur son
territoire.   (Le Monde, France, 3 janvier 1998)

* Sierra Leone. Tension mounts  -  2 February: Tension is mounting
in Sierra Leone, where the military government is preparing for a
major attack on Freetown by rebels loyal to the ousted President.
The military has put its troops on alert and the rebel Kamajor
militia warned it would launch its attack very soon. A spokesman
for the Kamajor said its closest units are within 32 km of the city
limits.   (VOA, 2 February 1998)

* Somalia. Agreement reached  -  During a press conference held at
the Hotel Kah of Mogadishu, Ali Mahdi Muhammad, Hussein Mohammed
and Osman Ali Atto announced that they had reached an agreement for
the reopening on the city's port and airport. The three main "War
Lords" stated that the agreement also includes the abolition of the
"green lines" which divide the capital into rival clans. Observers
view this "trilateral" decision as a political move, in view of the
imminent National Reconciliation Conference (settled upon following
the recent Cairo treaty), which should take place in Baidoa, in mid
February.   (MISNA, Italy, 2 February 1998)

* Somalia. Rally for peace  -  On 3 February, thousands of Somalis
turned out for a rally in Mogadishu to show support for peace
agreements between the faction leaders. Demonstrators at the rally,
organized by the city's Muslim scholars, business community and
women's groups, marched across the green line that had divided the
city north from south since 1991.   (InfoBeat, USA, 3 February
1998)

* South Africa. Mining house breaks up  -  On 29 January, the
strongly polarised debate over black empowerment in South Africa
raged again, when dreams of a powerful black mining house were
shattered after claims of mismanagement and even fraud. But as Mzi
Khumalo resigned (28 January) as chairman of Johannesburg
Consolidated Investments (JCI) and shareholders voted to break up
the company, the mining industry moved to counter claims that he
had been a scapegoat. It chose a black chief executive, Mzolisi
Dilizia, to head its umbrella body, the Chamber of Mines.   (The
Guardian, U.K., 30 January 1998)

* South Africa. "Prime Evil"  -  On 29 January, Apartheid's most
notorious assassin, Eugene de Kock, confirmed he murdered Themba
Mobotha, an alleged lover of Winnie Mandela, claiming it was at the
request of Soweto's police security branch. De Kock told the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) how he shot Themba Mobotha
twice in the heart. The corpse was then blown up with plastic
explosive. "It was a service rendered", he said. De Kock is a
convicted multiple murderer and police death squad commander,
currently serving a 212-year jail sentence in a new maximum
security prison in Pretoria, for a multitude of crimes for which he
was nicknamed "Prime Evil" by colleagues. De Kock was testifying at
a special hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into
the activities of a band of bodyguards who served Winnie Mandela in
the 1980s.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 January 1998)

* South Africa. Mandela to open parliament  -  President Nelson
Mandela will open parliament on 6 February with, what an aide says,
will be a candid review of progress and weaknesses during South
Africa's first four years of democracy. The opposition National
Party has come out fighting, saying Mandela's opening speech will
be the most important since the country's first all-race elections
in 1994. Mandela will challenge the popular perception, that his
government is failing to deliver on many of its 1994 election
promises. The first month of the new session will be taken up with
unfinished legislation.   (InfoBeat, USA, 4 February 1998)

* Sudan. Rebels and tribes flee famine, fighting  -  Thousands of
Sudanese rebels and tribes people have fled famine and the 15 year
old war ravaging the south of Africa's largest country. In an old
dairy farm in Maryal Bai, weary former rebels of the Sudan People's
Liberation Army said they had defected to a pro-government militia
leader, Kerubino Kwanyin Bol. The Islamist government in Khartoum
said this month 2.500 fighters had left the movement led by John
Garang and had gone, along with about 6.000 civilians to government
held areas in the southern state of Bahr al-Ghazal.   (InfoBeat,
USA, 30 January 1998)

* Sudan. Rebels claim to capture southern Sudan city  -  29
January: The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) says its
forces have captured southern Sudan's second largest city, Wau. The
Sudanese government dismisses the claim, saying in a statement on
Sudan TV, the attack has been repulsed and large numbers of rebels
killed or captured. An SPLA spokesman in Nairobi says SPLA forces
have seized Wau and also have captured the terminus of the railroad
linking southern Sudan to the capital Khartoum. "Early this
morning, our forces launched a massive and surprise attack on Wau,"
SPLA spokesman George Kerir says. "We attacked and captured the
army headquarters at Wau, the airport, railway station and
locations in the city". 31 January: Heavy fighting is reported
between rebels and Sudan's army for control of Wau. 3 February: A
SPLA spokesman admits they have lost control of the airport and
military garrison at Wau. The same day, a Sudanese official says
that government forces have killed more than 73 Eritrean troops in
a counterattack near the border with Eritrea.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels,
3 February 1998)

* Soudan. Offensive  -  La radio de l'opposition a annonce le 2
fevrier que la SPLA continuait son offensive a grande echelle dans
le Bahr-el-Ghazal. Selon elle, les rebelles ont conserve leurs
positions dans la ville de Wau. Ceux-ci admettent qu'ils ont perdu
le controle de l'aeroport et de la garnison militaire, mais nient
que les forces gouvernementales auraient repris la ville. La SPLA
a egalement affirme que ses forces controlaient la ville d'Aweil,
ou les combats se poursuivent. Une attaque a encore ete lancee
contre la ville de Gogrial. Selon la television soudanaise, le
general Zubayr Muhammed a declare que la securite etait assuree a
Wau et que des avions continuaient a approvisionner la ville en
produits de base.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 3 fevrier 1998)

* Tchad. Enlevement  -  Quatre Francais ont ete enleves, le 3
fevrier, dans un parc naturel de la region de Sahr, selon la radio
nationale. Cet enlevement, confirme par la France, n'a pas ete
revendique.   (La Libre Belgique, 5 fevrier 1998)

* Zambia. An extended state of emergency  -  Zambia's parliament
has voted to extend the country's 3 month old state of emergency
for another 90 days from February 1, state television said on 29
January. Of the 150 elected Members of Parliament, 113 voted for
the extension, 8 against and the remainder were absent or
abstained, the report said. President Chiluba declared a 7-day
state of emergency on 28 October, a day after a foiled coup by
junior army officers. The state of emergency, extended for 3 months
from 4 November, gave the police, sweeping powers of detention.
Parliamentarians who voted against the original order, had said
they feared the government would use the increased power to clamp
down on its opponents.   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 January 1998)