Un logiciel gratuit aide les pays à affronter la déforestation et le changement climatique

10 octobre 2014, Rome – La FAO vient de lancer un logiciel gratuit qui devrait, espère-t-on, contribuer à améliorer la façon dont beaucoup de pays en développement évaluent leurs forêts et en surveillent l'évolution dans le cadre de la lutte contre la déforestation et le changement climatique.

Ce logiciel est conçu pour aider les pays tout au long du cycle de vie complet de l'inventaire forestier, notamment en matière d'évaluation, de conception, de planification, de collecte et du traitement des données sur le terrain, d'estimation, d'analyse et de notification. Les gouvernements finnois et allemand ont encouragé le développement de ce logiciel baptisé Open Foris.

Plateforme mondiale de partage des connaissances

Des informations précises sur les forêts sont essentielles pour permettre aux gouvernements de gérer leurs ressources naturelles de manière durable. Toutefois, près de 80 pour cent des pays en développement rencontrent des difficultés à recueillir et utiliser les informations de base sur leurs ressources forestières.

Dans le même temps, la déforestation et la dégradation des forêts – en cours en grande partie dans les pays en développement – sont parmi les principales sources d'émission de carbone due à l'action de l'homme.

«De nombreux pays ne disposent tout simplement pas d'un tableau de bord complet de ce qui se passe dans leurs forêts, et sans une telle connaissance il est difficile d'élaborer des politiques forestières efficaces pour lutter contre la déforestation et la dégradation des forêts ou pour faire avancer les stratégies nationales en matière de changement climatique», explique M. Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Sous-Directeur général de la FAO responsable du Département des forêts.

«Nous espérons que l'Open Foris changera la donne, car il est le premier logiciel complet et adaptable, qui permettra non seulement de guider les pays au cours du processus de collecte et d'analyse des données, mais il encouragera et facilitera aussi le libre partage des connaissances de manière novatrice. La transparence accrue aidera les décideurs à obtenir les informations dont ils ont besoin pour orienter l'action en connaissance de cause», ajoute M. Eduardo Rojas-Briales.

Le nouveau logiciel de la FAO simplifie également le processus complexe de transformation des données brutes, telles que les mesures d'arbres et l'imagerie par satellite, en offrant à l'utilisateur de précieuses informations sous la forme de pages Web interactives avec des statistiques, des graphiques, des cartes et des rapports.

En outre, le logiciel intègre des outils pour aider les pays à répondre aux exigences internationales en matière de notification. Il s'agit, par exemple dans le cadre de REDD+, des activités liées à la réduction des émissions dues à la déforestation et à la dégradation des forêts ainsi que les aspects concernant l'augmentation du stock de carbone dans les forêts.

Des essais pilotes dans plus d'une dizaine de pays

Dévoilé aujourd'hui à Salt Lake City au Congrès mondial de l'Union internationale des organisations de recherche forestière, Open Foris a déjà été testé avec succès dans plus d'une dizaine de pays en Afrique, Asie et Amérique latine.

A titre d'exemple, plus tôt cette année, l'Equateur et la Tanzanie ont achevé leurs premiers inventaires forestiers nationaux avec l'aide d'Open Foris, et un certain nombre d'experts d'autres pays, comme l'Argentine, le Bhoutan, la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée et l'Uruguay, ont récemment reçu une formation sur l'utilisation des différentes composantes du logiciel.

Le Viet Nam procède à un inventaire forestier national tous les cinq ans, et pour la première fois il vient d'utiliser Open Foris dans une des régions de son territoire après avoir adapté le code source du logiciel en vietnamien.

Les gardes forestiers ont recueilli les informations sur le couvert forestier et le nombre, la taille, les espèces et la qualité des arbres ainsi que l'utilisation des ressources forestières par les populations locales avant d'introduire les données dans le logiciel Open Foris une fois de retour à leur bureau.

«Il nous permet de calculer les variables et les modifications apportées aux ressources forestières et arboricoles au cours d'un certain laps de temps, ainsi que les changements causés par d'autres valeurs environnementales tels que les réservoirs de carbone, la biodiversité et les produits non ligneux de la forêt», indique M. Ho Manh Tuong, expert à l'Institut de l'inventaire et de la planification des forêts du Viet Nam. «Grâce à ce programme, le stock forestier national complet peut être évalué.»

L'inventaire forestier sera bientôt encore plus précis lorsque les gardes forestiers commenceront à utiliser Open Foris pour rentrer les données directement à l'aide de leurs smartphones ou tablettes grâce à des applications Androïd, éliminant ainsi la collecte des informations à l'aide de formulaires papier.

ABU JUBAIHA (13 Oct.) - Security agents detained two more student activists in Abu Jubaiha town, in the south-eastern part of South Kordofan on Thursday.

“The detention of university students Mohamed Mokhtar Alo and Mohamed Shaga by elements of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) brings the number of detained activists being held by the security apparatus to eight,” a relative of one of the detainees reported to Radio Dabanga from Abu Jubaiha town.

“The first six were detained on 30 September after they had handed a memorandum to the local authorities, demanding the provision of clean drinking water and electricity services.”

“Later on Thursday, the two detained, together with Moataz El Jeili, veterinarian, Mohamed Abdel Ghaffar and Ahmed Adam El Jarari, university graduates, El Daw Kambal Suleiman, Sudan University student, Nadir El Sheikh, student at Kordofan University, Sirajeldin El Naeema, and El Buseili Saleh, trader, were deported in a heavily guarded white Buffalo car to an undisclosed destination.”

“The security forces also raided El Marfaein village, 5 km south of Abu Jubaiha, in search of student Ibrahim El Nimiya,” he added.

On 6 October, residents of Abu Jubaiha organised a sit-in in front of the NISS office in the town, demanding the release of the detainees. A delegation consisting of Abu Jubaiha notables and youth representatives met with the commissioner of Abu Jubaiha locality, and NISS officers, who promised to release the detained youths.

NISS agents later detained 15 of the protesters, among them women.

Continuous protests in the Nauru refugee detention camp peaked with up to 600 people breaking out of the family compound just after midnight on October 10.

An asylum seeker told Sydney’s Refugee Action Coalition (RAC): “Day to day, night to night, the situation on Nauru is getting more serious for us.”

The protests have been accompanied by self-harm and suicide attempts, including one person hanging themselves, a 15-year-old girl swallowing detergent, others ingesting washing powder, lip-stitching and a hunger strike.

The protests began on August 25 over the uncertainty and lack of processing for refugees. Men, women and children have been struggling in deplorable conditions for months on end. RAC said the escalation on October 10 followed an Australian immigration officer telling asylum seekers: “You can’t go to Australia, you must go to Cambodia.”

Photos from the camp, obtained by the Perth-based Refugee Rights Action Network, show children holding signs that read: “Only our corpse might go to Cambodia” and “it is not fair”.

The anxiety over possibly being sent to a country where refugees have barely any rights or protection is worsened by immigration minister Scott Morrison’s moves to reintroduce temporary protection visas thorugh a deal with the Palmer United Party. Morrison informed Nauru detainees that they would not be eligible for the visas in a video screened in the compounds, worsening unrest.

The bill could mean refugees who were on the same boat as those now exiled on Nauru could receive at least temporary protection in Australia.

RAC spokesperson Ian Rintoul said if the TPV bill becomes law, “it will also permanently separate refugees on Nauru and Manus Island from their close families in Australia. One Egyptian man on Manus Island would be permanently separated from his daughter and sister who already have permanent residency in Australia. It is arbitrary and unfair.”

“We want to send a very clear message to Scott Morrison and the Palmer United Party, that the refugee campaign is resolutely opposed to the re-introduction of temporary protection visas. They will condemn refugees to permanent separation from their families and permanent insecurity.”

Nauru refugees are struggling for their rights in an atmosphere of desperation and powerlessness. A 24-year-old Iranian woman who has been held on Nauru for more than a year called the camp “God’s own hell”. She told ABC Online that after Morrison’s video was screened, two women tried to kill themselves and another hunger strike broke out.

Allegations of sexual abuse against women and children by security staff, made by Save the Children, raise the urgency of asylum seekers’ protest.

The ABC reported: “Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said women inside the centre were regularly required to strip and exchange sexual favours with guards so they could have access to the showers.

“She said there were also allegations children had been forced to have sex in front of guards at the centre.”

The government responded by accusing Save the Children of fabricating the claims and removed staff from the island.

Refugee advocates in Australia joined protesting refugees on October 11 in solidarity protests in Sydney and Melbourne.

Rintoul said the government was moving quickly on crushing refugee rights: “Morrison’s temporary protection bill also proposes sweeping new changes to the migration (and other) acts, such as the Maritime Powers Act to dramatically curtail the rights of asylum seekers.

“Morrison is desperate to change the law to put the government out of reach of court decisions, as it faces legal challenges in the coming week; one to its kidnapping of 157 Tamil asylum seekers on the high seas in July and the second to deny asylum rights to babies born in Australia to mothers who arrived by boat after 19 July last year.

“Morrison’s offshore processing regime is untenable and morally bankrupt. He is paying $40 million to the Cambodian government for perhaps four or five refugees to be resettled, while there are 200 refugees on Nauru who have nowhere to go.

“The government is spending $500 million a year to bomb Iraq. While hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers pour across the borders of Turkey, in Australia asylum seekers from Iraq, Syria and Palestine are condemned to the hell-holes of Manus Island and Nauru or left destitute, denied processing in the Australian community.

SOURCE: GREEN LEFT WEEKLY/PACNEWS

The effects of Cyclone Hudhud, that hit the southern and eastern regions of India on Sunday with heavy rains and winds of almost 200 kmph, were felt in Nepal on Monday, October 13, 2014.

Effects of Hudhud were first felt in the middle and eastern regions of Nepal, after the cyclone unleashed its effects on the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar -- Meteorologist Shanti Kattel of Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) of Nepal told nepalnews.

As a consequence, normal precipitation was registered in the middle and eastern regions of Nepal on Monday, Kattel said.

According to Kattel, there may be light to normal rainfall in the western and far-western regions of Nepal, whereas heavy rains may also affect some parts of the country on Tuesday, October 13, 2014. She further said that the aftereffects of Cyclone Hudhud in Nepal may last till Wednesday.

Such cyclones frequently affect the region after the monsoons are over, as such it would not be entirely true to say that climate-change is the reason for the same , Meteorologist Kattel said.

While the delayed onset of the monsoons had adversely affected paddy-plantation, the prolonged rains have affected the crop-harvesting work.

Typically, the monsoons enter Nepal on June 10 and end on September 23; but this year, there was a delayed arrival of monsoon on June 20 which lasted till October 7- MFD said.

Cyclone Hudhud which entered with heavy rain and winds of almost 200 kmph on Sunday, rammed the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, leaving five dead in Vishakhapatnam and a trail of devastation.

More than 400,000 people were shifted to secure base to avoid the brunt of Hudhud.

The cyclone is similar to Cyclone Phailin that crossed the coast of Odisha last October, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

This report is for media and the general public.

The SMM observed the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol/Memorandum. The Mission continued to receive reports, and directly observed, shelling occurrences in a number of areas. In Kyiv civil society representatives expressed concern for the fate of those held captive by illegally armed groups in Donbas.

On 12 October the SMM monitored an event at Liberty Square in Kharkiv where information about volunteer groups assisting the army and protecting the region was displayed. Cadets from the Kharkiv tank military school showed the public how to assemble different types of light infantry weapons. Doctors and psychologists were also present and explained their work in case of emergency in areas of the “Anti-Terrorist Operation” (“ATO”). The event was organized by the Ukrainian Armed forces with the support of local “Euromaidan” activists.

On 11 October the SMM visited Popasna (85km west of Luhansk), controlled by Ukrainian forces, and whilst speaking to the local population at one of the city’s markets, it heard shelling lasting for 10 minutes, and involving about 12 shells. Some of those present at the scene told the SMM that the shelling was outgoing from Ukrainian positions close to Popasna, an assessment consistent with the SMM’s observations. Other local inhabitants told the SMM that they are extremely concerned by the frequent incoming and outgoing shelling around Popasna.

In Lysychansk (90km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM noted a group of armed, uniformed men, gathered outside a building. The SMM spoke with the deputy “ATO” co-ordinator for Lysychansk, present at the scene, who explained that a group of armed men, identifying themselves as members of the volunteer “Aidar” battalion, had occupied the building of a local TV channel, and that negotiations with them were ongoing. The armed men surrounding the building appeared to be police personnel. Eventually, the SMM saw the men, reportedly from the “Aidar” battalion, vacating the building. The “ATO” co-ordinator and the police commander, who had been involved in the negotiations with the armed men, explained that the situation had been resolved, but that the “Aidar” battalion personnel had not explained why they had occupied the building.

On 11 October the SMM followed up on information received by a CP commander that one of the Ukrainian armed forces’ tanks had been engaged and struck earlier on that day by direct fire at Talakivka (16km north-east of Mariupol). The SMM visited the CP and spoke to the tank commander, who stated that two rounds were fired at the tank, and added that no one was injured. The first round, which came from around 1km to the east of his position, landed 60 metres to the rear of the tank in a field. The second shot impacted the tank on the turret. The SMM observed some fire damage to the tank. The SMM observed a patch of a nearby field on fire some 60 metres from the tank, and was told by the soldiers that it was caused by the impact of the first round.

The SMM visited the village of Krasnogorovka (28km west of Donetsk), controlled by Ukrainian forces, to follow up on information received from the mayor’s office on 10 October, referring to alleged shelling of the village. The SMM inspected the site and found traces of 8 impacts consistent with incoming "Grad" shelling. During its visit, the SMM noticed a group of men, women and children, around 15 in total, in the process of fetching water in a square who informed them that Krasnogorovka has no public water supply since July.

On 11 October the SMM visited the town of Starobeshevo (40km south-east of Donetsk) where it observed one “Uragan” type unexploded missile stuck in the ground between the street and pavement, with the impact area around 8 meters away from an administrative building hosting the village council. The SMM was told by local inhabitants that the missile had been de-activated by demining experts provided by the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”).

On 12 October, about 18km north-west of Debaltseve, the SMM observed several artillery rounds hitting the ground some 10km north of its location. The SMM continued towards Debaltseve and heard constant heavy artillery fire, which appeared to be consistent with a D30 Howitzer, however, the SMM could not ascertain its origin.

On 9 October the SMM met the head of the regional police in Berdiansk (285km south of Dnipropetrovsk) who stated that the security situation in the city is stable. According to the interlocutor, the police prevented a recent attempt to demolish the Lenin statue in the centre of Berdiansk, persuading a crowd of protesters to collect residents’ signatures in support of such an act, and submitting a petition to the city council, which would make a final decision on the matter. The interlocutor also informed the SMM that a local self-defence unit named “Skif” recently finished its training and has been deployed to the checkpoints located inside the city.

In Kherson and Chernivtsi the situation remained calm.

On 11 October the SMM met with a member of the Ivano-Frankivsk based NGO “People’s Initiative of Galicia”, involved in public lustration in the region. According to the interlocutor, despite the existing legal basis of formal lustration, with the new law signed by President Poroshenko on 10 October, public lustration will continue. In this regard, the interlocutor stated that recently up to 10 local officials have been publicly lustrated in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, and that they had all been tossed into trash bins.

On 10 October in Lviv the SMM monitored a training session, part of the programme for psychological treatment for the participants in the “ATO” and their families, organized by the Ukrainian Catholic University. About 80 participants, mainly women and including local media representatives, attended the event.

In Kyiv the SMM met a number of organizations of civil society representatives who expressed concern regarding the situation of civilians held captive by irregular armed groups in Donbas. Some representatives said that, in their view, these cases have not received the attention they deserve due to prioritization of release of members of armed forces. Some representatives also expressed concern about what they call “black lists” maintained by CP personnel, as well as human rights abuses at these CPs committed by irregular armed groups.

On 10 October, in front of the presidential administration building in Kyiv, the SMM monitored a demonstration of about 30 persons, mainly women, relatives of civilians and volunteer personnel held captive in Donbas by illegal armed groups. The demonstration was organised by a journalist who herself had been detained for about 72 days in Sloviansk by the “DPR”. When the SMM left the scene, it did not observe any incidents.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/125502

Contacts:

Michael Bociurkiw
26 Turgenevska Street
01054 Kyiv
Ukraine
office: +380 44 382 0832
mobile: +38 067 4083107
michael.bociurkiw@osce.org

Iryna Gudyma
26 Turgenevska Street
01054 Kyiv
Ukraine
mobile: +38 067 4021716
Iryna.Gudyma@osce.org

Fourty-two Syrian refugees from five different families, more than half children, arrived in Montevideo, where they will be able to go to school, while their young fathers, the eldest being 46 years-old, will first learn Spanish and then will receive job offers to properly integrate in the local society.

These are the first 42 refugees to arrive in Uruguay on invitation of President José ‘Pepe’ Mujica, who he received personally on arrival through Beirut, as also their new neighbours of Montevideo.

They will first stay two months at the Hogar Marista, Casa San José, in the outskirts of the capital, where they will learn the language. Seven teens will attend a highschool, in which students were prepared on the Syrian reality and violent conflict that has so far left over 200,000 dead and caused millions to flee.

Uruguay will host a total of 120 Syrians fleeing the devastating war, as part of an initiative launched after the visit of Uruguay’s Foreign minister Luis Almagro to the Zaatari refugee camp, in Jordan, where 120,000 Syrians live. A visit that shocked the minister and convinced Mujica to take action. Uruguay and Brazil, who for some time has been contributing, in December will launch a call for other South American nations to offer help to the Syrian population fleeing the violence.

[FB/BO]

Bogota, 13 October 2014 – In response to ongoing dialogue between the Colombian government and left-wing guerrilla group, Las Farc, the Jesuit Refugee Service has urged the negotiating parties to take in account the needs of those affected by the conflict. The statement – presented at the National Victims Forum in Cali – called for assistance for victims, reparations, solutions to the displacement and preventative measures. JRS also urged receiving states to welcome refugees and offer them international protection, not forcibly return them to Colombia.

Initiated in 2012, the peace negotiations in Havana are entering their decisive stages. In order to provide the victims with an opportunity to influence the process, the United Nations and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia organised a number of roundtables throughout the country. The last roundtable, the National Victim's Forum, took place in Cali in early August, where victims of both parties came to express their views of the decades-long conflict, which were sent to the negotiators in Havana.

Although JRS welcomed the opportunity to give voice to the victims of the conflict, its Colombia office sought clarification from the authorities on how the peace agreement could affect communities. The Law 1448 of 2011, the Victims and Land Restitution Law, provides victims with reparations, but it does not guarantee their protection. Consequently, it should not be a justification for revoking the refugee status. This law looks only at the past and ignores the future.

The JRS statement to the forum addressed not only the need for reparation and humanitarian assistance, but it encouraged the actors involved in the peace process to look at the root causes of the conflict and take preventative measures.

Humanitarian focus and assistance. The Colombian government needs to ensure victims of recently created criminal gangs composed of members of 'officially demobilised' paramilitary groups should be recognised as such and receive humanitarian assistance. Moreover, regional authorities often have a long tradition of providing assistance to the victims of the conflict. Therefore, more responsibility for assistance should be decentralised, in addition to the financial and technical support.

Truth, justice and reparation. Law 1448 guarantees the rights of victims to receive reparations. As such, JRS underlined the need for the state to ensure this law is respected in full. In addition, in the name of justice, victims should be guaranteed their right to know the identities of those who perpetrated crimes against them. Furthermore, JRS called for seats in the Colombian congress be set aside for representatives of victims to ensure the promotion and protection of their rights.

Durable solutions. Finding solutions for the victims of forced displacement will require the long-term provision of support mechanisms to help thousands of families to rebuild their lives. While national re-integration policies are needed, implementation of strategies should be driven locally. Marginalised communities affected by violence will need support from local and regional authorities financed by the central government. While the legal and public policies have already been developed, JRS urged the state to identify and fill the gaps between policy and actual implementation.

Prevention, protection, and preventative measures. According to the JRS submission, government, civil society groups, the media and private sector groups need to develop strategies and activities promoting peace and reconciliation. The peace process, the submission continued, should focus on areas which have been historically excluded and often prone to violence. JRS called the authorities to promote the rule of law, support communities affected by violence by providing alternatives to illicit activities such as drug cultivation and goods smuggling, and combat unlawful actions of armed groups, as well as local and regional corruption inside and outside of the state.

Bangui, CAR | 13 octobre 2014

(Bangui, 13 octobre 2014): La Coordonnatrice humanitaire principale en République centrafricaine (RCA), Claire Bourgeois, est grandement choquée par l’utilisation d’enfants durant les récentes attaques intercommunautaires à Bangui.

J’exhorte tous les leaders et les combattants de respecter le droit des enfants. Les enfants de Centrafrique ont droit à la paix et l’accès aux services sociaux de base. Je rappelle que l’utilisation des enfants et des femmes enceintes dans les combats est un crime de guerre.

Je confirme les assassinats brutaux d’au moins trois enfants, y compris deux garçons qui étaient accusés d’espionnage et un garçon de 8 ans mort suite à une balle perdu. J’ai aussi reçu d’autres rapports d’enfants blessés par des grenades et des balles. A cause des multiples barricades, certains enfants n’ont pas pu atteindre les centres de santé.

Je condamne le recrutement et l’utilisation des enfants par les groupes armés. Les organisations humanitaires ont pu observer un grand nombre d’enfants aux postes de contrôle de plusieurs barricades à Bangui.

Le recrutement des enfants est une violation grave des droits de l’enfant. Je note aussi que plusieurs enfants ont aussi été utilisés durant des manifestations. Je demande aux parents et aux leaders communautaires d’éloigner les enfants des manifestations. Leur participation les expose à des multiples risques émotionnels et physiques, y compris les blessures, et les traumatismes psychologiques à cause des violences qu’ils peuvent y observer.

La protection des enfants de toute sorte de violence, d’abus et d’exploitation est d’une importance capitale pour l’avenir de la République Centrafricaine.

Statement from the Senior Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic

(Bangui, 13 October 2014): The Senior Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic (CAR), Claire Bourgeois, is deeply concerned by the use of child soldiers in recent inter-communities attacks in Bangui.

I urge leaders and fighters to respect children’s rights. Central African children have the right to live in peace and access basic social services. I would like to point out that the use of children and pregnant women in fighting is a war crime.

I confirm the brutal killings of at least three children, including two boys who have been accused of spying and an eight year old shot by a stray bullet. I also received reports of children injured by bullets and grenades.

I condemn the recruitment and the use of children by armed groups. Humanitarian organizations have reported the presence of a large number of children at checkpoints of several barricades in Bangui.

Recruitment of children is a serious violation of children's rights. I also note that many children have also been used during demonstrations. I ask parents and community leaders to keep children away from demonstrations. Their participation exposes them to multiple emotional and physical risks, including injuries, and psychological trauma.

The protection of children from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation is crucial for the future of the Central African Republic.

Tongo mbela ti Kota wayenda so a ba ndo na ndo ti a kwa ti mungo maboko na a zo so a yé ti ngangou a si na ala na Kodro Sessé ti Bé-Africa

Bangui, langobale-oko na ota ti nzein ti ngbèrèrè ngou 2014): Mbé ti kota wayenda so a ba ndo na ndo ti a kwa ti mungo maboko na a zo so a yé ti ngangou a si na a la na Kodro Sessé ti Bé-Africa, Yapakara Claire Bourgeois, a son ngangou mingui ndali ti ngbiah ngonh a molengué na ya ti a oussou oussou so a ti na popo ti a molengué ti kodro na sessé ti Bangui.

Mbi hounda na ngangou ti bé ti mbi na a kota zo so ayèkè na li ti a boungbi ndé ndé, nga na a zo ti tiri nguon bira ti kpé ndiah ti a molengué. A lingbi a molengué ti Kodro Sessé ti Bé-Africa, a ndouti na ya ti siriri na ya ti nzoni tèrè. Mbi yé ti da na bé ti a zo kwè ngbiah ngonh a molengué nga na a wali so ayèkè na nguon, na ya ti a kodé ti bira, ayèkè kota kpalé ti bira.

Mbi kiri mbi tènè fangoh na ngangou a molengué ota, so na popo a molengué koli oussè so a tènè ala la kè mbèbè ndoh ti kodè, nga na mbéni masseka koli ti ngou miabé so a wara koua ti lé ti ngombé. Mbi wara nga a mbéti so a mbéni molengué a wara a ka na péko ti a lé ti ngombé ti soungba nguon ni, nga na a lé ti ngombé. Ndali ti a gbati kanga ngon légué na ya ti da gbatah, a mbéni a molengué a goué na nda nganga a pè.

Mbi kein moungoh a molengué na ngangou ti tiri bira. A boungbi ti koussala ti moungoh maboko na a zo so a yèkè na ya ti passi a ba gbati a molengué na a ndokoua ti benbenh nguon ndoh ti kanga ngoh légué na a zo ti tamboula yamba na sessé ti Bangui.

Moungoh a molengué na ngangou ti tiri bira ayèkè kota ndi nguon ndiah ti a molengué. Mbi hinga a mou a gbati molengué na ya ti a oussou oussou. Mbi hounda na a baba na mama ti a molengué, nga na a a kota zo so ayèkè na li ti a boungbi ndé ndé ti poussou yamba a molengué na tèrè ti oussou oussou. Ngbiah ngonh a molengué na ya ti bira a za a la na lé ti a gbati a sioni yé, nga na a ka, na péko ti a sioni so a la ba.

Mba ngon do na ndo ti a molengué na legué ti a sioni koué, sara nguon yé ti mbana na tèrè ti a molengué, a yèkè ngangou mingui ndali ti guigui ti kékéréké ti kodro Sessé ti Bé-Africa.

Laura N Fultang
Information Officer
UNOCHA Bangui
Cell: (236) 7018 8064
Email: fultangl@un.org

Ingrid Maryse BOKOSSET
Public Information Assistant/ UNOCHA CAR
+236 70 00 95 99/ 72 20 08 60
bokosset@un.org
skype: renemeuh

OCHA: La Coordination sauve des vies
Coordination saves lives

http://www.unocha.org
http://www.refliefweb.int
http://www.irinnews.org
http://car.humanitarianresponse.info
http://www.unocha.org/crisis/central-african-republic

The United Nations World Food Programme is continuing to scale up its operations to provide food and logistical support to over 1 million people affected by the Ebola crisis in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The three pillars of WFP support in the Ebola crisis are to deliver food alongside the health response, ensure the movement of partner staff and equipment, and provide logistical services and infrastructure support for health partners.

With the Ebola emergency response, across the three most affected countries, WFP seeks to reach patients in Ebola treatment centres, discharged Ebola survivors, communities with widespread and intense transmission, and the families of people infected with Ebola. Providing timely, nutritious food to the Ebola treatment centres is vital to help patients recover. Food assistance is also crucial for families who have a member affected by the virus, or who are living in quarantined areas, as they have often lost a source of income and cannot buy food in the market.

In Sierra Leone, WFP’s immediate priority is to provide food to the five quarantined districts of Port Loko, Bombali, Moyamba, Kenema, and Kailahun, along with Ebola treatment and holding centres, quarantined hot spots in Freetown, and other parts of the country. In September, WFP food provided 1,200 mt of food to over 208,000 people across the country.

Food distributions are ongoing in treatment centres and quarantined areas in Freetown. Additionally, trucks loaded with food have been prepositioned to expand WFP distributions to rural areas this week.

“I visited quarantined households last week in Makeni and Port Loko districts, and I have seen the suffering. We are doing everything we can here at the World Food Programme to reach about 600,000 people who have been affected by the Ebola crisis. We will keep on working and try to help those who need our assistance.” says John Crisci, WFP Emergency Coordinator.

WFP is also working with humanitarian partners to boost telecommunications coverage in affected areas.

The Ebola Virus Disease is not just a health crisis: it has grave humanitarian, economic and social consequences that could spread far beyond the affected countries. Because it is an unprecedented emergency, WFP has also been called on to provide logistics, expertise and assistance, particularly to medical partners, to help with the construction of infrastructure, logistics, storage, procurement, and transport. Getting aid workers and supplies to the stricken areas is vital: WFP manages the Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to transport humanitarian workers and deliver light cargo between and within the three affected countries. As of 7 October, UNHAS is providing regular connections between Dakar, Conakry, Freetown, Monrovia, and Accra in a recently established humanitarian corridor.

“It’s difficult. It’s not a food security or malnutrition crisis. We are used to handling that, whether it’s a conflict, earthquake, or natural disaster… This is human suffering at its most complicated. Everybody just does their best to treat the symptoms. As WFP, we are shifting gears and at the same time trying to keep up with the spread of the virus,” said Denise Brown, WFP Regional Director, after field visits to Liberia and Guinea.

It has been necessary to adapt swiftly in a rapidly evolving situation to ensure that food assistance supports the Ebola response, without creating further risks for people in the affected areas, or for our own staff and partners. The situation is fluid, so excellent communications with government and partners are crucial to help identify the communities in need.

Faits saillants

• Les relocalisations des personnes depuis les sites de transit vers les camps temporaires sont freinées par les délais dans la construction d’abris et d’infrastructures en eau et assainissement.

• Le gouvernement a décidé de revoir l’aménagement du camp temporaire de Maingama pour maximiser le nombre d'habitants et accélérer le rythme de construction.

• La recrudescence des cas de paludisme dans les sites et les camps temporaires se confirme, avec un taux de mortalité de 50%.

• L'assistance des retournés vivant dans les villages hôtes demeure toujours faible. Des besoins humanitaires persistent notamment dans le domaine de l'eau, hygiène et assainissement (EHA).

• L’Agence d’aide humanitaire de l’Union Européenne (ECHO) au Tchad, a annoncé une enveloppe d'un million d’euros pour répondre aux impacts de la crise en RCA.

113 086 Retournés et refugiés de la RCA enregistrés depuis le début de l’année 2014. (Source OIM)

21 231 Personnes dans les trois camps temporaires au Tchad. (Source OIM, CCCM)

41 547 Personnes dans les sites de transit dans le sud du pays. (Source OIM, CCCM)

18 150 Retournés dans des villages d'accueil et en dehors des sites. (Source OCHA, OXFAM)

15 695 Refugiés de la RCA au Tchad arrivés depuis janvier 2013. (Source UNHCR)

Aperçu de la situation

Les arrivées de nouvelles personnes fuyant les violences dans la République Centrafricaine (RCA) au Tchad ne sont plus que sporadiques depuis fin août. Un groupe de 67 personnes est nouvellement arrivé à Mbitoye, le 8 septembre, en provenance de Béti au Cameroun. Ces personnes sont arrivées dans une situation physique très éprouvée.

Les relocalisations des sites de transit dans le sud du pays vers les camps temporaires sont freinées à cause de délais dans l’aménagement des camps et de l'insuffisance d'espace permettant la construction de plus d'abris. Au 15 septembre, plus de 21 000 personnes habitaient dans les camps temporaires de Danamadja (Logone Oriental), Maingama (Moyen Chari) et Gaoui/Zafaye proche de N'Djamena.

Néanmoins, plus de 41 000 personnes restent actuellement dans les sites de transit de Sido et Doyaba (Moyen Chari), Kobitey et Mbitoye (Logone Oriental) et Djako (Logone Occidental). Il est important de noter qu’en dehors des sites, plus de 18 000 personnes se trouvent dans des familles hôtes ou sous des abris de fortune dans les régions du Mandoul et du Logone Oriental.

L'assistance des populations retournées vivant dans les familles d'accueil demeure toujours faible. Une mission conjointe d'OCHA, du PAM et de la Croix Rouge du Tchad (CRT) à Baibokoum et Mbitoye entre le 10 et le 13 septembre révèle qu’au moins 3 700 retournés, la plupart des éleveurs peuhls, continuent de vivre dans des conditions difficiles. Ceux qui n’ont pas pu s’installer avec des familles d'accueil, habitent dans des abris de fortune. La présence d'environ 2 000 têtes de bétails arrivés avec les éleveurs pourrait engendrer des conflits dans la zone notamment avec l'arrivée de la récolte en octobre.

La recrudescence des cas de paludisme dans les sites se confirme. Sur 3 300 malades consultés par l’ONG International Rescue Committee (IRC) dans les sites de Djako, Doyaba, Kobitey et Maingama, 1 665 souffrent de paludisme confirmé, soit un taux de morbidité proportionnelle de 50%. Face à cette augmentation, les acteurs du secteur santé (CRT, Centre de Support en Santé Internationale CSSI, IRC et Médecins Sans Frontières MSF) se mobilisent dans les actions curatives et préventives dans les camps temporaires, sur les sites de transit et auprès des populations des villages d'accueil. Les districts sanitaires sont aussi impliqués dans la réponse. Ils font non seulement la prise en charge des cas, mais également la donation des moustiquaires malgré leurs stocks très limités. Le stock des médicaments antipaludéens et l'approvisionnement des centres de santé ont été faits pour les sites de Kobitey, Maingama, Doyaba et Djako.

Le sixième cycle de distribution de coupons alimentaires par le PAM a été réalisé sur les sites de Baibokoum, Doyaba et Mbitoye. A la date du 15 septembre, un total de 32 580 bénéficiaires a été servi à travers les ONG Fédération Luthérienne Mondiale/ACTAlliance et Initiative Humanitaire pour le Développement Local (IHDL). L'assistance alimentaire à Danamadja, Djako, Kobitey, Maingama et Sido est également en cours. Pour le mois de septembre, un total de 66 940 bénéficiaires est ciblé. Ce nombre inclut 6 895 retournés intégrés dans les familles hôtes autour de Moissala dans la région du Mandoul.

Le Ministre de l'Education Nationale a lancé officiellement la rentrée scolaire le 14 septembre 2014 pour une rentrée des classes qui sera effective à partir du 1er octobre. Le Ministre a insisté sur la nécessité d'intégrer les écoles des camps temporaires et des sites de transit dans le système éducatif national. Il a interpellé les parents d’élèves à prendre leur responsabilité par rapport aux infrastructures communautaires qui subissent trop souvent des actes de vandalisme et de destruction. L’une des préoccupations majeures reste la question de la prise en charge des enseignants recrutés.

Les conventions signées entre les trois gestionnaires des sites temporaires et le gouvernement se terminent en fin décembre 2014. L’Agence de Développement Economique et Social (ADES), le Secours Catholique et Développement (SECADEV) et la CRT s'inquiètent pour la suite des activités au-delà de décembre 2014 vu que les besoins des personnes sur les sites demeurent importants. Le non renouvellement de la convention aura un impact négatif sur la coordination et la gestion des sites et de surcroit sur la réponse humanitaire pour les retournés. Le plan a moyen et long terme du gouvernement est en cours d'élaboration et pourrait clarifier la vision des autorités sur cette problématique.

Despite shared sorrow and loss, displaced Palestine refugees in Damascus were able to celebrate the recent Eid al-Adha feast thanks to a donation from Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Canada.

Eid al-Adha is the second most significant holiday in the Muslim calendar. The festival commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his son as a sign of his obedience to God. A central part of festivities is dining on the meat of sacrificed sheep. The donation from ICNA Canada allowed UNRWA to purchase 57 sheep and serve hot meals to 7,616 displaced Palestine refugees living in the Agency’s collective shelters in Damascus.

“As the conflict persists for many Palestine refugees, including those who have been displaced, families, meat, holiday sweets and gift-giving are out of reach. Providing meat is a way of making the holiday special for the conflict-affected Palestine refugees,” says Abu Ahmed, a Palestine refugee from Husseinieh, who is now living at the UNRWA al-Kabri School collective shelter in Jaramana Camp with his wife and eight children.

Um Alaa also fled the violence in Husseinieh for the al-Kabri School shelter. Recalling the days before the Syrian conflict, Um Alaa says, “My heart is filled with sorrow as I remember when family and friends graced my table and there would be talk and laughter as we shared festive meals during the Eid. But the distribution of meat this year helped spread the very essence of Eid festivities. Now, our only desire is to return to our homes.”

Abu Ahmad and Um Alaa are among the approximately 270,000 Palestine refugees who have been displaced within Syria since the hostilities began. The contribution from ICNA Canada complemented the Agency's provision of food aid to conflict-affected families, the majority of whom need urgent and ongoing assistance to meet their basic needs.

By Denis McClean

GENEVA, October 13, 2014 - A tsunami of 4.5 million tweets rolled out across the world today in support of the 25th International Day for Disaster Reduction as UNISDR and HelpAge International joined forces to launch Charter 14 for Older Persons in Disaster Risk Reduction.

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said: “Disaster planning must take account of the reduced mobility experienced by many older persons…[Their] needs should also be taken into account in early warning systems, social protection mechanisms, evacuation and emergency response plans, and public awareness campaigns.”

Governments and civil society organizations were today urged to give their backing to Charter 14 and to ensure that older people are specifically mentioned in national disaster management and climate policies and their knowledge and experience are taken on board.

Charter 14’s Minimum Standards call for older people to be represented in DRR management and governance from the community to the national level “to ensure that their voice is heard.”

Asia has responded in force to Charter 14. Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have already signed up. "Setting minimum standards for involving older persons in disaster risk management, is important to ensure that their needs are understood and fully met. The Government of Thailand is happy to commit to the implementation of these minimum standards and to sign up to the Charter 14 for a fully inclusive disaster risk management in our country" said Mr. Chatchai Phromlert, Director-General of Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior from the Government of Thailand at a major event in Bangkok yesterday.

UNISDR head, Margareta Wahlström, today personally handed out copies of Charter 14 to diplomats and government representatives participating in consultations on the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction in Geneva. The new framework will be adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, next March. She stressed that while people over 60 comprise 11% of the population today, they would outnumber children aged under ten by the year 2030.

Ms. Wahlström said as demographics change and older persons remain more active in their communities and improve their physical fitness, they should be seen not just as a vulnerable group but as an important resource to strengthen disaster risk reduction at community level.

At the same action, she said, action is needed to reduce the death toll among older persons in major disaster events even in developed countries.

It has been a long weekend of celebration in some parts of the world where International Day came early. Over 3,000 runners ran through the streets of Cairo on Friday in a resilience run and on the same day Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Steven Blaney, endorsed “The Resilience is For Life” theme of International Day and stated that resilience means the capacity of all citizens to cope and recover during an emergency.”

Minister Blaney recalled a number of recent tragedies including a fire at L’Isle-Verte seniors’ residence which claimed 32 lives, and said: “While all disasters cannot be prevented, we can strengthen the physical and social structures in our communities to reduce their impact, and improve our ability to recover from them.” Public Safety Canada will host the Fifth Annual Roundtable of Canada’s Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 21 in Toronto.

Over 250 organizations, UN agencies, NGOs, businesses and individuals signed up to today’s Thunderclap announcement on the Twitter platform, calling for age inclusive disaster risk management. They reached 4.5 million followers, many of whom have re-tweeted the message to their followers.

All members of the disaster risk reduction community are encouraged to keep us posted on their events. We welcome photos, videos and stories about your efforts for our special web page: http://www.unisdr.org/2014/iddr/#.VDwMHPmSzy4

Date: 13 Oct 2014

Sources: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

RANCHI: Over 300 houses were damaged and several persons were injured under the impact of cyclone Hudhud as heavy rains accompanied by strong winds lashed parts of Jharkhand where more rains were predicted.

READ ALSO: Vizag struggling to restore normalcy, Chandrababu Naidu says 'it's painful to see city this way'

At least four persons were injured and around 80 houses damaged in Chaibasa, the headquarter of West Singhbhum district, and its surrounding areas.

Gitilader village bore the brunt of the cyclone as 72 houses, mostly kuchcha ones, were damaged and their roof blown away as strong wind accompanied by heavy rains lashed the area last night, Chaibasa SDO Asim Kispota said.

Four persons have also sustained injuries and they were taken to Sadar Hospital, Kispota told.

READ ALSO: Cyclone Hudhud: Andhra grapples with aftermath

Six houses in Kariasindri and four houses in Dara villages were also damaged, he said adding that several trees and electricity polls were uprooted affecting power supply.

District officials visited the villages.

Senior weather scientist of Birsa Agriculture University A Wadood said, "The cyclone which has moved to Chhattisgarh, is now moving north-easterly. This will more rains in Jharkhand in the next 24 hours."

In Ramgarh district, 23 hutments at Koramba and Nawadih panchayats collapsed under the peripheral impact of Hudhud, Ramgarh Deputy Commissioner Abu Imran said.

READ ALSO: Vizag airport to remain non-operational for some days

Some people have taken shelter at a relief camp and relief materials were distributed to them, he said adding the Mines Rescue Station at Ramgarh was asked to remain alert.

A report from Hazaribagh said, more than 200 villagers of Chouparan block and Barhi sub-division were rendered homeless as their houses were damaged, Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner Sunil Kumar said.

"I have sent two teams to start relief operations and shift the homeless villagers to Anganbari buildings and schools," he said adding separate teams were sent to assess exact loss.

Stating that a few people suffered injuries due to wall collapse, the DC said directions were issued to pay compensation and distribute relief materials to the people affected by the rains.

He said all the schools would remain closed tomorrow as a precautionary measure.

Power supply was disrupted at several places in Hazaribagh following lightning strikes.

Chandil SDO Nandkishore Gupta said the water level in Chandil dam, where eight sluice gates were opened on Saturday to make space for fresh water to be caused by the rainfall was reported to be one meter below the danger mark of 179 metres.

Only one gate of the dam was opened today following the release of water, Gupta added.

Update includes the following:

Sindh Updates
Drought Updates
Daily Health Report of District Tharparkar as on 13-10-2014
Nationwide Updates
PMD Updates as of 13-10-2014
River Flow and Flood Forecast
NDMA Updates on Floods 2014 as of 13-10-2014
Consolidated State of Losses and Damages in Pakistan as of 13-10-2014
Consolidated State of Relief Activities as of 13-10-2014
Air Effort
Rescue Efforts
MIRA Assessment
Compensation Paid
EBOLA (viral hemorrhagic fever) in Pakistan Updates as on 13-10-2014
Polio Updates
4 day Weather Forecast 13th – 16th Oct, 2014
Pakistan Reservoir and River Flow Map as of 13-10-2014
Pakistan Flood Damages and Losses Update Map as of 13-10-2014
Temperature Situation Update Map as of 13-10-2014
Weather Update Map of Pakistan as of 13-10-2014

NEW DELHI: India has committed $4 million for Gaza reconstruction in response to the recovery plan presented by Palestinian Authority at Cairo International Conference as the international community pledged a total of $5.4 billion for the cause.

Observing that the early realization of the objectives of the Cairo Conference will be an important element in the consolidation of the current ceasefire understanding between Palestine and Israel, India welcomed the mediating role played by Egypt in the current ceasefire in Gaza.

Represented by Sandeep Kumar, joint secretary (west Asia and north Africa) in ministry of external affairs, India participated in the Conference on the Reconstruction of Gaza yesterday and pledged $4 million, in response to the National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, presented by the Palestinian Authority, an official release said here.

Maintaining that an early and sustainable resolution of the root cause of the conflict was an imperative, Kumar said India firmly believed that a comprehensive dialogue remained the best guarantee of a durable peace for effectively addressing the issues confronting the region and its people.

During the conference, which was co-hosted by Egypt and Norway and was attended by delegations from more than 75 countries and international organizations, the Palestinian Authority put together a Reconstruction Plan for Gaza estimated at $4 billion, and countries pledged a total of $5.4 billion ($1.4 billion above the PA's Plan).

The Indian pledge is part of the long sustained India- Palestine partnership as the country has been providing direct budgetary, economic and developmental assistance to the Palestinian people.

India has committed to assist Palestine in the fields of capacity development, education and information technology, apart from implementing a series of development projects under the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Fund in Palestine.

"One of the important future IBSA projects will be the reconstruction of the Atta Habib medical centre in Shujiyaa, Gaza at a cost of $1 million. Additionally, India has been contributing $1 million annually to the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) for supply of food and medicines in Gaza," the release said.

10/13/2014 - 19:22 GMT

by Burak Akinci with Rita Daou in Beirut

Jihadists fought their way into central Kobane in heavy clashes with the Syrian border town's Kurdish defenders Monday, ahead of a Washington meeting of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.

The breakthrough saw IS claim half of Kobane, nearly a month after the Sunni extremists began their assault on the town on the Turkish frontier, despite more than three weeks of US-led air strikes in Syria aimed at stopping them.

That failure will be among the main points up for discussion at Tuesday's meeting in Washington of military chiefs from the 21 countries in the US-led coalition, as will Turkey's call for the establishment of a protective buffer zone.

In their latest air strikes, American and Saudi warplanes targeted seven sites around Kobane, the US military said, including IS staging posts used to try to cut the town off from the outside world.

A Kobane politician who is now a refugee said IS fighters had surrounded Kobane to the south, east and west, and warned of a "massacre" if they take the northern front bordering Turkey.

"If they manage to take control of that area, they will close all access to the town and will begin a massacre," Feyza Abdi said from Turkey.

"That is what they want, to completely enclose the town, cut off all contact with Turkey and engage in barbarism."

Fighting spread to less than a kilometre (half a mile) from the barbed wire frontier fence, with the jihadists carrying out three suicide car bomb attacks in the border zone, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitoring group later said IS had advanced into central Kobane, seizing a major building and squeezing the town's Kurdish defenders into its northern half bordering Turkey.

• Turkey denies airbase deal -

With the jihadists advancing on its doorstep, NATO member Turkey has come under intense pressure to take action as part of the coalition that has been carrying out air strikes in both Syria and Iraq.

Ankara, which has called for a buffer zone to guard its border and provide some protection to fleeing Kurds, denied allowing the United States to use its bases against IS.

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel had said the agreement to use Incirlik air base in southern Turkey included hosting training for Syrian rebels.

But the Turkish government vehemently denied it was allowing US forces to carry out bombing raids from Incirlik.

"We are holding intense negotiations with our allies. But there are not any new developments about Incirlik," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said, after an official told AFP the talks hinged on Turkey's previously laid out conditions.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Sunday called for military backing for Syria's "moderate opposition" to create a "third force" in the war-torn country to take on the Damascus regime as well as IS militants.

• Iraqis quit Anbar base -

Kobane has become a highly visible symbol of resistance to IS and its fall would give the jihadists control of a long stretch of the Turkey-Syria border.

But concern has also been growing over Iraq, where IS fighters have been threatening to seize more territory.

Iraqi forces are reported to be under intensifying pressure in Anbar province between Baghdad and the Syrian border, where a roadside bomb killed the police chief on Sunday.

On Monday, security sources said Iraqi government troops stationed on the edge of the city of Heet in Anbar had withdrawn to another base, leaving the city under full jihadist control.

Pro-government forces have also been in trouble south of IS-held Mosul around Baiji oil refinery, where US aircraft on Sunday for the first time dropped supplies including food, water and ammunition to Iraqi troops.

Washington has insisted it will not send ground troops back to Iraq, and Secretary of State John Kerry said in Cairo that the Iraqis themselves will have to succeed on the ground.

"Ultimately it is Iraqis who will have to take back Iraq. It is Iraqis in Anbar who will have to fight for Anbar," he said at the weekend.

In violence in the Iraqi capital on Monday, three bombings within an hour rocked Shiite neighbourhoods, leaving at least 22 dead.

• Fighters divide up 'slaves' -

IS is accused of committing widespread atrocities in areas under its control, including attacks on civilians, mass executions, beheadings and enslaving women.

In the latest issue of its propaganda magazine Dabiq, IS boasted of having revived slavery, giving Yazidi women and children captured in northern Iraq to its fighters as spoils of war.

"After capture, the Yazidi women and children were then divided according to the sharia amongst the fighters of the Islamic State," the article said.

The group has also murdered four Western hostages seized in Syria in on-camera beheadings.

More than 180,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began in 2011, evolving into a several-sided civil war that has drawn thousands of jihadists from overseas.

burs-dv/hc

10/13/2014 - 18:31 GMT | 444 words

The United Nations said on Monday that it has started cutting the food aid it provides to 4.2 million Syrians ravaged by war because of a shortfall in funding.

"Yes, we have already started... this month," to cut supplies to the 4.2 million Syrians inside the country who have been receiving food aid, the World Food Programme's assistant executive director Elisabeth Rasmusson told AFP in an interview.

"We decided that because of the funding shortfall, we will provide food to everybody but its cut down to 60 percent of the normal (food) basket," she said.

Around two million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt would also be affected by the WFP's decision to scale back assistance from next month, Rasmusson said.

The WFP requires about $352 million (280 million euros) until the end of the year as it has completely run out of funds and is totally dependent on "internal finance mechanisms" to operate, she said.

Rasmusson is in Kuwait to attend a meeting for main Syria donor countries and agencies. Kuwaiti officials complained during the meeting that some countries have not fulfilled their aid pledges for Syria.

Kuwait hosted two high-level conferences for Syria donors in January 2013 and January this year, with attendees pledging more than $6 billion.

Rasmusson said she understands a third conference is expected to be held in January, but the venue has not been determined.

Cutbacks in aid to refugees in countries neighbouring war-torn Syria will start from next month. Syrians in Lebanon will receive 20-30 percent less assistance and in Turkey, WFP will not provide food to refugees in camps, the UN official said.

Rasmusson said WFP and UN officials are working "day and night" to contact donor countries and private sector because "we do not want to stop providing food to the Syrians".

She said WFP and UN aid agencies budgets have been strained by trying to respond to multiple crises around the world, particularly conflicts in the Middle East and the Ebola virus in West Africa.

"WFP budget projections for 2014 were $4.3 billion. Now, the needs are $8.5 billion," said Rasmusson, adding that "the funding needs for the Middle East have at least doubled to around $4 billion" with Syria accounting for half of the amount.

More than 180,000 people have been killed in the past three and a half years in Syria's civil war, while jihadists from the Islamic State group seized swathes of territory in northern Syria and Iraq in an offensive in June. Conflicts have also erupted in South Sudan and Yemen.

WFP provides food aid to around 8.5 million people in Syria, Iraq and South Sudan.

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Le commandant de la 3e zone de défenses des Forces armées de la RDC (FARDC), le général Léon Mushale, est arrivé dimanche 12 octobre au Nord-Kivu, à la tête d’une forte délégation de l’armée. Il doit évaluer la situation militaire et sécuritaire et résoudre des questions d’ordre opérationnel dans cette province. Pour le gouverneur du Nord-Kivu, julien Paluku, l’armée doit activer au maximum les services de sécurité en vue de détecter toute menace.

«Avec la fin de la guerre, l’ennemi n’est plus connu. Il s’infiltre dans la population et ce qui est important, c’est qu’on puisse activer nos services de renseignement, aussi bien militaires que civils, pour détecter ceux là qui collaborent encore avec nos ennemis et qui nous déstabilisent», a-t-il affirmé.

Julien Paluku a par ailleurs invité ces officiers militaires à la fermeté, la lutte contre les injustices et des sanctions à l’endroit des coupables.

«La justice militaire doit correctement faire son travail pour que, et les militaires, et ceux qui sont apparentés aux militaires, qui s’adonnent aux activités criminels, soient sévèrement sanctionnés, pour que cela serve d’exemple aux autres», a-t-il déclaré.

Le gouverneur du Nord-Kivu espère que chaque crime commis dans sa province soit sanctionné.

«Qu’on sache, s’il y a kidnapping dans le parc des Virunga, qui en est le responsable, s’il y a meurtre continu dans la ville de Goma, qui en est le responsable, s’il y a enlèvement à Beni, à Butembo, qui en est le responsable. Comme ça, on va établir les responsabilités et tirer les conclusions», a-t-il dit.

Le gouverneur du Nord-Kivu qui vient de regagner sa province après une longue mission à l’étranger, compatit avec la population de Beni, en particulier.

Une succession d’attaques de rebelles ougandais de l’ADF contre plusieurs villages dans le territoire de Beni, en moins d’une semaine, avaient fait une vingtaine de morts et presque 100 000 déplacés.

Le patron de la Monusco, Martin Kobler, avait condamné cette énième attaque qui, pour lui, démontre une fois de plus la nécessité de poursuivre et de renforcer la lutte contre tous les groupes armés en RDC.

Dans une déclaration à la presse jeudi 9 octobre, le député national Grégoire Kiro, élu de Beni, avait appelé le gouvernement à «faire son travail» la population de ce secteur en proie à ces groupes armés.​

L’ONG internationale Vision mondiale finance la sensibilisation de la population du Sud-Ubangi, dans la province de l’Equateur, contre Ebola. Cette campagne est organisée par le comité de crise de lutte contre cette fièvre hémorragique avec l’appui des différentes structures de sensibilisation des différentes zones de santé de ce district. Aucun cas d’Ebola n’a été enregistré dans cette contrée, à environ 400 km à vol d’oiseau de Boende, lieu de l’épidémie dans la province.

Selon le Chef de service de la santé et coordonnateur de la cellule de crise, Vision mondiale prend en charge la formation de 550 sensibilisateurs pour la production des dépliants à distribuer, de porte à porte, pour l’ensemble desz 16 zones de santé de ce district sanitaire.

D’ores et déjà, 55 infirmiers ont été formés sur le renforcement des capacités pour leur propre protection contre cette terrible maladie et pour la prise en charge des éventuels malades.

Vision Mondiale s’engage à produire également des affiches qui seront placées sur des lieux publics et des banderoles qui seront déployées devant les stades, les églises et les marchés à travers les territoires.

Cette sensibilisation à la lutte contre la fièvre à virus Ebola cible aussi les femmes dans leurs associations respectives ainsi que les militaires et les policiers dans leurs camps.

Les radios locales, avec des spots publicitaires, et les groupes théâtraux, avec des saynètes, seront aussi mis à contribution.

Dans cette mobilisation des différentes couches de la population, les chefs de quartier et de rue ne sont pas en reste. Toutes ces activités sont prises en charge par l’ONG Vision Mondiale.