United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-06-03

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, 3 June, 1998

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General recommends extension of United Nations Mission in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
• More refugees from, Kosovo arrive in Albania as attacks on villages continue.
• Torrential rains hamper earthquake relief operations in northeastern Afghanistan.
• Chief UN arms inspector outlines what's still needed to verify dismantling of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
• UN mediator in Angola to brief Security Council on current state of country's peace process.

In his report to the Security Council, the Secretary-General proposes that the mandate of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP), which expires at the end of August this year, be extended until 28 February 1999.

The Secretary-General notes that UNPREDEP's presence has prevented the spillover of conflicts elsewhere in the region to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He adds that the Force's presence continues to have a stabilizing effect and to contribute significantly to generating dialogue among the various political forces and ethnic communities in the country.

Mr. Kofi Annan also refers to a letter addressed to him from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia recommending that UNPREDEP presence be extend for a further six months given the current tension in the area.

The Secretary-General points out in his report that discussions are ongoing within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and elsewhere on a possible need for an expanded military presence in the region. He also points out that consultations continue on the issue of monitoring prohibition imposed by the Security Council.

Mr. Annan says that these questions have implications for UNPREDEP and that it would seem premature to withdraw the mission after 31 August this year as the mandate requires.

The Secretary-General notes that the deterioration of the situation in Kosovo has had a negative impact on the fulfillment of the mandate of UNPREDEP, which is already stretched to the limit along the borders with Albania and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Therefore, he says, he intends to submit proposals to the Security Council by 15 July for the possible strengthening of UNPREDEP's overall capacity.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the people are taking advantage of the lull in the shelling of towns and villages along the border in Kosovo. The latest influx brings to approximately 5,000 the number of people who have fled to Albania since the fighting intensified over the weekend.

More people are reported to be coming down the mountains into Tropoja. The majority of the new arrivals are reported to be women, children and the elderly. They are arriving exhausted both mentally and physically after enduring up to two months of continuous attacks on their villages and places of refuge in the mountains and forests. According to the refugees arriving in Albania there was little resistance during the unprovoked attacks on their villages.

One group of refugees told a UNHCR field worker that they knew of 21 persons from their village of 215 who have made it to Albania. The others, they added, had either died in the artillery bombardment or were still waiting to cross.

The United Nations refugee agency delivered 1,000 loaves of bread and cheese to the new arrivals on Wednesday morning and is mobilizing the emergency response with other United Nations agencies and non- governmental organizations as part of an inter-agency contingency.

An estimated 3,500 to 5,000 people were killed and up to 78 villages destroyed in the major earthquake which struck the remote, mountainous provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan on Saturday. Many of the dead are believed to be children and elderly trapped inside their mud homes. In February, another quake in the region killed approximately 4,000 people.

On Wednesday, bad weather forced the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to suspend helicopter flights from the main relief base in Faizabad, where the airstrip was flooded. Mr. Eckhard said the United Nations had scheduled six flights from Islamabad, Pakistan to the base, but only one was able to land.

The rains have intensified the need for emergency shelter for the tens of thousands of people who are still sleeping outside, the Spokesman said. On Tuesday, the World Food Programme (WFP) helicoptered 1.5 tons of wheat, vegetable oil and high protein biscuits to the injured in a temporary clinic in Shahr-e-Buzurg, one of the hardest hit areas. Some people in the area have not eaten since the quake. Aid agencies plan to set up emergency bakeries in Rustaq on Thursday, using wheat flour stockpiled in the area.

Meanwhile, the United Nations welcomed moves by the United States Government to locate two 20-tonne cargo helicopters to assist relief operations, said UN spokesman Sarah Russell. Weather permitting, the UN plans to fly 25 barrels of helicopter fuel into Faizabad. This will keep the small UN and ICRC helicopters, which have been refueling in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, in the air for another five or six hours.

Ambassador Butler and his technical experts presented a "road map" showing what is still required to comply with Security Council resolutions adopted after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The Iraqi Government has to satisfy UNSCOM that it has dismantled all of its weapons of mass destruction before the Council can consider lifting economic sanctions against Iraq.

According to UN Spokesman Fred Eckhard, Alioune Blondin Beye, the Secretary- General's Special Representative in Angola, is expected to brief the Council on Friday. His visit follows the delay by the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in completing the handover, by 31 May, of four provinces -- Andulo, Bailundo, Mungo and N'harea. UNITA rescheduled the operation for 25 June.

Last month, Mr. Beye outlined a plan to resolve the crisis that has threatened Angola's peace process recently. It requires UNITA to give up control of the so-called sensitive areas of Andulo, Bailundo, Mungo and N'harea. It also requires the Angolan national police to end human rights abuses and the Government to stop hostile propaganda. Mr. Beye gave the parties until the end of May to complete their tasks.

The Security Council announced on 22 May that it would be willing to consider the adoption of additional sanctions against UNITA if there were further delays in implementing the plan.

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

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