Alarm bells are ringing throughout the world as the prospect of a major humanitarian crisis looms in the Horn of Africa. The UN estimates another four million will need food assistance in Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. A UN representative has warned that, in the absence of further aid, the risk of humanitarian catastrophe within the next two months is real. Representatives of the Djibouti government and a radical opposition group have signed a treaty at a hotel in Paris that is expected to bring an end to the nine-year conflict in the tiny Horn of Africa country. Djibouti's population of 600,000 consists mainly of representatives of the Issa and Afar clans.
FRUD members are predominantly Afar.
The accord signed in Paris should result in the release of prisoners from both sides. 13 October '99 Police in Djibouti City last week shut down about 40 'unauthorised bars' as they enforced a clampdown on vice and prostitution. Law and order in Djibouti is a mixture of the French penal code and Islamic law, and the bars, nightclubs and dance-halls are under attack as magnets for prostitution, drugs and violence. Djibouti nightlife caters primarily to the 3200 French army personnel based in the country. The clampdown follows a decree in 1995 restricting the sale of alcohol to private clubs, restaurants and hotels, a move which led to most bars simply switching the signs above their entrances from 'Bar' to 'Restaurant'.