July 7th 2005

London Attacked

At least 38 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of explosions across London. 

London bombings toll rises to 38 

A series of four (4) bomb attacks on London's transport network has killed more than 38 people and injured about 700 others. 

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings had "the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda-related attack". 

Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the "most intense police and security service action to make sure we bring those responsible to justice". 

Mr Blair, who had returned to London from the G8 summit in Gleneagles, condemned the terrorists and paid tribute to the stoicism and resilience of the people of London. 

"They are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cow us, to frighten us out of doing the things that we want to do," he said in a televised statement from Downing Street.

Angel Foundation CEO, Prince Mikhail Dmitrivich contacted Prime Minister Tony Blair directly to offer his condolences to the victims and the British people. He has also offered AF services if needed.

To quote, “I cannot find the words to express my deepest sorrow regarding the horrific and atrocious terrorist’s bombings in London. What these people have done to the innocent cannot be excused. I send you, the victims of this atrocity and the British people my prayers and condolences.” 

Timeline

0851 Seven people die in a blast on a train 100 yards from Liverpool Street station
0856 21 people die in a blast on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross stations
0917 Five people die in blast on a train at Edgware Road station
0947 An unknown number die in a blast on a bus at Tavistock Place.

Hospitals across London have treated significant numbers of casualties after blasts killed at least 37 people. 
Police said 700 people were hurt in the four explosions, 300 of whom were taken to hospital by ambulance. Of these, 95 were left seriously injured. 
Royal London, St Mary's, University College and the Royal Free hospitals dealt with large number of casualties. 
The Royal London in Whitechapel received the most casualties - about 200, with 100 already discharged. 
Ten are still in a serious condition and six remain critical. One person died. 
Another 58 casualties were taken to University College Hospital. 
Of these, 27 people were admitted, nine or 10 of whom were classed as seriously injured.

 

14th June 2005

CRISIS MANAGEMENT CENTRE (ETHIOPIA)

Angel Foundation is set to begin construction on a Crisis Management Center (CMC) in Ethiopia. The main objective for the CMC is to reduce response times during emergency situations in the region. The center will house fresh water, food and medical supplies; as well a educational programs for the children. AF workers will include medical, educational and emergency teams. The decision on placing the first regional CMC in Ethiopia can be summed with the following:

Ethiopia is one of the very poorest countries in the world. In practice this means that many of the inhabitants lack everything that constitutes the basic necessities of a modern society: water, food, medicine, dentists, electricity, telephones, and education.

Ethiopia is among the very poorest countries in the world and over half its inhabitants live in total poverty, which means they do not have income large enough for food consumption that provides adequate calories (2200 kcal). Many die of malnutrition. About every other child shows signs of both acute and chronic malnutrition. 

The rapid population growth makes it harder to alleviate poverty and increases the pressure on the education system, healthcare and natural resources. About 85 percent of the population lives in the country and many are dependent on agriculture for their survival. When the population increases the allotments become too small to provide for the families. 

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a growing problem that threatens growth and poverty reduction. Repeated periods of drought and unevenly distributed rainfall impede the supply of food. The conflict with Eritrea was formally concluded by a peace treaty in December 2000, but relations continue to be strained. 

Another CMC is currently under evaluation for Beslan, Russia.

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OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Horn of Africa - Floods
26 April 2005 

This situation report is based on information received by OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Ethiopia and OCHA Somalia

I. Situation 

1. In East Africa, heavy rains have caused severe flooding, affecting Ethiopia and Somalia. Floods have not only led to deaths and displacement but also to extensive damage to property and farmland. Hundreds of already vulnerable households have been affected. Potential increased rain over the next few days may further deteriorate the delicate humanitarian situation in both countries. 

Ethiopia 

2. After continuous heavy rainfall over a forty-eight hour period, the Wabe Shabelle River flooded over its banks, washing away about 35 villages in the Somali region of Ethiopia on 23 April 2005. Flooding affected the zone of Gode, including West and East Imi. Over forty people died in the disaster and many others remain missing. The emergency response was hindered as roads leading to the area were under water and impassable. Many people lost both their houses and their crops in the flood, increasing food insecurity and economic hardship in a region suffering from prolonged drought conditions. Areas of the Somali region continue to remain at risk due to the rising river level. 

Somalia 

3. As a result of this heavy rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands, a dry riverbed running through the city of Hargeisa in Somalia flooded on 24 April 2005, washing down one of the two bridges in the south-western part of the city and causing damage to the electrical power lines and the buildings by the river. One hundred and seventy households were affected. 

II. National and UNCT Response 

Ethiopia 

4. According to the Government's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC), a team composed of personnel from various government bodies will travel to Gode to further assess the situation. The DPPC is planning to send relief items to Gode, including 10mt high energy biscuits, 1500 cups, 1500 plates, 50 rolls of plastic sheeting, and 1000 jerry cans. Once the supplies reach Gode, military helicopters will be used for distribution of items to the affected people. 

5. The Government of Ethiopia has not asked for international assistance at this time. UN agencies, the Government and ICRC met in Gode to plan relief operations on 25 April 2005. The current needs include food, shelter, blankets and utensils and medical care due to the potential increase of cases of malaria and water-borne diseases. 

Somalia 

6. The Ministry of National Planning and Coordination reported that a committee was established to assess the magnitude of the damage. The Government of Somalia has not formally asked for international assistance. 

7. UNICEF conducted a rapid needs assessment on 25 April 2005 in order to assess the immediate emergency assistance requirements. OCHA facilitated a meeting with various UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations in order to plan a joint response. WFP and UNICEF have started to distribute food and non-food items, including jerry cans, plastic sheeting and blankets, to the affected households. The distributions have been undertaken in coordination with the Ministry of National Planning and Coordination. While the agencies have taken immediate action to meet the current emergency needs, further assistance will depend on additional assessments

8. Angel Foundation is conducting an independent assessment of the region to determine the need to provide for AF Crises Management Centers in the region. The continued emergency situations arising from both natural and human involvement are staggering. Each Center will include emergency food, fresh water, and medical supplies as well as emergency teams to assist IDPs.

www.angelfoundation.org

Jennifer Report

(Updated - 9th April 2005)

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1st February 2005

Source: United Nations News Service
Hundreds flee attack, gather near UN peacekeepers in eastern DR of Congo

About 2,500 people have fled a village they said came under attack by militias in the Ituri district in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and have gathered near United Nations peacekeepers nearby, the UN mission in the country said today.
The peacekeepers flew in by helicopter over the weekend after hearing that the village of Che, 60 kilometres from Bunia in Ituri's Djugu territory, had been set on fire and that the villagers were fleeing to safety. They reinforced their position when the number of refugees jumped to 2,500 from 120, the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) said. 
Many of the villagers had been wounded with knives, machetes and arrows, so MONUC had sent in a team of doctors and provided safe water, it said. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were distributing food, blankets and clothing. 

The Mission said it would ask the national transitional government and the armed militias in Ituri to find a solution together for whatever the problem was in Che.

Angel Foundation will be sending two teams to DR Congo to work with the resident NGOs. AF will provide food, fresh water and medical supplies to the region. AF is working to establish a permanent mission in Sudan which will reduce response times for the region and provide for orphanages.

26th JANUARY 2005

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia, Jan 26 (AFP) - Police on Wednesday surrounded a building in the regional capital of a small republic near war-torn Chechnya where a group of suspected pro-Chechen rebels were holding out, the local interior ministry said. 
The siege on the outskirts of Nalchik began late Tuesday when between three and five armed militants took refuge in the five-storey residential block, the ministry's press service told AFP by telephone. 

Local police from the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria were engaged in negotiations to persuade the rebels to let go of two women hiding out with them, the region's Interior Minister Khachim Shogenov told Russian television. 

"We'll get the women out and then the operation can proceed," he said. 

According to reports, the rebels are armed and may have explosives. 

Police suspect the militants belong to a group responsible for an attack in December on the republic's anti-drugs agency in which a large quantity of weapons were stolen. 

Ten days ago, Russian security forces battled with rebels in another republic neighbouring Chechnya, killing five of them in an hours-long siege. 

The Chechen conflict spilled over into other republics of the region last year, climaxing in September's seizure of a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, in which more than 340 people, half of them children, were killed. 

Some 80,000 Russian troops are based in and around Chechnya, where a guerrilla war continues to rage more than five years since the latest conflict in the breakaway republic began.

Angel Foundation is looking to build and provide for an orphanage in Beslan, where plans are being made to set up an office for emergency NGO teams in the Caucasus. This necessity for AF is a product of the following:

Over 350 000 persons have been forced to flee from Chechnya since the beginning of the second war in 1999. Most of them have found refuge in neighbouring Ingushetia, considerably lower number of persons headed for another neighbouring republic, Dagestan. A certain number has spread around other regions of the Russian Federation. More than 10 000 people seeking protection went to Central Asia, mainly Kazakhstan. There is also an unknown number of Chechen refugees and asylum seekers in other parts of the former Soviet Union, in Central Europe, in particular Poland and the CzechRepublic and in Western Europe.

As a consequence, the level of humanitarian assistance both provided by the authorities, and by the international community should be maintained and all necessary measures should be taken in order to enable effective humanitarian aid to the Chechen population outside the republic. 

3rd January 2005

TSUNAMI REPORT.  Angel Foundation teams have arrived and are working in Sri Lanka.  More updates to follow when information is available. Updates are in progress for DONATIONS pages, so please be patient. We will also post new DONATIONS PAGE INFORMATION as we have it.

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14th Dec 2004.  Aid workers killed in Darfur

Two, Save the Children staff were brutally killed yesterday in South Darfur, Sudan. Abhakar el Tayeb, a Medical Assistant, and mechanic Yacoub Abdelnabi Ahmed were travelling in a convoy of clearly marked humanitarian vehicles when they came under fire on the main road between Mershing and Duma. Save the Children operates a feeding centre and medical clinics in the area. Our humanitarian operations in South Darfur are currently suspended whilst we review the situation. An African Union investigation is underway. Angel Foundation response teams have been withdrawn from the area pending the review. Ken Caldwell, Director of International Operations, "We deplore this brutal killing of humanitarian workers in Darfur. Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of our Sudanese colleagues." This is the second fatal incident involving Save the Children staff in Darfur in the last two months. On 10 October Rafe Bullick (British, Programme Manager) and Nourredine Issa Tayeb (Sudanese, Water Engineer) were tragically killed by a landmine in North Darfur.

Sweden to give further support to peace efforts in Liberia

The Government Offices have decided to contribute a further SEK 10 million (1,1 million Euro) to a programme for the disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR) of ex-combatants in Liberia. Angel Foundation CEO Prince Mikhail formally sent a message of support to the government of Sweden for their continued support of the peace process. It cannot be stated enough, how much they are helping with the process. The contribution will be channelled via the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is administering a donor fund for the programme. Sweden has previously contributed SEK 14 million (1,55 million Euro) to the Fund. 
The DDRR programme is part of the peace agreement reached by the conflicting parties in Liberia in August 2003 after many years of civil war. The part of the programme connected with the disarmament of 100 000 soldiers is now complete. A large number of them are minors. The next stage in the process is the repatriation and education of these people. "A well-implemented DDRR programme is of great importance for the peace process in Liberia and for the security of the whole region. It is essential that the people who have been disarmed now have the chance to readjust to civilian life. Particular attention should be paid to the returning child soldiers," says Minister for International Development Cooperation Carin Jämtin. 
Sweden is participating with a mechanised rifle company of more than 230 troops in the UN peace support mission, UNMIL (the United Nations Mission in Liberia), and is supporting humanitarian measures and the reconstruction of the country by contributing some SEK 88 million (9,8 million Euro) during 2004. Sweden is also participating actively in the political and diplomatic peace efforts in Liberia and the countries in its vicinity. One of the ways it contributes is through State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Hans Dahlgren's role as the EU Presidency's Special Representative in the Mano River Union countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea).

AF, 24th November - Addressing the UN Security Council on peace in Sudan

Christian Aid partners with support from Angel Foundation have delivered a powerful and simple message, that the people of Sudan want peace and they want it now, to the UN Security Council at a special session in Nairobi. 
Acuil Malith Bango, a community representative from northern Bahr el Ghazal in southern Sudan said to the Security Council 'the history of Sudan is full of dishonored agreements. But because of all the recent attention on the Sudanese peace process, we the people have high hopes and expectations. We demand peace now.' 
Acuil was part of a group of Sudanese representatives from local civil society groups who were given the opportunity to raise their concerns relating to peace in Sudan directly with the UN Security Council. 
The briefing was organised by the Sudan Advocacy Coalition of International Non-Governmental Organizations which includes Christian Aid and Angel Foundation. 
The Sudanese people have suffered over 20 years of civil war between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). More than 2 million people have been killed and more than 4 million forced to leave their homes. 
The Sudanese government and the SPLM/A held talks earlier this month and promised to reach a comprehensive peace agreement before the end of the year. 
Sudanese community representatives, speaking directly to the UN Security Council, welcomed this commitment but stressed the importance of putting fine words into action. 
Anisia Achieng– a representative from Eastern Equatoria in southern Sudan emphasised the importance of involving communities in the peace process. 'To demonstrate that peace is achievable and can make a real difference, Sudanese women, men and children need to be empowered to take up their rights, express themselves freely and participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives.' 
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution promising to support the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A to help implement a comprehensive peace agreement.
However, while the Security Council expressed serious concerns about increasing insecurity and violence in Darfur, it failed to adopt a strong resolution to end this violence. 
Stephanie Bridgen, Christian Aid's senior policy officer said, 'we welcome the progress made on peace for southern Sudan, but the latest resolution is a step backwards with regard to Darfur. 
'It no longer includes the threat of sanctions and fails to repeat the Government of Sudan's responsibility to disarm and bring to justice the Janjaweed.' 
Mikhail Romanov suggested that support for the peace agreement without the guarantee of protection with regards to Darfur and disarming the Janjaweed is not enough. Without a strong resolution and action to support that resolution, changes will not occur.
Christian Aid partners and Angel Foundation hope that the experience the peace process to end the war in the south, can be used to bring peace to Darfur in the long term. The conflicts are different and separate but the solutions may be the same. 
Addressing the Security Council, Daw Elbait Elnour Mohammed from Darfur said, 'The Sudan peace protocols are a useful model for peace in the whole country not just between the north and south. 
'There are real opportunities now to re-establish the rule of law and rebuild trust between communities. Traditional systems for local governance and social cohesion which have been destroyed must be revived. These systems would help build peace in all of Sudan, but especially in Darfur.' 

AF, 3rd November - "Pick me! Pick me!" begged the little boy, as he tugged the American's sleeve. These were the only English words he knew - the only foreign words any of the orphans knew. But they were powerful words. Because in this orphanage, adoption could mean the difference between life and death. In another wing of this chilly building a tiny baby lay dying... too young to know how to ask for help. Dozens of starving infants just like her lay quiet and wan, in row upon row of anonymous bassinets. 

The first time we came to the aid of this shelter, its pantry held just one cup of flour for more than one hundred infants, toddlers, and children. When the director saw the boxes of food and medicine brought by this small team, he broke down and cried

CHILLDREN WHO PERFORMED THEATRE ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL NO.1 IN BESLAN

Svetlana T, (all pink), and her mother Marina were among the hostages. They were separated from each other during the siege. Marina is still unable to find her daughter. Her father, Svetlana’s grandfather, couldn’t bear the grief and died just a few days ago. 

Alena S. survived the ordeal. She is now recovering in the hospital. But, her grandfather, a former director of this school, perished when he helped the children escape from the shooting and fire. 

Madena A. and Kristina T. were among the hostages but survived. They are currently in Beslan in a state of terrible shock. 

All of the children performing in the fashion theater as part of the Center of Creative Activities, have suffered from the siege.  They lost  relatives, friends, and fellow students in this massacre. Also the Center’s director Raisa K., the theater’s choreographer, Alyeta G., the director Diana T., and the other girls, Dina A., Arena T., and Alyssa Ts. 

The Center of Children’s Creative Activities itself was located at the school. Needless to say, everything (sewing machines, over locks, etc.) was lost to the fire, and the Center won’t be able to function in the future. 

IN NEW YORK

Soslan Gusiev, the brave Russian teen who saved the lives of eight children in last month's Beslan schoolhouse siege, escaped his sadness for a few hours yesterday as a tourist in New York. "I love the city," Soslan said. "It's beautiful." 

The 16-year-old was hailed as a national hero after saving eight first-graders by helping them escape through a window after the first round of explosions set off chaos. Everyone in my school is a hero," he said. "Why me?" He told of not escaping when he had the chance, because his little brother was there and he didn't want to leave him alone. His girlfriend was killed in the attack.
 

TO THE HEROIC TEACHERS AND STAFF OF BESLAN SCHOOL     Zlata Sergeyevna Azieyeva. The moment the battle began, she saved children with no regard for her own life. Killed while performing her professional duty.   Al'bina Viktorovna Alikova. From the first day she helped children as they were being moved into the gymnasium, calming them down, cheering them up, distracting them from terrible thoughts. After the first explosion, Al'bina personally saved 20 children, evacuating them from a window in the gym. When the fire began, she ran barefoot along the burning embers and was heading for the exit when someone called for help. She was never seen again. Al'bina's burnt body was identified 10 days later.   Darima Batuyevna Alikova. During the terror act she supported the children, giving them aid in spite of the terrorists' orders, and was beaten for this. More than once, according to the hostages, the terrorists threatened to kill her. Darima's burned remains were identified five days later. On her body were 8 bullet wounds.   Svetlana Akhmedovna Balikoyeva. Supply clerk for the first school. They could not identify her for a long time. She proved to be literally blown to bits.   Galina Khadzhiyevna Batayeva. Until the last minutes of her life she kept her courage and composure, gathering her little schoolchildren around her. During the battle she saved children.   Zarema Gavrilovna Bekmurzova. Saved children with no concern for her own life. Perished after succeeding in saving a large number of children who were located next to her.   Alena Aksarbekovna Dzutseva. In the face of death she performed her professional duty. Until the very last minute she was rescuing children.   Ivan Konstantinovich Kanidi. Physical education teacher, 74 years old, veteran of the Great Patriotic War. Until the last minute, he was attempting to save children who looked to him for hope. He shielded them with his body. The guerillas had offered to let him leave the school, but he asked that children be released in his place, and remained in the school. He rendered two explosive devices harmless. After the explosions he tried to seize a machinegun from a guerilla and was shot to death.   Svetlana Kantemirovna Kantemirova. Teacher of the English language. Died while shielding children with her body.   Emma Khasanovna Karyayeva. Elementary class teacher. Helped children cope with fear. Lost her own daughter in this tragedy while saving other children. Emma was last seen by a friend, English teacher Larisa Sergeevna Tedeyeva, who was dragging her to the exit. Emma could no longer speak, and blood was gushing from a wound on her neck. Emma brought her right hand to her lips and kissed her wedding ring. Later, she wrote in blood on the floor: 'I love you. Karina.' In this manner she did bid her husband and daughter farewell.   Aleksandr Mikhailovich Mikhailov. Labor teacher. Until the last minute he courageously performed his duty as a teacher, a man, and a protector.   Nadezhda Ivanovna Nazarova. Biology teacher. Sacrificed herself to save children. Died will performing her dury as a teacher. She died together with her daughter and two grandchildren.   Natal'ya Aleksandrovna Rudenok. Teacher of art and drawing. Saved children, died while performing her duty as a teacher.   Ol'ga Nikolayevna Soskiyeva. Elementary class teacher. Tried to protect children from the guerillas' aggression and calm them down. Took upon herself the care of a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, veteran of labor and retired history teacher Zaurbek Kharitonovich Gasiyev, who traditionally came to the school on the first day of class. She literally carried the old man from the gym to the restroom, because he had difficulty moving. Gasiyev survived. When the explosion boomed out, Ol'ga Nikolayevna did not concern herself with saving herself or her own daughter. She pushed children to safety though windows.    Al'bina Vladimirovna Tuskayeva. Supported children, adults, and parents. Saved her students, lost her son.        Irina Zakharovna Khanayeva. A teacher worthy of the Russian Federation. Elementary education teacher, seventy-four years old. In the most difficult situation, though suffering from thrombophlebitis, she massed her little students about her and saved her entire class. During the battle, Irina Zakharovna was wounded by a burst of automatic weapons fire to her legs, but she stood up on her knees so that the children could climb her back and jump from the window. Died a true teacher.   Taisiya Kaurbekovna Khetagurova. Kept her courage. Saved many of her students, and died.   Roza Timofeyevna Cherdzhiyeva. Until the last minute she remained a teacher. She saved her students and showed rare courage. Remained a teacher of teachers. On the last surviving blackboard in the school her rescued students wrote: 'Roza Timofeyevna! We will never forget you'.   Tarkan Gabuliyevich Sabanov. Ninty years old, veteran of the Great Patriotic War. Guerillas offered to let him leave the school, but he refused and said: 'I started my life here, and I will end it here!' Died a true teacher and front-line soldier.   Ivan Il'ich Karlov. Worked for many years in the school boiler room. Seventy-two years old. Hid children and a teacher in the boiler room, saving the lives of 30 people. Shot by the guerillas. _________________________________________

AF, 7 October - Angel Foundation property (training center) in France has been sold with all proceeds going directly to help the children of Beslan and Sudan. AF teams are supporting efforts to help the thousands of refugees who continue to move into camps in Chad.

SOUTHERN RUSSIA (CNN) -- We had just come from the other side of the train tracks where the bodies of 82 little boys, girls and their parents were laid out in three refrigerator cars. The bodies belonged to victims of the school hostage crisis in southern Russia.

They were too burnt from the fire that broke out in the school's gym to be identified. Alina Gracheva (the talented camerawoman, editor and producer I had the good fortune of working with) and I watched one family search through the cars for their daughter and pull one body out onto the parking lot. Failing to come to a consensus that the charred remains were unmistakably those of their child, they broke down and cried.

Such is life now in Beslan. Black dresses, the omnipresent sound of crying and occasional photos of a missing child are all that remain.

A train ride away from yesterday

The railroad authorities at Vladikavkaz Train Station in southern Russia brought three spanking new passenger cars and a restaurant car for the children. Approximately 50 of the siege survivors, accompanied by their relatives, were bound for the Black Sea resort of Sochi for a recuperative holiday paid for by the government. Their train cars were heavily guarded by policemen who had been given instructions not to let anyone else in.

Fifteen minutes after the train left the station, it passed the school in Beslan where the hostage crisis had taken place -- a painful reminder of what everyone was trying to forget on this vacation.

Valera, who was to enter the 7th grade when he was taken hostage, couldn't take his eyes off the school.

Turning to our camera, he pointed to one of the school's rooms and said, "That's where they killed people." He wasn't the only one looking. The necks of every passenger on that side of the train twisted -- seemingly involuntarily -- towards the school until it disappeared into the distance.

Minutes later, 9-year-old Lena opened the Lego set she'd been given at the train station, and many of the kids were getting ready to eat.

Posted on the wall of each train car was a sign informing passengers what to do in event of terrorism. Part 2 explained what to do if the passengers were taken hostage.

A long recovery

Traditional Russian folk dancers awaited the children at the final stop and whirled them onto buses headed to the resort. Upon their arrival, the children were given letters from local school kids who expressed their sympathy and support. Then it was on to the pool, and later to the Black Sea. The vacation seemed to be turning into a magical experience.
That night, the people of the resort town of Sochi celebrated Neptune Day with a spectacular fireworks display. This startled the children who thought shooting had broken out. The parents of a young girl named Lena told me their daughter couldn't stop crying and only settled down once she was taken to the policemen in front of the hotel. Her parents still had to give her a sedative to get her to sleep that night. Lena had spent three days as a hostage without her parents. She had shown up early on that first day of school because she wanted to meet her teacher before the festivities got under way.
All in all, the children at the beach told me Beslan felt far away. They talked about being distracted from their memories, something they said would be impossible back in Beslan where many of the families are still burying the dead.
The day we left, a team of three psychologists was preparing to begin working with the children. All of the kids, the psychologists told me, were suffering from fear and an irrational sense of danger.
The children will spend three weeks at the resort in an effort to recover from three days of terror.

NAIROBI, 4 October (IRIN) - Some 122,800 people in southern Sudan desperately need food aid and other basic needs such as health and educational facilities, agricultural tools and clean water, a group of seven NGOs operating in the region said. 

Launching an appeal for US $434,913 in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Friday, John Kwaje, chairman of the New Sudanese Indigenous NGOs (NESI) group said: "The seven NGOs which have made the joint appeal operate in various fields of service. The appeal is to save the areas worst hit by food shortages resulting from the lack of rains or the influx of returnees." 

"The specific counties which will be covered by the funding will include, Anyuak Kingdom in Pochala, Lianya, Torit, Mundri, Twic county and the Shilluk region," he added. 

NESI is a consortium of 47 indigenous NGOs working in south Sudan with international NGOs. Victoria Garile, Director of South Sudan Community Association, one of the member NGOs said: "Children are learning under trees [and the] number is increasing as some are coming back from exile." Officials of another NGO, Mak-Deel for Development and Training Association, said: "Pochala county currently is congested with 20,000 refugees and internally displaced persons." 

Before the "Preparation for Sudan Reconstruction" conference held in Oslo, Norway, in September, representatives of the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People 's Liberation Movement/Army had urged the international communities to provide $300 million in aid to cover the urgent needs of people in southern Sudan. 

They said funds were needed to, among other things, assist about one million or more people who were expected to return home once a final peace accord is signed in the south. The Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission had said it had already registered 1.5 million returnees in South Sudan.

GROZNY, Russia, Sept 29 (AFP) - A battle between Russian troops and rebels raged for a third day in Chechnya Wednesday, with pro-Moscow forces saying they had the elusive rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov surrounded. 

The massive operation has pitted some 2,000 law enforcement troops, including those from Russia's and Chechnya's interior ministries, against a group of at least 40 to 55 rebels, in the southeastern Nozhai-Yurt region, according to police and separatist sources. 

Maskhadov was thought to be among the group because the codenames of his close associates were heard over the separatists' radio transmissions, including that of Akhmed Avtorkhanov, his chief bodyguard, the OMON official and news reports said. 

"We think that Aslan Maskhadov is inside this area," Ramzan Kadyrov, the son of Chechnya's slain leader Akhmad Kadyrov and the chief of a feared security service directing the operation, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. 

Kadyrov said pro-Moscow forces had blocked the rebels within the hills near the villages of Yalkhoi-Mokhk, Meskety and Chansolchu. 

But a source with the rebels told AFP that "Maskhadov is not where they are looking for him." 

He did confirm that Avtorkhanov was directing a group of about 40 rebels against the pro-Moscow forces and said another group of about 20 separatists had joined the fighting on Tuesday. 

The battle has killed at least five troops from the Russian side and six from the separatist side, said an official with the elite OMON unit of Chechnya's interior ministry who asked to remain unnamed. 

The rebel source said figures on separatist losses were not immediately available. 

Appearing on Chechen government television late Wednesday, Kadyrov said 30 rebels had been killed out of the more than 100 who were facing off pro-Moscow troops and vowed to capture Maskhadov. 

"We will catch him during the course of the week and it will be a real success," Interfax quoted him as saying. 

Separately, a clash between Russian soldiers and rebels left seven people dead from both sides late Tuesday in the southern Shatoi region, interior ministry and rebel sources told AFP. 

Maskhadov was elected Chechnya's president in 1997, after the Caucasus republic won de facto independence from Russia following a war in 1994-96. 

He has led separatists since the start of the second campaign in October 1999 and is considered more moderate than Shamil Basayev, a rebel leader who has claimed responsibility for some of the most spectacular attacks in Russia, including the Beslan school hostage taking in early September.

During the attack, an armed band burst into a school in a North Ossetian town on the first day of classes on September 1, taking hostage some 1,200 pupils, teachers and parents. 

The siege ended two days later in a chaotic shootout between rebels, law enforcement authorities and armed civilian militiamen that left at least 344 people dead, half of them children. 

In a statement posted on a rebel website, Basayev said he organized the attack in order to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war he started in Chechnya, which has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians. 

Pro-Moscow forces have failed to catch Maskhadov and Basayev, who are thought to be hiding out in Chechnya's mountains, an area slightly smaller than the West Bank

MOSCOW, Sept 25 (AFP) - A force of around 50 rebel activists attacked a village in the east of Chechnya overnight, injuring at least two people and burning down three houses, the interior ministry in the southern Russian republic said on Saturday. 
The ministry said the attack was mounted in the early hours of Saturday against the village of Alleroy, which was already reported to have been attacked by rebels the previous night. 

The statement blamed the attack on a group led by one Akhmed Abdarkhanov, described as chief bodyguard to the separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov.

One of the houses attacked by the rebels in the latest attack was that of a local police official, the ministry said.

On Friday Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's deputy prime minister, said that pro-Russian security forces killed five rebels in the previous night's attack on Alleroy, which also targeted the home of a police officer.

SEE Beslan Memorial Page (CLICK HERE)

September 7th 2004: 00.21.   MOSCOW, September 6 (Itar-Tass) – Sixteen children who survived the Beslan hostage crisis and were brought to Moscow hospitals remain in grave condition, medics said. 

“A few children are currently in operation rooms, and the majority of them face new surgery,” a source in the Moscow Health Department told Tass. According to the source, many children are accompanied by their parents who are in the same hospitals undergoing psychological treatment. 

The youngest patient, Azamat Mugakov, who is only 18 months old, remains in the intensive care department of the ninth children’s hospital. He has several shot wounds in the belly. Other children also have shot wounds and spacious burns. 

Beklastan Khudalov, 7, is also facing a new surgery in the seventh children’s hospital. Yulya Ushakova, 12, is in the same hospital with numerous injuries on the spine. 

Amina Kachmazova, 7, underwent an eye surgery at the Morozov children’s hospital and doctors describe her condition as satisfactory. Four children are in the same hospital with different eye and spine injuries. 

Soslan Tsalikov, 15, and Madina Zhurayeva, 10, were taken to the Filatov hospital and the St. Vladimir hospital, both suffering shot wounds. 

06.09.2004, 20.51

MOSCOW, September 6 (Itar-Tass) -- The condition of two girls from Beslan who were admitted to Moscow hospitals over the weekend has improved. 

Milana Biboyeva, 7, was admitted to Hospital No. 9 with bad burns and has already been operated on. Doctors said, “The condition of the girl improved considerably after the operation, and she has been transferred from the resuscitation ward to the intensive care unit.” 

The other girl, Amina Kachmazova, 7, was admitted to Hospital No. 7 with an eye injury and underwent operation on Saturday. “Now the girl is in satisfactory condition and even plays with toys,” doctors said. 

06.09.2004, 19.02

BESLAN, September 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Thousands attended a funeral at the North Ossetian city of Beslan’s new cemetery where 170 victims of the school siege were buried on Monday. 
North Ossetian President Alexander Dzasokhov urged people to unite. After the ceremony people laid flowers at the victims’ tombs under pelting rain. 

The ceremony was attended by the Russian president’s representative to the Southern Federal District, Vladimir Yakovlev, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov, St. Petersburg governor Valentina Matviyenko, Federation Council chairman Sergei Mironov, presidential chief of staff Dmitry Medvedev, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, and the heads of the neighbouring regions. 

06.09.2004, 11.00

 MOSCOW September 6 (Itar-Tass) - The condition of most of 17 children who were taken to Moscow hospitals from North Ossetia’s Beslan is grave, a spokesperson in one of the hospitals told Itar-Tass on Monday.

“People are coming to the hospital from the very morning, leaving gifts for the children with warm words and wishes of the soonest recovery”. 

Most of the children have been admitted to the Speransky hospital No.9. 

Eight children are staying there with extensive burns and gunshot wounds. The youngest is Azamat Mukagov, who is one year eight months old. 

Five children are in the Morozov pediatiric hospital. Four have serious eye traumas and one girl is in a neurosurgery unit with spinal injury. 

Hospital No.2 in Moscow’s district of Tushino has received a seven-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl with fragmentation wounds of the spine. Both children are staying in an intensive care unit. 

Firfteen-year-old Saslan Tsalikov is in the Filatov children’s hospital. 

His condition has deteriorated overnight, deputy chief physician Vera Smirnova said. 

Doctors of the St. Vladimir children’s hospital are making efforts to save the life of 10-year-old Madina Zhurayeva, who was admitted with multiple gunshot wounds. 

05.09.2004, 20.22

BESLAN (North Ossetia), September 5 (Itar-Tass) -- Dozens of people in Beslan are searching for family members, who are not on the list of casualties. 

“176 children are on the list of missing,” a source in the town administration said. Obviously, some of them are dead as only 184 of 338 deceased hostages have been identified. Others may be wounded. The Beslan children’s hospital has several children, whose names are unknown because the children are in coma. There are also missing adults. 

The registration of former hostages is going on round-the-clock in Beslan to estimate the precise number of ex-hostages and give them aid. 

Some former hostages, who were not hurt, reached home on their own or with the assistance of relatives. “Such people are not included in the statistics, so the precise number of former hostages is still unknown,” a source in the town administration told Itar-Tass. 

Psychologists strongly recommend all former hostages to visit them. “All former hostages must have a medical examination so that doctors could estimate their psychological condition and give them therapy,” the source said. 

About 120 funerals were scheduled for Monday alone in the stricken town of 30,000 people. 
Officials have told gravediggers in the southern Russian town to be ready for 600 bodies, though the official death count still stands at about 335 children and adults. That doesn't include 30 of the armed militants who had taken them hostage and were killed by security officials as the 62-hour siege ended. 

Grieving relatives and friends attended dozens of wakes throughout the weekend, some for multiple children in the same family. 
Small coffins were adorned with photos of smiling children dressed in their best clothes, and parents struggled to explain to surviving youngsters how a political cause could have led to so much devastation.

Planes from Italy and the United States delivered extra medical supplies to deal with about 400 injured adults and children, many of whom are fighting for their lives. 
On Sept. 1, the first day of classes after the summer break, about 35 armed extremists linked to the Chechen rebellion herded an estimated 1,000 children, teachers and parents into the Beslan school's gymnasium.
Later reports said large amounts of weapons and explosives had been hidden in the gym days or weeks in advance, perhaps during renovations to the floor. The militants placed a cordon of mines and bombs around their hostages as they negotiated with authorities for the release of rebel prisoners from Chechnya and nearby Ingushetia. 
Most of the dead were killed on Friday when a pair of explosions, apparently the accidental detonation of two of the bombs placed by the militants, caused part of the school's roof to collapse. 
The male and female militants fired on many panicked children as they used the chance to flee their captors after two days without food and water, crouching in cramped quarters in a state of constant terror. 
Survivors told stories of the extremists toying with their captives in the gym. One gunman fired into the air over their heads and demanded that all the children stand up. When they did, another militant fired into the air and told them to sit down. Then both men laughed. 
Other reports said at least three of the extremists didn't seem to know that they would be holding children hostage. When they objected, their colleagues killed them. 
About a third of the hostage-takers were reported to be Arabs. Militant Islamic groups have long been sympathetic to Chechen rebels' push to obtain independence from Moscow for the republic, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim.
Russian politicians struggled to find the right way to address the tragedy. 
The North Ossetia region's Interior Minister Kazbek Dzantiyev offered his resignation Sunday but it was not accepted, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. 
"After what happened in Beslan I have no right to hold this post, both as an officer and a gentleman," Itar-Tass quoted Dzantiyev as saying. 
Some politicians called for an independent investigation into the attack, and even Russia's state television network said the government must accept a share of blame for mishandling the crisis

"At such moments, society needs the truth," commentator Sergei Brilyov said Sunday night. 
He blamed Russia's "system of administration," in which "everything hangs on the bravery of the rank and file, but generals can't bring themselves to act until the president throws ideas to them." 
President Vladimir Putin had previously blamed the country's security services for failing to do enough to prevent terrorist acts. 
On Monday, Russia's foreign minister said he welcomed an offer by Israel to share its counter-terrorism expertise to combat further Chechen attacks. 
"We appreciate the very strong readiness of the Israeli people to help Russia at this hour and this will certainly strengthen the counterterrorist coalition these days," Sergey Lavrov said as he began meetings in Jerusalem. 
One-sixth of Israel's population consists of emigrants from the former Soviet Union, so the school massacre has great resonance there. 
Lavrov was careful to say he would also seek help in combatting terrorism from Arab nations, many of which are traditional Russian allies.
In a separate development, the death toll from another attack linked to Chechen rebels has risen to 10. 
A 20-year-old man died Monday from injuries he suffered in a suicide bombing outside a Moscow subway station a week ago. 
More than 50 people were wounded in the Aug. 31 attack by a female bomber.

SEPTEMBER 5TH: See the BESLAN atrocity details - a memorial page to the children of BESLAN, article and pictures from the scene.

BESLAN SEPTEMBER 2004
______________________________

September 5th: PRINCE MIKHAIL is in Russia. 
 

AUGUST 27TH: DR CONGO.   The new UN Organization Mission in the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC CONGO (MONUC) military spokesman, Maj. François Ouedraogo said yesterday that security has been reinforced along the border in the wake of the killing of some 160 Banyamulenge (Congolese Tutsi) refugees at the Burundian transit centre at Gatumba during the night of 13 August. 

MONUC's Force Commander, Gen. Iliya Samaila, had toured eastern DRC and visited Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, to talk with UN troops and Congolese officers and to explore, with his counterpart of the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB), further joint activities on the ground. AF continues logistic preparation in Bujumbura for advance teams.

In the framework of the Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration process, meanwhile, a high-level Ugandan delegation has arranged for the repatriation of the remaining100 troops from Kananga Province, according to MONUC spokeswoman Patricia Tomé.
DAKAR, 26 August (IRIN) 

Hit by power cuts and administrative hitches, the Darfur peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja made slow progress on Thursday. Delegates at the talks circled around the first and least controversial item on the agenda - humanitarian aid - before adjourning until Saturday, he told IRIN by telephone. 

Meanwhile rebel leaders back in Darfur warned of a rough ride ahead when negotiations finally got round to the agenda's second item - security. 
The Darfur conflict erupted 18 months ago when two rebel groups demanded a better political and economic deal from the Sudanese government for the arid western region. 

They accuse Khartoum of trying to clamp down on their insurgency by employing a mounted Arab militia, known as the Janjawid, to loot and burn black African villages. 
The United Nations estimates the conflict has killed at least 30,000 people and driven almost 1.5 million more from their homes, with most displaced in Sudan and nearly 200,000 fleeing over the border to Chad. 

<>Improving access for aid workers was the first item up for discussion in Abuja on Thursday, after delegates had spent most of the first three days wrangling over the summit's official agenda. 

For more information please contact:

Jennifer Miller, Public Information Officer
Personal Assistant to Prince Mikhail
afjennifer@aol.com
angelfdn@aol.com
www.angelfoundation.org
_________________________________________________________________

 

AUGUST 4th 2004:  See new BUSINESS PLAN PAGE on this website - CLICK HERE.

JULY 5th: SUDAN

As AF and other humanitarian organizations assist with refugees, the continued movement and disappearance of many has led to many unanswered questions regarding the UN priorities in the area. This has now changed as the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today promised black Africans in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region that they will not be forced to return to their homes - where they have faced murderous attacks from Arab militias - until their security can be guaranteed.

Women residents of a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in North Darfur State began applauding after Mr. Annan - who sat down with senior aides to talk privately with them after asking security staff and Sudanese authorities to stay away - made his pledge that no one will have to go home unless they have adequate protection. 
During his first trip to Darfur, described by UN officials recently as the scene of the world's worst humanitarian crisis, Mr. Annan visited three IDP camps to see first-hand what has happened to the victims of the militia attacks.
In the Zam Zam camp in North Darfur, currently home to about 12,000 people, Mr. Annan spoke to a group of women who recounted a series of deadly attacks on their villages by Janjaweed militias, bands of Arab fighters armed or recruited by the Sudanese Government. UN Radio producer Ben Malor, who is travelling with the Secretary-General, said hundreds of women approached the travelling party to tell them about the activities of the Janjaweed.
"I was personally surrounded by more than 30 women and each one of them [was] excited to talk to us to stress the fact that their husbands had been killed," Mr. Malor said.
Earlier, while sitting under a thorn tree at Zam Zam with about a dozen elders, Mr. Annan heard the men describe why they were still too afraid to return to their homes. 
They also outlined the difficulties of life in Zam Zam, where residents generally have to make do with shelters built with plastic sheeting. 
Two UN human rights reports released in May found that the Janjaweed have committed numerous human rights abuses, including murders, rapes and the ransacking and destruction of villages. 
A UN spokesman said Mr. Annan also toured the IDP camp at Abu Shouk, which is considered well-organized, houses about 40,000 people and is frequently shown to international visitors. But when he arrived at another camp at Meshtel, there were only a few mules left at the camp. As recently as yesterday evening, more than 1,000 families were seen living there.
A Sudanese Government official told the UN officials that the camp's residents had been transferred to a better location. For several months Meshtel has not been considered a viable site for a camp.
But the UN spokesman said that humanitarian workers operating in Darfur were stunned by the sudden disappearance of so many people. 
The Governor of North Darfur, Osman Yousif Kibir, also briefed the Secretary-General on the situation in the region and the efforts he said the Sudanese authorities were making to end the fighting.
Later Mr. Annan was briefed by African Union military observers who are being deployed to the region to monitor a ceasefire signed in April. He then travelled to N'Djamena, the capital of neighbouring Chad, for talks with Chadian President Idriss Deby and a briefing by local UN staff.
UN agencies estimate that more than a million people have become internally displaced and at least another 150,000 others are refugees in Chad since fighting broke out early last year between Sudanese Government, allied militias and two rebel groups.
Aid workers say they have hampered in their attempts to bring relief to civilians in Darfur - an arid, impoverished region which is roughly the size of France - because of obstructions from government officials and last month's onset of the annual rainy season.
Tomorrow Mr. Annan and his aides are scheduled to visit a refugee camp in Chad's east before returning to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, for a meeting with President Omer Al Bashir.
The Secretary-General is travelling to Sudan and Chad with Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; Jan Pronk, his Special Representative for Sudan; and Mohamed Sahnoun, his Special Adviser for Africa.

CONGO - Mbanza Congo, June 30:  Some 15.000 Angolan refugees living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will return home as from July this year, under the second phase of the refugees organised repatriation programme. 
The national director of the Social Welfare Ministry (MINARS), Anilce Batalha, said all is in place for the reception of the refugees at Kiowa centre. She was part of a joint team comprising officials of the UNHCR and MINARS, led the representative of that UN body to Angola, Sahiayou Saidy, who toured the northern Zaire province. 
The move also aimed to analyse the modalities for the implementation of projects that will continue the operation this year, to arrange with the UNHCR local representative for mechanisms to speed up the repatriation. Commenting on the delay in the process that started in June 2003, Anilce Batalha said this was to observe international principles assuring security of the people repatriated in their areas of origin. 
In Zaire, the AF team checked the condition of the road linking Nbanza Congo and Kuimba district, and held a working meeting with members of local Government. 

MAY 21st:   NIGERIA
Ethnic-religious hostilit ies broke out on 1 and 2 May 2004 in Shimkar and Yelwa in Plateau State... Many people were wounded and many houses were burnt. Many others, including women and children, were reportedly abducted from Yelwa and taken to Langtan-south and Mikan Local Government those who escaped fled to Nasarawa and Bauchi States for refuge. 
On 13 May 2004, a total of 735 internally-displaced families were sheltered in school compounds, markets and mosques in Lafia town of Nassarawa State. This figure includes 1,543 displaced children. 
Following the Yelwa hostilities, the conflict in Kano State began on 10 May 2004; it escalated on 12 May 2004 in the Sharada area of Kano city resulting in more deaths. The Kano State Branch of the Nigerian Red Cross Society reported that 36 persons were killed and 598 injured, with a lot property destroyed. As a result, 17,087 people fled their homes; about 8,000 are seeking refuge in various police and military barracks. The situation is tense in spite of heavy police and military presence in some parts of the city. 
The Nigerian Red Cross Emergency Team reported that about 500 people with bullet, machetes and arrow wounds requiring immediate evacuation and medical assistance were attended to and evacuated nearby hospitals (Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Mohammed Wase Specialist Hospital and Mohammed Sanusi Hospital). The following areas were most affected by the hostilities: Unguwar Uku Quarters; Hausawa/Zoo Road; Ja'en/Sharada Quarters; Bayero University Permanent Site, and Rijiyar Zaki Village/Gwarzo Road. 
SUDAN

KHARTOUM, May 20 (AFP) - Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail said Thursday aid workers would no longer need a special pass to visit the strife-torn western region of Darfur. 
From Monday, aid workers would be able to go to the region as long as they had standard Sudanese visas "obtainable directly from Sudanese diplomatic representations abroad," he said. 
Aid workers have been complaining that they were being denied passes to enter Darfur, where more than a year of fighting has left thousands dead and uprooted a million people from their homes, according to UN figures. 
Another 100,000 civilians have been driven to seek shelter across the border in impoverished Chad since February 2003. 
The Khartoum government has been widely accused of conducting a policy of "ethnic cleansing" against the black, non-Arab people of Darfur and of targeting civilians in its response to a rebellion by local militias. 
On May 7, the United Nations described Darfur as a region gripped by a "reign of terror", where pro-government forces are committing massive human rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity. 
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres warned Thursday that the "threat of famine is looming" in Darfur. 
"The whole population is teetering on the verge of mass starvation," a statement said. 
Ismail's comments came days after the United States denounced the Sudanese government for issuing US relief workers with "useless" travel permits for the region that effectively prevented them from leaving Khartoum

CHECHNYA
Ruslan Isayev, North Caucasus - As many observers predicted, Chechen resistance fighters have become more active after the assassination of Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader Akhmad Kadyrov. 
Within the last several days, gunshots have been heard and military vehicles destroyed by mines in the republic. 
On the Rostov-Baku road, between the Urus-Martanovsky district and Grozny, a group of insurgents blew up an armored personnel carrier belonging to the Russian Interior Ministry. 
Another armored vehicle, joined by a Chechen police car, pursued the escaping attackers. The rebels detoured onto a country road where they waited in ambush for their pursuers. When they appeared, both vehicles were blown up killing eight soliders and three policemen, said a source in the Chechen Interior Ministry. 
About the same time in the Leninsky district of Grozny, another armored personnel carrier was blown up, killing two soldiers and wounding three others. 
On Tuesday the guerrillas blew up an army "Ural" truck in the Oktyabrsky district. Six soldiers were injured, two of whom died enroute to the hospital. 
Another motor vehicle, "UAZ", was blown up on the Grozny-Shatoi road, near the village of Prigorodnoye.

Angel Foundation Teams Expand Operations

SHIP

March 21st: Aside from the refitting of an MD-11 aircraft to be used as a hospital airship, Angel Foundation is looking at refitting a ship (with helipad) to be used for medical evacuations. The purpose of both programs is to reduce response times for emergency relief. Both assets and the Crises Management Centers will be open for use by other NGOs.

CONGO 

March 21st: Angel Foundation teams have expanded operations in the Kitenge region. Assisting refugees to get to UN base camps unharmed is of top importance. As reported earlier, thousands of people still live in the bush and are unable to get to specific villages where there is safety and medical care (Medecins Sans Frontieres teams and other NGO support). An AF team from France will be flying into the area to support the movement of displaced people to villages where there is NGO assistance.
 

For more information please contact:

Jennifer Miller, Public Information Officer
Personal Assistant to Prince Mikhail
afjennifer@aol.com
angelfdn@aol.com
www.angelfoundation.org
____________________________________________________________

Angel Foundation Teams Return to Africa

UGANDA

March 6th. Following a short stay in Haiti, the AF team has arrived in Uganda today. The LRA's (Lord's Resistance Army) continued eastern expansion has created thousands of additional displaced people. The 22 February massacre of 190 people has heightened the fear in the region. With refugee movement to safe haven a constant risk, the AF team will help move displaced people to the safe shelter of other NGOs. These NGOs need help with the enormous number of people: Please see Christian Aid appeal.

CONGO

March 6th.The Kitenge region remains volatile with continued fighting in much of the northernmost province. It has been reported that thousands of people live in the bush and are unable to get to villages where there is safety and medical care (Medecins Sans Frontieres teams and other NGO support). An AF team from France will be flying into the area to support the movement of displaced people to villages where there is NGO assistance. It has been reported that as many as 57 villages have been desolated by the Mai Mai.

Angel Foundation sends emergency response team and supplies
to Northern Haiti

Febuary 24th. Due to the continued deterioration of conditions in Haiti, Angel Foundation will air drop supplies in the Northern region, close to Cap Haitien. 
An Angel Foundation team, led by Prince Mikhail will fly in tonight to oversee distribution and evaluate conditions in the area.
Angel Foundation (a children's relief organization) representatives indicate that the looting of food storage's, vacating of hospitals and displacement of families is leading to disastrous consequences. Angel Foundation has historically worked in hostile areas and will be contacting other UN relief organizations to lend support where possible.  For further information, please contact Jennifer Miller (angelfdn@aol.com).

January 21st. Prince Mikhail’s operations were both successful. Neither procedure had any complications and Prince Mikhail is recuperating well. The outpouring of get-well letters and flowers from around the world has been moving. Prince Mikhail and Angel Foundation would like to thank everyone for their support through this personal crisis.

Angel Foundation continues planning for Crises Management Centers worldwide, as well as Romanov Russian Relief Houses in Russia. More information on the Russian Relief Houses forthcoming. 

January 13th 2004.  Prince Mikhail wishes all associated with Angel Foundation a wonderful, happy, prosperous, healthy, successful and peaceful new year. 

Appointments
Lady Gabriela has been appointed AF Ambassador to the United Nations. 

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Memorial Fund.

Her Excellence Olga Kulikovsky-Romanoff is in Moscow. She and Russian First Lady, Ms. Putin are hosting an art exhibition of the Grand Duchess Olga paintings. All proceeds to go to the Grand Duchess Fund to help hospitals and orphanages in Russia. May God bless them.

Angel Foundation Direct Projects

While the AF was founded as a means to help other NGOs through the coordination of various logistic activities, we are re-directing our primary objective to aiding independent AF programs.

In 1999, our first action was helping with to coordinate the airlift and supplies to Bosnia.

Through 2000 and 2001, our focus was aimed at helping the children of Northern Africa. Working with several other NGOs, hundred of children have been freed from indentured slavery...many as child soldiers. The need in the region continues to grow!

Following the 911 attack and in support of UNESCO (et al), AF has helped with the transition and development of programs to support the education of children in Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe: The children of Africa suffer from the continued onslaught of HIV and starvation! Angel Foundation is working with several organizations in the development of programs for the region.

Russia: The number of children calling the streets home, continues to increase at a devastating rate. AF is developing programs to support the Grand Duchess Fund as well as working with local authorities in an effort to get more kids off the streets.

Organizations wishing to increase their education and knowledge in humanitarian work, should view the International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA) program in Geneva. See links page for further information.

I ask that the public get further involved with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (see links). The number of innocent children taken from their home is devastating! The single place that children should feel most safe!

There are other victims of war!!!