Kenya: One Killed in Mombasa Nightclub Blast

Mombasa--- One person has died and several others injured in a blast at a nightclub in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa police have reported.

The Bella Vista sports club along a street known for its nightlife was the target of the Monday attack in Mombasa city, a popular holiday destination.

Police say the armed attackers had tried to force their way into the nightclub, but were denied entry after they refused to be frisked by the security guards, where they then shot at random and hurled grenades.

Five people were injured in the assault including two security guards, one of them a woman, who died of her wounds in hospital.

"There is one dead and five others injured. We believe the dead person, a lady, was one of the guards at the gate," Ambrose Munyasia, the region's chief criminal investigation officer who was at the scene said.

An eyewitness in the incident which happened around 0930hrs local time told reporters that two cars drove to the club and after a few minutes, occupants inside started shooting at the people at the car park, while they hurled three grenades at the entrance of the club.

A gun has been recovered from the scene which was marked with a pool of blood, spent cartridges and grenade shells littered near the entrance of the club, where some cars nearby were riddled with shrapnel marks.

No group so far has claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes barely a week after another bomb attack in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp, killed a police officer and wounded three.

More than 10 people have died in a series of attacks in the country since Kenyan troops launched an incursion into southern Somalia to seek al-Shabab Islamist militia it blamed for a wave of kidnappings in its territory.

Driven out of the strategic capital of Mogadishu by the joint government-African Union forces, the al-Qaeda allied Somali Islamists have resorted to frequent attacks with suicide bombers, roadside bombs and grenades.

Juba, South Sudan

UN Warns of Food Shortages in South Sudan

Over half of the entire South Sudan population is facing food shortages following the ongoing conflict with Sudan, the United Nations has reported.

At least one million people will be food insecure this year, while 3.7million others would be averagely insecure following recent findings by the World Food Programme (WFP), which reveal an increasing food shortfalls in the first four months of 2012.

The UN Humanitarian Agency, OCHA, has raised concern in its latest report drawn from the WFP research, over the complex combination of factors that are pushing South Sudanese into destitution, and warns that the situation is worsening.

It says clashes between the north and south along the contested border regions and closure of oil production in a transit fee row with the north have had a devastating impact on South’s economy and could get worse.

Inter-ethnic violence between two communities in Jonglei state have compounded the country’s deficit of cereal crops by nearly half a million tons which is double last year’s shortfall.

Poor infrastructure mostly devastated during the civil war has hampered distribution of humanitarian aid in the south, where previous estimates suggests of 4.7 million people were at risk of food shortages.

In January, South Sudan shut down its oil fields following row over oil transit fees accusing the north of stealing its oil and over excessive transit charges. South Sudan depends on oil it exports for 98% of its national revenue and the shut down have seen the Juba government cut down on its expenditures.

A leaked dossier from the World Bank has reported of South Sudan’s economy to be staggering on the brink of collapse, but the international body has refuted the claims saying they had been taken out of context.

A possible border demarcation remains in dispute since the south became independent last July, that saw recent fierce clashes a long the contested regions that have threatened outbreak of an all-out war.

The UN resolution early this month has demanded both Sudans to end hostilities and resume stalled talks with a possible peace accord in three months. An African Union road-map has called for both sides to withdraw troops from the contested areas and resume negotiation process led by former South African leader Thabo Mbeki, aimed at resolving all outstanding issues.

UN says over 400,000 people have been displaced in the ongoing violence in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states in the north between the government forces and SPLM-N rebels, warning of about 300,000 people in the region face risk of starvation if they don’t receive any aid.

On Monday Sudan’s parliament rejected any negotiations with the rebel group once allied with now southern rulers during the civil war, suspending all operations by foreign aid agencies in rebel-held areas.