Marooned Ethiopian herders refuse to leave cattle

19 August 2006

By Tsegaye Tadesse

OMERATE, Ethiopia, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Ethiopians marooned on small outcrops above flooded plains refused to abandon livestock despite rescuers' pleas on Saturday.

Special forces, sliding down ropes from helicopters and airdropping aid, tried to rescue people trapped by flash floods that have killed nearly 900 people and displaced almost 50,000 across the Horn of Africa nation this month.

Stranded on hillocks by the floodwaters, herders in the southwestern town of Omerate leaned on sticks and stared across the virtual sea separating them from their cows and goats.

A special forces commander said they would die unless they agreed to be rescued.

"Survival without cattle is meaningless. I would prefer to die than lose my cattle," Awala Rendela, a rescued resident who lost his livestock, said.

"No milk, no life. No cattle, no life."

A drought earlier this year killed thousands of livestock in the region and many herders in Omerate said they would not abandon what cattle they had left.

Pleading with them to leave, rescuers on boats brought food and supplies to the encircled residents in the town near the Kenyan border, where the Omo River burst its banks on Sunday killing 364 people, many while they were sleeping.

"They are encircled by flood water and they are facing certain death unless they are rescued, but they have refused to budge," said Major Solomon Gebre-Ebegzabher, commander of the special forces conducting rescue operations in Omerate.

PROMISES OF HELP

In a tour of the devastated area on Friday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised the government would help the stranded.

Local officials pledged to replace all livestock lost in the flooding and sent a team of elders to convince the trapped herders to evacuate.

"We are hoping that they will heed the call and register the number of animals lost in the flood," district administrator Dirma Gmewenya said. "We have no means to rescue the cattle."

Bad weather and poor access to remote areas have hindered relief efforts by already overwhelmed emergency services, and officials fear the death toll could rise rapidly.

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, has appealed for help as rivers in the north, south, east and west burst their banks after heavy rains and the country's major dams swelled to breaking point.

Aid agencies say heavy rains are likely to continue until September and spread flooding to other areas.

The United Nations estimates that as many as 48,000 people across the country have been displaced by flooding, which typically happens in lowland areas when rains during the June-September rainy season drench Ethiopia's highlands.

Land cultivation, deforestation and overgrazing have exacerbated the flooding, aid agencies say.