Djibouti: Treatment of members of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) by the current government
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | DJI30299.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Djibouti: Treatment of members of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) by the current government, 1 November 1998, DJI30299.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acef30.html [accessed 17 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to a report by the Centre for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM), the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) split into factions in early 1994 (Nance n.d.). The faction led by Ougoureh Kefle Ahmed began negotiations with the government. In December 1995, the FRUD-Kefle Ahmed faction became a political party allied with the government. However, the other FRUD faction lead by Ahmed Dini continued to fight with the government (ibid., The Indian Ocean Newsletter 28 Mar. 1998).
In 1998, the FRUD-Dini claimed that FRUD prisoners were being held in Gabode prison in Djibuti town but that FRUD was also holding government prisoners (ION 14 Mar. 1998). The ION indicates that forty detained members of the FRUD went on strike to protest the government's refusal to provide "medical care for sick and injured detainees" (June 1998, 3). The hunger strike was later abandoned because the several sick or injured detainees were hospitalized. Two other FRUD members, Amin Hadgar Barao, and Khaled Ismail Ali, were also detained reportedly in Ayssaita in Ethiopia. The mother of Khaled Ismail Ali had allegedly been detained and questioned by police in the Afar district of Djibouti town in September 1997 (ibid.). The Indian Ocean Newsletter further states that "Hadgar Barao was held at the Dikhil military garrison for two days and brought before a Djibouti court on June 3 where he was charged with associating with the FRUD rebellion and remanded in custody" (ibid.).
Amnesty International also reports the arrests of FRUD members on arrival in Djibouti after they were deported from Ethiopia in 1997 (1998, 152). This information is corroborated by Country Reports 1997 (1998, 95).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report 1997. 1998. London: Amnesty International.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 1998. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter (ION) [Paris]. No. 814. 6 June 1998. "Djibouti: FRUD Detainees in Hospital."
_____. 28 March 1998. "FRUD Attacks the South." (NEXIS)
_____. 14 March 1998. "FRUD Knocks on IGAD Door." (NEXIS)
Nance Profile. n.d. "The Afar." [Internet]
