For historical background to the conflict between the Umuleri, Aguleri and the Umuoba-Anam communities, please refer to the attached article entitled "Nigeria: Aguleri-Umuleri Conflict - The Theatre of Fratricidal War" published in Searching for Peace in Africa by the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation (EPCPT). The article states that land ownership is at the root of the fighting between the Umuleri and Aguleri communities in the Nigerian State of Anambra, traces the conflict back to the precolonial era and describes its evolution to this day.

In April 1999, "thousands" of people in Nigeria fled from their houses to seek refuge in schools and other public buildings following violent confrontations between the Amuleri and the Aguleri communities (AFP 23 Apr. 1999; AP 23 Apr. 1999). "Hundreds" of people are reported to have been killed during the clashes over the ownership of land located on the border of the two communities (ibid.). According to a 23 June 1999 IRIN report, "automatic weapons and dynamite were used to kill and destroy houses... More than 300 people were reported killed and thousands displaced." Renewed fighting between members of both communities in July 1999 left 120 persons dead (AFP 28 July 1999; DPA 29 July 1999; TBH Online 29 July 1999). A 8 May 2000 report published in the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard quotes Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra State as saying that "complete peace" has been restored between the Umuleri and Aguleri communities. The report also states that the governor called for Federal assistance to rebuild primary and secondary school classrooms destroyed during the confrontations. The two villages are located 483 km east of Lagos (AP 23 Apr. 1999).

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.

United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN). 23 June 1999. "Nigeria; IRIN Background Report on Communal Conflicts." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Agence France Presse (AFP). 28 July 1999. "Au moins 120 tués dans un nouvel affrontement au Nigeria (presse)." (AFP MAILtopic@alc1.par.afp.com /NEXIS)

_____. 23 April 1999. "Querelle de villages sanglante, sacrifices humains: la police intervient." (AFP MAILtopic@alc1.oar.afp.com/NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP). 23 April 2000. AM Cycle. "Police Dispatched to Stop Fighting in Southern Nigeria." (NEXIS)

Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA). 29 July 1999. BC Cycle. "Fresh Clashes Claim 120 Lives in Eastern Nigeria." (NEXIS)

TBH Online. 29 July 1999. "Ethnic Violence Tests Nigeria's Newly-elected Government." http://www.tbonline.com/cns/9907/990729ethnic_violence.htm [Accessed 14 July 2000]

Vanguard [Lagos]. 8 May 2000. Across the Nation - South-East: Anambra Ready to Pay Minimum Wage, Says Mbadinuju." http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.vanguardngr.com/se108050.htm+Umuoba&hl=fr [Accessed 17 July 2000]

Ekeh, Raphael Chima. October 1999. "Nigeria: Aguleri-Umuleri Conflict - The Theatre of Fratricidal War" in Searching for Peace in Africa. Edited by European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation. http://euforic.org/euconflict/sfp/part2/359_.htm [Accessed 14 July 2000]