AFRICOM Related News Clips 23 January 2012

8/3/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 23 January 2012

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office23 January 2012

Please find attached news clips for January 23, 2012, along with upcoming events ofinterest and UN News Service briefs.

Of interest in todays clips:- Islamist insurgents kill over 178 in Nigeria's Kano-American kidnapped in Nigeria, held for ransom-Drone strike killed al-Qaida official fighting with insurgents in Somalia-American kidnapped in Somalia (News24)

-Kenyan military says its mission to cripple Shabaab is largely accomplished-Libyan deputy leader steps down after angry protests-DR Congo violence forces 100,000 from homes: UN

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Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa

Islamist insurgents kill over 178 in Nigeria's Kano (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/22/us-nigeria-violence-idUSTRE80L0A020120122?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71January 22, 2012By Mike ObohKANO - Gun and bomb attacks by Islamist insurgents in the northern Nigerian city ofKano last week killed at least 178 people, a hospital doctor said on Sunday, underscoringthe challenge President Goodluck Jonathan faces to prevent his country sliding furtherinto chaos.

Carroll County man kidnapped in Nigeria, held for ransom (Atlanta Journal

Constitution)

http://www.ajc.com/news/carroll-county-man-kidnapped-1311580.htmlJanuary 21, 2012


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By Janel DavisA Carroll County resident working in Nigeria was kidnapped Friday and is being held forransom, according to his family and police there. William Gregory Greg Ock, 50, ofBowdon was working on a power plant job for the Japanese conglomerate MarubeniCorp. in the West African country, according to his brother Michael Ock, who contacted

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday.

Officials: American drone strike killed al-Qaida official fighting with insurgents in

Somalia (Associated Press)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/officials-american-drone-strike-killed-al-qaida-official-fighting-with-insurgents-in-somalia/2012/01/22/gIQACGNfHQ_story.htmlJanuary 22, 2012By Katherine HoureldAssociated PressMOGADISHU, Somalia A U.S. drone strike killed an al-Qaida official of Lebaneseorigin fighting alongside insurgents in Somalia, officials said. Three missiles fired from

an unmanned aerial vehicle hit Bilal al-Berjawis car on the outskirts of Mogadishu,according to a statement from the insurgent al-Kataib media foundation late Saturday.

American kidnapped in Somalia (News24)

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/American-kidnapped-in-Somalia-20120121Mogadishu - Gunmen kidnapped an American man in the northern Somali town ofGalkayo on Saturday, officials said.The gunmen surrounded the man's car shortly after the man left the airport, saidpoliceman Abdi Hassan Nur, who witnessed the incident. He said they then forced theAmerican into another vehicle.

Military says its mission to cripple Shabaab is largely accomplished (Daily Nation)

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Mission+to+cripple+Shabaab+is+largely+accomplished+/-/1056/1311796/-/nkp181/-/index.htmlJanuary 22, 2012By John NgirachuThe Kenyan military said on Saturday it is now halfway through its mission to eliminateAl-Shabaab in southern Somalia, the objective of Operation Linda Nchi, which enters its15th week on Sunday.

Blasts hit Somali rebel stronghold near capital (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/21/us-somalia-kenya-idUSTRE80K0MF20120121?feedName=worldNews&feedType=RSS&utm_campaign=Feed%3a+reuters%2fworldNews+(News+%2f+US+%2f+International)&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburnerJanuary 21, 2012By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal OmarMOGADISHU (Reuters) - Loud explosions rocked an Islamist rebel stronghold outsidethe Somali capital on Saturday, while Kenya said it was edging closer to breaking theback of the al Qaeda-linked militants' networks in the south.


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Shabaab targets Uganda (Reuters)

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE80K00M20120121?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FAFRICATopNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+Top+News%29

January 21, 2012By William MacleanMARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - Al Shabaab would "do anything" to strike insideUganda in retaliation for Kampala's military role in Somalia, and good regionalintelligence as well as inter-community relations would mean the militant group wasunlikely to succeed, a Ugandan general said on Friday.

Libya Protests Spur Shake-Up in Interim Government (NY Times)

Libyan deputy leader steps down after angry protests

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/world/africa/protests-shake-libyas-interim-government.html

January 22, 2012By Liam StackLibyas post-Qaddafi transitional government faced a political crisis Sunday afterprotesters ransacked its offices in Benghazi, highlighting growing nationwide uneasewith its leadership and triggering a shake-up in which the governing councils No. 2official resigned and several members were suspended.

DR Congo violence forces thousands from homes (Al-Jazeera English)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/01/2012120153536983871.htmlJanuary 20, 2012UNsays increase in fighting has forced 100,000 people to flee their homes as officialsfind empty and burned villages.

An increase in violence involving government troops and armed groups in easternDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has forced 100,000 people from their homes sinceNovember, the UN refugee agency said.

Algeria demands death sentence for top Qaeda boss (AFP)

http://news.yahoo.com/algeria-demands-death-sentence-top-qaeda-boss-165058316.htmlJanuary 22, 2012ALGIERS Algerian prosecutors on Sunday requested the death sentence for MokhtarBelmokhtar, a top leader in Al-Qaeda's north African branch, and another person in a trialon the deaths of two Algerian soldiers.

6.8 million risk starvation in Sahel; Minister urges help for Africa (The Argus)

http://www.argus.ie/breaking-news/world-news/minister-urges-help-for-africa-2996376.htmlRich countries should help starving children in West Africa in the same way Britain ledefforts to feed youngsters in Somalia, Andrew Mitchell has said.

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of looting (East African)


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http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/South+Sudan+accuses+Khartoum+of+looting++/-/2558/1311942/-/view/printVersion/-/6u7s81/-/index.htmlJanuary 22, 2012By Mwaura KimaniPlans by South Sudan to build an alternative pipeline through Kenya are expected to

acquire fresh urgency in coming weeks as Juba shops for a route to export its oilfollowing the closure of its current transport facility.

In Sudan, the AU has a chance to prove its grand rhetoric (TimesLive)

http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2012/01/22/in-sudan-the-au-has-a-chance-to-prove-its-grand-rhetoricHere is a situation crying out for 'an African solution to an African problem'

January 22, 2012Commentary by Mondli MakhanyaThis week, Africa's despots, democrats, kings and technocrats will gather in AddisAbaba. Like all African Union summits, this one will be a grand affair with attendant

pomp and ceremony.

Panetta: U.S. Military Best in World, But Threats Remain (Defense.gov)

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66878January 21, 2012By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.American Forces Press ServiceNAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Jan. 20, 2012 The U.S. military isthe world's best and it's on the right path to face the challenges ahead, Defense SecretaryLeon E. Panetta said here today.

New York City National Guard Unit Will Train with Malian Defense Force in

February

http://readme.readmedia.com/New-York-City-National-Guard-Unit-Will-Train-with-Malian-Defense-Force-in-February/3295142Janaury 20, 2012By New York State Division of Military & Naval AffairsNEW YORK CITY, New York -- Thirty-seven New York Army National Guard logisticsspecialists assigned to the 369th Sustainment Brigade, headquartered at the Fifth AvenueArmory in Harlem, will be heading to the African nation of Mali in February as part ofexercise Atlas Accord 12.

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UN News Service Africa Briefs

http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA

(Full Articles on UN Website)

Ban condemns deadly attacks in Nigerian city of Kano


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21 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned today the multipleattacks across the northern Nigerian city of Kano, which resulted in large-scale casualtiesand massive destruction to property.

Cte d'Ivoire: UN condemns violence during meeting of former ruling party

21 January The United Nations Operation in Cte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) stronglycondemned today the incidents that left many people injured during a meeting of theformer ruling party, the Ivorian Popular Front, which took place in the city of Abidjan.

Ban deplores attack on UN-African Union peacekeepers in Darfur

21 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned today the ambush by anunidentified group on a United Nations-African Union patrol in Sudan''s Darfur regionthat led to the death of a Nigerian peacekeeper and the wounding of three others.

Ban voices concern over tensions between Sudan and South Sudan

20 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced deep concern over continuing

tensions along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the current crisisover oil, saying that the situation represented a worrying deterioration in the relationshipbetween the two countries.

UN partners with Dartmouth a cappella group to spotlight Horn of Africa famine

20 January The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today released anew video message aimed at highlighting the ongoing famine in the Horn of Africa, witha song recorded by the renowned Dartmouth College a cappella group, the Aires.

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Upcoming Events of Interest:

JANUARY 23, 2011WHAT: The 18th African Union Summit will officially kick off begin Monday,January 23, in Addis Ababa, and continue through January 30. The theme for the summitis Boosting Intra-African Trade. For more information, visit the summits web site athttp://au.int/en/summit/18thsummit.

WHAT: "An Economic Perspective on the Arab Spring One Year Later."Speakers: Prepared Remarks by Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary of State forEconomic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Department of State; Featuring:Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, Vice-chairman of the Board, The Stimson Center andmember of the Board of Trustees, George C. Marshall Foundation; and Panel Discussion:Olin Wethington, Egyptian Elections observer, International Republican Institute, andMember of the Board of Trustees, George C. Marshall Foundation; Mona Yacoubian,Director of Pathways to Progress: Peace, Prosperity and Change in the Middle East; andEllen Laipson (moderator), President and CEO, the Stimson Center.


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WHERE: Stimson Center, 1111 19th Street, NW, 12th FloorCONTACT: 202-223-5956; web site: www.stimson.orgSOURCE: Stimson Center - event announcement at: http://www.stimson.org/events/an-economic-perspective-on-the-arab-spring-one-year-later-with-undersecretary-of-state-hormats

WHEN: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.WHAT: Woodrow Wilson Center Discussion on "Is Foreign Aid Worth the Cost?"Speakers: Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Public Policy Scholar, Senior Correspondent andAssociate Editor at The Washington Post; Donald M. Payne, United States Congressman(D-NJ); Carol J. Lancaster; Dean of the School of Foreign Service and a Professor ofPolitics, Georgetown University; Charles O. Flickner, Jr, former staff director of theHouse Appropriations Committees Subcommittee on Foreign Operations.WHERE: WWC, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWCONTACT: 202-691-4000; web site: www.wilsoncenter.orgSOURCE: WWC - event announcement at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/foreign-

aid-worth-the-cost

JANUARY 24, 2011

WHEN: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.WHAT: Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Discussion on "RegionalImplications of the Conflict in Somalia."Speakers: Sally Healy, Freelance Policy Analyst, Horn and East Africa; David W.Throup, Senior Associate, CSIS Africa Program; Moderated by Richard Downie, Fellowand Deputy Director, CSIS Africa ProgramWHERE: CSIS, 1800 K Street, NWCONTACT: 202-887-0200; web site: www.csis.orgSOURCE: CSIS - event announcement at: http://csis.org/events

JANUARY 25, 2011

WHEN: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.WHAT: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) Discussion on"Awakening Arab Innovation." Speakers: Marwan Muasher, Inger Andersen, and RamiKhouri.WHERE: CEIP, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NWCONTACT: 202-483-7600 ; web site: www.carnegieendowment.orgSOURCE: CEIP - event announcement at:http://www.carnegieendowment.org/2012/01/25/awakening-arab-innovation/92mp

WHEN: 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.WHAT: Center for American Progress (CAP) Discussion on "President Obama and a21st Century Military."Speakers: Featured panelists: Michael Breen, Vice President, Truman National Security


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Project; Jim Arkedis, Director, National Security Project, Progressive Policy Institute;and Dr. Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Moderator:Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy,Center for American Progress.WHERE: CAP, 1333 H Street, NW

CONTACT: 202-682-161; web site: www.americanprogress.orgSOURCE: CAP - event announcement at:http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2012/01/defensestrategy.html

WHEN: 4:00 -7:30 p.m.WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace, Next Generation Peacebuilding and Social Changein the Arab World. Featured the U.S. premiere of "Salam Shabab" (Peace Youth), thefirst peacebuilding reality TV series for Iraqi youthWHERE: USIS, 2301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DCCONTACT: Alexis Toriello at [email protected]: http://www.usip.org/salam-shabab-premiere

JANUARY 26, 2011

WHEN: 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.WHAT: Brookings Institution Discussion on "Negotiating Humanitarian Access: HowFar to Compromise to Deliver Aid."Speakers: Introduction and Moderator Elizabeth Ferris, Co-Director, Brookings-LSEProject on Internal Displacement; Panelists: William Garvelink, Senior Adviser, U.S.Leadership in Development, Center for Strategic International Studies; Markus Geisser,Deputy Head of Regional Delegation, International Committee for the Red Cross;Michael Neuman, Research Director, Centre de Rflexion sur lAction et les SaviorHumanitaries , Mdecins Sans Frontires; and Rabih Torbay, Vice President forInternational Operations, International Medical Corps.WHERE: Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NWCONTACT: 202-797-6105; [email protected]; web site: www.brookings.eduSOURCE: Brookings Institution - event announcement at:http://www.brookings.edu/events/2012/0126_negotiating_access.aspx

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FULLTEXT

Islamist insurgents kill over 178 in Nigeria's Kano (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/22/us-nigeria-violence-idUSTRE80L0A020120122?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71January 22, 2012By Mike Oboh


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KANO - Gun and bomb attacks by Islamist insurgents in the northern Nigerian city ofKano last week killed at least 178 people, a hospital doctor said on Sunday, underscoringthe challenge President Goodluck Jonathan faces to prevent his country sliding furtherinto chaos.

A coordinated series of bomb blasts and shooting sprees mostly targeting police stationsFriday sent panicked residents of Nigeria's second biggest city of more than 10 millionpeople running for cover.

The scale of the carnage makes this by far the deadliest strike claimed by Boko Haram, ashadowy Islamist sect that started out as a clerical movement opposed to westerneducation but has become the biggest security menace facing Africa's top oil producer.

"We have 178 people killed in the two main hospitals," the senior doctor in Kano'sMurtala Mohammed hospital said following Friday's attacks, citing records from his ownand the other main hospital of Nasarawa.

"There could be more, because some bodies have not yet come in and others werecollected early."

The streets were quiet Sunday in Kano, a vast metropolis of wide paved highways,normally buzzing with motorbikes, and sandy alleyways where hawkers sell grilled meatand donkeys pull carts heaped with fruit and vegetables.

Churches, which would usually be filled with worshippers in the religiously mixed city,were largely empty.

Jonathan, a Christian from the south, travelled to Kano on Sunday, visiting hospitals tospeak to victims.

"Our coming today is to express our condolence to the good people of Kano over thedastardly acts," Jonathan said at the palace of the Emir, the city's Muslim figurehead.

"Those causing havoc will never succeed ... The federal government will not rest until theperpetrators are brought to book. We will not rest until these terrorist are wiped out," saidJonathan, wearing a traditional northern Nigerian kaftan and hat.

Boko Haram has been blamed for killing hundreds of people in increasingly sophisticatedbombings and shootings, mostly targeting security forces, establishment figures and morerecently Christians, in the country of 160 million people split roughly evenly betweenthem and Muslims.

MORE ATTACKS ON SUNDAY


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Apart from a handful of forays into the capital Abuja, the sect's energies have beenconcentrated in the majority Muslim north, far from the oil producing facilities along thesouthern coast that keep Africa's second biggest economy afloat.

A further 10 people were killed Sunday in Bauchi state, which neighbors Kano, when

police fought gunmen attempting to rob a bank, the police said. Boko Haram robbedseveral banks last year to fund its insurgency.

"In the early hours of today gunmen killed 10 people at a military checkpoint and anearby hotel at Tafawa Balewa local government area," police commissioner IkechukwuAduba told Reuters.

"One police officer, an army corporal and eight civilians (were killed) after gunmen wereearlier repelled from robbing a bank."

Explosions also struck two churches in Bauchi Sunday, witnesses said, destroying one of

them completely, although there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The government has announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Kano, an ancient city that wasonce part of an Islamic caliphate trading riches on caravan routes connecting sub-SaharanAfrica with the Mediterranean.

Jonathan, who helped broker a deal that largely ended an insurgency by militants in theoil-rich southeast in 2009, has been criticized for failing to grasp the gravity of the crisisunfolding in the north, and of treating it as a pure security issue that will fizzle out byitself.

Worsening insecurity has led some to question whether Nigeria isn't sliding into civilwar, 40 years after the secessionist Biafra conflict killed over a million people, thoughfew think an all-out war splitting the country into two or more pieces is a likely outcome.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks and called for "swift andtransparent investigations" into the killings. European powers and the African Unionhave also condemned the attacks.

SECT CHANGING

Boko Haram became active around 2003 in the remote, northeastern state of Borno, onthe threshold of the Sahara, but its attacks have spread into other northern states,including Yobe, Kano, Bauchi and Gombe.

Boko Haram, a Hausa term meaning "Western education is sinful," is loosely modeled onAfghanistan's Taliban, but analysts say the anger it channels reflects a perception that thenorth has been marginalized from oil riches concentrated in the south.


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The sect originally said it wanted sharia, Islamic law, to be applied more widely acrossNigeria but its aims appear to have changed. Recent messages from its leaders have saidit is attacking anyone who opposes it, at present mainly police, the government andChristian groups.

"Since 2009 it is an insurgency that has gathered pace almost in slow motion,incrementally - apparently absorbed and accommodated with no clear evidence thatgovernment has the capacity, competence or will to turn the tide," said Antony Goldman,head of Nigeria-focused PM Consulting.

"Boko Haram was a work in progress when (former President) Obasanjo, who had adeserved 'no nonsense' reputation, was in power; and it was Yar'Adua, a MuslimPresident, who ordered a bloody crackdown in 2009. It was a difficult inheritance forJonathan but the problems have only grown more complex."

Boko Haram's attacks have become increasingly deadly in the last few months.

At least 65 people were killed in the northeast Nigerian city of Damaturu, Yobe state, in aspate of gun and bomb attacks in November.

A bomb attack on a Catholic church just outside the capital Abuja on Christmas Day,claimed by Boko Haram, killed 37 people and wounded 57.

In a Reuters interview in late December, National Security Adviser General OwoyeAndrew Azazi said officials are considering making contact with moderate members ofshadowy sect via "back channels," even though explicit talks are officially ruled out.

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Carroll County man kidnapped in Nigeria, held for ransom (Atlanta Journal

Constitution)

http://www.ajc.com/news/carroll-county-man-kidnapped-1311580.htmlJanuary 21, 2012By Janel Davis

A Carroll County resident working in Nigeria was kidnapped Friday and is being held forransom, according to his family and police there.William Gregory Greg Ock, 50, of Bowdon was working on a power plant job for theJapanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp. in the West African country, according to hisbrother Michael Ock, who contacted The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday.

Reuters news agency reported that during the kidnapping in the Niger Delta region,gunmen killed the Americans driver. They were demanding a $310,300 ransom, thereport said.


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Michael Ock, who lives in Marietta, declined to comment when reached by the AJCSaturday.

We have been advised to stay quiet about this thing in order to avoid any furthercomplications for my brother, he responded by email.

Greg Ocks daughter, Stacey Ock, began a string of Facebook postings Friday afternoon,saying, My daddy is in Nigeria he has been kidnapped pray as hard as you can formy daddy.

Attempts to reach the daughter Saturday were unsuccessful.

The U.S. State Department has seen wire reports of the kidnapping, but had no additionalinformation to provide, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

In a travel warning this month, the State Department recommended U.S. citizens avoid all

but essential travel to several states in the Niger Delta because of the risks of kidnapping,robbery and other armed attacks. There were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens inNigeria last year, according to the State Department.

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Officials: American drone strike killed al-Qaida official fighting with insurgents in

Somalia (Associated Press)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/officials-american-drone-strike-killed-al-qaida-official-fighting-with-insurgents-in-somalia/2012/01/22/gIQACGNfHQ_story.htmlJanuary 22, 2012By Katherine HoureldAssociated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia A U.S. drone strike killed an al-Qaida official of Lebaneseorigin fighting alongside insurgents in Somalia, officials said.

Three missiles fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle hit Bilal al-Berjawis car on theoutskirts of Mogadishu, according to a statement from the insurgent al-Kataib mediafoundation late Saturday.

Al-Shabab said that Berjawi was a Lebanese and British citizen who grew up in WestLondon and fought in Afghanistan before going to Somalia in 2006. But the Britishgovernment said Sunday he is not a citizen, although they could not confirm whether hehad spent time in Britain. A spokeswoman from Britains foreign office spokeanonymously in line with departmental policy.

The martyr received what he wished for and what he went out for, as we consider ofhim and Allah knows him best, when, in the afternoon today, brother Bilal al-Berjawi


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was exposed to bombing in an outskirt of Mogadishu from a drone that is believed to beAmerican, the statement said. He was martyred immediately.

The strike was confirmed by a U.S. official in Washington. The official asked foranonymity because the official is not authorized to speak to the media.

Good riddance, and (I) hope al-Shabab leadership will come to their senses and ceasethe hostility in Somalia, said Omar Jamal, the first secretary in the Somali mission to theU.N., in an emailed statement.

Berjawi helped oversee recruitment, training and tactics for al-Shabab, who are fightingthe weak U.N.-backed government. He was a close associate of late al-Qaida operativeFazul Abdullah Mohammed, who directed the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies inKenya and Tanzania.

Berjawi is at least the fourth senior al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab commander killed in as

many years. Last year, a Somali soldier shot dead Mohammed at a checkpoint and in2009, U.S. soldiers killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in a helicopter raid. In 2008, a U.S.airstrike killed reputed al-Qaida commander Aden Hashi Ayro and two dozen civilians.

Most observers say there are several hundred foreign fighters in Somalia, mainlyclustered in training camps around the insurgents stronghold of Kismayo. Most of theforeigners are Africans from other nearby nations, but more than 40 Americans have alsotraveled to Somalia to join the insurgency, according to a report from the HouseHomeland Security Committee. Around 15 of them have been killed.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for 21 years. Currently the weak U.N.-backed government holds the capital with the support of 9,500 soldiers from Uganda,Djibouti, and Burundi. Other parts of the country not occupied by al-Shabab are held byfriendly militias or Kenyan or Ethiopian troops. Both nations sent in troops amidconcerns that Somalias instability will leak over their borders.

Houreld reported from Nairobi, Kenya. AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier inWashington, D.C. and Raphael G. Satter in London also contributed to this report.

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American kidnapped in Somalia (News24)

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/American-kidnapped-in-Somalia-20120121

Mogadishu - Gunmen kidnapped an American man in the northern Somali town ofGalkayo on Saturday, officials said.

The gunmen surrounded the man's car shortly after the man left the airport, saidpoliceman Abdi Hassan Nur, who witnessed the incident. He said they then forced theAmerican into another vehicle.


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Galkayo is on the border between the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland and aregion known as Galmudug. It is ruled by forces friendly to the UN-backed Somaligovernment.

A minister from the Galmudug administration said the kidnapped man is an Americanengineer who came to Somalia to carry out an evaluation for building a deep water port inthe town of Hobyo. The gunmen severely beat the foreigner's Somali companion when hebegged them not to take the man, said the minister.

The minister spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak tothe press.

Kidnapping for ransom

A staff member at the Embassy Hotel, where the man was staying, said the American had

gone to the airport to drop off an Indian colleague. The hotel said that the man had bothAmerican and German citizenship. The staff member asked not to be identified becausehe was not supposed to give out information about guests.

In October, gunmen kidnapped an American woman and a Danish man working for theDanish Demining Group from the same town. They are still being held.

Kidnapping for ransom is has become increasingly common in Somalia over the past fiveyears. Currently at least four aid workers, a French military official, a British touristtaken from Kenya and hundreds of sailors are being held captive.

An airstrike killed six people near the insurgent stronghold of Kismayo on Saturday,according to Sheik Mohamud Abdi, a senior commander of the al-Shabab militant group.In another airstrike outside Mogadishu, a British-Lebanese commander of al-Shabab waskilled along with two others when a missile struck the car they were traveling in, al-Shabab spokesperson Sheik Ali Rage said.

Rage identified the British-Lebanese commander as Bilal-Berjawi, saying he was a closeassociate of late al-Qaeda operative Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the mastermind behindthe 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania who was killed by aSomali soldier in June 2011.

Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October amid concerns that Somalia's 21-year-old civilwar was spilling over the countries' joint border.

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Military says its mission to cripple Shabaab is largely accomplished (Daily Nation)

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Mission+to+cripple+Shabaab+is+largely+accomplished+/-/1056/1311796/-/nkp181/-/index.html


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January 22, 2012By John Ngirachu

The Kenyan military said on Saturday it is now halfway through its mission to eliminate

Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, the objective of Operation Linda Nchi, which enters its15th week on Sunday.

Speaking at the weekly media briefing on the operation at the Department of Defenceheadquarters, Col Cyrus Oguna, who is in charge of information and operations, said theKenya Defence Forces are keen on destroying Al-Shabaab's command and logisticscentres.

As we are speaking now, Al-Shabaab is halfway in the pit, said Col Oguna, who wasaccompanied by the director of Horn of Africa division at the Foreign Affairs ministryLindsay Kiptiness and deputy police spokesman Charles Owino.

The targeting has been on logistics bases and command centres and (these) are critical inany operation. And if you cripple a logistics base and a command centre, the war ishalfway won, said Col Oguna.

He said the assessment of the progress made so far was based on the recent air strikes atBibi and Jilib on January 15, at Tatar the following day and Bula Haji in the SouthernSector on January 18.

Six vehicles five Toyota Land Cruisers and a lorry were destroyed in the air strikes,and KDF said six Al-Shabaab commanders and an unknown number of members of themilitia group were killed.

On Saturday evening, there were reports from security agents in Mogadishu that Bilal ElBerjawi, considered the successor to Fazul Abdalla and Saleh Nabhan at the helm of theAl-Qaeda terror group, had been killed in an explosion linked to infighting within Al-Shabaab.

Col Oguna said the destruction of the defensive and supply base at Bibi and another at atown known as Hayo were crucial to KDF's mission to obliterate the group seen as alegitimate threat to Kenya's stability and economy.

Al-Shabaab has however raided Kenyan territory in Wajir, where about 100 of theirfighters destroyed an Administration Police camp at Gerille and abducted three men, twoof them civil servants.

The Kenya Government is trying to negotiate for the release of the two identified asEdward Mule, a district officer, and Fredrick Irungu, an immigration clerk, although it isnot clear how it would negotiate with an enemy under constant attack.


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Col Oguna said the incident indicates the difficulty in telling Al-Shabaab members apartfrom ordinary Somali citizens, who would even pretend to be seeking medical assistanceacross the border as they carry out surveillance on possible targets.

He said given the nature of the war with Al-Shabaab, which is not a conventional army,

the abduction was an isolated case but such incidents are not entirely unexpected.

Isolated incidents will always be there but we will not come out (of Somalia) until weare sure every Kenyan is safe, said Col Oguna.

Avert terror attacks

Mr Owino asked for increased vigilance and cooperation between restaurant operatorsand the police to avert possible terror attacks during the screening of the ongoing AfricaCup of Nations football matches.

The military police last Thursday evening arrested two Dutch nationals and a driver whowere filming the DoD headquarters at Hurlingham in Nairobi.

On Friday, police in Mombasa also arrested a man taking photographs of the CentralBank, who also had photographs of other institutions in the coastal town, including thedistrict commissioner's office, Kenyatta University's Mombasa campus main gate, theBank of India and the Standard Chartered Bank.

The suspect had also photographed a hotel and the Municipal Garden, a public parkpopular with civil servants, a plane taking off, and a bridge.

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Blasts hit Somali rebel stronghold near capital (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/21/us-somalia-kenya-idUSTRE80K0MF20120121?feedName=worldNews&feedType=RSS&utm_campaign=Feed%3a+reuters%2fworldNews+(News+%2f+US+%2f+International)&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburnerJanuary 21, 2012By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Loud explosions rocked an Islamist rebel stronghold outsidethe Somali capital on Saturday, while Kenya said it was edging closer to breaking theback of the al Qaeda-linked militants' networks in the south.

The al Shabaab militant group blamed the attack in Elasha on the African Union force inMogadishu. The peacekeepers confirmed they had the range to strike the town but saidthey had not engaged in any artillery fire against the insurgents.


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"We heard two big explosions and then we saw clouds of smoke rising from near thebases of al Shabaab near the Al Hayaat hospital," Keise Osman, a resident of Elasha, toldReuters.

Another resident from Lafole, close to Elasha, said she heard the first two blasts and then

a third explosion nearby.

"We are in shock. We do not know if they are shells from the African Union (AU) forcesor missiles from a warplane," Shukri Farah said from Lafole.

Al Shabaab pulled most of its fighters out of the capital in August but still controlspockets in the city's nooutskirts andunding area.

The group said the AU's artillery had struck a civilian car inElasha and narrowly missedthe town's hospital.

Al Shabaab are also fighting troops from Kenya, which has carried out frequent airstrikes on militant bases. If this was a Kenyan bombardment it would be the closest theirraids have come to the coastal capital in the three-month-old campaign.

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Shabaab targets Uganda (Reuters)

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE80K00M20120121?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FAFRICATopNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+Top+News%29January 21, 2012By William Maclean

MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - Al Shabaab would "do anything" to strike insideUganda in retaliation for Kampala's military role in Somalia, and good regionalintelligence as well as inter-community relations would mean the militant group wasunlikely to succeed, a Ugandan general said on Friday.

Lieutenant General Ivan Koreta also said that plans to increase the AMISOM peace forcein which Uganda participates would hasten al-Shabaab's defeat, while tighter regionalmilitary cooperation also increased the pressure on fugitive Ugandan rebel leader JosephKony.

"We know we are targets of al Shabaab and al Shabaab will do anything to harm andcause trouble to our community," Koreta, Uganda's Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, toldReuters on the sidelines of a security conference in Morocco.

"Instead of fighting our forces in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia they must findsoft targets in Uganda, people who are going about their normal business to causeanimosity and anger and hurt."


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"We are very much aware of this and we are constantly on the look out. Not that they arenot trying. They are trying, but we have to remain on top of the game."

"If there is a risk, it is minimal," he said.

Al Shabaab's calls for action had been brushed off by Uganda's Muslim minority whorealised "terrorism is not the way to go," he said. Better regional intelligence ties alsocurbed al Shabaab's threat.

Ugandan troops make up the bulk of AMSIOM, which is largely responsible forpreventing Islamists from taking power in Somalia.

KAMPALA BOMBING

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for attacks in Kampala in 2010 that killed 79 people

watching the World Cup final, saying it was retribution for Uganda's troop deploymentsin Mogadishu. In September two Ugandans were jailed after pleading guilty to terrorismcharges related to the coordinated bombing.

Analysts have said a small fringe of east African Muslims of non-Somali ancestry haveadopted increasingly radical Islamist views. Analysts see this as a concern because, theysay, some regional security personnel tend to associate militancy only with nationals ofSomali and Arab origin.

Asked about these concerns, Koreta said monitoring of suspects and their movementsacross borders was being improved by better regional security cooperation. Also,AMISOM's presence in Somalia was "a big intelligence benefit" in gathering informationon al Shabaab and its sympathisers.

This month the African Union extended AMISOM's mandate by a further 12 months andsaid it intended to bolster its size to close to 18,000 from almost 10,000 currently.

Koreta said AMISOM could speed up and complete its operations against al Shabaab if ithad more troops. He said: "We would benefit a lot definitely, from many, many moresoldiers, in that the more numbers we have, the quicker the pacification of Somalia wouldtake... It's a doable operation."

Turning to the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), accused of murder, rape and childkidnappings in east and central Africa, Koreta said its elusive leader Kony was in an areanear the borders of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic(CAR) and South Sudan.

TOUGH JOB


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"It is very difficult terrain. He is not looking for a fight because he doesn't have themeans to sustain a fight," he said.

"We are looking for as much help as we can from our friends in the DRC, CAR andSouth Sudan, and of course we appreciate the help the U.S. government has given with

some specialised soldiers to try to track down the LRA."

The African Union in November formally designated the LRA as a terrorist group,following U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to send 100 military advisers to theregion to support central African allies pursuing Kony.

"It is a very, very tough job," Koreta said. "The terrain is difficult. To manoeuvre youmust go only on foot. We hope with renewed cooperation we should be able to narrowthe LRA's area of operation until we either capture or kill him."

Asked if Kony's death would be the end of the LRA, Koreta replied: "I don't see a

regeneration of LRA in Uganda. Our people in northern Uganda have been traumatisedfor over 20 years and don't want to go into that thing (again)."

###

Libya Protests Spur Shake-Up in Interim Government (NY Times)

Libyan deputy leader steps down after angry protestshttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/world/africa/protests-shake-libyas-interim-government.htmlJanuary 22, 2012By Liam Stack

Libyas post-Qaddafi transitional government faced a political crisis Sunday afterprotesters ransacked its offices in Benghazi, highlighting growing nationwide uneasewith its leadership and triggering a shake-up in which the governing councils No. 2official resigned and several members were suspended.

For months, youth groups with a range of complaints have been protesting against theTransitional National Council in Benghazi, the eastern city whose protests sparked thenine-month revolt and which once served as the rebel capital. Protests have cropped upelsewhere, too, including in Tripoli, the capital, where activists have erected a small tentcity across from the prime ministers office.

Protesters are demanding more transparency from the transitional council, which holdsexecutive power and is tasked with overseeing the election of a constituent assembly todraft a new Constitution. It is dominated by figures from the eastern rebel movement,much to the suspicion of other regional factions, and there are accusations, too, that manyof its members are tainted by past ties, real or suspected, with the government of Col.Muammar el-Qaddafi.


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On Saturday night, those frustrations boiled over when a crowd of mostly young menattacked the councils offices in Benghazi, tossing a grenade, smashing windows andforcing their way into the building while the councils chairman, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil,was inside.

The spark appeared to be the online release of a draft election law to govern the selectionof the 200-member constituent assembly. Activists said it was prepared withoutconsultation or public oversight and that its winner-take-all rules would encourageLibyans to vote along tribal lines or for rich or prominent citizens in their region, andundercut those seeking to form new parties.

Seeking to contain the fallout from the attack, Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, the transitionalcouncils deputy chief, resigned Sunday, telling the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera,My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage.

Speaking to reporters in Benghazi on Sunday, Mr. Abdel-Jalil warned that continued

protests could lead the country down a perilous path and pleaded with protesters to givethe government more time.

We are going through a political movement that can take the country to a bottomlesspit, Reuters quoted Mr. Abdel-Jalil as saying. There is something behind these proteststhat is not for the good of the country.

The people have not given the government enough time, and the government does nothave enough money, Mr. Abdel-Jalil said. Maybe there are delays, but the governmenthas only been working for two months. Give them a chance, at least two months.

The interim government suspended several members from Benghazi and announced thatit would form a council of religious figures to investigate government officials andcouncil members accused of corruption or ties to the Qaddafi government. It also delayedthe official release of the election law.

Both the incident itself and the leaderships response were met with widespread anger inBenghazi, according to Salwa Bugaighis, a lawyer and political activist who was aleading figure in the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi.

We are worried, she said. We are afraid that maybe it becomes worse.

Ms. Bugaighis said that the protesters in Benghazi were particularly angry aboutallegations that millions of dollars and possibly billions in government money wasunaccounted for.

They want transparency. They want people from the Qaddafi regime to go, she said. Iftheres no transparency, everything will collapse.


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A transitional council member from Benghazi, Fathi Baaja, denied that he or anyone elsehad been suspended, despite widespread reports to the contrary. He said an Islamistfaction religious groups and mosque preachers on the Benghazi local council hadpushed for the suspensions but said that they have no right to suspend us.

Saying he was among those who had set up the council, Mr. Baaja accused the Islamistrivals of being Qaddafi sympathizers.

They used to convince people they had no right to revolt against Qaddafi, the father ofthe country. They said we had no right to go against the head of state, the caliph, Mr.Baaja said. I never heard their voices say no to Qaddafi, and I never put myself in thesame place as them.

Protests have taken place in the city of Misurata as well, which is run by a rivalleadership faction and where officials said they were planning to hold elections for a newlocal council in February, without the blessing of the national council.

Everywhere there have been sit-ins and demonstrations against the council, saidMohamed Benrasali, a spokesman for the Misurata council. People are accusing it of notransparency and dragging its feet and not taking any actions for transitional justice andmany, many issues, he said, adding, We feel that the head of the regime has changed,but the rest of the regime is in place.

Both Saturdays protest and its political fallout demonstrated the challenges Libya faces,said Fred Abrahams, a special adviser on Libya for Human Rights Watch.

Ousting Qaddafi will prove more straight-forward than getting a representative andtransparent government to replace him, he said.

Critics of the interim government also complain that its performance has faltered on eventhe nuts-and-bolts level.

Basic services have yet to be restored in some areas, while towns seen as sympathetic toColonel Qaddafi, like Surt and Bani Walid, remain in ruins after months of fighting.

The interim government has struggled to exert authority even in Tripoli, where the streetsare largely controlled by a patchwork of regional militias whose members defer to theirown commanders, not government security forces.

Mr. Abdel-Jalil also accepted the resignation of the head of the Benghazi Local Council,Saleh el-Ghazal, an appointed figure whose replacement he pledged would be elected.

But on Sunday, authorities postponed the planned unveiling of the countrys election law,which has been mired in controversy. A draft of the law released on Jan. 2 was criticizedfor barring dual-nationals from running for office, in a country where scores of politicalactivists were forced into exile.


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It also set a 10 percent quota for women in Parliament, which feminist activists calledinsulting. Rather than raise the quota, a revised draft released last week announced thatthe quota would be abolished entirely.

David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, Kareem Fahim from Damascus,Syria, and Yusef Sawie from Tripoli, Libya.

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DR Congo violence forces thousands from homes (Al-Jazeera English)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/01/2012120153536983871.html

January 20, 2012

UNsays increase in fighting has forced 100,000 people to flee their homes as officials

find empty and burned villages.

An increase in violence involving government troops and armed groups in easternDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has forced 100,000 people from their homes sinceNovember, the UN refugee agency said.

The cause of the spike has not yet been established, the UN High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) said, but it follows fraud-tainted elections in November.

Attacks between rival armed groups in North Kivu's Walikale and Masisi territories arethought to have left 22 dead and an unidentified number of women raped, according tothe agency.

It said 35,000 had fled their homes to escape the violence,

Humanitarian officials who visited the affected areas last week found empty and burnedvillages, Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the UNHCR, said.

Clashes in Shabunda, in South Kivu, have meanwhile forced an estimated 70,000 fromtheir homes since November.

The UNHCR said government troops, the Rwandan rebel group FDLR and local defencegroups were behind the violence.

"We are trying to get a sense of what the reason is for this upsurge," Edwards said. "Weare obviously in the aftermath of elections - it may be related to that."

Joseph Kabila, the president of DRC, fought off rigging accusations to secure apresidential second term following the November 28 polls.


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The full results of legislative elections held the same day will be released later thismonth, the country's electoral commission said.

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Algeria demands death sentence for top Qaeda boss (AFP)http://news.yahoo.com/algeria-demands-death-sentence-top-qaeda-boss-165058316.htmlJanuary 22, 2012

ALGIERS Algerian prosecutors on Sunday requested the death sentence for MokhtarBelmokhtar, a top leader in Al-Qaeda's north African branch, and another person in a trialon the deaths of two Algerian soldiers.

Belmokhtar and nine co-defendants, of whom four are also on the run, are accused ofperpetrating several "terrorist acts" including a May 2010 attack on soldiers in thesouthern Djelfa region that left two dead.

Belmokhtar, a native of central Algeria, is a founding member of the Salafist Group forPreaching and Combat (GSPC), which later became known as Al-Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb (AQIM).

He heads one of AQIM's two main katibas (battalions), controlling the group's southernarea.

Prosecutors also sought capital punishment for Abdelkader Benchneb, the chief accusedpresent in court. They urged 15-year jail terms for the others, defence lawyer HassibaBoumerdessi said.

Algeria has observed a moratorium on capital punishment since 1993.

A ruling was due later Sunday.

Nicknamed "the uncatchable," Belmokhtar rules over a large swathe of desert thatstraddles Algeria, Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauritania and where his men are believed tohold several Europeans hostage.

Belmokhtar has already been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in 2004 and2008, and to 20 years in prison in 2007, over similar charges and the killing of 13

customs officers.

In November Belmokhtar told a Mauritanian news website that AQIM had acquiredLibyan weapons during fighting that ended in the overthrow and killing of strongmanMoamer Kadhafi.

He said AQIM was still demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan inexchange for the release of its French hostages.


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On January 2, an Algiers court sentenced Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, the leader of the otherkey AQIM katiba who is also on the run, to life in prison for creating "an internationalterror group".

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6.8 million risk starvation in Sahel; Minister urges help for Africa (The Argus)

23 January 2012http://www.argus.ie/breaking-news/world-news/minister-urges-help-for-africa-2996376.html

Rich countries should help starving children in West Africa in the same way Britain ledefforts to feed youngsters in Somalia, Andrew Mitchell has said.

The International Development Secretary called on well-off nations to fund famine relief

in Sahel, as he announced 5 million of British aid for 68,000 hungry children in Chad,Mali and Niger.

Mr Mitchell said 6.8 million people risked starvation in Sahel because there has beenlittle rain, crops have failed, there is insufficient grazing land for animals and food pricesat local markets are too high.

"Britain acted quickly in the Horn of Africa and I strongly urge similarly swift leadershipfrom our partners in the Sahel," he added.

"We know this crisis is coming and Britain is responding early to warning signs.

"We are acting now to help thousands of people who are facing a severe food crisis. Ouraid will help feed children in desperate need and keep vital livestock alive.

"British support will help those in the most immediate danger but other nations must takeup the baton to ensure the international response is fast and effective.

"We then need to improve conditions for these people to withstand future droughts."

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South Sudan accuses Khartoum of looting (East African)

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/South+Sudan+accuses+Khartoum+of+looting++/-/2558/1311942/-/view/printVersion/-/6u7s81/-/index.htmlJanuary 22, 2012By Mwaura Kimani


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Plans by South Sudan to build an alternative pipeline through Kenya are expected toacquire fresh urgency in coming weeks as Juba shops for a route to export its oilfollowing the closure of its current transport facility.

Juba on Friday announced it had decided to shut down the oil pipeline that runs through

North Sudan to the export terminal at Port Sudan on the Red Sea, citing endless row withKhartoum.

Information minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the decision was reached at aCouncil of Ministers meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir on Friday and followed therecent failed talks in Addis Ababa.

South Sudan accused its northern neighbour of imposing a per barrel penalty forsecession.

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan last July, is entirely dependent on

oil revenues to meet 98 per cent of her budgetary obligations.

But Petroleum and Mining minister Stephen Dhieu said the government will adapt newmeasures to deal with the new situation and insisted his country could also existwithout oil.

We are able to run government affairs for the next 18 months without oil revenue.

Mr Dhieu said there are only two conditions that may necessitate the reopening of thepipeline: Either Khartoum accepts a fair deal with us and accept our offer by settling thefinancial proposal or we pay them a transit fee which wil not be more than $1 per barrel.South Sudan has been paying about $7 per barrel for transportation of its oil throughSudan.

Khartoum wants Juba to pay additional transportation fee of $32 per barrel, including a$22.8 transit fee. South Sudan has rejected the demand, calling it looting in broaddaylight.

The shutting down of the pipeline, analysts warned, could worsen the increasingly frostyrelations between Juba and Khartoum, putting East African Community States whichhave been keen to prevent Sudan and South Sudan from sliding into full-blown war ina tight spot.

Most EAC countries want to see South Sudan join the trading bloc giving to the resourceoffering it will be bringing on the table.

In crucial oil talks held last week, South Sudan adopted a hardline stance, opting to shutdown the facility in two weeks. Juba has accused the North of confiscating oil shipmentsvalued at $214 million while in transit.


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This move will increase the pressure on Kenya and South Sudan to hasten construction ofan alternative pipeline through Lamu.

Juba officials see the link to the Kenya Coast as more cost-effective than paying thetransport and refinery fees being demanded by Khartoum. The dispute over oil and the

announcement of the planned shutdown will also come as a shock for China, whosecompanies are deeply involved in production and logistics infrastructure.

China also consumes more than 75 per cent of the oil exported from Sudan, with the twocountries together producing half a million barrels of oil daily.

The closing down of the pipeline means the flow of oil exports to China will bedisrupted.

The Asian giant, with so much at stake, is thus likely to initiate diplomatic initiatives toend the stalemate and secure the transit route.

Resources have driven instability and will continue to shape the political, social andeconomic character of South Sudan.

The assumption of greater oil sector responsibility will bring changes and an opportunityto revisit contracts and operating standards; it may also prompt new investment, said theBrussels-based International Crisis Group in a report on Sudan.

Should Kenya and South Sudan opt to fast track the construction of the link to Lamu, thiswill spark a race among foreign governments with the financial muscle to developinfrastructure needed to export the commodity.

The project includes construction of an oil refinery and sea port in Lamu, a 1,400kilometre oil pipeline that will link Juba, the South Sudanese capital to Lamu port andconstruction of a new Mombasa-Kampala standard gauge railway line.

But building a new pipeline will take very long.

Such a large project would take no less than four years to complete, and this is why it isimportant that bridging agreements for oil exports and products supply are soberlynegotiated between Sudan and South Sudan, said George Wachira, director of PetroleumFocus Consultants.

Heavy investment is also being made in the 1,130 kilometre road that links Nairobi toJuba to cut the more than 26 hours it currently takes to cover the distance. The combinedcost of the projects is estimated at $10 billion.

The other option that was being touted was to connect South Sudan with the pipeline thatis planned to bring Ugandan oil to the Kenyan port.


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But building a new pipeline will take very long.

Such a large project would take no less than four years to complete, and this is why it isimportant that bridging agreements for oil exports and products supply are soberlynegotiated between Sudan and South Sudan, said George Wachira, director of Petroleum

Focus Consultants.

A recent ICG report said the Souths search for an alternative transport corridor to reduceits dependence on the North had opened an opportunity for Kenya to attract billions ofdollars in fresh infrastructure investment and an advantage in the scramble for foreigndirect investment in East Africa.

Even after secession from the North, South Sudan continues to rely heavily on PortSudan to take its key export, oil, to the global market. Sudan and South Sudan have sinceseparation in July 2011 been locked in a row over sharing oil revenues after Juba tooktwo-thirds of output.

The inability of the two countries to hammer out a fair commercial arrangement hasmeant South Sudan has not obtained full benefits from its crude oil exports, while Sudanhas missed out on a fair commercial return on its oil export infrastructure.

Failure to reach an agreement between Juba and Khartoum over a transit fee is said tohave prompted the latter to seize part of the oil as compensation.

Khartoum has been demanding $23 per barrel transported through the pipeline while Jubahas offered $1.

Additional Reporting by Machel Amos in Juba

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In Sudan, the AU has a chance to prove its grand rhetoric (TimesLive)

http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2012/01/22/in-sudan-the-au-has-a-chance-to-prove-its-grand-rhetoricHere is a situation crying out for 'an African solution to an African problem'January 22, 2012By Mondli Makhanya

This week, Africa's despots, democrats, kings and technocrats will gather in AddisAbaba. Like all African Union summits, this one will be a grand affair with attendantpomp and ceremony.

There will be good food to keep our leaders energetic and some fine entertainment tolighten the mood a little.


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Notably absent from this year's gathering will be summit veteran Muammar Gaddafi,who always managed to top the entertainment fare with his own theatrics. The man whoran Libya for 42 years and probably held the record for attendance at continental summitswill unfortunately not be able to make it this year as he has much hotter gigs to grace.

On the official agenda and on the sidelines of the summit will be discussion of the ArabSpring, the implications of the eurozone crisis for Africa, ongoing conflicts on thecontinent and the forging of closer trade ties between AU members - all issues thatdeserve a high place on the agenda.

Inevitably, the phrase "African solutions for Africa's problems" will come up severaltimes as the continent's leaders bemoan Western interference in the continent's affairs.

But likely to be missing from the agenda will be a human catastrophe that is unfoldingjust down the road from Addis.

Sudan, probably one of the most cursed places in the world, stands on the brink ofcalamity should Africa's leaders not intervene expeditiously.

It is common cause that Sudan has been mired in conflict for ever and three days. Thecountry took a major step towards the resolution of decades-long civil war when SouthSudan was allowed to secede and form a new country. But conflict has continuedunabated, with the civil war in the north now being waged between the Khartoumgovernment and various regional rebel groupings.

In newly established South Sudan, tribes are butchering each other over livestock andgrazing land. Although it is still a fledgling entity, the country has to accommodate tensof thousands of refugees displaced by conflict in the north.

It seems both Sudans - just like Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo - aredoomed to be among those countries that will never achieve their potential despite beingblessed with abundant natural resources and human talent. The rest of humanity will for along time know them - just like Nigeria and the DRC - as places where people fight, lootand can't wait to get out.

Into this mix, throw drought-induced crop failure. Estimates put the number of peoplerequiring food aid in the main Sudan and in South Sudan at close to 3.5 million.

It is the scenario that led the World Food Programme's Chris Nikoi to warn in Decemberthat a "gathering storm of hunger is approaching".

In main Sudan the situation is exacerbated by the vicious cruelty of the paranoidKhartoum government, which has barred aid bodies from going into conflict-ravagedareas. Even United Nations agencies cannot enter the areas as the government citesconcerns over their safety - and uses its suspicions of Western motives to keep them out.


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The latest warnings are that an all-out famine will hit the affected areas if theseorganisations are not allowed to do their work.

Now, those who love Orlando Pirates are known for toughness and for never shedding atear. But the situation in the Sudan is enough to wet the eyes of the even the most

hardened Buccaneer. To the Sudanese state, those people are not human beings. They arejust things.

Speaking during a visit to South Africa this week, Princeton Lyman, the US specialenvoy to Sudan, called on South Africa to use its chairmanship of the UN SecurityCouncil to avert the looming crisis. "South Africa can play a role in preventing a colossaldisaster," he urged.

He is right. This country would do well to spearhead the rescue of Sudan's people ratherthan wait for the courageous knight to come from elsewhere.

But will we do so? And will Africa's leaders learn to put the plight of Africa's peoplebefore their own bellies? I somehow doubt it.

Africa has been here before. Many a time Africa's leaders have seen a helpless manstanding in the way of an oncoming truck and done nothing about it. Only when thevictim is recuperating in an ICU ward do they pretend to be concerned.

The Sudanese crisis is one case where the AU can be decisive and pre-empt the disasterbefore it hits the world's television screens and dominates newspaper pages.

As they labour through their prepared speeches and mouth off about African unity andresisting neo-imperialism, the continent's leaders who gather in Addis should think aboutthe preventable deaths in Sudan.

They must show us that they are serious about this "African solutions for Africa'sproblems" stuff.

###

Panetta: U.S. Military Best in World, But Threats Remain (Defense.gov)

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66878January 21, 2012By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.American Forces Press Service

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Jan. 20, 2012 The U.S. military isthe world's best and it's on the right path to face the challenges ahead, Defense SecretaryLeon E. Panetta said here today.


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Speaking to a crowd of service members, civilians and local leaders at a town hallmeeting, Panetta said the military has to be able to make that turn as we head into thefuture.

We're at a point, as you know, where the Iraq mission was brought to an end, and it's

now clearly up to the Iraqi people, to the Iraqi leaders to make sure they stay on the righttrack, he said. That was the whole point of the mission, was to make Iraq be able togovern and secure itself.

The defense secretary also cited U.S., coalition and Afghan progress made in Afghanistanand NATO's success in helping to topple a dictator in Libya.

In Afghanistan, we are making good progress there in transitioning to Afghan controland security, and we remain committed to making sure that happens, Panetta said. InLibya, we had a successful NATO mission that helped bring down Gadhafi and returnLibya to the Libyan people.

Panetta noted the U.S. military has significantly impacted al-Qaida operations. Al-Qaida chieftain Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011 in Pakistan by U.S. troops.

Its leadership is decimated, Panetta said of al-Qaida. It doesn't have the ability to putcommand and control together to make the kind of plans for the kind of attacks we sawon 9/11.

We have successfully gone after their leadership, and it's not just bin Laden, but anumber of leaders, he continued. But we need to continue that pressure.

We need to keep going after them wherever they go, whether it's Yemen or Somalia orNorth Africa, he added. We need to continue the pressure on them. But we are workingto significantly weaken their capability. We've been good at it.

The defense secretary noted that we're moving in the right direction by virtue of themen and women in uniform doing everything we've asked them to do.

Panetta also said the current drawdown isn't like previous drawdowns following WorldWar II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War or the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This isn't like drawdowns in the past when the potential enemy or the enemy that wewere confronting, you know, was disabled and in some way rendered ineffective, hesaid. We're still confronting a number of threats in the world.

We're still fighting a war in Afghanistan, Panetta said. We're facing threats fromNorth Korea. We're facing threats from Iran. We continue to face threats from theproliferation of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction.


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The defense secretary also noted threats from rising powers in Asia, continuing turmoilin the Middle East, and in the cyber world where the battlefields of the future could verywell be in cyber.

So at a time when we're at that turning point, at a time when we're facing the budget

challenges that we're facing, we still have to be strong to confront the threats that we facein the world, Panetta said. And so that's been the challenge.

After Congress mandated a reduction of $487 billion in the defense budget over the next10 years, Panetta said he saw it as an opportunity to shape the defense system we needfor the future.

Number one, we are and have to remain, the strongest military in the world, he said.We are not going to back off from our position of being the strongest military. If we'regoing to confront those threats, if we're going to be a world leader, we have got tomaintain our military power.

Panetta was also adamant about not hollowing out the force which, he said, is a mistakewe've made in the past.

Every one of those drawdowns I talked about, there were cuts across the board, he said.They took big numbers, cut everything across the board, weakened everything across theboard we are not going to do that.

The defense secretary noted he'd looked at every budget area where savings, efficienciesand balance can be achieved.

Despite current fiscal belt-tightening, the nation cannot break faith with those that haveserved, men and women who've deployed time and time and time again to the war zone,who've been promised and committed to certain benefits, Panetta said.

We have got to maintain faith with them, he added, at the same time that, obviously,we've got to deal with growing costs in the future."

The nation's national defense strategy, Panetta added, always depends upon the quality ofits service members.

And thank God we have the very best fighting men and women in the world, he said.And thank God we have the American people that are supportive of making sure that wedo everything possible to reach that American dream of giving our kids a better life.

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New York City National Guard Unit Will Train with Malian Defense Force in

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http://readme.readmedia.com/New-York-City-National-Guard-Unit-Will-Train-with-Malian-Defense-Force-in-February/3295142Janaury 20, 2012By New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

NEW YORK CITY, New York -- Thirty-seven New York Army National Guard logisticsspecialists assigned to the 369th Sustainment Brigade, headquartered at the Fifth AvenueArmory in Harlem, will be heading to the African nation of Mali in February as part ofexercise Atlas Accord 12.

The Soldiers from the brigade will be providing support to American and Malian militaryforces participating in a joint coalition training exercise and also serve as trainers for theirMalian Defense Force counterparts.

The commander of the 369th, Col. Reginald Sanders, a Sackets Harbor, New Yorkresident, will serve as the American co-commander of Task Force Atlas, along with

Malian Col. Coulibaly, and also serve as deputy exercise director.

"This is huge," said Warrant Officer MicheleDiGeso, the personnel officer for the 369th."For the brigade to be able to provide command and control for a joint task force, it is amajor step for us," DiGeso, a Milford, NY resident, explained. "This is a big steppingstone as far as our operations go."

"Each of the Soldiers of the 369th will enjoy a very challenging and rewarding trainingevent in an environment that they may someday need to function in," Sanders said. "Thisis a great way to get training with our Africa Command and NATO coalition partnernations."

The 400 Malian Defense Force members and 125 Americans participating in AtlasAccord will focus on training in logistics command and control, air drop preparation andhelicopter resupply. The New York Soldiers will be on the ground in Sevare, Mali fromFeb. 1 to Feb 17.

The 369th Soldiers will be working under the control of United States Army Africa andalongside Air Force units as well.

"It is a challenge because you are working in an environment with many contractors,there is a language barrier, and it is a very undeveloped type of region," DiGeso said.

The official language of Mali is French and the main spoken language is Bambara, whichis a tribal language spoken by 80 percent of the people. But there are 50 other dialectsand tribal languages spoken in the country.

Keeping Soldiers healthy in this kind of environment will be a major challenge, Sanderssaid. The country is known for Malaria and other health risks.


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The brigade has developed an aggressive health and safety plan for the Soldiers. The807th Medical Team is providing support for the mission and has already inspected theSoldiers living areas and tested cooking areas and water supplies, Sanders explained.

The Soldiers going on the mission were selected by their first line supervisors based on

their proven abilities and their potential, Sanders said.

"In some cases the command wanted to give some junior officers and subject matterexperts an oportunity to show us their potential," Sanders said.

Many of the Soldiers have deployed overseas before, including a mission to Malaysia aswell as combat rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan so they are used to dealing with culturaldifferences, Sanders said. The 369th Soldiers also went through Malian cultural trainingconducted by a team from Fort Huachuca.

Ensuring that the Task Force Soldiers are culturally aware is a key part of the preparation,

Sanders said.

The United States is competing for influence with China in this part of the world andAmerican Soldiers need to make a good impression, he said.

While the 369th's part of the exercise doesn't start until February, Soldiers from Malibegan training for their part in Atlas Accord in December during a visit to West Virginia.Twenty-five Malian Defense Force members from the 33rd Parachute Infantry Regimentwho will be part of the operations in their country trained on air drop resupply withSpecial Forces and quartermaster Soldiers from the West Virginia Army National Guard.

The 369th Sustainment Brigade traces its unit history back to the 369th InfantryRegiment of World War I. Known as the Harlem Hell Fighters, the all-black NationalGuard unit fought with the French Army instead of the U.S. Army because of racialprejudice. The unit distinguished itself in French service, earning a record number ofFrench Croix de Guerre medals for heroism.

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END REPORT

AFRICOM Related News Clips 23 January 2012

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