AFRICOM Related News Clips 14 March 2012

822019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 14 March 2012

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United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office14 March 2012

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning Please see todays news review for March 14 2012 This new format isbest viewed in HTML

Of interest in todays report

- N African countries adopt plan to secure borders- LRA rebels dangerous even if weakened UN official- General Konys rebels based in CAR

- AU troops look beyond Mogadishu

US Africa Command Public AffairsPlease send questions or comments topublicaffairsusafricommil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687)

Headline Date Outlet

N Africa countries adopt plan tosecure borders

03132012 Thomson Reuters - Africa -Online

LRA rebels dangerous even if

weakened UN official

03132012 AFP - AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE - DIRECTIONGENERALE

General Konys rebels nowbased in CAR

03142012 Pretoria News - Online

AU troops look beyondMogadishu

03142012 Pretoria News - Online

Islamist fighters call for Sharialaw in Mali 03132012

AFP - AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE - DIRECTIONGENERALE

Official Invest in children forpeace in Somalia

03132012 Associated Press (AP)

Kony 2012 75 million viewerslater some Ugandans get firstglimpse of film

03132012 Christian Science Monitor -Online

Ministers push for return ofrefugees

03132012 Daily Nation - Online

Kenya Nation Gets 16 PlumPosts in Amisom

03132012 AllAfricacom



Tribal attacks wrench SouthSudan as disarmament starts |Top News | Reuters


Uganda Caritas Starts NewProject for 28000 Affected By

LRA


Inaugural African PartnershipFlight Soars

03132012 US Africa Command

US Navy Sailor from West AfricaBrings Community Values toDjibouti


Army Africa Tennessee NationalGuard Personnel Journey toUganda

03132012 US Army Africa PublicAfffairs

United Nations News Centre -Africa Briefs

03132012 United Nations NewsService

News Headline N Africa countries adopt plan to secure borders |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name Thomson Reuters - Africa - OnlineNews Text TRIPOLI March 12 (Reuters) - Nine northern African countries including LibyaAlgeria and Egypt agreed on Monday to work together to secure their borders in a move toclamp down on militia clashes and weapons smuggling in the wake of the Arab Springuprisings

Under the Tripoli Plan countries will adopt stronger measures including sharing intelligenceand pouring more money into border towns

Security alone is not enough in keeping our borders safe Libyan Prime Minister AbdurrahimEl-Keib said at a conference of interior ministers in Tripoli on Monday We must develop andincrease the resources of towns near the borders

While most of the plans points have yet to be implemented it is the first time North Africaninterior ministers have met to discuss border security since the beginning of the Libyan war lastyear

Repeated clashes in poorly-policed border zones have pushed the issue up the politicalagenda in recent months

Egyptian media have reported a rise in arms smuggling across the Libyan border since theuprising against Muammar Gaddafi

The failure of Libyas government to keep order at the main Tunisian border crossing that leadsto Tripoli has also emerged as a challenge for the National Transitional Council that took overafter Gaddafis overthrow and killing last year

In December clashes between Tunisian security forces and a rogue Libyan militia forcedTunisia to close two border crossings with its neighbour It re-opened them two weeks later



Further west Tuaregs seeking to create an independent state in Malis northern desert haveclashed with Algerian troops Malian rebels seized a strategic Algerian border town in earlyFebruary giving the rebels control of transit and smuggling points in the desert

Africans fleeing war and famine in countries further south have also used porous borders tomake their way illegally to European Union countries such as Italy and Greece Once deported

from Europe many come back over the Mediterranean to LibyaKeib said that North African countries had asked the European Union for assistance inimplementing the Tripoli Plan

We have made it clear to Europe that we will not be a landfill for those that the Europeansthrow out Keib told reporters on Monday

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News Headline LRA rebels dangerous even if weakened UN official |

News Date 03132012

Outlet Full Name AFP - AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE - DIRECTION GENERALENews Text Lords Resistance Army rebels in central Africa under their indicted war criminalleader Joseph Kony are still dangerous even if the group has been weakened a UN officialsaid Tuesday

Even a small LRA is dangerous Abou Moussa head of the United Nations Regional Officefor Central Africa told a news conference in Libreville

Uganda on Friday warned against misrepresenting the threat posed by the brutal rebels afteran Internet campaign to bring Kony to justice went viral

The Internet-based video campaign attracted more than 75 million viewers by Tuesday and thehashtag stopkony about the fugitive head of the rebel group has surged on Twitter

The 30-minute film by the California-based advocacy group Invisible Children has earnedpraise from celebrities but in Uganda its timing raised questions

I dont know whos behind (the anti-Kony campaign) what interests me is how to eliminate thisthreat said Moussa

Moussa recalled that anti-LRA measures were being coordinated since November last yearwhen the UN Security Council discussed the case

The LRA is active where the state has failed said Moussa

US President Barack Obama presented Congress in November with a plan to disarm the LRArebels

The strategy responds to a law Obama proposed and Congress passed six months earlier todefuse the spiraling bloodshed in central Africa protect the civilian population and bring LRAleaders to justice

The plans four objectives also include promoting the defection disarmament demobilizationand reintegration of remaining LRA fighters and increase humanitarian access and providecontinued relief to affected communities



Ugandan forces drove the rag-tag LRA fighters from northern Uganda in 2006 where they firsttook up arms two decades ago

They have sown terror across a vast region where the borders of South Sudan the DemocraticRepublic of Congo and the Central African Republic meet

The rebels are notorious for kidnapping boys to serve as child soldiers and girls to act as sexslaves

Kony a semi-literate former altar boy took charge in 1988 of a rebellion among northernUgandas ethnic Acholi minority to fight the Kampala government it wanted to replace by aregime based on the Biblical Ten Commandments

Now believed to be in the Central African Republic he is accused by the International CriminalCourt of the rape mutilation and murder of civilians as well as forcibly recruiting child soldiers

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News Headline General Konys rebels now based in CAR |

News Date 03142012Outlet Full Name Pretoria News - OnlineNews Text Kinshasa - Fugitive warlord Joseph Kony and leaders of his LRA have beenchased out of Democratic Republic of Congo to the neighbouring Central African Republic andno longer pose a threat in Congo a Congolese general said on Tuesday

The comment follows a complaint by nearby Uganda that Congo was obstructing its US-backed hunt for Kony who has been thrust into the headlines after a celebrity-backed USInternet campaign calling for his arrest

Self-proclaimed mystic Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes againsthumanity

―We have reduced the capac ity of the LRA For us its no longer an issue of defence Its apublic order issue General Jean Claude Kifwa who is in charge of fighting the LRA in Congotold journalists in the capital Kinshasa

Known for using child soldiers and raping and mutilating its victims Konys Ugandan LordsResistance Army has been blamed by the United Nations for fresh attacks this year in Congocausing thousands of civilians to flee

Two LRA fighters were killed on Sunday by the Congolese army near the Congolese town ofDungu but neither were found to have ammunition on them Kifwa said adding that muchinsecurity in the region that has been blamed on the LRA has actually been carried out by localbandits

Kifwa dismissed tensions between Uganda and Congo as ―small problems and suggestedUganda may be deliberately dragging its feet in the hunt for Kony

―Firstly hes no longer in Uganda Also the Americans are supporting the Ugandans (againstthe LRA) and the Ugandans want to benefit from that support he s aid

On Monday Uganda accused Congo of refusing to allow Ugandan troops free movement inCongolese territory Kifwa confirmed that there were no operational troops from Ugandacurrently in the country after they pulled out last year



The LRA which has operated in the region for more than 20 years has had widespread newscoverage recently after a 30-minute video by US-based NGO Invisible Children went viral anddrew the support of celebrities including George Clooney and Angelina Jolie

The ―Kony 2012 video now thought to have been seen by tens of millions of people calls for

an international push to have Kony arrested by the end of this yearBut the video has drawn criticism for oversimplifying the conflict and not making clear that Konywas driven out of Uganda several years ago

While some criticism of the campaign is valid it may help push countries in the region and theUnited States to do more to end the LRA problem according to Ida Sawyer Congo analyst forHuman Rights Watch

―On their own regional governments have not shown the capability or resolve to protectcivilians from LRA abuses or successfully capture the LRAs top leaders she said

The LRA which says it is a religious group first emerged in northern Uganda in the late 1980sAlthough it is thought to number just a few hundred its mobility and the difficulty of the terrain itoperates in have made it difficult to tackle

The rebel group has waged a brutal insurgency for years and was ejected from northernUganda in 2005 It has since roamed remote jungle straddling the borders of SudanDemocratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic

Attempts to negotiate peace failed in 2008 after Kony refused to sign a deal to bring an end tothe killing

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News Headline AU troops look beyond Mogadishu |

News Date 03142012Outlet Full Name Pretoria News - OnlineNews Text Mogadishu - The African Unions peacekeeping force in Somalia hopes to driveSomali Islamist militants out of the countrys central and southern regions by August when theUnited Nations-backed governments mandate expires Ugandas top army general said onTuesday

Since its inception in 2007 the force known as AMISOM has focused its military campaignagainst al-Shabaab rebels on the capital Mogadishu However it expects to deploy troops intoformer rebel strongholds now held by Kenyan and Ethiopian troops after the United Nationsvoted last month in favour of increasing troop numbers to more than 17 700

―The (African Union) will deploy its troops in southern and central Somalia as soon as possibleWe hope Somalia will be completely peaceful bef ore coming August General ArondaNyakairima chief of Ugandas defence forces told reporters

AMISOM has until now consisted almost entirely of Ugandan and Burundian troops Theincrease in troops numbers is to a large extent to bring Kenyan forces fighting the insurgents inthe countrys southern tip under its command

A 100-strong Djibouti contingent arrived in December and more soldiers from the Red Seastate and Sierra Leone are expected to join AMISOMs ranks by April and June respectively



Nyakairima said Ugandan and Burundian troops would push out into the Lower and MiddleShabelle regions south of Mogadishu still held by al Shabaab They will also move into centralSomalias Bay and Bakool regions making Baidoa which was seized by Ethiopian troops lastmonth their main base outside the capital

Under the plan peacekeepers from Kenya and Sierra Leone will secure southern SomaliasGedo and Juba regions with their headquarters in Kismayu

That however requires routing al-Shabaab from the port city that has served as the nerve-centre of the militants southern operations and as a financial lifeline

A drawn out battle for Kismayu would risk huge civilian casualties and galvanising support forthe militants

Djiboutis troops are expected to hold Galmudug Galgadud and Hiran regions

Under the terms of a political road map Somalia must establish a legitimate government seenas inclusive by the countrys fractious clans as well as a new parliament and constituentassembly to replace institutions plagued by corruption and infighting

Although weakened al-Shabaab is the most powerful of an array of militias spawned by theconflict in Somalia where armed groups have a history of wrecking attempted politicalsettlements and perpetuating war instability and famine

Al-Shabaab on Tuesday ordered the charity Save The Children to halt its relief work in areasunder rebel control accusing the organisation of corruption and feeding children out-of-dateporridge

―(Al-Shabaab) strives to protect the welfare of the entire Muslim population of Somalia and willimplement all necessary safety measures to dissuade competing organisations from degradingtheir quality of life the group said in a statement

There was no immediate reaction from the aid group

The rebels who are hostile to foreign intervention in the lawless country banned theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in January and 16 other organisations inNovember

Areas governed by al-Shabaab were among the worst hit by a famine in the second half of lastyear Local residents and international charities accused the militants of stealing food andblocking aid as one of the worst droughts for decades gripped the region

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News Headline Islamist fighters call for Sharia law in Mali |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name AFP - AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE - DIRECTION GENERALENews Text An armed Islamist group led by an influential Tuareg rebel fighting for autonomy innorthern Mali called for the national imposition of Sharia law in a video seen Tuesday by AFP

It is an obligation for us to fight for the application of Sharia (Islamic law) in Mali said CheikhAg Aoussa a spokesman of the movement Ancar Dine which means Defenders of Islam inArabic



Ag Aoussa is the right-hand man of its leader Iyad Ag Ghaly who is shown in the 13-minutevideo inspecting fighters and leading them in prayer

Ag Ghaly was one of the most prominent figures of a Tuareg rebellion in the 1990s and isthought to have links with a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which is led by

his cousin Hamada Ag HamaTuareg rebels many of whom recently returned from fighting for fallen Libyan leader MoamerKadhafi in mid-January struck up their decades-old battle for autonomy for their nomadicdesert tribe

The video shows dead and captured soldiers after an attack on the town of Aguelhok one ofmany attacked by Tuareg in violence which has led some 170000 people to flee their homesThe movement claimed it had seized the military base

The Malian government has reinforced its military strength in our areas and we have decidedto defend ourselves said Ag Aoussa speaking in Tamashek the language of the Tuareg

France said some 82 soldiers and civilians had been summarily executed in the townaccusing the killers of adopting Al-Qaeda-style tactics

Several sources have suggested that AQIM -- which has long plagued the northern regionkidnapping westerners -- has been fighting alongside the rebels but the insurgents havedenied this

One of the captured soldiers identifying himself as Corporal Hassan from the Gao 7thCompany says in the video We are 30 prisoners -- two Tuareg four Arabs the others fromthe south

We are in the hands of Ancar Dine after the battle in Aguelhok

Images also showed the movement firing on a military camp which appeared to be that ofAguelhok Inside a truck and an armoured vehicle are in flames

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News Headline Official Invest in children for peace in Somalia |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name Associated Press (AP)News Text DHOBLEY Somalia (AP) mdash Adan Abdi worries that the students in his class showtoo little interest in education That might be a common complaint among teachers but Abdisconcerns go further His students are interested in playing war

Abdi is a teacher in southern Somalia a region that has been dominated by militia violence foryears

Students here are not so much interested in learning because they can see a lot of peoplecarrying guns said the 22-year-old English teacher Small guys like them are carrying gunswhen they go from (school) to their houses they pretend to be fighting using sticks like guns

Thats what they have in their hearts Their intention That they will fight when they growolder Abdi said



UNICEF says an entire generation of children has grown up knowing only conflict and fightingin many parts of Somalia and possibly thousands of children have been trained in combat

Sikander Khan the top official for the UN childrens agency in Somalia says there is anincreased need to invest more in Somalias youth and children to give long-term peace achance to prevail

We need to make sure that this generation receives quality basic education access to socialservices and protection from violence and abuse he said This will stop them being suckedinto the continuing violence and they will then be able to make a positive and lastingcontribution to the future of Somalia

Many children in Somalia have little or no education Only about a third of children of primary-school age are enrolled in school according to UNICEF

Children in Somalia are frequently forced to join armed groups such as the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab Schools have also come under attack

It is estimated that thousands of children have been trained in the use of arms and other skillsrelated to combat Reports from our partners indicate that in recent months there has been anincrease in the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict by warring partners Khansaid

Mohamed Deq Nur a 14-year-old student in Mogadishu Somalias capital said he remembers2006 because he went a month without hearing a gunshot That year a group called the IslamicCourts Union brought some semblance of order when they took control of Somalia and tried toenforce their strict interpretation of Islamic law

Mohamed says he has seen dead bodies on the street mdash most recently he said when a manwas shot because he refused to give a thief his watch Mohamed said he doesnt know how touse a gun but thinks it would be good to learn for self protection

Last year he said he and many of his friends begged their parents to get them out ofMogadishu

But he said he thinks things are now getting better Regional troops are pushing al-Shabab onthree sides giving the government a chance to try to restore order

I dont think Somalia had any future before but this year is different he said Squatters arebeing evicted from school buildings which means there will be enough space for learning andthere is already free education in some schools and the fighting stopped in Mogadishu

Somalia has been in conflict since the 1991 when long-term dictator Siad Barre wasoverthrown by warlords who then turned on each other Al-Shabab has had a grip on much ofsouth-central Somalia for the last several years but now faces hostile militaries on three sidesAl-Shabab was pushed out of the capital last year

Khan says the violence has deprived children of their childhood Because of the conflict manyare also at risk of disease and malnutrition among other safety risks because of the lack of aneffective central government

Somalia had one of the worst child mortality rates in the world One out of every six children diebefore their 5th birthday he said

For Abdi the teacher who attended high school in neighboring Kenya 100 more studentshave enrolled in his school since al-Shabab insurgents were kicked out of town last year by





missing says the criticism misses a key point

―How would we ever be able to have so much global attention come to us on an issue whichhas been running for almost three decades and which still needs more attention on a dailybasis he asks

―That film has put Konys name on peoples lips They are asking questions they are trying tounderstand

―The film is not without its challenges but the more people get connected directly to thevictims and the more that people understand what Kony did here and what he may still bedoing in other countries the more everyone can work together for real long- lasting peace

Fred Opolot a spokesman in the office of Ugandas president Yoweri Museveni agrees

―We are encouraged by this outpouring of international support for our continuing campaign toeliminate the threat posed by the LRA to all countries and communities he said in an emailedstatement

―Uganda welcomes all campaigns which seek to raise awareness and highlight the plight of people affected by the LRA

LRA no longer active in Uganda

However even this praise is tempered by an implicit reprimand of the film-makers as Opolotgoes on to say ―Misinterpretations of media content may lead some people to believe that theLRA is currently active in Uganda

―It must be clarified that at present the LRA is not active in any part of Uganda The LRA hasretreated to dense terrain within bordering countries in the Central African area They are adiminished and weakened group with number s not exceeding 300

Growing numbers of Ugandan bloggers newspaper columnists and individual citizens aremaking public their concerns with the film most of which center on claims that it fudges thecurrent status of the conflict and that it portrays the war as winnable or Kony as stoppableonly with Western interventions

Military response a right one

Via the film Invisible Childrens main aim appears to be to encourage its supporters topressure Washington to maintain funding for 100 US military advisers currently training armiesin four African nations affected by the LRA ndash Uganda South Sudan the Central AfricanRepublic and the Democratic Republic of Congo

―One wonders why this campaign came now and why the call for direct military interventionand not dialogue - when everybody knows that in 26 years the military intervention has failed

to bring that war to an end Samuel Olara editor of the Acholi Times wrote in a newspaper editorial

The Acholi are the people of northern Uganda worst affected by the LRA conflict

―The people in northern Uganda have always advocated dialogue and a political solution to thisKony-Museveni war because they know that killing Kony wont fix the problem just like killingOsama bin Laden has not ended terrorism

Invisible Children has responded to many of its critics and said ―The Kony2012 campaign hellip





News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name AllAfricacomNews Text Nairobi Kenya mdash Kenya will now occupy 16 top positions in the new commandstructure of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM)

Chief of Defence Forces Julius Karangi said on Monday that meeting of regional military chiefsin Ethiopia had among other duties designated Kenya to take up one of the two deputycommanders posts

Karangi who appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and ForeignRelations said the Kenya Defence Force will also be in charge of Information and Intelligencein AMISOM

The force headquarters in Mogadishu will have 85 military officers and out of those 16 will beKenyans Under the new command structure the force commander is going to be a UgandanGeneral with two deputies at the level of Major-General one from Kenya the other BurundiKarangi said

He assured the committee that implementing resolutions of the meeting in Addis Ababa will notdiminish KDFs clout adding that the new format will be broken into four sectors with Kenyamanning part of the eastern bloc upwards to River Juba

The AMISOM mandate in Somalia is not about peace keeping there is no peace to be kept inSomalia The posture that we adopted when we crossed into Somalia last year remains thesame on air land and sea he explained

The United Nations Security Council last month ratified the expansion of AMISOM troops aswell as its mandate to include the pursuit of the Islamist Al Shabaab militia

We will be giving 4660 troops to the restructured AMISOM force which is the same as whatwe have on ground currently said the KDF commander

Kenyan troops entered Somalia in pursuit of Al Shabaab militia in October last year

Sierra Leone has also promised to send its troops to beef up the peace-enforcement force inSomalia Under the new structure each of the Kenyan soldiers will be paid an additionalmonthly allowance of Sh84398 (USD1028) for the mission in Somalia

Our ability to deal with the enemy in Somalia is not diminished in any way Well still pursuethem on air land and sea Well be doing the same thing that Operation Linda Nchi has beendoing but at the expense of other entities said Karangi

He said the move to rehat Kenyan forces was part of the KDFs exit strategy

The military chief added that Kenya had managed to create a fairly safe buffer in Somalia

He presented classified maps and other operational details about the military incursion inSomalia during a closed-door session

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News Headline Tribal attacks wrench South Sudan as disarmament starts | Top News |Reuters |



News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name Thomson Reuters - Africa - OnlineNews Text KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Cattle raiders in South Sudan launched a major assaulton a rival tribe causing heavy loss of life officials said on Monday as the government began adisarmament plan to halt the tit-for-tat attacks that have torn the new nation

Members of Jonglei states Murle tribe attacked people from the Lou Nuer group in an areanear the Ethiopian border over the weekend South Sudans military spokesman Philip Aguersaid Citing reports from local officials he said that up to 300 people may have been killed inthe raids

South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in July under a 2005 peace deal that endeddecades of civil war between north and south It was a moment of euphoria for manysoutherners but the young government has struggled to assert control over a territory roughlythe size of France awash with guns and hit by violence between competing tribes

Aguer said violence hit the Wanding area The Murle were attacking the Nuer there he saidThey took a large number of cattle and many people were killed

The governor of Jonglei state and other local officials could not immediately be reached forcomment

The attack was apparently in response to Lou Nuer raids on Murle settlements in Decemberlast year including on the town of Pibor which killed hundreds of people

Two United Nations officials confirmed that the raids against the Lou Nuer camps had takenplace but said they could not yet confirm specific numbers of casualties

A lack of roads electricity and stable communications complicate the task of confirmingcasualty figures in South Sudan where tribal violence often breaks out in remote regions ofwhat is one of the worlds least developed countries

The war with the north fought for all but a few years between 1955 and 2005 also left thecountry awash with weapons About 2 million people died in the conflict

Aguer said the latest tribal violence would not halt a disarmament campaign which thegovernment launched in Jonglei state on Monday

All of them the Murle the Dinka the Nuer - all the tribes in Jonglei state carrying illegal armswill have to be disarmed completely he said listing the states three largest tribes

Whatever time it will take the army to collect they will continue doing it he said Theresponsibility of protection of civilians belongs to the government not the individuals

He said the army was capable of both preventing further attacks and collecting weapons

Many members of the Murle tribe complain the army is dominated by the Dinka and Nuertribes however highlighting the difficulties of disarmament Aid workers say previousdisarmament campaigns have been poorly managed and have failed to halt violence

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News Headline Uganda Caritas Starts New Project for 28000 Affected By LRA |

News Date 03132012



Outlet Full Name AllAfricacomNews Text Bas-Uele mdash A Catholic humanitarian organisation CARITAS has started a socio-economic reintegration project for more than 28000 people who have been affected byactivities of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Bondo and Butu in the Bas-Uele District ofProvince Orientale

According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) the project aimsto improve food security by re-launching the agricultural sector through the provision ofagricultural inputs and food as well as the improvement of market access through therehabilitation of 84 kilometres of roads

So far more than 3000 persons have been displaced in 2012 as a result of LRA attacks in theBas-Uele and Haut-Uele Districts according to OCHA

In total about 20 attacks the latest reported on March 8 2012 have been reported with oneperson killed and 17 kidnapped

Abducted people typically end up as porters while children end up as sexual slaves and childsoldiers

As per the numbers compiled by OCHA and UNHCR LRA attacks in Congo have caused theinternal displacement of 320000 people while around 30000 Congolese citizens have soughtrefuge in the Central African Republic and the Republic of South Sudan since 2008

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News Headline Inaugural African Partnership Flight Soars |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name US Africa CommandNews Text ACCRA Ghana Mar 13 2012 mdash Airmen from US Air Forces Africa participatedin the opening ceremony of the inaugural African Partnership Flight event March 12 2012 atAir Force Base Accra Ghana

The event hosted by the Ghanaian Air Force is a two-week military-to-military multilateral andregional engagement designed to improve regional cooperation partnerships and thereadiness of all countries service members

More than 160 airmen from the Ghana Togo Benin Nigeria and Senegal air forces werewelcomed to the event by Air Commodore Emanuel Ahadome Ghana air officer logistics

The importance of training to our military profession cannot be over emphasized Ahadomesaid The need to be educated and have good knowledge of best practices in ways of carryingout our tasks is very crucial to the success of any modern air force

He continued by saying the program would enable participants to exchange ideas and upgradeknowledge of best practices in modern air forces and the aviation industry

Several airmen from US Africa Command US Air Forces in Europe Air Mobility CommandAir Combat Command and North Dakota National Guard will support APF

At the end if we do nothing more than strengthen relationships old and new thats valueadded said Colonel Dave Poage APF mission commander Just getting to know each otherand creating partnerships among a myriad of organizations will make it successful





I really enjoy the English Discussion Group Djibo said I like interacting with (the students)and helping them learn to speak English

Djibo also recognizes the importance of the other programs available for people on camp Hedevotes as much time as he can to helping others he said

I basically try to get involved as much as I can to make sure people are taken care of saidDjibo

His job responsibilities include welcoming new personnel to the camp and making sure theirarrival billeting and departure go smoothly

One of the attributes I really admire about Djibo is his desire to include everyone in thecommunity weve established here said US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Paul Mathenyadministrative department leading chief petty officer and Djibos supervisor here He doesnt

just get himself involved--he tries to get others involved With him its really all about inclusionIts not just about what he can do its about what we can do

Djibo and his wife Sita also strive to instill their shared values in their three children he said

We do teach them everything we were taught--sense of solidarity selflessness and pride inhard and honest work said Djibo Really we realize we are all here and have what we havebecause others gave

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News Headline Army Africa Tennessee National Guard Personnel Journey to Uganda |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name US Army Africa Public AfffairsNews Text STUTTGART Germany Mar 13 2012 mdash Africa Deployment AssistancePartnership Teams (ADAPT) personnel from US Army Africa and Tennessee National Guardtraveled to Uganda February 20-24 2012 to conduct Phase I training for 27 members (17 Armyand 10 Air Force) of the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF)

ADAPT utilizes joint military traveling contact teams such as the Tennessee National Guard toconduct classroom instruction and hands-on training to introduce the host military to a range ofdeployment tasks such as unit movement planning hazardous material handling andcompatibility movement control basics and air load planning to build host nation deploymentcapacity via a phased long term approach

ADAPT Phase I teaches how to prepare unit personnel equipment and vehicles for air lift aswell as plan the load plan for the transporting aircraft According to Lieutenant Colonel PaulWebb deputy chief Plans Exercises Programs amp Policies this phase is very well received byAfrican forces and USARAF instructors have seen vast improvements in the performance ofmilitary personnel on this crucial deployment task

The Uganda students were very attentive and courteous during training and it was a genuinepleasure to be involved with such an eager group Webb said Both Lieutenant Colonel ScottSuchomski and Major Tony Miller [from Tennessee National Guard] were excellent instructorsand well prepared for training -- I would highly recommend them both as instructors for futureADAPT events

Miller said he was constantly amazed at the Ugandans eagerness to learn



They were very proud of their country and the professionalism they displayed wasunsurpassed Miller said I was fully expecting a capable group of students ready toparticipate in the class however I was surprised that by the end of the week we haddeveloped close personal relationships I now consider many of the students as close friendsand see them as a true partner in the profession of arms

ADAPT bridges the gap between African nations limited deployment capacity and itswillingness to participate in Peace Keeping OperationsHumanitarian Relief OperationsFostering these positive relationships between the US and African military forces increasesdeployment interoperability with US forces in jointcombined operations training andexercises

By the end of the week of instruction I was honored to have been part of the ADAPT programand was thoroughly impressed with the professionalism of the Ugandan soldiers Suchomskisaid

During the hands-on portion of training the UPDF soldiers did not hesitate to get their handsdirty during the portion of how to prepare a 463L pallet They were constantly asking questionsand provided me valuable feedback as to how we can improve training he said

A keystone of the ADAPT program is that training is tailored to match an individual partnersneeds and capabilities

According to Webb USARAF training includes activities to establish an enduring deploymentoperations training capacity in each partner nation Overseeing the maintenance of trainerskills and refresher training as required are part of the long-term ADAPT program USARAFcontinues to partner with countries like Uganda Rwanda Burkina Faso Botswana GhanaBurundi and Togo and is seeking to expand the program to other countries in the future

Webb shared that more than half of the peacekeepers in Africa are Africans and the UnitedStates has trained most of them via programs like ADAPT

The ADAPT program is a great opportunity not only from the aspect of the host countries butfor US Army personnel Suchomski said The UPDF soldiers were professional in everyaspect and valued the training they received I left Uganda with a great respect for the UPDFas a valuable partner with the US Army and with many friendships -- given the opportunity toparticipate in another ADAPT mission I would go in a heartbeat

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News Headline United Nations News Centre - Africa Briefs |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name United Nations News ServiceNews Text South Sudan UN mission responds to new outbreak of violence in Jonglei state13 March ndash The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan today said it has sentpatrol units and a medical team to an area on the countrys border with Ethiopia whereunidentified raiders reportedly attacked several cattle camps occupied by members of the LouNuer ethnic group

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Tribal attacks wrench SouthSudan as disarmament starts |Top News | Reuters


Uganda Caritas Starts NewProject for 28000 Affected By

LRA


Inaugural African PartnershipFlight Soars


US Navy Sailor from West AfricaBrings Community Values toDjibouti


Army Africa Tennessee NationalGuard Personnel Journey toUganda

03132012 US Army Africa PublicAfffairs

United Nations News Centre -Africa Briefs

03132012 United Nations NewsService

News Headline N Africa countries adopt plan to secure borders |

News Date 03132012Outlet Full Name Thomson Reuters - Africa - OnlineNews Text TRIPOLI March 12 (Reuters) - Nine northern African countries including LibyaAlgeria and Egypt agreed on Monday to work together to secure their borders in a move toclamp down on militia clashes and weapons smuggling in the wake of the Arab Springuprisings

Under the Tripoli Plan countries will adopt stronger measures including sharing intelligenceand pouring more money into border towns

Security alone is not enough in keeping our borders safe Libyan Prime Minister AbdurrahimEl-Keib said at a conference of interior ministers in Tripoli on Monday We must develop andincrease the resources of towns near the borders

While most of the plans points have yet to be implemented it is the first time North Africaninterior ministers have met to discuss border security since the beginning of the Libyan war lastyear

Repeated clashes in poorly-policed border zones have pushed the issue up the politicalagenda in recent months

Egyptian media have reported a rise in arms smuggling across the Libyan border since theuprising against Muammar Gaddafi

The failure of Libyas government to keep order at the main Tunisian border crossing that leadsto Tripoli has also emerged as a challenge for the National Transitional Council that took overafter Gaddafis overthrow and killing last year

In December clashes between Tunisian security forces and a rogue Libyan militia forcedTunisia to close two border crossings with its neighbour It re-opened them two weeks later







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AFRICOM Related News Clips 14 March 2012

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Transcript of AFRICOM Related News Clips 14 March 2012