AFRICOM Related News Clips 14 September,2010

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office14 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

U.S. Steps Up Efforts on Sudan Vote (New York Times)(Sudan) With Sudan barely 100 days away from a referendum that is likely to split thecountry and that could even reignite a war, the Obama administration has begun a

multifront diplomatic offensive built around incentives to keep Sudan from obstructingthe vote.

U.S. pledges millions to end child labor in cocoa harvests (Mcclatchy Newspapers)(Ivory Coast/Ghana) The U.S. government and the chocolate industry pledged $17million on Monday to help end child labor ³ some of it forced and dangerous ³ in twoAfrican countries where much of the world's cocoa is grown.

Four US health workers granted bail in Zimbabwe (AFP)(Zimbabwe) Four US health workers and doctors from Zimbabwe and New Zealandwere granted bail Monday after their arrest last week on charges of illegally running aclinic that provides AIDS drugs.

2011 Election - Former U.S. Envoy Paints Doomsday Scenario (This Day)(Nigeria) Former United States of America ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell hassaid that the 2011 elections pose a threat to the stability of Nigeria.

EU Naval Force completes more WFP shipments to Somalia (Xinhua)(Somalia) European Union Naval Force said its warships provided naval escorts to twomore World Food Program (WFP) food shipments against piracy off the coast ofSomalia.

Network of spies threatens Somalia (Washington Post)(Somalia) In the deadly contest for the capital, spies work in the shadows of this failedstate's civil war. The militants they assist have weakened the government and limitedits ability to protect the population, tactics used by insurgents in Baghdad, Karachi andKabul.



PM: Guinea vote set to go ahead despite violence (Associated Press)(Guinea) Guinea's prime minister said Monday that the country's historic presidentialrunoff vote is still set to go forward at this point despite pre-election violence over theweekend that left one person dead and at least 54 wounded.

Project Aims to Reduce Fighting in Horn of Africa (Voice of America)(Horn of Africa) The lack of water and other natural resources in the drought-proneHorn of Africa region are often major causes of conflict. But a new project in northernKenya and Ethiopia is designed to bring communities together by improving access towater and encouraging people to work together to protect it.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Ban convenes high-level meeting on Sudan ahead of referenda

y UN and partners issue joint call for cohesion among Somalia·s leaders

-------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, September 21, 2:00 p.m., U.S. Institute of PeaceWHAT: Civil Society in Darfur: The Missing PeaceWHO: Theodore Murphy, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; Jérôme Tubiana,Independent researcher; Jon Temin, Moderator,U.S. Institute of PeaceInfo: http://www.usip.org/events/civil-society-in-darfur-the-missing-peace

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, September 23, 9:00 a.m.

WHAT: Breakfast Briefing with The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, New Ambassador ofthe United States to CameroonWHO: Business Council for International Understanding with Chevron CorporationInfo:http://www.bciu.org/wip01/online_event_invitation.asp?continent=0&country=0&currentorpast=current&eventsorprograms=events&IDNumber=1431&ProgramIDNumber=0&Keycode=8031275 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S. Steps Up Efforts on Sudan Vote (New York Times)

WASHINGTON ³ With Sudan barely 100 days away from a referendum that is likelyto split the country and that could even reignite a war, the Obama administration hasbegun a multifront diplomatic offensive built around incentives to keep Sudan fromobstructing the vote.



On Sunday, the administration·s special envoy to Sudan, Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, metwith Sudanese officials in the north and south, laying out a timetable for steps theUnited States is willing to take, starting with the approval of the sale of irrigation andother agricultural equipment to Sudan. The referendum on the independence ofsouthern Sudan is scheduled for Jan. 9.

´We are really now down to make or break,µ General Gration said in a telephoneinterview from Juba, the regional capital of southern Sudan. ´We·ve reached a pointwhere progress is critical. Without significant progress in the next days and weeks,things could be at risk.µ

The package of American incentives goes all the way to normalization of relations, debtrelief, the lifting of sanctions and the removal of Sudan from the United States· list ofstate sponsors of terrorism ³ though these steps would require an end to the violencein Darfur and full acceptance of an independent southern Sudan, which many experts

say is wishful thinking.

Indeed, many fear that the referendum ³ if it happens as planned ³ would tip Sudanback into the strife that afflicted it for more than two decades and that left two millionpeople dead. Just the logistical challenges of holding the vote are daunting, given thedire poverty and lack of roads in the south.

On Sept. 24, President Obama plans to attend a high-level meeting on Sudan at theUnited Nations, convened by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The White House tookthe unusual step of publicizing Mr. Obama·s attendance two weeks in advance, an

administration official said, to attract other influential participants and to shine aspotlight on the precarious situation.

Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations and an advocate of atough approach toward the Sudanese government, said Mr. Obama would try tomobilize international support and send a message that ´we are with the people ofsouthern Sudan, if they make the choiceµ to break away.

The administration·s heightened concern was dramatized last week by Secretary ofState Hillary Rodham Clinton, who described the referendum as a ´ticking time bombof enormous consequence.µ

Mrs. Clinton said that it was inevitable that the southern Sudanese would vote to secedeand that this would raise ´intractable problems,µ because the bulk of Sudan·s oilreserves are in the south.

´If you·re in the north, and all of a sudden you think a line·s going to be drawn andyou·re going to lose 80 percent of the oil revenues, you·re not a very enthusiastic



participant,µ Mrs. Clinton said. ´What are the deals that can possibly be made that willlimit the potential of violence?µ

There is no simple answer to that question, the experts said. And even if there were, theUnited States has limited leverage to press either side, given that the Obama

administration, preoccupied by Afghanistan and domestic issues, is reluctant tointervene directly in Sudan.

´Our ability to direct the parties is just an illusion,µ said Andrew S. Natsios, a specialenvoy to Sudan during the Bush administration who teaches at Georgetown University.´But we can facilitate the process by proposing different or alternative ways ofapproaching things.µ

The administration has sent a seasoned diplomat, Princeton N. Lyman, to help the twosides work out deals on issues like oil. The north will have to accept a declining share of

revenue over time, General Gration said, but it has some leverage: the pipeline thatcarries oil to the Red Sea runs through the north.

Mr. Lyman, a former ambassador to South Africa and Nigeria, is part of a beefed-updiplomatic presence that doubles the size of the American mission in Juba to 50 people.

Advocacy groups, which have harshly criticized the administration·s policy andespecially the role of General Gration, seem cheered by the activity, the most since theBush administration helped broker the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement thatended the civil war. Mr. Lyman·s arrival, some said, reflects a realistic approach to

avoiding another war.

´The hope of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was to really transform Sudan as astate,µ said John Norris, the executive director of Enough, an antigenocide project.´Now they·re focusing on the most base, backroom deals that can keep the elites onboth sides well fed.µ

The administration·s policy debates over Sudan have often been intense. GeneralGration has advocated working with the governing National Congress Party ofPresident Omar Hassan al-Bashir. But Ambassador Rice has argued for a moreconfrontational approach to Mr. Bashir, who is under indictment for crimes againsthumanity for his role in the genocide in Darfur.

Both officials said they differed on tactics rather than underlying strategy. And Ms. Ricesaid she was satisfied that there were enough sticks if the carrots failed to work. Amongother things, the administration is prepared to freeze the assets of Sudanese leaders andexpand restrictions on their travel. ´There·s virtually nothing, aside from a handful ofagricultural licenses, that don·t come without conditions,µ she said.



General Gration, who is on his 20th visit to Sudan, said that in his meetings, noSudanese official had threatened to hold up the referendum. ´But what they say andwhat they do are two different things,µ he added.

General Gration has been a controversial figure in the debate on Sudan, and thereferendum is likely to be his last major effort as special envoy. Officials said Mr.Obama, with whom he has personal ties, plans to name him as ambassador to Kenya.Administration officials said Mr. Obama had long wanted to post the envoy in Nairobi,where General Gration spent part of his childhood and later helped train the Kenyan airforce.

´If the president decides to move me to another job, that·s his prerogative,µ GeneralGration said when asked about his future. ´I·m committed to this job until I·m given anew job.µ

--------------------U.S. pledges millions to end child labor in cocoa harvests (Mcclatchy Newspapers)

WASHINGTON ³ The U.S. government and the chocolate industry pledged $17million on Monday to help end child labor ³ some of it forced and dangerous ³ in twoAfrican countries where much of the world's cocoa is grown.

"If there's one thing people around the world share in common it's our love ofchocolate. But it is a bitter reality that the main ingredient in chocolate, cocoa, isproduced largely by child labor," said Sen. Tom Harkin , D- Iowa , at a signing

ceremony for a new agreement between industry, the Department of Labor , the IvoryCoast and Ghana .

A June 2001 investigation by Knight Ridder, later acquired by McClatchy , gave readersa close-up look at the lives of boys who were tricked or sold into slavery on cocoa farmsin the Ivory Coast . The stories led to a voluntary program by industry to end abusiveand forced child labor on the cocoa farms. Harkin and Rep. Eliot Engel , D- N.Y. , drewup the agreement with industry in September 2001 .

Harkin and Engel said Monday that while some progress had been made, largenumbers of children are still working in the cocoa sector. Engel said there are timeswhen he and Harkin are "very, very frustrated by the slow pace" of change.

The new plan calls for a 70 percent reduction of internationally unacceptable child laborby 2020.

The Labor Department pledged $10 million and chocolate industry groups pledged $7million for building schools and helping rural families in the two West African



countries escape poverty so they don't have to rely on their children's wages. The LaborDepartment will monitor and report on progress.

The new initiative will rely on Ghana and Ivory Coast for enforcement. It doesn'tinclude any certification program to assure people who buy chocolate that it isn't

produced by children.

Harkin said he doesn't object to children working after school or on weekends, as longas the work doesn't endanger their safety and health.

Engel noted that canned tuna has a stamp showing it's "dolphin free." Someday, therecould be a similar stamp to show that chocolate isn't made from cocoa beans harvestedand processed by children who work instead of going to school, he said.

That criteria is covered by the Fair Trade stamp, but many major companies don't use

that certification.

A survey by Tulane University for the Labor Department last year found that themajority of children in cocoa-growing areas of Ivory Coast and Ghana were working,but many of them were also in school: About 60 percent in Ivory Coast and 90 percentin Ghana were enrolled. Less than 0.5 percent of children working in cocoa reportedbeing forced to work by a non-relative.

Ivory Coast Labor Minister Emile Guirieoulou said that the nation's parliament isexpected to adopt a bill soon that would ban human trafficking and forms of child labor

that don't comply with the standards of the International Labor Organization .

In a related move, the Hershey Co. , the largest chocolate maker in North America ,issued its first corporate social responsibility report Monday, the birthday of founderMilton Hershey . Hershey said it encourages and trains its suppliers to meet fair laborpractices and has taken steps to help increase incomes and build schools in Africa . Thecompany is part of the Harkin-Engel Protocol.

Critics said the Hershey report failed to show it's making any progress on child labor.

The human rights and environment groups Global Exchange, Green America, theInternational Labor Rights Forum and Oasis USA , in a report Monday, said thecompany should have a system in place to make sure its cocoa doesn't come from farmswith labor abuses and make the information available.

The groups called on Hershey to adopt the Fair Trade label for all of its products by2022.



Fair Trade certifies that farmers are paid a fair price and that social, environmental andlabor standards ³ including the prohibition of forced child labor ³ are enforced.--------------------Four US health workers granted bail in Zimbabwe (AFP)

HARARE ² Four US health workers and doctors from Zimbabwe and New Zealandwere granted bail Monday after their arrest last week on charges of illegally running aclinic that provides AIDS drugs.

"Each of you shall pay bail of 200 dollars and you shall surrender your passports to theclerk of court," magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi said.

The state did not oppose bail. Trial was set for September 27.

The four Americans from Oakland, California were identified as Gloria Cox Crowell,

48; Gregory Renard Miller, 66; David Greenberg, 62; and Anthony Eugene Jones, 39.

New Zealand doctor Reid Andrew John Cheyne, 49, and Zimbabwean doctorTembinkosi Ncomanzi, 37, were also granted bail.

Crowell is facing a separate charge of importing medical drugs for distribution in thecountry.

The Americans belong to the Allen Temple Baptist church, based in Oakland.

Cheyne is a long-time resident who works for the University of Zimbabwe healthdepartment. Ncomanzi is also a doctor at a local hospital.

Their lawyer Jonathan Samkange said his clients denied the charges.

"I am embarrassed that the state has decided to charge them. They were not distributingany drugs. They are the ones who were sent by the Allen Temple Baptist church toobserve the drug distribution," Samkange said.

Samkange told journalists that his clients were working for a charity called Mother ofPeace, which caters for AIDS orphans.

The Americans came to Zimbabwe to monitor the progress and to see how the AIDSdrugs were being distributed, Samkange said.

The US embassy said the volunteer work has stretched over a decade, with the churchworking at a Harare clinic and another in Mutoko, about 100 kilometres (60 miles)northeast of the capital.



Zimbabwe's public health sector is still recovering from the country's decade-longpolitical and economic crisis, which saw most hospitals and clinics close.

Public health facilities have begun reopening and restocking since the formation of a

power-sharing government between President Robert Mugabe and former oppositionleader Morgan Tsvangirai in February 2009.--------------------2011 Election - Former U.S. Envoy Paints Doomsday Scenario (This Day)

Lagos ³ Former United States of America ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell hassaid that the 2011 elections pose a threat to the stability of Nigeria, saying "the end of apower-sharing arrangement between the Muslim North and the Christian South, asnow seems likely, could lead to post-election sectarian violence, paralysis of theexecutive branch and even a coup."

Campbell, who was ambassador to Nigeria between 2004 and 2007, in his book titled:Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink, which is expected to be published by Rowman &Littlefield in November, argued that unlike in every previous election since 1999, "noelite consensus exists for the 2011 poll, nor is there an Obasanjo-like figure strongenough to impose one."

He observed that although the country "is still dominated by elites and their patronagenetworks, the Nigerian political sphere is wide open."

Campbell, who is also the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at theCouncil on Foreign Relations, explained that while most people in the northern regionof Nigeria believe it is still their turn for the presidency, the northern power brokers donot agree on who should be their presidential candidate.

The former US ambassador explained that President Goodluck Jonathan has theadvantage of incumbency to run for the 2011 election, adding that "this could mean thepresidential contest will feature one or more northern Muslim candidates opposing Jonathan against the backdrop of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle Belt,Muslim extremism in the North, and an ongoing insurrection in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

"In such a fraught environment, supporters of candidates might exploit religious andethnic identities, a dangerous and potentially explosive dynamic that until now haslargely been avoided," he said.

On the logistic preparations for the 2011 elections, Campbell said there is no voterregister yet and in spite of Jonathan's assent to the electoral reform bill, some of thesereforms remain unimplemented four months before the election.



"The election therefore will almost certainly lack legitimacy, especially in the eyes of thelosers. This will further drive the country to the brink, especially if winners and losersare defined by their religious and ethnic backgrounds.

"There is at the moment no standoff between northern and southern leaders.Nevertheless, the danger of Nigeria plunging into post-election violence is a realpossibility.

"The Nigerian military still regards itself as the ultimate guarantor of the state'ssecurity, and most political elites agree. In the event of post-election sectarian violenceand a political breakdown, it could intervene if the civilian government loses control.

"The army, given its history, could move quickly, and unlike in Kenya following the2007 post-election crisis, there would probably be little time for the international

community to try to facilitate a political settlement.

"Only if the military itself fragments, would there be space for the internationalorganisations such as the African Union to intervene in search of a political solution.

"Yet the return to power of the so-called men on horseback in Nigeria would posespecial challenges for Washington, considering congressional requirements thatWashington scale back contact with military governments that overthrow civiliangovernments.

"It would also be anathema to the African Union's principled stand against militarycoups," he said.

He tasked President Barack Obama to establish and publicise the benchmarks it woulduse to measure improvement in the Nigerian electoral process.

"Obama could also focus election-related assistance on select states, where polling inrecent elections has been better than elsewhere; Lagos and Cross River States are twosuch possible venues.

"As the elections approach, the United States must be scrupulously neutral on thepresidential candidates while reiterating its call for free, fair, and credible elections."

He said some democrats are advocating the candidacies of the former Minister of theFederal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai and former chairman of the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to restore public faith in thepolitical system.



"But so long as the current elites remain the country's political power brokers,candidates operating outside the PDP will be long shots at best."

He explained that some Nigerians have been prevailing on the Obama administrationto intervene behind the scenes to forestall a post-election crisis in Nigeria.

But he held that "Yet intervention on behalf of one candidate could do more harm thangood. If Niger Delta militants sense that Washington is opposed to a Jonathancandidacy, and should he withdraw or lose, they might escalate their attacks on US-owned oil facilities, thereby cutting off production.

"If, on the other hand, northern leaders see the United States as supporting Jonathan,they are likely to become even more estranged from the federal government. The Northwould likely see support of Jonathan as part of the perceived US war on Islam."

He observed that the Obama administration has little leverage over the conduct andoutcome of the elections - and if the vote does lead to chaos, Washington may no longerbe able to count on Nigerian partnership in addressing African regional and securityissues such as the conflicts in Darfur, Southern Sudan, and Somalia.

Given these realities, he charged the Obama administration to look for ways to supportcivil-society organisations like the Nigeria Bar Association, which actively work tostrengthen the rule of law.

"The United States already provides assistance for civic groups involved in voter

education and the strengthening of political parties as open institutions.

"That support should continue. In the event of a confrontation between the North andSouth over failed elections in 2011, these organisations could play a role in mitigatingthe worst excesses of a crisis."

He said such steps by the Obama administration are worthwhile to promote the long-term development of democratic institutions.

"However, in the event of a bloody crisis that splits the country along regional andreligious lines, neither the Obama administration nor any other foreign government orinternational organisation will have much leverage.

"Faced with such a cataclysm, Nigeria's friends should seek to mitigate thehumanitarian consequences and prevent the resulting instability from spreading toother parts of the continent.



"Nigerians have long danced on the edge of the cliff without falling off. Yet at this juncture, the odds are not good for a positive outcome, and it is difficult to see howNigeria can move back from the brink," he predicted.--------------------EU Naval Force completes more WFP shipments to Somalia (Xinhua)

NAIROBI - European Union Naval Force said its warships provided naval escorts totwo more World Food Program (WFP) food shipments against piracy off the coast ofSomalia.

The naval force said its flagship FS De Grasse both MV Miltzow, chartered by the WFP,and MV Alfa Kirawira, chartered by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)transited safely from Mombasa to Mogadishu last week. "The WFP shipment on MVMiltzow delivered 651 tons of humanitarian aid to Mogadishu while MV Alfa Kirawiracarried important logistics supplies to AMISOM," the EU naval force said in a statement

received here on Monday.

Since the beginning of the operation in 2008, 84 WFP chartered ships have been safelyescorted by EU NAVFOR warships.

These escorts helped in the delivery of more than 410,000 metric tons of food to Somali,feeding on average more than 1,350, 000 Somalis each day.

"Ongoing drought and civil unrest in central Somalia has left 70 percent of thepopulation in the region in need of humanitarian assistance, explains WFP on its

website.

One in six Somali children is acutely malnourished ² a total of some 240,000 children ²the highest acute malnutrition rates anywhere in the world. "In south and centralSomalia these rates are even higher, reaching one in every five children. Naval escortscontinue to be necessary for ships carrying WFP food into Somalia, in order to protectagainst the threat of piracy," the UN agency said.

EU NAVFOR has also escorted nearly 60 AMISOM logistic vessels running intoMogadishu, to support the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. "The EuropeanUnion Member States support the AMISOM in order to improve, in particular, theefficiency of the Somali Police Force and to combat any abuse and serious violations ofhuman rights," it said.

Naval escorts for WFP ships heading to and from Somalia are vital for the UN agency tocontinue meeting increased needs in Somalia.



A succession of governments has generously supported WFP operations by providingnaval escorts for ships carrying food assistance over the past year.

Since the naval escort system began in November 2007, no ship loaded with WFP foodheading to Somalia has been hijacked. Ninety percent of WFP food for Somalia arrives

by sea.--------------------Network of spies threatens Somalia (Washington Post)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - During the day, Mohamed Mahmoud counts the AfricanUnion peacekeepers in his neighborhood and notes their locations. At night, he givesthe information to his handlers in the radical al-Shabab militia, undermining the U.S.-backed government the peacekeepers support.

"We are everywhere," he said.

In the deadly contest for the capital, spies like Mahmoud work in the shadows of thisfailed state's civil war. The militants they assist have weakened the government andlimited its ability to protect the population, tactics used by insurgents in Baghdad,Karachi and Kabul.

"We're fighting one war in the open, and another war below the surface," saidAbdiraheem Addo, a military commander and close associate of Somalia's PresidentSheikh Sharif Ahmed.

Conversations with spies and former spies in Mogadishu provide a rare look into howal-Shabab, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, operates ingovernment-controlled areas. Its increasing role here helps explain how the governmentand 6,000 peacekeepers, supported by hundreds of millions of dollars from Washingtonand its allies, have been unable to quell a ragtag guerrilla force with little publicsupport.

Mahmoud, 41, was approached through an intermediary and agreed to speak if his fullname was not used. Somalis often use three or four surnames. Somali officials anddefected Shabab commanders corroborated details that Mahmoud provided.

As he spoke, during an interview inside a building less than a quarter mile fromSomalia's presidential palace, the sounds of artillery and gunfire reverberated. Somalisoldiers and security officials patrolled the area outside. But Mahmoud did not seemconcerned.

"I enter every place freely," he said, smiling.



Lured by common beliefs

Mahmoud lives in Hamarwane, a neighborhood near the port that is walking distancefrom key government ministries. A father of 10, he said al-Shabab pays him $100 amonth and helps with his rent and food.

"I don't do this for money," said Mahmoud, who has a beard but no moustache and waswearing a traditional tan garment and brown sandals. "I believe in everything al-Shababstands for."

Mahmoud first joined an armed wing of a moderate Islamist movement that rose upagainst Somalia's corrupt warlords in 2005. The following year, Ethiopia - backed bycovert funds from the Bush administration - invaded the country. By 2007, Mahmoudwas fighting on the front lines for al-Shabab, which had emerged as a radical force of itsown.

After the Ethiopians pulled out of Somalia last year, al-Shabab consolidated its gripover large patches of southern and central Somalia. They have imposed Taliban-likedecrees, banning soccer, music, even bras. This year, the militants publicly declaredallegiance to al-Qaeda and intensified their push into the capital, where the governmentcontrols only a few miles.

The militia's most recent assault occurred Thursday when suicide bombers and gunmendetonated two car bombs at Mogadishu's airport, killing as many as nine people,including soldiers and beggars. The African Union's main base is at the airport. The

bombing occurred as senior U.N. officials arrived for an unannounced high-levelmeeting with Somali officials, suggesting the militants may have had prior knowledgeof the visit. None of the U.N. officials was hurt.

In previous days, the militia briefly took control of a strategic road coursing through thecapital; killed four peacekeepers with a mortar attack on the presidential palace; andattacked the Hotel Muna, nestled in a zone filled with government ministries, killing 31people, including six lawmakers.

"They are shifting tactics. They are not as much trying to capture space as much they aretrying to disrupt, to create fear and anxiety," said Ahmed Abdisalam Xaji Adan,Somalia's national security minister. "We have to fight intelligence with intelligence. Wehave to get better information, we have to get better organized."

The militia's goal is "to take over the whole country and rule it as an Islamic emirate,"Mahmoud said. Foreign jihadists in the militia who were trained in Afghanistan andPakistan have become influential, he said; he expects more attacks in countries alignedwith the West or perceived as "invaders," such as the twin bombings in the Ugandan



capital of Kampala in July that killed more than 70 fans watching the World Cup. Mostof the peacekeepers in Somalia are Ugandan.

"We won't stop at our borders," Mahmoud declared.

Inside the cells

Last year, Mahmoud joined an al-Shabab surveillance cell that operates in governmentareas. Many members of his sub-clan live in his neighborhood, allowing him to movearound freely.

"When we want to conduct operations inside government areas, we take the publictransport, we blend in with the normal people," he said. "Sometimes we rent a safehouse where we can make bombs."

Each cell has three to eight operatives, each with a purpose, he said. Some plantroadside bombs, others throw grenades at government vehicles. There are cells thatstage assassinations, and others that procure weapons and transport them intogovernment areas.

Every morning, after he surveys his enclave, he makes his way toward Kilometer 4, thecapital's commercial area. He observes the peacekeepers and government securitypersonnel, then makes his way to the airport to see whether any government officials,new soldiers or Westerners have arrived. He has his own web of informants whoprovide intelligence, he said.

If the information is particularly vital or sensitive, his superiors dispatch an agent tomeet with Mahmoud in government areas. "Then, that man will take the intelligence tosomeone senior in al-Shabab," he said.

Anis Sheikh Abdullahi led a cell of al-Shabab assassins who worked in government-controlled territory. Their targets included military and police commanders, religiousleaders, government officials, prominent businessman, journalists - anyone whoopposed the militia.

His most successful attack: His five-member team tossed plastic bags of explosives onthe side of the road from the airport and detonated them as three government vehiclespassed, killing several people.

Once, he said, he drove a truck to the port, which is guarded by peacekeepers andSomali soldiers, and picked up barrels of oil. Some of the containers containedsmuggled land mines, he said.



"It is very easy for al-Shabab to operate here," said Abdullahi, who defected from themilitia seven months ago after he learned he was being targeted for assassination fordisobeying an order.

Today, Abdullahi, a tall, thin man with rectangular eyeglasses, fights for the

government. His main job is to stop al-Shabab spies and cells working in government-controlled areas.

"Last week, we killed two al-Shabab," he said. "Last month, we killed five."

But the militia has as many as 1,000 spies living in government areas, many in strategicplaces near the airport, port and the presidential palace, he said. Cells also operate inmosques and Koranic schools.

The militia allows their spies to have fashionable haircuts and smoke cigarettes "so that

the government won't suspect they are al-Shabab," Abdullahi said. In Shabab areas,such practices are punishable by lashes.

He described men like Mahmoud as part of "the most important division of al-Shabab."

Infiltrating government

"We haven't been paid in months," a soldier yelled on a recent day, pointing his gun at avehicle carrying a Western journalist. "If there is a [lawmaker] inside, tell him to get outso we can kill him."

The militants have tapped into such frustrations. They have recruited governmentsoldiers with promises of cash, said Abdirahman Omar Osman, Somalia's informationminister. The militants have also probably infiltrated government ministries and thepolice, Abdullahi said.

"They have money. And the government is poor," he said.

The militants' success at penetrating the government was apparent in the attack on theHotel Muna, which took two months to plan, Mahmoud said. A cell based in one ofMogadishu's oldest quarters planned the attack. Operatives studied the place, assessingthe number of armed guards and bodyguards protecting officials.

But the central strategy was the element of surprise: The two assailants, strapped withexplosives, wore Somali military uniforms.

"It was easy to get the uniforms," Mahmoud said. "We bought them for $10 from somesoldiers."



--------------------PM: Guinea vote set to go ahead despite violence (Associated Press)

CONAKRY, Guinea ² Guinea's prime minister said Monday that the country's historicpresidential runoff vote is still set to go forward at this point despite pre-election

violence over the weekend that left one person dead and at least 54 wounded.

Prime Minister Jean-Marie Dore said that no decision has been made yet to delaySunday's vote after political rivals hurled rocks at each other in Guinea's capital.

"Nobody is talking about delaying the election at this point. That decision has not yetbeen made," Dore said. "We have temporarily halted campaigning in order to avoidconflict. We will not hold an election if this will end in a fistfight."

Dore has said previously that he is not backing a candidate in the runoff despite

allegations he favors the underdog candidate, Alpha Conde.

Many hope the upcoming vote will mark a turning point for the troubled, mineral-richWest African country, which has known only authoritarian rule since winningindependence from France in 1958.

Supporters of leading presidential candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo, though, have fearedthat the interim government would use the weekend's clashes as an excuse for delayingthe presidential runoff. The second round of voting already has been postponedmultiple times since the first round in June. His supporters have vowed to descend into

the streets in protest if authorities attempted to delay the vote again.

On Saturday, political rivals began throwing rocks at each other. The violence spread tomultiple neighborhoods including the street leading to the home of Conde, a longtimeopposition leader who placed second in the first round of voting.

Tension between the two presidential candidates is rooted in Guinea's ethnic divide.

Diallo is a Peul, the country's largest ethnic group, which has never had one of its ownin power. Last year, the Peul were explicitly targeted during an army-led massacre ofopposition supporters inside the national soccer stadium last September that left morethan 150 people dead.

Although Conde spent decades as an icon of the opposition, he is a Malinke ³ a groupheavily represented in the army, as well as in the junta blamed for the massacre.



Guinea's people are among the poorest in Africa, despite the fact the country hosts oneof the world's largest reserves of bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, andbillions of dollars worth of iron ore, diamonds and gold.--------------------Project Aims to Reduce Fighting in Horn of Africa (Voice of America)

The lack of water and other natural resources in the drought-prone Horn of Africaregion are often major causes of conflict. But a new project in northern Kenya andEthiopia is designed to bring communities together by improving access to water andencouraging people to work together to protect it.

Pastoralists in northern Kenya take advantage of a spell of good weather.

Herders at this water point in the village of Torbi come to feed their animals and collectdrinking water for themselves and their families.

But, such scenes are not always common.

With the coming of the dry season, water shortages add to the heat and dust of thesavannah. Daily life can grind to a halt, and a very real fight for survival begins.

In Torbi, the fight led to tragedy five years ago when more than 60 people, including 22children, died during a raid by a neighboring tribe.

Herders say tensions had increased so much during that people were prepared to kill

for water.

"There was rain on this side of the mountain and drought on our side. Because of thefighting between the two communities, we couldn't bring our animals here to graze,"Cattle herder, Dokata Elema says, "There were gunmen on both sides. Our animalswere dying."

But as a result of a peace deal and a project funded by the European Commission, thetwo tribes, the Borana and the Gabra, now work together to prepare for futuredroughts.

The aim is to improve access to water and pasture in order to decrease the fighting.

Across the border in southern Ethiopia, both conflict and drought remain constantconcerns.

In the small village of Dukale, herders carry guns to the waterside.



They say the weapons are for protection from the Oromo Liberation Front, a groupseeking independence from Ethiopia. Villagers say many of their men have been killedor abducted, and the lack of peace means little chance for development.

Poor development is a familiar story throughout the Horn of Africa. European

Commission spokesman Martin Karami says the commission is providing real help, butmore needs to be done by governments to build on the progress.

"What the Disaster Risk Reduction Program is doing is to implement programs thatshould be used as examples by governments in the region and development agencies.This is what this program is trying to attain, to have governments take these projects upand implement them at a bigger scale," Karami said.

Without that help, the camel herders of Torbi may be forced to abandon their traditionalmigrating lifestyles and settle where water is more readily available.

For them, the threat of conflict has now passed. But the real enemy is the drought and itcould return soon.--------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

Ban convenes high-level meeting on Sudan ahead of referenda13 September ² Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he has convened a high-levelmeeting at the United Nations to discuss the situation in Sudan as it prepares for a vote

on the self-determination of the south of the country.

UN and partners issue joint call for cohesion among Somalia·s leaders13 September ² Fractures in Somalia·s leadership could potentially be extremelydamaging to a country long ravaged by war, misrule and humanitarian suffering, theUnited Nations and its partners cautioned today, urging the heads of the nation·sTransitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) to maintain a united front.

AFRICOM Related News Clips 14 September,2010

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