AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 February 2012

8/3/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 February 2012

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/africom-related-news-clips-24-february-2012 1/15

United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office24 February 2012

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please see today's news review for February 24, 2012. This new format is best viewed inHTML. Features include icons and links to provide more options to the reader. Clicking on the text icon takesyou directly to the full text of the story; the paperclip icon links to the article's original source; and the envelopeicon allows you to email the article.

Of interest in today's report:-Uganda's LRA rebel chief likely in CAR. General Ham is Quoted.-Kony Eludes American Troops.-Kenya: 14 Al Shabaab Fighters Killed by KDF/TFG Troops.-Somalia: Landmine Blast Hits Ethiopian Army in Baidoa.-Special Ops: Obama's Election-Year Gamble: President's new strategy relies more on elite commandos.General Ham Quoted.

U.S. Africa Command Public AffairsPlease send questions or comments to:[email protected] 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687)

Headline Date Outlet

Uganda's LRArebel chief likely inCAR

02/23/2012 News24

Washington - Accused war criminal Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebels, has likely taken refuge inCentral Africa, the head of US Africa Command said on Tuesday.

Kony EludesAmerican Tr oops

02/23/2012 AllAfrica.com

Feb 23, 2012 (The Monitor/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX News Network) -- Despite President Obama's deployment of 100 Americantroops to aid the manhunt for Joseph Kony, US officials admit that the Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader remains elusive an...

Kenya: 14 AlShabaab FightersKilled By KDF /TFGTr oops


Kenya Defence Force and their allies from Somalia's Transitional Federal Government troops yesterday morning killed 14 al Shabaab fightersduring an attack on the militants' base in southern Somalia. The attack happened on the command centre located betwee...



Ethiopian, Somalitr oops capture keySomali town fr omal-Qaida-linkedmilitants, residentssay

02/23/2012 WashingtonPost - Online

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Residents say Ethiopian troops and Somali soldiers have seized a key town in south central Somalia.

Special Ops:Obama's Election- Year Gamble:President's newstrategy reliesmore on elitecommandos

02/23/2012 Chicago Tribune News

Relying more on special operations forces in Afghanistan and around the globe should help President Obama to get out of one war whileincreasing the U.S. military's efforts in hot spots around the globe. But it also is a risky election-year gamble.

Somalia:GovernmentCaptures BaidoaFr om Al-ShababMilitants


Baidoa -- Somalia government soldiers along with Ethiopian forces took over the control of parts of Baidoa town, a strategic stronghold of Islamist militants in western Somalia, an official said on Wednesday.

Somalia: LandmineBlast HitsEthiopian Army inBaidoa Town,

Civilians Killed


Baidoa -- Big landmine blast struck Ethiopian troops in the heart of Baidoa town, 250km away south of Mogadishu on Thursday morning, thefirst attack since the militants were pushed out of the town wednesday, residents say.

Somali PM wouldwelcome air strikesagainst militants

02/23/2012 ThomsonReuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister said on Wednesday he would welcome targeted air strikes against Islamist fighters in hiscountry and predicted the militants could be defeated within a month.

Somalia frees 6f oreign ransom

couriers

02/23/2012 News24

Mogadishu - Somalia has freed six foreigners, including three Britons and an American, convicted of smuggling millions of dollars into thelawless Horn of Africa nation to pay off pirates, officials said.

Planes carryingpirate ransomsseized

02/23/2012 News24

Mogadishu - Somali authorities seized two aircrafts carrying $3.6m in ransom payments for pirates on Tuesday and detained six foreigners,government officials said.



Bomb Blast - UN Agencies in NorthOrdered to Relocate to Secured Locations


THE United Nations has directed its agencies operating as field officers in some crisis-proned Northern states to relocate to more securedenvironment after the UN Building bombing in Abuja last year.

World leaders meetin London to discuss Somalia

02/23/2012 CNN.com

(CNN) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron urged the international community Thursday to help Somalia's feeble government tacklepiracy, militants and hunger.

United NationsNews Centre -Africa Briefs

02/24/2012 United NationsNews Ser vice

-UNICEF builds temporary classrooms in cyclone-hit areas of Madagascar Top UN official calls for boost in AIDS spending in Togo-Ban presses for credible and peaceful presidential poll in Senegal-ICC expands scope of Ivorian war crimes investigation ba...

U.S., AfricanForces MitigateTerr or Gr oup'sImpact

02/23/2012 AmericanForces PressSer vice

U.S. special operations forces are helping four Central African nations reduce the size and lethality of the Lord's Resistance Army, a groupthat has terrorized the region for 25 years, U.S. officials said February 22, 2012.

Sailors ConductEnvir onmentalWorkshop inFreetown as Part of APS

02/23/2012 U.S. AfricaCommand

Representatives from U.S. Naval Forces Africa, Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, andthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to conduct an Environmental Workshop in support ...

News Headline: Uganda's LRA rebel chief likely in CAR |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: News24News Text:Washington - Accused war criminal Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of Uganda's Lord's Resistance

Army rebels, has likely taken refuge in Central Africa, the head of US Africa Command said on Tuesday.

"My best estimate at present is that Kony and the senior leaders are probably in the Central African Republic,"General Carter Ham said during an appearance at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.

"The Ugandan army is shifting its effort in that area."



The top US military officer in Africa stressed that the LRA "continues to terrorize, they continue to murder, theycontinue to kidnap people" in the four-nation area grouping Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central

African Republic and South Sudan.

Kony, wanted by the International Criminal Court, appears to have dropped any national political agenda and inrecent years his marauding troops have sown death and destruction in the region.

Tens of thousands of people were killed and nearly two million displaced during a 20-year war in northern Ugandabetween the rebels and security forces.

The civil war effectively ended in 2006 when a peace process was launched, but Kony and his top commanderscontinue to commit atrocities in remote areas of neighbouring countries.

Ham also said he hoped to increase the number of US military advisers and trainers "in the very near future" to help African countries combat the rebels. Washington is currently training a battalion in DRC and is in talks to train asecond.

Return to Top

News Headline: Kony Eludes American Troops |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.comNews Text: Feb 23, 2012 (The Monitor/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX News Network) -- Despite PresidentObama's deployment of 100 American troops to aid the manhunt for Joseph Kony, US officials admit that the Lord'sResistance Army rebel leader remains elusive and holed up at an undisclosed location in the Central AfricanRepublic.

The officials said, however, that the LRA has been decimated to about 200 fighters, as many more continue todefect from rebel ranks, in what count as some of the positive developments in the last few months as a result of pressure from America and partner states fighting the rebels.

Rear Admiral Brian L. Losey, the US special operations commander for Africa, told reporters across Africa and

Europe during a telephonic news briefing yesterday that US troops, who are now deployed in four African countriesin search for Kony, are yet to pinpoint his exact location.

The US announced in October it was sending 100 soldiers, mostly special operations forces, to Africa to help in thefight against the LRA.

Admiral Losey said the troops deployed in Uganda, Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic arecoordinating intelligence from the different countries as well as "information from situational awareness" to try andlocate Kony.

"That is part of an ongoing assessment in process and as we get more refined in executing that process, we expectalso to identify those requirements that will help increase our effectiveness [in finding Kony]," he said.

Admiral Losey said Kony has been able to elude capture because he is exploiting porous borders "among thesefour nations" while using this space "an area as large as the geographical area of California to hide."

He said Kony, whose rebels have raped and murdered its way through the East African region for more than twodecades, is also using his ill reputation "as a ruthless killer to intimidate populations to allow his movements in thevery dense and difficult terrain."

Mr Karl E.Wycoff, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for Africa, said America was offering logistical andtechnical support in this "multilateral effort" against the LRA which was paying dividends such as an increase in the



number of people defecting or being released from the rebel ranks.

Copyright © 2012 The Monitor. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

Return to Top

News Headline: Kenya: 14 Al Shabaab Fighters Killed By KDF/TFG Troops |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.comNews Text: Kenya Defence Force and their allies from Somalia's Transitional Federal Government t roopsyesterday morning killed 14 al Shabaab fighters during an attack on the militants' base in southern Somalia. Theattack happened on the command centre located between Elade and ElWilnley about 30 kilometres away fromBeles Qooqani in the Northern sector as they military advances towards al Shabaab stronghold of Afmad how.

According to the military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir, KDF and TFG raided an al Shabaab command centreyesterday morning and killed more than 14 fighters and destroyed a gun mounted vehicle popularly referred to as'technical' and recovered communication equipment. " KDF and TFG troops raided an al Shabaab command center this morning. Over 14 al Shabaab neutralised. One technical destroyed and communication equipment recovered.

No casualty on KDF/TFG troops," Chirchir said.

Chirchir urged Kenyans to rally behind the KDF and let the commanders fight to protect the country from externalaggression. " Let commanders fight their battles. Lets rally behind their concepts as they set up the good work,"Chirchir said. Meanwhile, Kenyans jets reportedly struck targets in Bulo Haji in Lower Juba as they intensifiedattacks on the Al Qaeda linked insurgent group which recently pledged allegiance to Ayman Mohammed Rabie alZawahir. Al Shabaab fighters were seen dragging bodies from the the scene of the attack and ordered residents toleave the area as they prepared to fight ground forces.

Last Saturday, the Kenyan government accused the Somali militant group of killing at least 30 Kenyan civilians andpolice officers since October 16th when Kenyan troops entered Somalia. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said thekillings are believed to have been carried out by sympathizers of the Al Qaeda linked al-Shabab group especially inGarissa,Wajir, Mandera, Ifo, Dadaab along the common border and in Nairobi. Kenya has blamed al Shabaabmilitants for the kidnapping of tourists and foreign aid workers in Kenya. Al-Shabab has ion several occasions

threatened to conduct terror attacks on Kenyan for its incursion into the war torn country.

Military spokesman Cyrus Oguna said the government is in discussions with influential Somalia religious andcommunity leaders to secure the release of foreigners and Kenyans being held captive by the insurgent group.Oguna revealed that KDF has moved 110 kilometers into in 'Operation Linda Nchi Somalia. "Pacification mustcontinue until we are confident that the area is very stable very secure allow us to move forward," Oguna said.

Return to Top

News Headline: Ethiopian, Somali troops capture key Somali town from al-Qaida-linked militants, residents say |

News Date: 02/23/2012

Outlet Full Name: Washington Post - OnlineNews Text: MOGADISHU, Somalia ² Residents say Ethiopian troops and Somali soldiers have seized a key townin south central Somalia.

Baidoa resident Isaq Haji says tanks and infantry troops swept into the town onWednesday after a gunfight. Hesaid al-Shabab fighters retreated into jungle areas outside the town, about 160 miles (256 kilometers) northwest of Mogadishu.

Haji said the fighting had stopped, but gunfire could still be heard.



In a website statement, al-Shabab confirmed the seizure of the town, saying their fighters conducted a tacticalretreat. Baidoa is a major base for al-Shabab.

Resident Tifow Abdi says he joined hundreds of others who fled the fighting.

Ethiopian and pro-government troops seized two villages earlier this week in a push aimed at capturing Baidoa.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewrittenor redistributed.

Return to Top

News Headline: Special Ops: Obama's Election-Year Gamble: President's new strategy relies more on elite

commandos |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: Chicago Tribune NewsNews Text: Relying more on special operations forces in Afghanistan and around the globe should help President

Obama to get out of one war while increasing the U.S. military's efforts in hot spots around the globe. But it also is arisky election-year gamble.

America's elite commandos have scored a number of high-profile victories in recent months, including the raid inPakistan that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Buoyed by those missions-and hundreds of classified ones-the commander in chief and his Pentagon leadership believe special operations forces can do even more.

"As we reduce the overall defense budget, we will protect, and in some cases increase, our investments in specialoperations forces," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in January when he and Obama unveiled a new nationaldefense strategy.

The Obama administration's new defense strategy "will affect all elements of the military, [but] its impact on SpecialOperations Forces is likely to be particularly significant," according to a new Center for Strategic and InternationalStudies report. "Given their ability to operate in a wide range of environments and undertake tactical actions that

produce strategic effects, SOF will increasingly be relied on to help address national security threats and challengeson a global scale."

During an exchange last week with New Jersey Democratic Rep. Steven Rothman, a member of a subcommitteethat oversees Pentagon spending, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey--an Army armor officer with nospecial operations experience--summed upWashington's newfound love affair with America's elite warriors: "Oh,they're terrific." The lawmaker immediately chimed in with his own homage: "They're amazing."

Special ops forces are the military option du jour for U.S. leaders. But their increased use and popularity are linkeddirectly to one attribute that sets them apart from conventional troops: by definition they are high risk-high rewardunits.

Two former senior White House officials point out had the Navy SEALs-led bin Laden raid failed, it would have had

dire political and operational consequences for Obama and the United States.

A failed mission "would have empowered bin Laden and strengthened the myth of his invincibility; underminedperceptions of U.S. power and credibility on the world stage; and demoralized the American people," MicheleMalvesti and Frances Fragos Townsend--both former White House national security officials--wrote in a recentreport.

While many administration officials, Pentagon leaders and lawmakers fawn over elite units, Malvesti and Townsendwrote elite troops carry with them "a few negative reputational issues [that] have been earned through the years."



The former officials offered some words of warning to current leaders, urging them to be mindful of the past, whenmany inWashington "developed a 'learned vulnerability' that ... led them to be cautious when it comes toauthorizing special operations in politically precarious situations."

The current fascination with SOF units grew out of their countless successes in Iraq and Afghanistan. But a closer examination of those two wars, according to Malvesti and Townsend, shows both to be, for elite units, "relatively

permissive and highly enabled environments."

"They only work in regions of the third world where societies are fragile and institutions, if they exist at all, are veryweak," says Doug Macgregor, a retired Army officer. "It's why SOF alone are not decisive in a conflict with acapable opponent."

Not every future battlefield will mirror the ones of the last decade, however.

Despite the high risks, just about every regional U.S. commander wants as many elite commandos as he can gethis hands on. "The demand for special-operating forces of lots of different flavors is pretty significant in Africa," U.S.

Africa Command chief Gen. Carter Ham said in late September. "I'd like more special-operations forces now."

Despite the temptations and risks, defense analysts say it is likely special ops forces' increased role is here to stay.

"The Obama defense strategy shows that we are going to see SOF forces spread out over a larger area of theglobe," said Rick "Ozzie" Nelson, a former National Security Council and National Counterterrorism Center officialand the author of the CSIS report.

"The combination of technological advantages and being more efficient means SOF can be more effective thanindigenous forces," said Chris Preble of the CATO Institute. "Frankly, I like this strategy more than I like a 100,000conventional forces trying to build failed states."

Experts acknowledged using the elite forces brings political risk for Obama. They were quick to note it remainsunclear whether the president plans to ramp up high-risk raids. His new defense plan suggests SOF units will beasked to do "indirect missions" like training and advising local forces, experts said.

"SOF units can take tactical action to get strategic effects-and that is risky," Nelson said. "But using them for training

and civil affairs is far less risky."

"I think we're going to see fewer high-risk direct-action missions by SOF" Nelson added. "Obama wanted to getOsama bin Laden. And he already got him."

Return to Top

News Headline: Somalia: Government Captures Baidoa From Al-Shabab Militants |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.comNews Text: Baidoa ² Somalia government soldiers along with Ethiopian forces took over the control of parts of Baidoa town, a strategic stronghold of Islamist militants in western Somalia, an official said onWednesday.

Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, a parliamentarian confirmed to Shabelle Media by phone while he was at the fightingzone that TFG soldiers backed by the Ethiopian troops have seized parts of the town which is just 250 Km awayfrom Mogadishu after fierce battle from the militants.

Al-Shabab, which has recently joined with Al-Qaeda, faced increasing military pressure from regional forces and theTFG. Baidoa town, the capital of Bay region in southern Somalia was the most important Al-Shabab militarystronghold after the southern port city of Kismayu.



It could not be independently verify the claim of Somalia government about the seizure of Baidoa town onWednesday.Al Shabaab has so far neither confirmed the towns seizure by Ethiopia and Somali government forcesnor denied it.

Return to Top

News Headline: Somalia: Landmine Blast Hits Ethiopian Army in Baidoa Town, Civilians Killed |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.comNews Text: Baidoa ² Big landmine blast struck Ethiopian troops in the heart of Baidoa town, 250km away south of Mogadishu on Thursday morning, the first attack since the militants were pushed out of the town wednesday,residents say.

The explosion occurred at a cross road in Baidoa as the Ethiopian troops were trying to conduct security operations.The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) that hit the army in military vehicles in the area.

Local residents said security forces had sealed off the area around the blast site.

It was unclear whether there were any fatalities or wounded sustained the Ethiopian troops, but locals said aseveral civilians were killed by the army who opened fire at crowds nearby the scene.

No comments were immediately available from the Al-Qaeda linked militants of Al-shabab who withdrew from thestrategic town of Baidoa onWednesday with no battle against allied forces from Somali government backed byEthiopian troops.

Return to Top

News Headline: Somali PM would welcome air strikes against militants |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: Thomson ReutersN

ews Text: LONDON (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister said onW

ednesday he would welcome targeted air strikes against Islamist fighters in his country and predicted the militants could be defeated within a month.

Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told Reuters Insider television in an interview That he had not discussed possible air strikeswith the United States or Britain, which hosts an international conference on Somalia on Thursday that he is takingpart in.

"Targeted air strikes on al Qaeda is a welcome opportunity. But we have to make sure that we protect the life andthe safety and property of the Somali people," he said.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that mounting concern over the threat posed by pirates andal Shabaab Islamist militants in Somalia had led Britain and other European Union countries to consider thefeasibility of air strikes against their logistical hubs and training camps.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron would not confirm the report, saying: "We have been veryfocused on pursuing a different strategy to a military strategy."

Ali said he did not want planes inadvertently hitting children going to school. "That would be unforgivable if they doso, but on the other hand we welcome the opportunity for them to strike terrorist camps and al Qaeda in Somalia,"he told reporters.

Al Qaeda announced this month that al Shabaab was joining its ranks.



Ali said al Shabaab was in the process of being defeated.

"They lost the hearts and the minds of the Somali people. So therefore they are losing ground and hopefully withinthe next month or so, hopefully there will be no more Shabaab," he said.

Ethiopian and Somali troops seized the strategic city of Baidoa from al Shabaab on Wednesday.

The militants are battling Kenyan troops to hold on to territory in southern Somalia and against African Unionpeacekeepers (AMISOM) around the capital.

The U.N. Security Council voted onWednesday to expand AMISOM by almost half to nearly 18,000 soldiers.

Return to Top

News Headline: Somalia frees 6 foreign ransom couriers |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: News24News Text: Mogadishu - Somalia has freed six foreigners, including three Britons and an American, convicted of

smuggling millions of dollars into the lawless Horn of Africa nation to pay off pirates, officials said.

"The six foreigners and their two planes were released... following a presidential pardon," Hashi Elmi Nur, amagistrate at a local court said on Sunday. The money was confiscated.

They had been sentenced earlier this month to between 10 and 15 years in prison for smuggling in $3.6m in one of the planes.

Nur said a $50 000 fine had been imposed on each of the planes, which were seized by Somali security officials atMogadishu airport on May 24.

The nationalities of the other two convicted foreigners, who were crew members, have not been revealed.

Since January 1, there have been at least 171 attacks off the coast of Somalia and at the end of May pirates held

26 vessels and more than 600 hostages, France's UN envoy Gerard Araud said recently.

Return to Top

News Headline: Planes carrying pirate ransoms seized |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: News24News Text: Mogadishu - Somali authorities seized two aircrafts carrying $3.6m in ransom payments for pirates onTuesday and detained six foreigners, government officials said.

Somali pirate gangs are reaping tens of millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships and holding their cargos andcrew hostage.

International navies have managed to quell attacks in the busy Gulf of Aden shipping lane, but have struggled tocontain the pirates in the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean.

Cash ransoms are usually dropped onto captured vessels from light aircraft.

"This morning, two unmarked planes landed and exchanged cargo. After investigation, $3.6m were found," AbdiSheikhur Sheikh Hassan, Somalia's interior and security minister said in a statement.



An official at Mogadishu airport said one of the planes had flown in from the Kenyan capital Nairobi, while they wereyet to determine the origin of the second.

"We seized the two planes and their pilots plus the ransom for the pirates," airport deputy security chief BurhanMohamed told Reuters.

"W

e have taken the men and their cash to the jail. One plane was from Nairobi and it wanted to give the money tothe pirates using another plane that landed soon after," he said.

It was not immediately clear which hijacked vessel was involved in the ransom payment.

Return to Top

News Headline: Bomb Blast - UN Agencies in North Ordered to Relocate to Secured Locations |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.comNews Text: THE United Nations has directed its agencies operating as field officers in some crisis-proned Northernstates to relocate to more secured environment after the UN Building bombing in Abuja last year.

Investigation by The Moment revealed that already some agencies affiliated to the global body have commencedrelocation to avert being targeted by the deadly Boko Haram sect.

Findings revealed that theWorld Health Organisation field office in Minna, Niger State has been secretly relocatedto Okada Road in Bosso area of Minna.

Niger State Commissioner of Fisheries and Livestock, who was redeployed from the Ministry of Health in 2010, Dr.Isah Yahaya Vatsa, confirmed the directive by the UN to relocate its agencies within the North to more securedlocations for the safety of the staff and structures.

'After the first major bomb blast, the UN wrote us that if we still want to maintain theWHO field office in Minna, wemust relocate it from its former location to a more secured location by their standard,' he said.

He disclosed that the state government secured a place at Okada Road, which was renovated and given toWHOand the state's Joint Action Against Aids Committee to allay the fears of the global humanitarian agency.

Dr Isah Yahaya Vatsa who disclosed this said already the state government has procured all the necessary drugsand distributed them to hospitals as a preventive measure since the state serve as a transit route to many parts of the country.

The commissioner explained that it was in view of the strategic position of the state that it was choosen along withBayelsa state as the two pilot states for the federal government war against malaria by donating malaria testing kitsworth N208 millions to them.

He said the state government is to deploy the equipment to rural areas to ensure people are henceforth only treatedfor malaria after undergoing the mandatory malaria test to ascertain their status before been administered with

drugs.

Copyright © 2012 The Moment. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

Return to Top

News Headline:World leaders meet in London to discuss Somalia |

News Date: 02/23/2012



Outlet Full Name: CNN.comNews Text: (CNN) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron urged the international community Thursday to helpSomalia's feeble government tackle piracy, militants and hunger.

Otherwise, he said, the world risks terror threats from the troubled African nation.

W

orld leaders met Thursday in London to address terror and a raging insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation andfind ways to resolve other critical problems including famine and weak leadership that have dogged the nation for decades.

"These problems in Somalia don't just affect Somalia. They affect us all," Cameron said at the event.

"In a country where there is no hope, chaos, violence and terrorism thrive," he said. "Pirates are disrupting vitaltrade routes and kidnapping tourists. Young minds are being poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that isthreatening the security of the whole world."

Cameron said the world cannot afford to look the other way any more.

"If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so," he said. "For two decades, politicians intheWest have too often dismissed the problems in Somalia as simply too difficult and too remote to deal with."

Clinton pledged to boost U.S. efforts in the nation, and said the focus should be on political progress and bolsteringsecurity.

"The transitional federal government was always meant to be just that ²transitional," she said. " It is past time for that transition to occur, and for Somalia to have a stable government. "

Somalia has not had a central government since 1991, and the Islamist Al-Shabaab has waged war against thetransitional federal government for years.

Clinton said the United States will continue to work with Somali officials to create jobs, provide health and educationservices, and conflict resolution.

"And today I'm pleased to announce that the United States is providing an additional $64 million in humanitarianassistance to the Horn of Africa countries," she said.

She said the funds bring the total U.S. emergency assistance to the region up to more than $934 million since lastyear, including more than $211 million for life-saving programs in Somalia.

Thursday's session aimed to galvanize the international community to develop a more comprehensive approach toaddressing Somalia.Somali PM: 'We need billions of dollars'

Armed gangs on land and sea in Somalia

"We are realistic -- Somalia's problems cannot be solved in a day, but its people deserve a better future, and our own security requires their country to become more stable," U.K. Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague said.

The meeting comes a day after the U.N. Security Council voted to increase the African Union force in Somalia fromabout 12,000 to close to 18,000 troops to help battle Al-Shabaab.

"We must keep up the pressure on Al-Shabaab so that their grip on Somalia continues to weaken," Clinton said.

The terror group, which announced recently that it joined al Qaeda, has lost ground but remains a potent threat inthe country. The international community hopes the bolstered force will further degrade the group, creating spacefor a political solution.



Established in 2004, Somalia's transitional government is weak and needs significant capacity building toconsolidate the country's security gains with political ones.

The international community wants it to meet a timeline for establishing a new government, including writing aconstitution, before August when its mandate expires.

The crisis in Somalia has drawn in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, which have both sent troops directly, whileUganda, Djibouti and Burundi are contributing peacekeepers.

The United States has used drones to target militants in Somalia.

Adding to Somalia's burdens is the fight against famine, which has forced a constant stream of refugees intoneighboring nations.

The United Nations declared an end to the famine recently, but said the hunger situation is still dire.

Return to Top

News Headline: United Nations News Centre - Africa Briefs |

News Date: 02/24/2012Outlet Full Name: United Nations News ServiceNews Text: UNICEF builds temporary classrooms in cyclone-hit areas of Madagascar 23 February ± The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is helping to build hundreds of temporary classroomsin towns and villages in eastern Madagascar to replace those destroyed during a deadly cyclone last week.

Top UN official calls for boost in AIDS spending in Togo23 February ± A top United Nations official called for an increase on national spending on HIV/AIDS in Togo, notingthat most of the country's funding to combat and prevent the disease comes from external sources.

Ban presses for credible and peaceful presidential poll in Senegal23 February ± Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed his hope that this weekend's presidential election inSenegal is peacefully and credibly staged after a campaign marred by several deadly incidents.

ICC expands scope of Ivorian war crimes investigation back to 200223 February ± The International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced that it will expand the scope of its investigationinto possible war crimes in Côte d'Ivoire, currently limited to the period after contested presidential elections in late2010, to as far back as the start of theWest African country's civil war in 2002.

Somalis can build better future with global help, Ban tells London meeting23 February ± Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the international community to heed the ³cries for peace´ of the Somali people and help them overcome decades of instability and build a more stable and prosperousfuture.

Return to Top

News Headline: U.S., African Forces Mitigate Terror Group's Impact |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: American Forces Press ServiceNews Text: U.S. special operations forces are helping four Central African nations reduce the size and lethality of the Lord's Resistance Army, a group that has terrorized the region for 25 years, U.S. officials said February 22,2012.

Navy Rear Admiral Brian L. Losey, commander of Special Operations Command Africa, said in a conference call



with reporters that the LRA is down to about 200 core fighters. KarlyWycoff, deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, also participated in the call.

While still under the direction of its leader, Joseph Kony, the admiral said, the group is kept on the run in theremote, shared border region of South Sudan, Uganda, Central Africa Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- an area about the size of California.

President Barack Obama ordered about 100 special operations forces to deploy to Central Africa in October to t rainand augment the capabilities of the African militaries in the region.

The U.S. effort to help the four-nation partnership counter the LRA is a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy thathas included training, funding, airlift, logistics, communications and intelligence support -- specifically, fusingintelligence and support to operations, Losey andWycoff said.

"With our support, these four military forces continue to make progress in reducing the LRA's numbers and keepthem from regrouping,"Wycoff said.

U.S. forces also are working closely with the State Department, the United Nations, the African Union andnongovernmental organizations to provide humanitarian relief in the region,Wycoff said.

"The military is only one part of a broader strategy,"Wycoff said. A large part of the strategy is to entice LRAmembers to defect and safely return home, with the help of government and aid organizations, he said, and topublicize those defections.

"One of the sad realities of this situation is that many of the perpetrators of these [LRA] atrocities were victimsthemselves, abducted in their childhood and forced to fight," he said.

Wycoff likened Kony and his followers to a cult that has kidnapped and murdered civilians for two decades, causingan estimated 455,000 people to be displaced or to live as refugees. The LRA is not known to be involved in anymoney-making criminal enterprise, he said, but survives off foraging and pillaging of villages.

The LRA is implicated in 278 attacks and at least 300 abductions last year, which decreased at the end of the year,they said.

"Now they are only a small percentage of their former strength," Losey said. But the fact that the LRA is operating atall, even at reduced strength, is terrifying to people in the region, he added.

Losey said the removal of Kony is one of the chief objectives in a broader mission to enable the four partner nationsto be fully capable to counter the LRA. Though there is no timeline for the U.S. mission, he added, it also is notopen-ended.

"We want to make very clear that we are supporting, and not leading, this effort," he said.The fact that the four African nations came together for the effort to defeat the LRA is an achievement, Losey said.

"This operation is at its core what U.S. Africa Command is all about," he said. "In the long run, it is the Africans whoare best suited to address" their regional security challenges.

Source: U.S. Department of Defense

Return to Top

News Headline: Sailors Conduct EnvironmentalWorkshop in Freetown as Part of APS |

News Date: 02/23/2012Outlet Full Name: U.S. Africa Command



News Text: Representatives from U.S. Naval Forces Africa, Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command,Naval Sea Systems Command, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone,to conduct an EnvironmentalWorkshop in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS), February 20, 2012.

The workshop brings together representatives from U.S. Naval Forces Africa and key maritime and environmentalstakeholders from the government of Sierra Leone to identify, prioritize, and mitigate maritime environmental

concerns. Sierra Leone representatives include the National Fire Force, Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces,Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, Ministry of Energy andWater Resources, Sierra Leone Ports Authority,Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Fisheries, and Marine Resources.

The five-day workshop includes briefs and presentations, focus group discussions, team brainstorming, site surveysof critical maritime locations, and culminates in presentations to senior leaders of the Sierra Leone government withthe collective goal of mitigating environmental concerns.

Additionally, the assessments conducted during this visit will improve the U.S. Navy's ability to operate safely whenvisiting African partners' ports during APS deployments. The assessments will assist by identifying actual or potential negative environmental impacts to operations, existing in and near such ports. The project will also yield asecondary benefit of identifying potential future environmental or occupational health and safety projects that wouldmeet the APS key area of developing maritime infrastructure. These projects may be sponsored during future APSengagements or undertaken by the African partners independently.

Workshop organizer, Kirsty McLean, of U.S. Naval Forces Africa, says the workshop offers an opportunity tocontinue relationships between the U.S. and Sierra Leone and to recognize the importance of the maritimeenvironment.

"The destruction of resources cause maritime insecurity," said McLean, "This workshop offers an importantopportunity to address environmental concerns that affect fisheries, maritime security, and port development. Byworking with our African partners we not only expand our relationships, but also can develop solutions toenvironmental issues in Sierra Leone."

Rear Admiral Kenneth "K.J." Norton, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy,Resources, and Plans, emphasized that the stakeholders attending the workshop have the capabilities to addressenvironmental issues in Sierra Leone.

"We don't want future generations to be left with serious environmental problems," said Norton. "We have identifiedseveral issues today, fixing these environmental concerns starts as a cultural movement."

While in Sierra Leone, representatives from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAT) 202, will install equipment and conduct training with the Republic of Sierra Leone ArmedForces to expand maritime domain awareness capabilities off the coast of Sierra Leone.

"Building maritime safety and security is a major focus of our efforts in Africa," said Lieutenant Catherine Reppert,MCAT 202 officer in charge. "Effective maritime safety and security will contribute to development, economicprosperity and security ashore."

Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Debarberie, leading petty officer and communicator of MCAT 202, expressed strong

enthusiasm at being able to work with maritime stakeholders to provide a ground-based automated identificationsystem to support Sierra Leone's vessel tracking capabilities.

"This is an important technology that will contribute to maritime safety for the coast of Sierra Leone," Debarberiesaid.

APS continues to build global maritime partnerships with African nations and improve maritime safety and securityfor all nations.

APS is an international security cooperation initiative facilitated by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa,



aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improvemaritime safety and security in Africa.

Return to Top

AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 February 2012

Documents

Transcript of AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 February 2012