AFRICOM Related News Clips 29 April 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office29 April 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Army Honors Africom·s First Commander (American Forces Press Service)(Virginia) A special review ceremony here yesterday honored Army Gen. William E."Kip" Ward for a career that has spanned four decades and saw him rise through theranks to be the first commander of U.S. Africa Command.

Downed F-15 crew on Libya rescue: 'The best feeling' (CNN)(Libya) For hours on March 21, U.S. Air Force Maj. Kenneth Harney of Lexington,Kentucky, and Capt. Tyler Stark of Littleton, Colorado, were the focus of nearly everyU.S. service member in the Mediterranean Sea region. Nearly a dozen aircraft, a platoonof Marines and even Libyan civilians worked to rescue Harney and Stark after their F-15 crashed in eastern Libya.

U.S. And International Community Continue Pressure On Qadhafi (US Departmentof State)(Libya) Amid promising signs of civil society in Libya, the United States continues towork with its partners in Libya and the international community to pressure MuammarQadhafi to step down, U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz said April 27.

Libyan fighters battle for checkpoint (Washington Post)(Libya) Libyan fighters wrangled for control of a checkpoint on the country·s westernborder with Tunisia, while government forces attacked and entered a remote town inthe southeastern desert Thursday in another day of clashes across the country.

Libya: Tunisia indignant over border clashes (BBC)(Libya/Tunisia) Tunisia has condemned a violation of its territory after fighting

between Libyan rebels and forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi spilled over theborder.

US says Gadhafi troops issued Viagra, raping victims (MSNBC)(Libya) The U.S. envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council Thursday thattroops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi were increasingly engaging in sexualviolence and some had been issued the impotency drug Viagra, diplomats said.



Ivory Coast's Ouattara to Be Inaugurated May 21 (VOA)(Ivory Coast) New Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara says he will be formallyinaugurated May 21 in the country's official capital, Yamoussoukro.

US Criticizes Sudan·s Bashir Over Abyei Comments (VOA)(Sudan) The United States on Thursday criticized an assertion by Sudanese PresidentOmar al-Bashir that Khartoum will not recognize South Sudan as independent, if itclaims the disputed Abyei region. South Sudan is set to become fully independent in July.

Darfur rebels reject draft Doha accord (AFP)(Sudan) The main Darfur rebel group involved in the Doha peace talks said Thursday it"totally rejected" the draft documents submitted by UN mediators, further underminingprospects of a Sudan accord.

The turbulent north (The Economist)(Nigeria) When Nigeria·s presidential election results started trickling in on April 17th,showing that the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, was heading for victory, youths in thecountry·s north started to burn buildings in protest. The election itself was hailed as animprovement on the rigged and violent polls that have kept the ruling People·sDemocratic Party in power for a dozen years. But its outcome has widened olddivisions in Africa·s most populous country, home to 150m people and over 250 ethnicgroups.

African Union Urged to Follow Up on Reports Alleging Zimbabwe Torture (VOA)(Zimbabwe) The African Commission on Human and People·s Rights has been urged toinvestigate alleged torture and other human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and Swaziland.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Côte d·Ivoire: UN calls attention to unmet needs of conflict-affected

communities

y As drought deepens in Ethiopia, UN and partners urge scaling up of aid

y UN agency suspends food aid in parts of Southern Sudan after attacks-------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 29th 10:00 a.m.; USIP, 2301 Constitution Avenue NWWHAT: The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Discussion on "What's Next for Coted'Ivoire?" Speakers: I. William Zartman of the Paul H. Nitze School of AdvancedInternational Studies; Gina Lambright of George Washington University; JonathanElliott of Human Rights Watch; and Dorina Bekoe of USIP.



Info: Allison Sturma, 202-429-4725, [email protected]; web site: www.usip.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Army Honors Africom·s First Commander (American Forces Press Service)

By Terri Moon CronkApril 27, 2011FORT MYER, Va. ² A special review ceremony here yesterday honored Army Gen.William E. "Kip" Ward for a career that has spanned four decades and saw him risethrough the ranks to be the first commander of U.S. Africa Command.

"This has been an experience for Kip Ward," the general said. "I would not trade it foranything. I leave this position proudly, honorably, humbly."

Africom stood up its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, in October 2007.

Army Secretary John M. McHugh reflected on Ward·s career.

"From Somalia to Cairo to Israel and Stuttgart, and back home again, Kip Ward hasdistinguished himself in each and every assignment,µ McHugh said. ´On behalf of theU.S. Army Kip, ¶Job well done.·"

McHugh noted Ward is a Baltimore native and the son of a World War II combatengineer who served at a time when the Army was segregated.

"I imagine it would have been easy, and indeed it would have been understandable, ifKip Ward turned away, rather than turned toward and embraced the Army, both as aninstitution and as a career," McHugh said.

By following in his father's footsteps, McHugh said, Ward's career is an inspiration.

"That a son of a sergeant in a segregated Army would rise through the ranks to becomeone of only a handful of African-Americans in our nation's history to attain the rank offour-star general is a testament to the integrity, tenacity, character and the ability ofGeneral Kip Ward," the Army secretary said.

Ward said he was 22 years old when Air Force fighter pilot Daniel ´Chappieµ James Jr. -² who later would become the first African-American four-star general -- commissionedhim as an infantry officer in 1971. Initially, Ward said, he thought he'd spend four yearsin the Army and then go to law school.



"But as the years went on," Ward said, "it became clearer that serving my country andtaking care of my teammates was a pretty fulfilling undertaking « in a way I saw mydad do it."

Wearing a star, Ward told the crowd of well-wishers, doesn·t mean it belongs to the one

who wears it.

"[It belongs] to all the aspects of one·s life that created the opportunities, and to thecauses that led to that star," he said. "I have proudly worn the cloth of our nation. « Inever left a fallen comrade. I remain proud to serve. I am a soldier."

As a commander, Ward said, he has shared his commitment to his troops with an equalcommitment to their families. One of his privileges during his career, he said, has beenmeeting America·s sons and daughters, and caring for their families.

"There is no greater honor," he said.-------------------------

Downed F-15 crew on Libya rescue: 'The best feeling' (CNN)By Larry ShaughnessyApril 28, 2011 9:54 a.m. EDTWashington - For hours on March 21, U.S. Air Force Maj. Kenneth Harney of Lexington,Kentucky, and Capt. Tyler Stark of Littleton, Colorado, were the focus of nearly everyU.S. service member in the Mediterranean Sea region. Nearly a dozen aircraft, a platoonof Marines and even Libyan civilians worked to rescue Harney and Stark after their F-

15 crashed in eastern Libya.

Most details about the mission, including their names, were a closely held secret by themilitary. But earlier this month, with little notice, their identities and details of theirrescue came out during a welcome-home ceremony at their air base. For the first time,the men spoke publicly to a small group of friends, family and Air Force personnel.

The Air Force public affairs office posted pictures and video of the event on its officialwebsite, even after U.S. military public affairs officers involved in Operation OdysseyDawn in Libya told CNN their names would never be made public.

"You feel the weight of not only the Air Force, but the entire military, focusing on you,making sure you get home," Stark said recently in a video prepared by the Air Force.

U.S. still not ready to recognize Libyan opposition

The men were part of a the 48th Fighter Wing normally based at RAF Lakenheath, aRoyal Air Force base that has hosted U.S. Air Force units for years in Suffolk, England.



But on March 21 they took off from the U.S. air base in Aviano, Italy, in support of theno-fly zone enforcement over Libya.

At some point they ran into trouble.

"We soon find ourselves in a situation where we are forced to eject over potentiallyhostile territory, and over the country of Libya. Something that neither one of us wouldever have thought that we'd have to do," Harney, the pilot of the Strike Eagle said.

The Air Force is still trying to figure out why the plane crashed and a post-incidentinvestigation is ongoing, but four days after the crash, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, directorof the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, told reporters that the military was "confident that it isnot a result of hostile fire."

Homes destroyed in battle for Misrata

After the ejection, Harney -- "Meso" to his fellow fliers -- and "Mask" Stark becameseparated. "When you find yourself alone, and you're isolated, in a country wherethere's hostiles, you are scared," said Harney, a veteran of both the Afghan and Iraqwars.

Stark was found by Libyan civilians who protected him from possible retaliation byforces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and eventually he was taken safelyback to Europe. Details of how he was taken out of Libya have yet to be disclosed.

Harney's rescue came more quickly. He stayed in communications with another F-15pilot still in the air over Libya. Eventually an MV-22 Osprey carrying Marines who werepart of a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel, or TRAP, team landed near hisposition.

"As that back door opened, I see a group of young Marine recon units jump out, andthat was probably the best feeling I've ever felt in my entire life," Harney said. He wasflown to the USS Kearsarge for a quick medical check then a short time later sent homewith Stark to RAF Lakenheath, where friends and family welcomed them with hugsand a rendition of "God Bless America."------------------- U.S. And International Community Continue Pressure On Qadhafi (US Departmentof State)By M. Scott Bortot28 April 2011Washington ³ Amid promising signs of civil society in Libya, the United Statescontinues to work with its partners in Libya and the international community to



pressure Muammar Qadhafi to step down, U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz saidApril 27.

"I think that we are bringing to bear all we can in terms of our coalition partners, interms of our own actions, and in terms of beginning to look at the political processes

that hopefully will lead to an end to this," Cretz said.

The Libya Contact Group meeting in Doha, the NATO ministerial meeting in Berlin,and the African Union, Arab League and United Nations meetings in Cairo show thedepth of the effort by the world community to find a solution to the Libya crisis.

"It is a deliberative process that we are engaged in with our allies," Cretz said. "Number1 was the military part, the protection of humanitarian life and trying to get servicesflowing to those cities that are affected by Qadhafi, and Number 2 is the political part ...the international consensus that now has become quite solid, that in order for there to

be a solution to this, Qadhafi needs to leave."

The U.S. special envoy to the Libyan National Transitional Council, Chris Stevens,arrived in Benghazi on April 5 to open a dialogue with Qadhafi's opposition. Cretz saidStevens is working with the council and meeting with other elements of emergingLibyan civil society.

The council members "continue to say the right things. They are reaching out to theinternational community and they are trying to be as inclusive as possible. They areworking through the normal bugs that would be a part of any stand-up transitional

government in a country that has not had politics for 40 years," Cretz said.

Because Libyans have lived under authoritarian rule for more than 40 years, they willface challenges in building a new government, Cretz said. Despite the hurdles, there areencouraging signs in Benghazi of what a Libya of the future might look like.

"You have [nongovernmental organizations] springing up. You have people debatingwith each other, debating political issues. You have a seminar at the university ... of aprofessor talking about constitutional issues. You have cultural events, you have poetryreadings, you have newspapers," Cretz said. U.S. envoy Stevens "and I think othershave described the situation as a world that you wouldn't recognize had you been inLibya on February 16."

Although the U.S. Embassy staff members left Tripoli, they maintain contact withpeople in all regions of the country.



"From these people we have been able to get almost daily reports about the situation inthe west and about the brutal kind of activities that Qadhafi is taking against the west,"Cretz said.

Qadhafi's family and military units remain the core elements of the regime, but there

are others who may be willing to move against it but cannot out of fear, Cretz said. TheU.S. is reaching out to them but it must be their decision about which side to take.

Cretz said it is clear that Libyans around the country want Qadhafi to step down andfor his regime to end.

"Our sense is that it is not only Benghazi in the east that has forged a consensus, as wehave in the international community that Qadhafi has to go and that a new process hasto begin," Cretz said. "I think that is a consensus that we have heard from our contactsin the west, the south, the north and in the east, so there is a Libyan consensus on this."

----------------------- NATO airstrike mistakenly kills 12 Libyan rebels (LA Times)By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles TimesApril 29, 2011Benghazi, Libya³ A NATO airstrike in the besieged rebel-held city of Misuratamistakenly killed 12 Libyan rebels, an official with the transitional governmentconfirmed Thursday, while new fighting was reported on Libya's western border withTunisia.

The strike Wednesday was at least the third reported friendly fire incident since North

Atlantic Treaty Organization fighter jets began pounding forces loyal to MoammarKadafi more than five weeks ago in a mission to protect Libyan civilians.

Leaders of the anti-Kadafi forces have labeled the incidents unfortunate accidents in aworthy cause, reflecting wide support in rebel ranks for the NATO strikes.

Nonetheless, both NATO and the rebels have said additional precautions ³ such asmarking rebel vehicles and reporting precise positions to NATO ³ have beenemployed to avoid further tragedies.

"It is regrettable, but we know the people of Misurata understand," said ShamsiddinAbdulmolah, a press liaison with the transitional council, who confirmed the death toll."We know NATO didn't do this on purpose."

There was no immediate response from North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials.

NATO's bombing campaign is widely seen as having prevented Kadafi forces fromretaking rebel-held territory, including the eastern city of Benghazi, de facto capital of



the opposition. Despite the deadly friendly fire episodes, rebel officials have urged theirinternational allies to step up the air campaign against the Kadafi regime.

Two previous inadvertent NATO strikes on anti-Kadafi forces left at least 18 rebelsdead and many injured.

Reports from the scene indicated that Wednesday's strike occurred near Misurata's port,which has been a lifeline for supplies into the city and refugees going out. NATO hasbeen bombarding loyalist forces shelling the port area.

In weeks of difficult battle, rebel fighters managed to dislodge Kadafi forces from thecenter of Misurata, commanders say, but regime loyalists based outside the centercontinue pounding the town and its port with artillery fire and rockets.

Three more people were killed Thursday in rocket or mortar attacks on Misurata, said a

doctor contacted via Internet telephone. The death toll Wednesday was seven, he said.

Meanwhile, in far western Libya, Reuters news agency reported that pro-Kadafi forceshad retaken a strategic border post along the Tunisian frontier that rebels had captureda week ago. Libyan soldiers hoisted their flag at the Dehiba-Wazin border crossing, saidReuters, which reported that fighting had also broken out in Tunisian territory.

The government in Tunis did not comment on the report. Tunisia has taken inthousands of Libyans who have fled the fighting in their homeland.

Though the rebel stronghold remains in the east, insurgents are also battling Kadafiforces in the Western Mountains area near the Tunisian border.

Fighting was also reported in the remote southeastern town of Kufra, where, Reuterssaid, Libyan state television asserted that the government had seized full control,though the rebels denied that the town had fallen.----------------------Libyan fighters battle for checkpoint (Washington Post)By Leila Fadel and Simon DenyerApril 28, 2011; 10:14 PMBENGHAZI, Libya ³Libyan fighters wrangled for control of a checkpoint on thecountry·s western border with Tunisia, while government forces attacked and entered aremote town in the southeastern desert Thursday in another day of clashes across thecountry.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi also continued to shell the besiegedwestern city of Misurata, killing at least 10 civilians and wounding at least 30, a rebelspokesman said.



Rebel officials said an apparent NATO airstrike had also accidentally killed at least 10rebel fighters near Misurata·s port Wednesday, on the same swampy road whereNATO had destroyed a convoy of government forces the day before.

Íf it was NATO, it means our boys are completely wrong to go there,µ Mohamed Ali, arebel spokesman, said via Skype. ´They were told not to go there by commanders, andwe accept responsibility for this mistake. No one in Misurata is blaming NATO for whathappened.µ

A NATO spokesman told the Associated Press the jets had struck several combatvehicles about 10 miles southeast of Misurata·s port Wednesday, targeting an areawhere they had broken up a large group of pro-Gaddafi forces the day before.

ŃATO cannot independently verify reports that these vehicles were operated by

opposition forces,µ the spokesman said. ´We deeply regret any loss of human life, asour mission in Libya is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas against attack.µ

If the strike was by NATO warplanes, it would mark the third mistaken attack on rebelfighters in opposition territory since the airstrike campaign began several weeks ago.

Farther west, the border post between the Libyan town of Wezen and the Tunisian townof Dehiba has changed hands several times since the conflict began in February. Rebelshad hoped to consolidate control of the post after seizing it last week, to open a lifelineto towns and villages under their control in Libya·s western mountains, but they were

driven out Thursday.

Tunisia·s Foreign Ministry expressed its éxtreme indignationµ to the Libyangovernment after the fighting spilled into its territory. About 1,000 Libyans fled Wezento take refuge in Tunisia. The rebels staged a counterattack, and fierce fighting wasreportedly continuing late Thursday. A rebel spokesman in the eastern city of Benghaziclaimed Friday morning that their fighters had recaptured the border post.

Libyan state television claimed that Gaddafi·s troops had also taken control of the townof Kufra, in the southeastern desert, ánd purified it of the armed gangs,µ as thegovernment calls the rebels.

But rebels in Benghazi denied that the town had fallen.

´Gaddafi·s forces have been shelling Kufra since this morning, and in the afternoonthey entered the town. But they are not in full control. The battle is not over, and thesituation is unclear,µ rebel spokesman Mohamed al-Muntasser said.



In Misurata, Ali said that government troops stationed to the east and south continuedto rain artillery and rocket fire on the city. He said NATO planes could be heardthroughout the day and were striking in and around Misurata, adding that he hopedthey would locate the sources of the shelling.

´There is some more work to be done to make Misurata safe,µ he said.

Rebel leaders have expressed frustration that NATO was not doing more to protectMisurata·s port, the city·s lifeline, from attacks by Gaddafi·s forces. Nevertheless, theyacknowledge the city would have been overrun by now if it were not for the coalition.

Aiman Abu Shahma, a doctor in Misurata, said shells landed Thursday within a fewhundred yards of the clinic where he works.

´Every day he is shelling us with rockets, but rockets cannot occupy our city,µ he said,

adding that he was happy with NATO and that he hoped the alliance would carry outmore airstrikes, notably on Gaddafi·s Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli.--------------------Libya: Tunisia indignant over border clashes (BBC)By Unattributed AuthorApril 28, 2011Tunisia has condemned a violation of its territory after fighting between Libyan rebelsand forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi spilled over the border.

Tunisia said it had informed Libya of its "extreme indignation".

Rebels and pro-Gaddafi troops were fighting for control of the border post betweenDahiba and Wazin, which rebels captured a week ago.

Shells fired by pro-Gaddafi forces are said to have landed within Tunisia.

The government troops apologised to their Tunisian counterparts after briefly crossingthe border, Reuters news agency reported.

But Tunisian authorities warned of a "dangerous military escalation".

"Shots fired at a populated area on Tunisian territory (are) a violation of Tunisia'sterritorial integrity and a violation of the security of the residents of this region", said astatement from the Tunisian foreign ministry.

"Given the gravity of what has happened ... the Tunisian authorities have informed theLibyans of their extreme indignation and demand measures to put an immediate stop tothese violations."



Misrata shelling

Fighting in western Libya, near the border with Tunisia, has intensified over recentdays.

Rebels seized the border post a week ago, and pro-government forces have been tryingto retake it.

Thousands of people have fled from Libya across the frontier to flee the violence.

Elsewhere, there were reports that government troops had retaken the southern city ofKufra following violent clashes.

In the capital, Tripoli, at least two loud explosions were heard late on Thursday as Nato

jets flew overhead.

And in the western city of Misrata rebels reported continuing bombardments by pro-Gaddafi forces.

The rebel-held city has been besieged by forces loyal to Col Gaddafi for several weeks.

Those forces have retreated from the centre of Misrata, but rebels say they are shellingresidential areas from the outskirts.

Earlier, a rebel commander and witnesses told reporters a that a Nato air strike inMisrata on Wednesday had killed at least 11 rebels.

A Nato official confirmed alliance aircraft had struck "a number of combat vehicles 10miles south-east of Misrata port", adding that Nato could not "independently verifyreports that these vehicles were operated by opposition forces".

He said there had been no Nato attack on any building in or around Misrata.---------------------US says Gadhafi troops issued Viagra, raping victims (MSNBC)By Unattributed AuthorApril 28, 2011United Nations ³ The U.S. envoy to the United Nations told the Security CouncilThursday that troops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi were increasinglyengaging in sexual violence and some had been issued the impotency drug Viagra,diplomats said.



journalists' hotel in Tripoli last month saying she had been raped by pro-governmentmilitiamen.

The International Criminal Court is already investigating whether Gadhafi'sgovernment committed war crimes in its violent crackdown against demonstrators who

demanded greater freedoms. The crackdown sparked a rebellion that has turned into acivil war.--------------Ivory Coast's Ouattara to Be Inaugurated May 21 (VOA)April 28, 2011By Unattributed AuthorNew Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara says he will be formally inauguratedMay 21 in the country's official capital, Yamoussoukro.

Ouattara took power April 11 after four months of fighting between his supporters and

those of Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to leave office after last November's presidentialelection.

The United Nations certified results showing Mr. Ouattara as the winner of that poll.Ouattara held a brief swearing-in last December while blockaded in a hotel by pro-Gbagbo troops.

The Ouattara government is now trying to re-establish security and normalcy aroundthe country. Some banks reopened Thursday, after being closed for weeks.

In New York, the United Nations Security Council extended sanctions against IvoryCoast for one year, including an arms embargo.

On Wednesday, a militia leader who helped drive Gbagbo from power was killed infighting with the pro-Ouattara Republican Forces. Ibrahim Coulibaly died after theRepublic Forces attacked his militia in the main city of Abidjan.

Coulibaly had been a longtime rival of Ouattara's prime minister, Guillame Soro.

Earlier, Ouattara's government said it was launching a criminal investigation of formerpresident Gbagbo, his wife, and a number of their associates. A spokesman did not saywhat specific charges they are facing.

Laurent Gbagbo and his wife remain in the government's custody.

Both pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces have been accused of killing and rapingcivilians during the post-election violence. Ouattara has vowed to hold accountable allof those who committed crimes during the unrest.



The United Nations says hundreds of people were killed in the post-election clashes,and more than 1 million were displaced from their homes.--------------------US Criticizes Sudan·s Bashir Over Abyei Comments (VOA)

By David GollustApril 28, 2011The United States on Thursday criticized an assertion by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that Khartoum will not recognize South Sudan as independent, if it claims thedisputed Abyei region. South Sudan is set to become fully independent in July.

The State Department·s top Africa diplomat is framing Bashir's comments on Abyei asunhelpful, and is urging leaders in Khartoum and the southern capital Juba to recommitto negotiations to settle remaining north-south disputes.

The Sudanese president has pledged to respect the results of the January referendum, inwhich southern Sudanese voted overwhelmingly for independence to take effect on July 9.

But the process appeared to hit a snag this week when Bashir said his governmentwould never recognize an independent south, if it tries to claim the oil-rich centralAbyei region.

In a talk with reporters here, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs JohnnieCarson said the parties need to set aside threatening rhetoric and peacefully settle their

remaining issues under their 2005 Comprehensive Peace Accord, or CPA, before July.

"Those comments are not helpful at all, and they only serve to inflame and heightentensions. It is important that both sides - those in Khartoum and those in Juba - focusintensely on trying to resolve the key issues that have not been completed under theCPA. Abyei is one of them. This must be done before July 9. And it important thatPresident Bashir and the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, continue to meet,negotiate, to resolve these issues as quickly as possible," he said.

Carson also said he has intervened with Uganda·s government over its treatment ofopposition leader Kizza Besigye, who was arrested on Thursday for the fourth time thismonth.

Besigye, who finished second in Uganda·s February election behind President YoweriMuseveni, has been leading protests in Kampala against alleged corruption, andsoaring food and fuel prices.



Carson said he telephoned Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kuteesa earlier Thursday toprotest what he said was the apparent serious mistreatment of Besigye, and the arrestsof other opposition figures.

"We have expressed our concern about what appears to be harassment of Dr. Bisigye. I

have myself spoken to the Ugandan foreign minister about this, and have urged that theUgandan government act in both a responsible and civil fashion in dealing with thearrest of individuals attempting to carry out peaceful protests," said Carson.

Carson said he urged reconciliation and the opening of political space for peacefulprotests in Uganda, and said he was told that Museveni plans to meet oppositionleaders next week to ease tensions.

The assistant secretary, who was among international observers of Nigeria·s April 16presidential election, hailed the country·s multistage electoral process this month as its

most successful since the end of military rule in 1999.

He said the United States deplores the widespread lethal violence in northern Nigeriathat occurred after the reelection of President Goodluck Johnson was confirmed.

But Carson said that overall, U.S. officials noted a more responsive security presenceand hope that the latest elections, while imperfect, will provide "a baseline" for furtherimprovement in a historically trouble-ridden process.--------------------Darfur rebels reject draft Doha accord (AFP)

By Unattributed AuthorApril 28, 2011KHARTOUM ³ The main Darfur rebel group involved in the Doha peace talks saidThursday it "totally rejected" the draft documents submitted by UN mediators, furtherundermining prospects of a Sudan accord.

"We received the documents from the mediators in Doha yesterday. But we aredisappointed with them as they offer less than the Abuja agreement," the Justice andEquality Movement's spokesman Gibril Adam said.

He was referring to a peace accord signed by rebel leader Minni Minnawi in 2006.

Adam said the solutions the latest documents proposed to the problem of refugees,compensation for Darfuris affected by the eight-year conflict, power and wealthsharing, and the restoration of land taken by Arab tribes all fell short.

"For all these reasons, we have totally rejected these documents," Adam told AFP bytelephone from Doha.



JEM, the most heavily armed of the Darfur rebel movements, has been participatingalongside the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in the foundering peace talkswith the Sudanese government in the Qatari capital.

Djibril Bassole, the outgoing UN and African Union mediator on Darfur, had beenunder pressure to submit draft texts acceptable to the three parties, with Khartoumsignalling its growing frustration at the lack of progress.

The talks have effectively been in limbo since officials in Khartoum announcedunilateral plans to hold a referendum on the administrative status of the war-tornregion, now set to take place on July 1, according to the National Election Commission.

The vote, which would determine whether Darfur is granted regional status, whichwould give it a greater degree of autonomy, or remains as individual states, has been

strongly criticised by the main rebel groups.

JEM accuses the government of being unwilling to reach a negotiated settlement, andcriticised the draft documents on Thursday for failing to mention the region'sadministrative status.

Others argue that any referendum on how Darfur should be governed is impossiblebefore peace has been established in the region.

Exiled rebel leader Abdelwahid Nur told AFP on Thursday that Antonov aircraft of the

Sudanese armed forces had bombarded the Gorlang area of eastern Jebel Marra,Darfur's fertile central uplands.

He said three people were killed in Wednesday's attack and 17 wounded.

An army spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the allegations,which could not be independently verified.

Following a relative lull in the fighting in Darfur, renewed clashes between rebels andthe army since December have resulted in more than 70,000 new arrivals at camps forthe displaced, according to UN reports.

At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and 1.8 million people fled theirhomes since the conflict broke out erupted in 2003 between non-Arab rebels and theArab-dominated Khartoum regime, the United Nations says.

The government puts the death toll at 10,000.------------------



The turbulent north (The Economist)By Unattributed AuthorApril 28th 2011Lagos - WHEN Nigeria·s presidential election results started trickling in on April 17th,showing that the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, was heading for victory, youths in the

country·s north started to burn buildings in protest. The election itself was hailed as animprovement on the rigged and violent polls that have kept the ruling People·sDemocratic Party in power for a dozen years. But its outcome has widened olddivisions in Africa·s most populous country, home to 150m people and over 250 ethnicgroups.

Hundreds are now thought to have died in the post-election violence, thoughauthoritative figures are hard to come by. A local human-rights group says that morethan 500 people were killed just in Kaduna, one northern state, in the worst of theviolence between April 17th and 19th. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based lobby,

said that 311 bodies had been found in one mass grave alone. A heavy military presenceand curfews in the worst-hit states, including Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi, have sincebrought an edgy calm.

Many voters in the mostly Muslim north plumped for Muhammadu Buhari, a formermilitary ruler who hails from the landlocked and impoverished region. Thinking he hadbeen the victim of rigging by Mr Jonathan, a Christian from the oil-rich southern delta,youths burnt the homes of local Muslim leaders denounced as PDP stooges. In Kadunathis soon led to wider sectarian clashes.

State governorship polls on April 26th, which should conclude a month of elections fornational and local posts, passed off with a low turnout and high security in much of thenorth. Bombs went off in Borno state before the poll and on the day itself, killing at leastthree people. Previous explosions there have been claimed by Boko Haram, an extremeIslamist sect. Polls in Kaduna and Bauchi, deemed the most volatile states, werepostponed by two days to let extra troops be deployed.

But soldiers and curfews are only a temporary solution. The youths are angry not justbecause of this month·s election results. Northern Nigerians lag behind their southerncounterparts on almost every measure of development, even though poverty blights thewhole country. The average annual income of $718 per person in the northernmost 19states is half the figure in the remaining 17 states, according to UN data. Literacy ratesand child nutrition are also poor.

Rather than foster industries, successive governments have relied on the oil revenues ofAfrica·s largest energy producer for their income. Such neglect has hit the north, faraway from the coast·s ports and banks, a lot harder. ´If those youths were employed,they would have just gone to work on that Monday morning,µ says Ismaila Zango, a



28 April ² Thousands of people in southern, central and western Côte d·Ivoire remain ingreat need of humanitarian aid, United Nations officials in the country reported today,stressing that priority requirements include health care, education, water, shelter andprotection of those affected by the recent post-election violence.

As drought deepens in Ethiopia, UN and partners urge scaling up of aid 28 April ² United Nations humanitarian agencies are calling for increased assistance toan estimated 2 million people affected by drought in the Horn of Africa country, whereemergency conditions are projected to persist until the next rainy season arrives inOctober.

UN agency suspends food aid in parts of Southern Sudan after attacks28 April ² More than 240,000 Southern Sudanese may not receive critical food rationsnext month after the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) suspendedoperations in two areas of the soon-to-be independent country because of direct attacks

amid rising violence in the region.

AFRICOM Related News Clips 29 April 2011

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Transcript of AFRICOM Related News Clips 29 April 2011