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 United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

3 May 2012

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please see below today's news review for May 3, 2012.

Of interest in today's clips:

-Army Will Reshape Training, With Lessons From Special Forces-UN Security Council Threatens Sudans with Sanctions-Mali Uprising Proves No Threat to Junta Leader's Vision of Authority-Lt Gen Gutti takes command of AU forces in Somalia

U.S. Africa Command Public AffairsPlease send questions or comments to:publicaffairs@usafricom.mil DSN (314) 421-2687 or commercial +49-(0)711-729-2687

Headline Date Outlet

Army Will Reshape Training,With Lessons From SpecialForces 

05/02/2012  New York Times 

WASHINGTON -- The Army is reshaping the way many soldiers are trained and deployed, with someconventional units to be placed officially under Special Operations commanders and others assigned to regions ofthe world viewed as emerging security risks, part...

UN Security CouncilThreatens Sudans withSanctions 

05/02/2012  Voice of America 

The U.N. Security Council has threatened Sudan and South Sudan with sanctions if they do not stop fighting andreturn to the negotiating table to resolve their differences. Significantly, Wednesday's resolution had the support ofChina and Russia.

Lt Gen Gutti takes commandof AU forces in Somalia  

05/02/2012  AMISOM 

MOGADISHU - Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, has today taken command of the military component of theAfrican Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) following a handover ceremony presided over by the SpecialRepresentative of the Chairperson of the African Unio...

Mali Uprising Proves No

Threat to Junta Leader'sVision of Authority  

05/02/2012  New York Times 

BAMAKO, Mali -- This onetime model of African stability remained in a precarious state on Tuesday as the newmilitary junta fought back an attempted countercoup by loyalist troops and asserted victory by day's end.

USS Simpson ConcludesParticipation in SaharanExpress 2012  

05/02/2012 U.S. Naval ForcesEurope-Africa 

USS SIMPSON, Atlantic Ocean -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) concludedtheir participation in exercise Saharan Express 2012 while underway off the coast of West Africa, April 30, 2012.

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  US: We're Concerned AboutAttacks on Media, Churches  

05/02/2012  THISDAY 

United States Tuesday said it was concerned about attacks on churches, media and government installationsacross northern Nigeria which, it said, increasingly target innocent Nigerians.

Libya moves to stop HagueICC trials for Kadhafi era

killings  

05/02/2012  Africa Online 

TRIPOLI - Libya has applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) challenging the pending trial of Saif IslamKadhafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, the son and former spy chief under slain leader Mouammar Kadhafi's regimerespectively.

Charles Taylor trial 'a threatto Africa'  

05/02/2012  AFP 

MONROVIA - Former Liberian president Charles Taylor's conviction for aiding war crimes in Sierra Leone is a trapfor all African leaders, a spokesperson for the Taylor family said on Tuesday.

Coming face to face withSomalia's al-Shabab  

05/02/2012  BBC News 

Freelance journalist Hamza Mohamed recounts the day he was able to put a human face to the Somali Islamistinsurgent group al-Shabab, in this article published in the latest issue of the BBC's Focus on Africa magazine.

Indian sailors recountSomali pirate attack  

05/02/2012  Washington Post 

MUMBAI, India -- The alarm sounded at 6:40 a.m. It could have been a fire or a man overboard. But in the watersoff the coast of Oman near the Gulf of Aden, the sound meant one thing to the crew of the Enrica Ievoli: pirates.

UN News Service-AfricaBriefs 

05/02/2012  UN News Centre 

-Somalia: UN expert on human rights urges restoration of justice system-UN trade official encourages expansion of organic farming in Africa-One million children at risk of dying from malnutrition in the Sahel – UNICEF

News Headline: Army Will Reshape Training, With Lessons From Special Forces |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: New York TimesNews Text: By Thom Shanker

WASHINGTON — The Army is reshaping the way many soldiers are trained and deployed,with some conventional units to be placed officially under Special Operations commanders andothers assigned to regions of the world viewed as emerging security risks, particularly in Africa.

The pending changes reflect an effort to institutionalize many of the successful tactics adoptedad hoc in Afghanistan and Iraq. And as the Army shrinks by 80,000 troops over the next fiveyears, its top officer, Gen. Ray Odierno, also is seeking ways to assure that the land force isprepared for a broader set of missions — and in hot spots around the globe where few soldiershave deployed in the past.

General Odierno's initiatives are a recognition that the role — and clout — of SpecialOperations forces is certain to grow over coming years, and senior Pentagon policy makersbriefed on the plans say they are fully in keeping with the new military strategy announcedearly this year by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, thechairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

With cuts ordered in the Pentagon budget — and cognizant of public exhaustion with largeoverseas deployments — the military will focus on working with partner nations to increasetheir capabilities to deal with security threats within their borders. The goal would be to limit the

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footprint of most new overseas deployments. Those scenarios would reflect a shift fromconventional forces to Special Operations forces, and General Odierno's plans would increasethe support of Army general-purpose units to those types of missions.

Creating new sets of formal relationships between Army general-purpose units and the SpecialOperations Command would be a significant change in Army culture. For more than a

generation, the large, conventional Army and the small, secretive commando communityviewed each other from a distance, and with distrust. Armor and infantry units trained andoperated separately from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency teams.

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, changed that. The demands of combining high-end conventionalcombat and counterinsurgency missions for complementary and overlapping missions inAfghanistan and Iraq pushed conventional and Special Operations forces together. GeneralOdierno, who now serves as Army chief of staff, oversaw many of those tactical initiativesfirsthand.

He was a division commander in northern Iraq when Saddam Hussein was captured there in amission that combined armored units and the elite counterterrorism force. And during his toursas the No. 2 and then the top commander in Iraq, he integrated conventional and SpecialOperations missions on a daily basis.

Under the emerging plans, conventional Army units would train alongside Special Operationsunits, and would deploy with them, under their command, on overseas missions.

Other units would remain in the conventional force, but would be told in advance that theirdeployments would focus on parts of the world, like Africa, that do not currently have Armyunits assigned to them. This would allow officers and soldiers to develop regional expertise.

General Odierno foreshadowed his planning in an essay published last week in Foreign Affairs,in which he wrote that ―the Army will need to preserve and enhance its relationship with jointSpecial Operations forces.‖

―The evolution of this partnership over the past decade has been extraordinary, and the ties

can become even stronger as we continue to develop new operational concepts, enhance ourtraining and invest in new capabilities,‖ he wrote.

On the effort to prepare Army units with a regional focus, General Odierno wrote, ―We mustalign our forces, both active and reserve, with regional commands to the greatest extentpossible.‖

The military's global combatant commanders would guide whether the units focused on high-end combat skills, disaster relief or training missions to improve the capability of militarieswithin partner nations. ―Regional alignment will also help inform the language training, culturaltraining and even the equipment that units receive,‖ General Odierno wrote.

The first unit to be designated for this new regional orientation will be a full brigade that will

train for missions under the command of the military's Africa Command, Army and Pentagonofficials said.

Formalizing what had been impromptu ties between conventional units and Special Operationsforces was a focus of official ―Warfighter Talks‖ held last February by General Odierno andAdm. William H. McRaven, who leads the Special Operations Command. The Army has heldsimilar, chief-to-chief talks with the other armed services, but it was not the norm with thecommando community's top officer. General Odierno and Admiral McRaven have pledged tomake the formal dialogue an annual event, according to Army officials.

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The Army contributes more than half of all personnel to Special Operations Command. Buteven as the Army shrinks, its Special Operations personnel roster is slated to grow to 35,000from 32,000, Army officials said.

The conventional force can vastly increase the capability of Special Operations units byproviding logistical support to those teams in the field. Transportation, security, medical

evacuation, food, fuel and other logistics needs are routinely provided to Special Operationsunits by the conventional force.

More specifically, in Afghanistan today, for example, two conventional Army battalions areassigned in support of Special Operations units carrying out a program called Village StabilityOperations, which trains and partners with local security forces.

Formal training linking a conventional unit to a Special Operations unit will begin in June at theJoint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., Army officials said. The units will join for atraining mission that begins at ―Phase Zero,‖ the time when the military hopes to shape thebattlefield in advance of combat, and through completion of the training mission. That style oftraining will be expanded to the larger desert facility, the National Training Center at Fort Irwin,Ca., in the autumn.

The training will focus on what the military calls ―hybrid‖ scenarios, in which a single battlespace may require the entire continuum of military activity from support to civil authorities totraining local security forces to counterinsurgency to counterterrorism raids to heavy combat.

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News Headline: UN Security Council Threatens Sudans with Sanctions |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: Voice of AmericaNews Text: By Margaret Besheer

The U.N. Security Council has threatened Sudan and South Sudan with sanctions if they donot stop fighting and return to the negotiating table to resolve their differences. Significantly,Wednesday's resolution had the support of China and Russia.

The measure was adopted unanimously, something that was not certain until just before thevote. China, which has extensive oil interests in the two Sudans, and Russia had expressedreservations about threatening sanctions if the two parties did not comply with the resolution'sdemands.

Those demands echo and support an African Union decision from last week. The two sideswere given 48 hours to cease all hostilities, including aerial bombardments, and return to thetalks within two weeks under African Union guidance to resolve all issues remaining from theirseparation last July.

China's U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong said Wednesday that Beijing is ―deeply worried‖ aboutthe recent deterioration of relations between Juba and Khartoum and urged both parties toreturn to talks. China supported the threat of future sanctions in the resolution, but requestedthat the qualifier ―as necessary‖ be added to the text.

―We are always very cautious about the use or threat of sanctions," he said. "In the meantime,China has all along maintained that African issues should be settled by the Africans in Africanways. We commend and support the unremitting efforts made by the African Union to promotethe settlement of the issues between Sudan and South Sudan and welcome the roadmap

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adopted by the African Union in this regard.‖

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin echoed China's concern about sanctions, saying thatdiplomatic and political avenues have not been exhausted and sanctions are an extrememeasure, but he too supported the resolution.

The United States, which drafted the resolution, reflected the stance of several Westernmembers of the council, saying the resolution underscores the 15-nation council's strongsupport for the African Union's roadmap for peace.

Ambassador Susan Rice cautioned that the two Sudans have come close to the brink of warand risk turning the clock back to the horrors of their past conflict, in which some two millionpeople died.

―The United States calls upon both parties to implement fully and without delay all elements of the African Union Peace and Security Council communiqué, starting with an immediate andunconditional cease-fire," she said. "If either or both parties fail to do so, this council standsready to act and to impose consequences.‖

She added that the goal is not to impose sanctions, but to resolve the conflict.

The international community has expressed concern that the two Sudans risk slipping back intowar after South Sudan briefly seized and occupied the oil town of Heglig. Juba pulled its forcesback after 10 days amid international demands that it do so. Khartoum said it chased theenemy from the town, but only after there had been significant damage to the infrastructure.

At Wednesday's meeting, South Sudan Minister of Cabinet Affairs Deng Alor said Juba wouldcomply with the council's resolution. He also appealed to the United Nations to urgentlymobilize humanitarian assistance for southern populations affected by the recent clashes andbombings.

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman expressed confidence that AUmediation will resolve the outstanding matters between the two Sudans and said settlement of

the conflict needs to remain in African hands.

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News Headline: Lt Gen Gutti takes command of AU forces in Somalia |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: AMISOMNews Text: MOGADISHU - Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, has today taken command ofthe military component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) following ahandover ceremony presided over by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of theAfrican Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra.

Ambassador Diarra who was accompanied by the Head of the AU Peace Support OperationsDivision, Mr. Sivuyile Bam and the AU Focal Point on Somalia, Ambassador Rodney Kiwacommended Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti on his new appointment, saying that hisexperience and knowledge would be of great benefit to the international effort to restore peaceand stability in Somalia.

―Lieutenant General Gutti, will lead AMISOM troops in the ongoing battle to bring peace andprosperity to the Somali people. With the support of the international community, AMISOM willcontinue to work towards the restoration of peace and freedom of movement for Somalia in the

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near future, which is critical for the progress in the global fight against terrorism and aspirationsfor regional stability.‖ He said.

The new AMISOM Force Commander who has served in the Ugandan military for over 26years will oversee an expanded AMISOM force, which will include Kenyan, Ugandan,Djiboutian, Burundian and Sierra Leonean forces.He takes over from Major General Fred

Mugisha during whose tenure, AMISOM forces helped drive the Al Qaeda‐

affiliated terrorgroup, Al‐Shabaab, from fixed positions in Mogadishu, ushering in the longest sustained periodof relative peace that the Somali capital has had since the collapse of central government in1991.

His appointment comes at a time when AMISOM is expanding across the country havingsecured the capital. In February, the UN Security Council raised AMISOM's authorizedstrength to 17,731 troops. Once the process of integrating Kenyan and Sierra Leonean units insouth Somalia is complete, the force will have a presence in the regions of Bay, Gedo andLower Juba in addition to Banadir and Middle and Lower Shabelle.

Currently 14,400 AMISOM troops are deployed in Somalia with the recent arrival of anadvance party of 100 troops in Baidoa to be soon joined by a further 2,400. Al‐Shabaab isbecoming marginalized in Southern Somalia as they have lost ground and the support of theSomali population.

Lieutenant General Gutti, commented that the military success of AMISOM has beenacknowledged by the current expansion of the mission. He said: ―AMISOM's military progressis critical to the future of peace in Somalia. Security and stability will enable a widecross‐section of Somali's to engage in the national political dialogue. We will continue workingwith the Somali Army and affiliated groups to train its soldiers and advance the NationalSecurity and Stabilization Plan, an ongoing process parallel to the approval of a draftconstitution.‖

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News Headline: Mali Uprising Proves No Threat to Junta Leader's Vision of Authority |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: New York TimesNews Text: By Adam Nossiter

BAMAKO, Mali — This onetime model of African stability remained in a precarious state onTuesday as the new military junta fought back an attempted countercoup by loyalist troops andasserted victory by day's end.

Hours before the revolt broke out Monday, the junta's leader, a youthful American-trainedcaptain named Amadou Haya Sanogo confidently declared a leading role in Mali's future in aninterview at his barracks outside Bamako, the capital. There was no hint that his authoritywould be challenged later in the day, but soldiers were busy building a substantial protective

wall in front of the dilapidated two-story military building that is his headquarters.

There were sporadic bursts of gunfire on a rainy May Day holiday, but soldiers on the street,diplomats and a high-ranking member of the junta said control had been re-established inBamako, at least temporarily, after a night of shelling and tracer fire. Key positions — the statetelevision station, the airport and the loyalist Djicoroni barracks — were under their command,said the soldiers, who appeared calm for the most part. Still, gunfire crackled over the Djicoronibarracks late into the afternoon.

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The apparent triumph of Mali's military bosses, less than six weeks after they chased theelected president from his palace overlooking the capital, seemed a further step in theconsolidation of their control, despite pledges to restore civilian rule and democracy. It was ashow of firepower, capped by the overrunning of the short-lived uprising's center in theDjicoroni barracks. The high-ranking member of the junta, who asked not to be quoted byname, said there had been deaths on both sides, but could not say how many.

Captain Sanogo's coup on March 22 caused the immediate collapse of the Malian Army'sresistance to nomadic rebel and Islamist forces sweeping across the vast northern half of thecountry. That area, now outside government control, has been the scene of serious humanrights abuses, including rapes, public floggings and amputations, according to a Human RightsWatch report released Monday. The swift breakdown of the armed forces has led, in turn, toquestions about the effectiveness of a United States-led regional counterterrorism program thathad taken the Malian Army under its wing.

Across Bamako, somber black billboards have sprung up, depicting the map of Mali as a giantface shedding tears from its northern half, and with a big question mark planted in its southernsection. Refugee accounts gathered by Human Rights Watch and clandestine footage aired onFrance 2 television depict a vast region of West Africa, including the historic city of Timbuktu,now under the repressive sway of militant Islamist factions like Al Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb.

Under strong diplomatic pressure, Captain Sanogo was forced to install a president, a primeminister and various ministers in the southern half still under his control last month. And earlyin April, he made ―a solemn promise‖ to the regional grouping of West African states, Ecowas,to restore constitutional order. But with the arrests and detentions of 22 leading oppositionfigures two weeks ago, critics of the junta here have taken to referring to the civiliangovernment as a facade.

Ecowas, embarrassed by an old-fashioned African coup d'état, is eager to push the juntaaside, saying it will send troops to ―assist Mali‖ — an offer Captain Sanogo firmly rejected lastweekend.

Indeed, the captain, leaning forward on a sofa in his office, put his junta — he referred to it as―the committee‖ — front and center in what is to unfold next, proclaiming that without it Maliwould find itself in turmoil.

He acknowledged that there was no military check on the northern rebellion that has severedthe country. And he accused the president he overthrew, Amadou Toumani Touré, who is inexile in Dakar, Senegal, of making common cause with the rebellion, which he likened totreason.

Broadly confident and assertive, the captain, a 2010 alumnus of the United States Army'sinfantry officer basic training course at Fort Benning, Ga., spoke of the service ―the committee‖had accomplished in toppling what he called a corrupt, worn-out regime.

―If this committee disappears, it will create a crisis,‖ Captain Sanogo said. ―That there is agovernment at all, it's because of the committee.‖

Unlike other recent West African coup leaders — in neighboring Guinea, for instance — he didnot speak of himself grandiosely in the third person, instead referring often to the collective ofthe committee. That was a reflection of what diplomats and some opposition figures here say ispressure from troops and junior officers who aided in the coup not to give too much ground toEcowas and other outside forces.

Still, a pro-Sanogo public demonstration was unfolding on the encampment grounds as he

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spoke, clearly encouraged by the soldiers. Supporters wore T-shirts bearing the captain'spicture, held up signs praising him and shouted derogatory slogans against Ecowas. Thecrowd made clear that it backed the captain and his men but not the interim government theyset up.

 Asked about the potential role of the junta, Captain Sanogo said, ―We must just find a little

agency, to head things up.‖

He denied he was behind the roundups two weeks ago, saying the arrests were connected toan investigation of secret arms caches. But the political opposition here considered themintimidation, and a clear signal that the junta remained in control.

Before he was deposed, Mr. Touré was set to give up power — a rarity in West Africa — afterelections that would have been held this past Sunday.

Captain Sanogo was dismissive about what the elections might have brought — ―it would havebeen the same elements in power‖ — and vague about when they might be held. Yet heinsisted that ―it is not political power that interests me.‖

The coup was necessary because ―now, at least, we have a fresh start,‖ he said.

The committee will continue to figure in public life, the captain said, ―if it is found necessary thatwe will play a role.‖ And he appeared to have no doubt that such a role would be found.

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News Headline: USS Simpson Concludes Participation in Saharan Express 2012 |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: U.S. Naval Forces Europe-AfricaNews Text: By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brian T. Glunt

USS SIMPSON, Atlantic Ocean — Sailors aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson(FFG 56) concluded their participation in exercise Saharan Express 2012 while underway offthe coast of West Africa, April 30, 2012.

Saharan Express, one of four express series exercises, focused on improving communicationsand building relationships of West African countries to counter common maritime threats,began in Dakar, Senegal, Aprril 23, where 12 countries' navies, coast guards and armyparamedic teams gathered to kick off the maritime training and exercises with a pressconference and pre-sail conference, introducing the 10 ship commanders and participants.

"The main role of Simpson was to work with the other countries to provide a platform for themto train on, evaluate how they progressed during training and submit feedback," said EnsignKevin Mullin, Simpson's boarding officer. "It was a really good learning experience to work withthe other nations. I think they definitely got something out of it too.

The 12 nations that participated in the second Saharan Express are Cape Verde, representedby CV Guardiao; France, represented by FS Tonnere; The Gambia, represented by GNSTaipai; Cote d'Ivoire; Liberia; Mauritania, represented by Limam Elhadrami; Morocco,represented by RMN Bir Anzarane; Senegal, represented by SN Popnguine, SN Ex Conejeraand SN Baye Sogul; Sierra Leone; Spain, represented by ESPS Vencedorea; the UnitedKingdom represented by HMS Dauntless, and the United States, represented by USSSimpson.

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During this year's Saharan Express, Simpson acted as a target ship while crewmembers set updifferent scenarios of illegal fishing, illicit drug trafficking and first aid medical response for theother nation's visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams to board and treat the exercise asthey would in an actual situation.

"Back in Dakar, the idea of the training was to cross train with our African partners on medical

topics that VBSS teams may have to put in effect during a boarding," said Petty Officer 1stClass (FMF) Christopher Tilley, Simpson's Saharan Express medical training mentor. "We hadthe Senegalese Army paramedics actually instructing the training. They did a very good job.They were concise. They were clear with their instruction and the African nations really walkedout of it with the point of the training."

While medical and boarding training was conducted in Dakar, Senegal, the underway portionwas controlled by the Counternarcotics and Maritime Security (COSMAR) interagencyoperationscenter in Praia, Cape Verde.

Saharan Express is one of four regional maritime exercises in Africa, an international securitycooperation initiative facilitated by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed atstrengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities toimprove maritime safety and security in Africa.

Simpson, previous to Saharan Express 2012, also participated in a community relations(COMREL) project in Praia, Cape Verde where crewmembers volunteered to paint twoclassrooms and visit students at the elementary school Escola Lavadoura.

"We got out there to show that we are doing more than just helping with maritime enforcement.The kids at the school got to see us go in and help them out," said Petty Officer 1st ClassRichard Williford, a volunteer at the COMREL. "We all got to hang out with the kids and playsoccer. It was great. Without that participation at the school, the children really wouldn't haveknown why we were there."

Simpson, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate homeported out of Mayport, Fla.,

continues to conduct theater security cooperation and maritime security operations in the U.S.Naval Forces Africa area of responsibility.

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News Headline: US: We're Concerned About Attacks on Media, Churches |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: THISDAYNews Text: By Tokunbo Adedoja

The United States Tuesday said it was concerned about attacks on churches, media andgovernment installations across northern Nigeria which, it said, increasingly target innocent

Nigerians.

Expressing its concerns in a statement issued by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, US alsodescribed as ―disgraceful assault‖, the attack on church services at the Bayero University Kano(BUK) where two professors and several students were gruesomely killed.

Condemning attempts to inflame Christian-Muslim tensions, US expressed support for ―thosewho recognise Nigeria's ethnic and religious diversity as one of the country's greateststrengths.‖

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 While ―strongly‖ condemning attacks on innocent civilians in Nigeria, US said, ―Our thoughtsand prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who were killed and injured.‖

Also speaking with THISDAY in New York, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. JohnCampbell, agreed that the Boko Haram challenges had assumed a dangerous trend with the

attacks on media offices and places of religious congregation.

Campbell, reacting to the attack on THISDAY offices in Abuja and Kaduna, and the attack atchurch service in BUK said: ―One is an attack on the freedom of the press, the other is anattack on the freedom of religion. Both must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.‖

Noting the dangerous twist in the upsurge of Boko Haram attacks, the former US envoy said,―Why THISDAY was attacked, I don't know. THISDAY, of course, is a major Nigeriannewspaper with circulation all over the country.‖

Campbell, who had consistently maintained his opposition to calls to designate Boko Haram asa foreign terrorist organisation, said the increasing wave of attacks by the sect hadn't changedhis position.

He said Boko Haram appeared to him as a highly defused organisation, and ―does not appear to be a tightly organised entity.‖

He suggested that the Boko Haram challenge should be tackled politically, arguing that Nigeriashould adopt, ―a political approach to northern isolation, northern alienation which are theoxygen that Boko Haram is breathing.‖

On recent reports showing a nexus between Boko Haram and Al Qaeda, and whether Nigeriashould tackle the Boko Haram challenge the way US had been confronting Al Qaeda,Campbell said: ―No, I don't think so. I think that any kind of connection that Boko Haram haswith groups outside of Nigeria is not transformative.‖

He said he did not believe that such connections, where they exist, ―shape what Boko Haram is

doing.‖

Campbell said, ―Boko Haram seems to me to be essentially focused on domestic and internaldevelopments in Nigeria.‖

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News Headline: Libya moves to stop Hague ICC trials for Kadhafi era killings |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: Africa OnlineNews Text: TRIPOLI - Libya has applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) challengingthe pending trial of Saif Islam Kadhafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, the son and former spy chief

under slain leader Mouammar Kadhafi's regime respectively.

Lawyers Professor Philippe Sands, Professor Payam Akhavan and Michelle Butler, havemoved to the ICC on behalf of the Libyan government to challenge the admissibility of the caseagainst the two nationals.

The lawyers argue that the Transitional National Council (NTC) was responsible for theindictments of the three, including Mouammar Kadhafi, who was killed at the height of theLibyan uprising, which was pronounced a full-scale conflict.

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 In their challenge to the admissibility of the cases facing the two, the lawyers said Tripolideserved a chance to show that it was committed to the delivery of justice.

―This application is brought under Article 19(2)(b) of the Rome Statute, to challenge theadmissibility before the ICC of the case concerning Saif Al-Islam and Abdullah Al-Senussi, in

accordance with the principle of complementarity,‖ the ICC said.

Libyan officials insist the case should not be admitted for trial at the Hague-based Courtbecause the authorities are investigating the two for multiple acts of murder and persecution inpursuit of a state policy, amounting to crimes against humanity.

―These acts, allegedly committed as part of widespread systematic attack against civilians,include but not limited to crimes committed in Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata, during the periodcommencing 15 February 2011 until the liberation of Libya.‖

Lawyers in their application challenging the trial of the two at the Hague Court, said the newauthorities were committed to post-conflict transitional justice and national reconciliation.

―It reflects a genuine willingness and ability to bring the persons concerned to justice infurtherance of building a new and democratic Libya governed by the rule of law.‖

The lawyers argued that the Libyans deserved the first chance to try the two for the crimescommitted in the country.

―To deny the Libyan people this historic opportunity to eradicate the long -standing culture ofimpunity would be manifestly inconsistent with the object and purpose of the Rome Statute,which accords primacy to national judicial systems.‖

They argued that trial of the case in Libya would allow the authorities there to go back into the42-year period, marked by the abuse of human rights, forced disappearances and anenvironmentwhere the search for the truth was criminalized.

Citing the example of the 1996 killing of 1,200 people at the Abu Salim prison and their secretburial, the state's lawyers said several people were arrested for questioning the whereaboutsof those arrested.

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News Headline: Charles Taylor trial 'a threat to Africa' |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: AFPNews Text: MONROVIA - Former Liberian president Charles Taylor's conviction for aiding warcrimes in Sierra Leone is a trap for all African leaders, a spokesperson for the Taylor family

said on Tuesday.

"We believe that the trial and subsequent conviction of Mr Taylor is a trap that has been set upfor African leaders by Western leaders," Sando Johnson, a Liberian senator, told AFP inMonrovia.

Taylor, 64, was found guilty by a special court in the Netherlands on 26 April of war crimes andcrimes against humanity for supporting Sierra Leonean rebels in exchange for diamonds duringtheir 10-year war.

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 A sentence is expected on 30 May.

The Liberian politician, regarded as the Taylor family's spokesperson, argued that Africanleaders needed to close ranks and warned that those of them tempted to reach out to Westernpowers would be made to regret it.

Johnson then recounted a rambling parable told by Taylor when he agreed to resign aspresident in August 2003 before going into exile.

The parable centred on three cows - a black, a red and a white cow - who befriend a lion.Having eaten up all the antelopes around, the hungry lion tells the white and red cows that theywill be spared if they let him eat the black one. He repeats his trick until the white cow is leftalone and gets eaten up too.

"You must be careful. Today is Charles Taylor. The black cow is going. The red cow is waitingout there," Taylor said in 2003.

The sentence

Johnson argued that history had vindicated Taylor's prediction, citing the demise of Libya'sMuammar Gaddafi and the downfall of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, who isawaiting trial in The Hague.

"Who knows, now these three cows have gone maybe another three cows will come. OnceAfrican leaders are not firm... the black race is going to suffer because of subjecting ourselvesto the whites for little or nothing," he said.

Johnson also predicted that the sentence due to be handed out to Taylor at the end of themonth would not be heavy.

"Mr Taylor is not going to be given a life or death sentence and if he is sentenced, it's not goingto be for long years," he said, adding that Taylor's camp was willing to offer redress to Sierra

Leone's war victims.

"If the people of Sierra Leone decide to demand for compensation from Liberia, I will be one ofthe leaders to stand up and ensure that Liberia pay that money to the Sierra Leoneans,"Johnson said.

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News Headline: Coming face to face with Somalia's al-Shabab |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: BBC NewsNews Text: Freelance journalist Hamza Mohamed recounts the day he was able to put a

human face to the Somali Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, in this article published in thelatest issue of the BBC's Focus on Africa magazine.

There is shelling not far from the hotel where I am staying. At the break of dawn I will bemaking my way out of Mogadishu and into al-Shabab-controlled Elasha Biyaha, to meet thegroup's media coordinator.

There I will request access to report from areas under al-Shabab's control.

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Earlier in the day I made a call to see if the coordinator could meet me the next day.Surprisingly, he agreed to a 09:00 meeting.

Al-Shabab are notorious for denying access to foreign media - let alone granting a meeting atsuch short notice.

It is just after 06:00 when Nur, my driver, turns up at the hotel, but there is no sight of Awiil, myfixer.

Nur tells me that Awiil, who has a young family, did not want to risk being caught in Somalia'sever-changing front lines.

After about 15 minutes of driving at break-neck speed and negotiating two chaotic governmentcheckpoints manned by nervous-looking skinny soldiers, we reach Elasha Biyaha.

This is a "pop-up" town that came into being when Mogadishu's residents left the anarchy ofthe city for the relative calm of its outskirts.

Checkpoints and tinted windows

In the distance we see a black flag hanging from a dried tree branch. Unlike the previous twocheckpoints, there is no heavy presence of soldiers manning this one.

It quickly becomes clear that this is one of the frontiers of the conflict: On one side thetransitional government and African Union troops and on the other al-Shabab fighters.

From the shade of an acacia tree two seemingly teenage boys - the younger-looking one with ashiny AK47 rifle hanging from his left shoulder - wave our 4x4 to the side of the road.

What seems to be the elder of the two has a headscarf wrapped around his face. He standsback, letting the younger one approach our car.

The tint on our car windows has attracted their attention. In Somalia, most 4x4s are tinted to

keep the occupants' profile as low as possible. He is not impressed.

Nur acknowledges our "fault" and explains that we have our camera kit on the backseat andleaving expensive gear in a car with non-tinted window in Mogadishu is calling for it to bestolen.

In a soft and polite voice, the teenager explains to us that tinting is not allowed and walkstowards a house 500 metres away, telling us he is going to seek advice from what we think arehis superiors.

Nur and I turn to each other asking what other rules we might be breaking. I notice Nur still hashis shirt firmly tucked. He quickly untucks it.

Out of anxiety, I ask whether the al-Shabab youth might also take exception to my Nike trainersand we both break into nervous laughter.

All this time the elder of the two boys is standing not far from our car - listening but notresponding to our small talk.

After waiting for about five minutes, while replays of press reports of al-Shabab's notoriouslyharsh justice system run through my head, he comes back and tells us we are free to continueour journey but must wind down the tinted windows.

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Beehive of commerce

We are at the frontline, but there is no sight of men in trenches. There is also no sight of pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.

It is hard to imagine how this very lightly armed checkpoint was stopping the heavily armed

government and African Union troops. Perhaps there were more fighters with superiorweapons waiting in the nearby bushes.

After a short drive we reach the centre of Elasha Biyaha, a beehive of commerce and trade.

Unlike the battle-scarred buildings of Mogadishu all the buildings here are new, with their tinroofs glowing in the mid-morning sun.

On both sides of the only tarmac road in the town, stores sell goods from matchsticks to sacksof rice.

Also noticeably different from Mogadishu is the absence of men with guns in the streets of thetown - even though this is a "front line".

People stop and stare at us, only for them to smile and resume their activities when I greetthem in Somali.

We head to the hotel where our meeting is scheduled to take place. We get there in time butthere is no sign of our contact.

A quick call and we find out to our surprise he is in fact in Mogadishu, a city controlled bygovernment and AU soldiers, attending a funeral for two religious elders who died in theshelling the night before.

After two hours' wait a tall, slim figure with a goatee and a broad smile comes walking towardsus.

With arms outstretched, he says my name and gives me a hug as if I am an old friend. I askhow he picked me out of the crowd in the hotel.

He says: "You look like the picture on your Facebook profile."

My heart goes into overdrive. How much more could he possibly know about me? What aboutmy Twitter account? Does he read my tweets?

After a few seconds of nervous silence, he gives a broad smile and soft pat on my shouldersaying: "Don't worry you look better in real life."

Over freshly made mango smoothies, he apologises for not being on time.

Probably in his late 20s, he looks nothing like you may imagine a typical Islamist insurgent tobe. There are no robes or heavy beards.

He is wearing a crisply ironed shirt and trousers with the Islamic scarf loosely resting upon hishead, protecting it from the intense morning sun.

As the main man of al-Shabab's media campaign you would think he would be escorted byheavily-armed and masked bodyguards - but there are no signs of security or even a pistol forprotection.

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'No stealing'

As we are having drinks he notices I do not wear a wedding ring.

The conversation changes to what kind of women I prefer, and why I have not married.

He offers to assist me in finding a potential wife and he adds that if I cannot afford the dowry hewill happily contribute.

I had expected to be asked whether I pray five times a day, not about my taste in women.

We talk until the midday call for prayers goes out, and I suggest we go to the mosque. Somaliabrings out the fear of God in everyone.

Nur and I are used to carrying our kit with us wherever we go, but he suggests we leave it inthe car.

Remembering that we were told to keep the tinted windows down, I say we are happy carryingthe kit with us.

He insists, assuring us if anything happened he would personally pay for our kit.

After prayers we go to a restaurant for a lunch of boiled camel meat, rice and stew. Betweenchewing the tough camel meat and the soft basmati rice he gives me the news I have beenhoping for - the freedom to report from al-Shabab-controlled areas.

We return to our car after lunch; our kit is still there, albeit dusty from the strong wind and in fulldisplay to all the locals.

"This is an al-Shabab area, nobody touches what's not theirs," the man tells me.

As we begin our drive back to Mogadishu he reassures us of our safety.

Feeling a bit more confident, I retort with a smile that while this may be true, we cannot be safefrom drone strikes.

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News Headline: Indian sailors recount Somali pirate attack |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: Washington PostNews Text: MUMBAI, India — The alarm sounded at 6:40 a.m. It could have been a fire or aman overboard. But in the waters off the coast of Oman near the Gulf of Aden, the soundmeant one thing to the crew of the Enrica Ievoli: pirates.

The ship was carrying 15,000 tons of caustic soda from Iran to Turkey when it was hijacked bySomali pirates, who held the 18-man crew hostage for four long months.

The seven Indian crew members on board the Italian ship landed in Mumbai on Tuesday.

This account of their capture and release is based on interviews with five crew members andtwo shipping company officials.

 __ Roopendran Parrakat, 51, had been watching the unidentified boat since he came on duty

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shortly before 6 a.m. on Dec. 27. He and two other crew members took turns peering throughbinoculars at the vessel, which showed up on the Enrica Ievoli's radar as an ominous blipmoving far too fast toward their ship.

―Normally, you get GPS data,‖ Parrakat said. ―This vessel had no details, no name, nothing.‖

Forty minutes later the captain sounded the alarm, jolting Shantilal Harji Solanki awake.

―I had a feeling pirates were around,‖ said Solanki, 52, who worked as a mechanic on the ship.

He stashed his gold prayer beads in an air conditioning duct before heading up to the ship'sbridge, the designated meeting point in case of emergency.

The captain told the assembled crew that pirates were approaching.

The next hour unfolded in slow motion. A skiff set out from the pirate's mother ship.

The crew watched from the bridge as four men in shorts and T-shirts hoisted a ladder andclimbed on board. Two carried AK-47s. They fired shots in the air and called themselvespirates. They said they were from Somalia.

The pirates came up to the bridge and trained their guns on the captain. ―They said this boat ishijacked,‖ recalled Solanki. One of the gunmen was shaking. Another man was bleeding, cuton the hand and shoulder by the barbed wire the crew had wrapped around the ship to staveoff pirates before entering the dangerous waters. Five more Somalis soon climbed on board.The youngest was 14, the oldest in his fifties.

The leader carried a pistol. He was perhaps 55, thin, with a gentle way of talking. He didn'tseem dangerous. The men called him Maya.

Maya told the crew he didn't want to harm them, that there would be no killing if they gotmoney.

―The leader told us we are hijacking this vessel for money,‖ said Parrakat. ―We need thismoney for our country. We are doing this for our country.‖

Maybe if they'd cut the power, darkened the boat and locked themselves in some hidden roomthey could have escaped, one member of the crew said. If they'd only had an armed guard onboard, none of this would have happened, others said.

A helicopter flown in by the Turkish navy in response to the captain's distress call arrived 20minutes too late.

The pirates held the crew in the ship's bridge, a vast room encased in glass at the top of theship which offered 360 degree views of the surrounding ocean. Half the men got mattresses,the rest slept on blankets. They had to ask permission to go to the bathroom or take a shower.

Pirates always escorted them, one man at a time. Photographs were forbidden.

The pirates led the crew — seven Indians, six Italians and five Ukrainians — one by one totheir cabins and took anything that could be sold.

They stole Solanki's two laptop computers, one of which he'd just bought for his daughter, twocellphones, his watch, his leather shoes and all his money.

After a few days, the ship reached Somali waters and the men were allowed to call home.

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Solanki called his wife in Diu, an island north of Mumbai, India's financial capital. ―I told mywife, ‗I am hijacked. Don't worry, we are OK,'‖ he recalled.

His two daughters were sobbing too hard to speak clearly. ―Papa come soon,‖ they said.

The crew did not become friends with their captors over the long months of captivity. They

barely learned each other's names. The pirates slept separately and ate their own meals. TheSomalis brought sheep on board, slaughtering one each day for food.

The ship sat in Somali waters day after day. The crew played cards, mostly gin rummy, to fillthe empty hours. Some prayed.

Solanki, a Hindu, kept Hanuman, the monkey god, and Vishnu, the god of gods, in his mind.―You help us,‖ he pleaded.

Far away, the crew's fate was being hammered out in intense negotiations between thegovernments of Italy and Somalia and the owners of the Marnavi shipping company.

No one thought of escape.

―Everyone was afraid for his life,‖ said Parrakat.

―I can't be faster than a bullet,‖ said Solanki.

The Somalis were well organized, operating in concert with other pirates in the region.

Once the Enrica Ievoli reached Somali waters, Maya's group handed the vessel over to anthercrew of pirates led by a man named Loyan. The pirates communicated with each other bycellphone, or when they fell out of the network, through the ship's satellite phone.

Twice the Enrica Ievoli was pressed into pirate service.

In January, the ship sailed two and a half days to rescue nine pirates from a failed hijacking.

Five of the nine were injured and one had been shot dead by the U.S. Navy, said Solanki. Thepirates put the dead body in the freezer and sailed back to Somalia.

In March, Loyan ordered the ship to chase a hijacked Spanish vessel whose captain was notfollowing pirate orders. They never found the ship.

On April 22, more than 30 pirates, all armed, were aboard the Enrica Ievoli. They wrapped theirfaces in kerchiefs and cloths, hiding everything but their eyes. They lined the crew up on thedeck so they could be seen, alive, from a small white plane that approached around 2:30 p.m.

The pirates kept their guns pointed at the backs of the crew as the plane circled above andthen dropped three plastic containers, each fitted with a small parachute, into the sea.

The pirates scurried off the boat to collect their treasure.

A new kind of fear settled on the crew.

No one knew how much money was in those containers, but it was clear that the pirates hadgotten what they asked for.

―Until that day, they had reason to keep us alive,‖ Parrakat said. ―After they got what theywanted, they can do anything.‖ He stayed awake the whole night, listening as the pirates leftthe ship in small groups.

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 Around 5 a.m., the last few pirates fired three farewell shots in the air.

―It was like coming out of jail,‖ Parrakat said, a big smile spreading on his face.

The captain called an Italian navy ship patrolling nearby. A helicopter circled as six Italian

commandoes boarded the Enrica Ievoli and scoured the ship for any trace of pirates.

―When the Italian commandoes came, we felt OK, fine, we are going home,‖ Solanki said. Hetook his prayer beads out of the air conditioning duct.

The plane that brought Solanki and six other Indian crew home touched down in Mumbai asthe sun rose Tuesday. The men were greeted with garlands of flowers.

Solanki called his wife.

―I told her, I'm back in India. She said, ‗OK, OK,'‖ he said.

Solanki bowed his head with great dignity, trying to hide his tears. He plans to have some jewelry made for her before he flies home, he said.

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News Headline: UN News Service-Africa Briefs |

News Date: 05/02/2012Outlet Full Name: UN News CentreNews Text: Somalia: UN expert on human rights urges restoration of justice systemAn independent United Nations expert today urged Somalia's authorities to restore a legitimate

 justice system in the capital, Mogadishu, and in the country's southern and central regions,with assistance from the international community.

UN trade official encourages expansion of organic farming in AfricaExpanding Africa's shift towards organic farming will have beneficial effects on the continent'snutritional needs, the environment, farmers' incomes, markets and employment, the deputyhead of the United Nations trade and development body said today.

One million children at risk of dying from malnutrition in the Sahel – UNICEFAt least one million children are at risk of dying of malnutrition in the central-western part ofAfrica's Sahel region due to a drought crisis, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) saidtoday, adding that more resources are urgently needed to help those in need.

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