AFRICOM Related News Clips September 16, 2010

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office16 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Pentagon nominates new Africa Command leader (Associated Press)(Pan Africa) The Army general leading the Pentagon's review on ending the ban ongays in the military has been nominated to head U.S. Africa Command.

The forgotten heroes of World War II (CNN)(Uganda) More than 500,000 African troops served with British forces in WW II.

In Congo, U.S. Soft Power Encounters Obstacles (War is Boring - Blog)(Congo) Working with the Americans might help reform the FARDC. But in themeantime, the American military's major partner in a difficult soft-power mission inCongo is a potential liability when it comes to winning hearts and minds.

FAA Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Africa Commander Discuss Military Cooperation (Angola Press)(Angola) The chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), gen. Francisco Furtadoand the US Army Africa commander, gen. David Hogg, Tuesday in Luanda, discussedthe reinforcement of military cooperation between the two countries.

Sudan rejects U.S. referendum incentives (Reuters)(Sudan) A package of incentives offered by Washington to ensure the smooth holdingof a referendum on whether south Sudan should secede from the north amounts tointerference in Sudan's affairs, a ruling party official said on Wednesday.

US envoy urges tight security in Gulf of Guinea (AFP)

(Pan Africa) The US Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs William Fitzgeraldon Wednesday called on Nigeria and regional countries to tighten security in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.

The Blurring Line Between Militaries and Health Workers (The Atlantic)



(Pan Africa) Whether by providing basic care during a labor strike or building a clinicin Afghanistan, the military use in administering health services is likely to becomeonly more common.

Somalia battles measure success in meters (CNN)

(Somalia) With Somalia·s now attacking abroad and the expansion of Ugandan andBurundian peacekeepers on the ground, the situation is shifting as much as the frontlines.

Nigerian President to Run in Election (Wall Street Journal)(Nigeria) President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday announced his intention to runin January's presidential election, ending months of uncertainty and setting the stage fora standoff with powerful Muslim Nigerians opposed to his candidacy.

France Refuses Extradition for Rwandan Genocide Suspect (Voice of America)

(Rwanda) A French court has rejected a Rwandan government request to extradite adoctor accused of taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey UN measures to protect civilians in eastern DR Congo bearing fruit

y UN-supported project aims to boost Eritrea·s traditional fisheries catch

y Security Council renews mandate of UN mission to Liberia

y UNESCO chief calls on Ugandan authorities to punish journalist·s killers-------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

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

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, September 23, 9:00 a.m.WHAT: Breakfast Briefing with The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, New Ambassador ofthe United States to CameroonWHO: Business Council for International Understanding with Chevron CorporationInfo:http://www.bciu.org/wip01/online_event_invitation.asp?continent=0&country=0&currentorpast=current&eventsorprograms=events&IDNumber=1431&ProgramIDNumber=0&Keycode=8031275 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT



Pentagon nominates new Africa Command leader (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON ³ The Army general leading the Pentagon's review on ending the banon gays in the military has been nominated to head U.S. Africa Command.

If confirmed, Gen. Carter Ham would be only the second officer to head the nascentcommand, which has struggled to gain a foothold on the sprawling continent thathouses some of the world's growing terror threats.

Launched in Oct. 2008, Africa Command is the newest of the military's six regionalheadquarters and is based in Stuttgart, Germany. The Pentagon abandoned efforts tobase the command on the continent after it hit resistance among the African nations,and instead posted about two dozen liaison officers at embassies.

Africom, as it's called, has had to convince African leaders that the U.S. is there to assistthe countries, and is not planning to build military bases there. The U.S. militarycurrently has a base at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti.

Over the past two years, the command has worked to set up training programs,promote development and stability, and establish stronger military ties with thecountries and island nations.

Over the same time, U.S. officials have growing more concerned about terrorist groupstraining and plotting attacks in North and East Africa, including al-Shabab in Somalia.

Ham is currently the commander of U.S. Army Europe. He served as director ofoperations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and commanded the troops in northern Iraqfrom Jan. 2004 to Feb. 2005. His nomination to head Africom requires Senateconfirmation.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Ham and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnsonto head a working group on the impact that openly gay service could have on themilitary. Their report is not expected until the end of the year.--------------------The forgotten heroes of World War II (CNN)

(Uganda) At the age of 19, Christopher Kagwa was taken from his home in Uganda,East Africa, to fight in a distant war he knew nothing about.

More than 70 years later, the memories of fighting for the British Colonial Governmentin World War II are still fresh.



Sgt. Kagwa, formerly of the King's African Rifles, is one of Uganda's few living veteransof the world's bloodiest conflict.

He told CNN: "We were very scared of the white men. We didn't know anything aboutthem, all we used to hear about was King George, and that made us really frightened

when they said they'd come for us and take us to where they are.

"In the year 1939 we were told King George was going to come for us in a few days togo fight in Germany against Hitler and Mussolini, so after a few days a truck camecalling us.

"When it came we got in and were taken to the barracks. In the barracks we did noteven know what a gun looked like let alone how to fire one. We were totally ignorant,but they still took us to the frontline."

In his book, Fighting For Britain: African Soldiers in the Second World War, historianDavid Killingray says more than half a million African troops served with the Britishforces between 1939 and 1945 -- 289,530 of them with the King's African Rifles fromUganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi.

He describes it as the largest single movement of African men overseas since the slavetrade. Their contribution is often forgotten by the wider world.

Sgt Kagwa and his friend Masulum Museker, along with thousands of theircountrymen, were taken overseas and spent time in the jungles of Burma.

He said: "The frontline was scary but we had been trained how to run, how to load ourguns with magazines, and also when inside a tank how to fire and operate it. So thatmade us confident and we fought bravely.

"We were better than the British, we were beating the Germans like how you beat a goatin your garden, as well as the Italians.

"The Italians used to have small bombs that looked like cigarette paper, and white menused to go and pick it up, but for us we never picked it up. When we went there to fightwe said we're going there to die, so you fight like it's your last day."

Many of those Kagwa fought alongside, including his own brother, did not make ithome. They are remembered in the war cemetery in the village of Jinja.

He said: "It pains us a lot when we come here and see the graves and the names.People's bodies were never repatriated, instead they have numbers, because soldierswere each given numbers, so it was the numbers that came.



"So each number had a name of the person as well as their nationality. So if you werefrom Kenya, your number would be taken back to Kenya, Tanganyika (present dayTanzania) to there, and for Ugandans here."

Kagwa still wears the medals he received for his part in the conflict. He was honored byQueen Elizabeth in 2007 and is regarded as a hero in his home village of Kabwangasi.

His 16-year-old grandson told CNN: "I'm proud of him because he made history, andpeople are proud of him."--------------------In Congo, U.S. Soft Power Encounters Obstacles (War is Boring - Blog)

KINSHASA, Congo -- The local residents had been waiting for hours, and there was noguarantee they'd get in to the poorly lit room where administrators from the Forces

Armées de la République Democratique du Congo (FARDC) were busy filling outpaperwork. The U.S. Army and the FARDC were trying to register the Congolesecivilians for a free health clinic that would take place the following week. The clinic,administered by military medical personnel from both countries, would be one of theculminating events of a two-week, U.S.-led exercise meant to improve the FARDC'smedical capabilities -- all part of the "soft power" strategy advanced by U.S. AfricaCommand, based in Germany.

But outside the gate, scores of Congolese people still sat on curbs or milled around.Some had been there for hours trying to get registered, with no luck. Their conditions

were either not severe enough, or too severe for clinic treatment -- or else they justcouldn't shove their way past the guard at the gate. It was late morning and the numberof people already registered was nearing the FARDC-imposed limit of 2,000 cases. Anymore than that and the medical staff could be overwhelmed, U.S. Army Maj. Junel Jeffrey told World Politics Review. The disappointed Congolese muttered under theirbreaths.

The U.S. Army had come to Congo in part to win hearts and minds. Turning awaypatients meant possibly alienating the very people the Americans were hoping tobefriend. In underestimating the sheer depth of need in Congo, the Army could appearfickle, even cruel. The sick and injured who responded to the advertisements offeringfree medical care would instead discover that there wasn't nearly enough care to goaround.

The Congo soft-power mission, codenamed "Medflag," was not the first of its type torun into problems. In the three years since U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gatespublicly advocated for "strengthening our capacity to use soft power," the U.S. military



has repeatedly struggled with the logistical and public-relations challenges presentedby this new kind of operation.

In 2008, a U.S. Navy medical team in Nicaragua failed to inform thousands of waitingpatients about delays to clinic openings. The same team found it could not dispel the

widespread belief, based on accusations by Latin American leaders, that their shiprepresented the vanguard of an American invasion. In Gabon, West Africa, a year later,another Navy ship carrying doctors and engineers was too large to dock in the city ofLibreville's modest port.

Among the embittered Congolese turned away for treatment at Medflag, MoungiMartin, a Kinshasa resident, was angry for a different reason. He praised the Americansand the FARDC for trying to help everyday people, but wondered why more was notdone to address the root causes of the health problems the Congolese suffered from."The people are sick because they don't eat well," he said. "They don't eat well because

there is war in the agricultural areas."

But it's not the Congolese who are to blame for the war, Martin claimed. "It's the whiteman." Martin said foreign powers sell arms to Congolese groups in an effort to"destroy" Congo.

In fact, though foreign groups from Rwanda and Uganda contribute to the violence inrural eastern Congo, the Congolese government is responsible for much of it, too. TheFARDC also shares the blame. The deeply corrupt Congolese army perpetrates at leasthalf the rapes in a country notorious for sexual violence, according to a 2008 article in

the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Martin's argument, regardless of its merit, illustrates another obstacle, in addition to thelogistical ones, that American soft power faces in countries like Congo. Failing toaddress concerns such as Martin's allows misconceptions about America and itsrelations with Africa to continue or even worsen. But in the case of Congo, correctingMartin's error could shed light on some uncomfortable facts about the U.S. Army's ally,the FARDC. Either way, U.S. soft power has a perception problem.

Congo's current epidemic of sexual violence is a potential land mine for the U.S. Army'swell-meaning humanitarian outreach efforts. While the Americans have truly aimed toimprove both the Congolese military and the lives of their Congolese patients, inaffiliating with the FARDC they could be perceived as indirect accomplices to theCongolese army's crimes.

Indeed, U.S. Africa Command, the Germany-based command overseeing Medflag, hasbeen careful to deflect attention away from the FARDC's history of sexual violence. Thecommand co-funded a study, published in JAMA in August, expanding the definition



of sex crimes in Congo. But the study's participants avoided gathering data in areascontrolled by the FARDC -- a point not lost on Africa Command's critics. CiaránDonnelly from the International Rescue Committee lamented that in the study, the"FARDC are not listed among the reported perpetrators of sexual violence."

One of Medflag's stated goals is to improve the professionalism and accountability ofthe FARDC by simply exposing them to highly trained and disciplined U.S. Armysoldiers and facilitating their productive interaction with Congolese civilians.Ultimately, working with the Americans might help reform the FARDC. But in themeantime, the American military's major partner in a difficult soft-power mission inCongo is a potential liability when it comes to winning hearts and minds. That,combined with the daunting logistics of providing free medical care far from home,could undermine the U.S. military's goals in Congo.--------------------FAA Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Africa Commander Discuss Military Cooperation

(Angola Press)

Luanda ³ The chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), gen. FranciscoFurtado and the US Army Africa commander, gen. David Hogg, Tuesday in Luanda,discussed the reinforcement of military cooperation between the two countries, Angoplearned.

At the end of the meeting, Gen. David Hogg, told Angop the meeting served to discussmatters related to the English language training programme and the support hiscountry has been extending to FAA in the fight against Hiv/Aids and other illnesses.

Asked to comment on the current level of military cooperation between the twocountries, the source said one of the goals is to support and reinforce more and morethis cooperation. He said his country is ready to provide assistance as long as Angolanauthorities request for help with peacekeeping missions and military training, withhighlight to medical aid.

David Hogg, who is in Luanda since Monday, also said his coming to Angola has beenan opportunity for him to introduce himself personally to the chief of Staff of AngolanArmed Forces.

The US Army Africa command is based in Italy. The meeting was witnessed by thechief assistant of FAA Staff, gen. Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda, the chief of Staff of theLand Forces, gen. Jorge Barros "Nguto", and the head of the Health Services of theArmed Forces, Lieut-general Aires Africano.--------------------Sudan rejects U.S. referendum incentives (Reuters)



KHARTOUM ² A package of incentives offered by Washington to ensure the smoothholding of a referendum on whether south Sudan should secede from the northamounts to interference in Sudan's affairs, a ruling party official said on Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday offered incentives including restoring full

diplomatic relations and allowing some non-oil trade and investment if Sudan held the January 9, 2011 referendums on south Sudan and the disputed Abyei region on timeand agreed principles on post-referendum issues such as wealth sharing and the borderbetween north and south.

The package also holds out the threat of additional sanctions against Sudan if progressis not made.

"Really this is threatening and giving a warning to the Sudanese government withoutany reason," Rabie Abdelati, a Senior National Congress Party official, told Reuters.

"If somebody is saying they will do what's agreed upon there's no need to say to him Iam warning you."

He said the NCP was committed to holding the referendums on time so threats werenot necessary.

"This shows intervention in the domestic affairs of a country," Abdelati said.

Abdelati said Khartoum was confused by Washington's policy on Sudan, saying it

heard conflicting voices from the administration.

U.S. Sudan envoy Scott Gration is often criticized by Sudan activists in the United Statesfor being too soft on Khartoum, a policy they say has yielded no tangible results withdisputed and flawed April elections and little progress toward democratictransformation.

"We feel that some institutions in the USA don't have the same view and the same trendtoward Sudan," Abdelati said. "That is why up to now for us the stance of the U.S.administration is not clear."

He said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed a tougher line than othersincluding Gration.

"This shows a conflict in the center of decision making in the USA especially aboutSudan -- we don't receive one message with one color," said Abdelati.



Preparations for the simultaneous referendums on south Sudan, which most analystsexpect to result in secession, and the oil-producing Abyei region on whether to join thesouth or north, have been delayed by years of bickering between north and south overimplementing the 2005 accord which ended the country's long-running civil war.

The referendums are the climax of the deal which was supposed to share wealth andpower and transform Sudan into a democracy.--------------------US envoy urges tight security in Gulf of Guinea (AFP)

LAGOS ² The US Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs William Fitzgerald onWednesday called on Nigeria and regional countries to tighten security in the oil-richGulf of Guinea.

"Nigeria and west Africa have to strengthen security in the Gulf of Guinea," Fitzgerald

told reporters in a conference call on a US-Nigeria bi-national panel on security.

Senior US officials and governors from Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta attended thetalks in Washington this week.

Nigeria is the United States' fifth largest source of crude.

The OPEC member country and Washington launched a "strategic partnership" deal inApril to bolster bilateral ties on energy, regional security and good governance, makingNigeria the first African nation to be afforded such a status under the Barack Obama

administration.

The security panel is expected to help enhance stability and maritime security in theGulf of Guinea region.

Fitzgerald said Washington would train coast guards for the Gulf of Guinea andcontribute to the development of the volatile Niger Delta which was wracked withviolent attacks by armed gangs for almost four years until last year's governmentamnesty offer for the rebels.

He said the United States was happy that relative peace and stability had returned tothe region after more than 20,000 former militants laid down their arms.

"Whoever wins the next election has to worry about the Niger Delta -- to continue theamnesty, to continue with the training of ex-militants and to ensure that the people getadequate fund for development," he added.



The Niger Delta violence played havoc with Nigeria's crude output, reducing it tobetween 700,000 and 800,000 barrels a day from over two million before the crisis, saidFitzgerald.

Production has now rebound to more than two million barrels a day.

He said US officials would visit the Niger Delta to assess the situation and work directlywith the local communities on developmental projects.

"The security situation has improved. We have to get over there to see things forourselves," he said.--------------------The Blurring Line Between Militaries and Health Workers (The Atlantic)

This August, only weeks after South Africa hosted the World Cup to show off itself and

its remarkable post-apartheid progress, the country was brought to a state of nationalemergency by a three-week long strike by 1.3 million public sector workers. Though thelabor dispute behind the strikes amounted to a relatively minor 1.1 percent pay increaseand R200 ($18) monthly housing allowance, it brought much of the country to a halt,including the all-important health sector. With everything from research hospitals torural clinics crippled or closed entirely, and with South Africa still struggling againstone of the world's worst HIV epidemics, the human cost of the strike could have beenfar worse.

Thankfully, the South African military stepped in, providing health services nationwide

and allowing me to observe something I have long studied: what it means when themilitary plays doctor. Whether a military intervenes to provide necessary humanitarianaid, or whether it incorporates health services in pursuit of a larger security goal, thisintersection of soldier and doctor was on full display in South Africa.

My first encounter with the labor dispute strike was outside Durban's AddingtonHospital. The hospital is within sight of the former location of the FIFA World Cup FanZone, where thousands of spectators, including myself, watched the games. Weeksbefore, thousands of World Cup visitors had ambled past the hospital along Durban'swaterfront. This time, a crowd of workers clustered outside the hospital's entrance.

These striking health workers, represented by the trade union federation, were theforerunner of the countrywide strike that started less than a week later. UnlikeAmerican protests, South African demonstrations look more like a cross between atailgate party and a street festival. Instead of marching in circles, protesters dance andsing to show their grievances. Less than two weeks later, the strikes spread nationwideand brought the entire country, including hospitals like Addington, to its knees.



The strike devastated the government-run health system, which provides healthservices to all but the small minority able to afford private insurance. Nurses andorderlies abandoned patients into the care of non-striking doctors and hospital securityguards. Hundreds of newborns were left in intensive care units. Strikers wieldingwhips stalked the halls in one Durban hospital, chasing health workers from their posts.

Nurses refusing to strike were subject to threats, kidnappings, and violence. By thesecond week, government hospitals were almost completely abandoned and patientsleft to fend for themselves. Patients with HIV/AIDS avoided coming to hospitals tocollect their medication out of fear for their safety. Outside Addington Hospital, policefired rubber bullets at protesters blocking patients and non-striking workers fromentering the building.

Facing a collapsed health system, the South African government turned to its military.During the first week, over one thousand military doctors, nurses, and other healthworkers deployed to hospitals throughout the country. By the end of the strike, 4700

military health professionals were serving in 73 hospitals across eight of South Africa'snine provinces. Additional soldiers provided security and even stood in for strikinghospital janitors. While it replaced only a fraction of the civilian health system themilitary was able to keep at least some hospital doors open. This mission is not a newone for the South African military. Twice in the last four years, South African MilitaryHealth Service personnel deployed to maintain essential health services during healthworker strikes.

South Africa is not alone in using the military as a stopgap health system during laborcrises. Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Guatemala, and Nigeria have all relied on their

militaries to provide medical care when health workers went on strike. The military isan appealing health provider of last resort for two reasons. First, military health servicesare uniquely equipped to provide health care during crises. Military medical personnelhave access to their own pool of supporting services including security, transportation,and maintenance. This capacity can be critical during general strikes, when the civiliansector is crippled and many of the services regularly provided by private businessesand civil service workers are shuttered. Second, it is almost universally illegal formilitary personnel to go on strike. The simple fact is that in major strikes like the onelast month in South Africa, the military becomes the only fully staffed health careservice available to governments.

Worldwide, in times of crisis, countries are increasingly turning to their militaries to behealth workers and emergency services of last resort. During Pakistan's devastatingfloods, the Pakistani military and not the civilian government had the most prominentrole in the disaster relief effort. The Pakistani Army, the only group that could safelyaccess many affected areas, delivered thousands of tons of supplies and rescued over100,000 stranded people . After Katrina, U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, andCoast Guard personnel played a critical role in the government's response. Coast Guard



helicopters lifted tens of thousands of Americans to safety, Air Force teams set upnumerous field hospitals, and the navy stationed a hospital ship off the Gulf Coast. This'softer' military role is becoming particularly common in international disaster relief.

The U.S. military has provided medical care and humanitarian assistance after almost

every major natural disaster of this decade, including the 2004 tsunami and theearthquake in Haiti. It's not just the United States using its military for internationaldisaster relief: Canada, Israel, Mexico, and the Netherlands all sent military units toassist after Hurricane Katrina.

The growing role of militaries in health provision and disaster relief is not withoutopponents. Humanitarians worry the trend will lead to the politicization of aid, whiledefense establishments fear it will turn militaries into little more than armed PeaceCorps. But these concerns misunderstand what's causing the shifting military role. Thespread of globalization, democracy, and human rights over the last century has changed

how states treat armed conflicts and health crises, which have become moreintertwined. In the age of terrorism and insurgencies, humanitarian disasters are morelikely to turn violent; and military campaigns, such as the U.S. missions in Iraq andAfghanistan, tend to focus less on killing the enemy and more on winning over the localpopulation, as militaries find that healing people is cheaper, more likely to win overlocals, and less likely to inspire backlash.

Even non-state military actors such as Hezbollah and Lashkar-e-Taiba have taken toproviding health services to achieve their military goals. Whether by providing basiccare during a labor strike or building a clinic in Afghanistan, the military use in

administering health services is likely to become only more common.--------------------Somalia battles measure success in meters (CNN)

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- In a city where brutal fighting is the norm, it is easy toglaze over reports of a surge in Mogadishu's violence this summer. But with thecountry's insurgents now attacking abroad and the expansion of Ugandan andBurundian peacekeepers on the ground, the situation is shifting as much as the frontlines.

Soldiers from the African Union peacekeeping mission AMISOM are pushing deeperinto the city from what until now has been little more than a few blocks controlled bythe weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG.)

For years they have been battling to contain Islamist insurgents Al-Shabaab, an alQaeda-linked group which controls much of central and southern Somalia.



Modest gains are hard fought, with the AU taking previously Al-Shabaab-held areashouse by house. At one new outpost on a rooftop, Maj. Anthony Lukwago Mbusi's menwere shelling Al-Shabaab positions as they cleared a few houses they took two daysago.

"We are making a mop-up operation within the buildings here and thereafter -- afterthey have moved into those tall buildings there," he said, pointing across the street."AMISOM forces will move into those tall buildings, so that we can continue pushingthese people out, flushing them out of the near region."

New outposts now stretch up the city's coastline to major hotels and the ancient port,with the old U.N. base -- abandoned in the mid '90s -- within sight.

The insurgents have put up a fierce resistance and TFG troops on the very front linehave suffered heavy losses and casualties

When we see them (foreign fighters), we kill them, also we get intelligence

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan saw a fresh offensive by Al-Shabaab. Theyattacked and killed government troops as well as AU peacekeepers through mortarattacks, suicide bombs and roadside bombs. In August, they attacked a hotel inMogadishu killing more than 30 people including six parliamentarians.

In July, Islamist insurgents launched their first attack abroad -- with suicide bombingsin Uganda's capital killing 76 people as they watched the World Cup final. During the

tournament Al-Shabaab had banned watching or playing football, calling it un-Islamicand warning they would execute any fans caught around TVs.

The Kampala bombings sent a shock wave through Uganda, and President YoweriMuseveni requested a change in the peacekeepers' mandate, allowing them to take on amore offensive role against Al-Shabaab. This was rejected, but a small amount ofadditional troops were sent to Mogadishu.

Despite the AU's role remaining the same on paper, changes in their tactics this summerhave been notable, adding up to half-a-dozen new outposts in the city and clearingsome Al-Shabaab territory slowly. When quizzed on this, commanders say their newpositions are there to "secure" the old ones.

Three new outposts have been positioned around the presidential palace andgovernment area known as Villa Somalia. "We are now about 30 meters from Al-Shabaab," announced the commander at the new outposts. He drove us down to thefront line where government soldiers were holding those precious few yards. He



pointed beyond the barriers to a tall white house: "That is Monopolio market. That iswhere you will find foreigners."

Foreign fighters with jihadist experience elsewhere remain behind the scenes in thebattle for Mogadishu, says the AU. "When we are fighting here, the foreigners are a bit

in the rear," said the commander. Fighters from countries including Pakistan,Afghanistan and Yemen give orders from front-line positions, he explained, holdingtactical meetings and organizing munitions.

Further up town, two crumbling hotels on the seafront were seized over the past fewmonths and are now the scene of intense fighting. Under heavy sniper fire from Al-Shabaab, Capt. Keith Katuringi was most interested in discussing foreign fighters,saying they come from as far as Chechnya. "We see them," he responded when Iquestioned how his men could know where the insurgents are actually from. "When wesee them, we kill them. Also we get intelligence."

The source of that intelligence remains unexplained by the many military leaders whospeak about it. Intelligence-gathering drones can now be heard above Mogadishuduring the day and night. Most presume they are American. However, the Obamaadministration strongly denies any involvement in advising local forces.

"The United States does not plan, does not direct, and does not coordinate the militaryoperations of the TFG, and we have not and will not be providing direct support forany potential military offensives," Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary of state for Africa,told reporters in March. "Further, we are not providing nor paying for military advisors

for the TFG. There is no desire to Americanize the conflict in Somalia."

Somalia's local government is headed by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed,previously a leader of the Union of Islamic Courts. Although Sheikh Ahmed isconsidered a moderate, the UIC raised eyebrows in the West because other prominentmembers were considered radicals.

At the African Union's main base in Mogadishu, both private security firms Dyncorpand Bancroft are present, working with the AU and traveling with them in militaryvehicles.

A New York Times article published last month reported that the CIA has stepped upits anti-al Qaeda raids in Somalia, and referred to concerns that increased outsourcingto private contractors risked reducing transparency in Washington.

Beyond the politics however, ordinary Somali's continue to suffer the brunt of thissummer's violence.



The U.N. announced that in the two weeks spanning the end of August and start ofSeptember, more than 250 civilians had been killed in the crossfire in Mogadishu.

Children are particularly at risk in this conflict. Al-Shabaab is known to use childsoldiers. This summer, the spike in violence was accompanied by an increase in

kidnappings.

Shortly after I arrived in Mogadishu, reports reached the city of a mass kidnapping ofaround 100 boys from a rural town. Over the next week, military commanders reportedchildren running towards AU posts firing AK-47s.

Capt. Keith's men experienced such attacks. He said they have no choice but shootthem. "We have no choice," he said. "It's unfortunate but we have no choice."--------------------Nigerian President to Run in Election (Wall Street Journal)

LAGOS, Nigeria³President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday announced hisintention to run in January's presidential election, ending months of uncertainty andsetting the stage for a standoff with powerful Muslim Nigerians opposed to hiscandidacy.

The announcement, made via Mr. Jonathan's Facebook page, followed months ofmeetings to shore up support among Nigeria's political elites and head off potential riftsthat could lead to election violence.

Mr. Jonathan's bid to lead Africa's most populous country runs counter to politicalconvention. There's an unwritten agreement in Mr. Jonathan's ruling party, the People'sDemocratic Party, that power will rotate between mostly Muslim northern Nigeria andmostly Christian southern Nigeria every two terms.

Mr. Jonathan, a southerner, formally took over for former president Umaru Yar'Adua, anortherner, when the latter died in May during his first term. He is now seeking to holdonto the office at a time when gross domestic product is expected to grow more than 7%this year, according to the finance minister, but the country is still dealing withchallenges such as power shortages, disgruntled oil companies and religious violence.Mr. Jonathan has replaced several top officials ahead of party primaries in October.

Mr. Jonathan said he would hold an official declaration ceremony this Saturday. Anaide to Mr. Jonathan confirmed the announcement.

"In presenting myself for service, I make no pretense that I have a magic wand that willsolve all of Nigeria's problems or that I am the most intelligent Nigerian," Mr. Jonathansaid in the statement on his Facebook page. "I do not want to win your affections by



giving you promises of things I would do in the future which others before me havegiven and which have largely been unfulfilled. Rather, I would want you to judge meby my records."

A spokesman for the president didn't respond to requests for comment.

Several powerful northern Nigerians, including former military ruler IbrahimBabangida and Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, have spoken out against Mr. Jonathan's candidacy before each announcing their own candidacies.

On Wednesday, Mr. Babangida held a public rally for supporters in the capital, Abuja.Other northern candidates, including the chairman of the powerful national governorsforum, Bukola Saraki, and the former head of Nigerian's top anticorruption body, NuhuRibadu, are expected to announce their presidential ambitions soon.

The aide to Mr. Jonathan played down any backlash from northern Nigerians. "He'sbeen doing all the necessary consultations," the aide said. "It's because of his confidencein winning the election that he decided to run."

The ruling-party candidate has won every presidential election since Nigeria emergedfrom military rule in 1999. Many analysts think the election is Mr. Jonathan's to lose.

"He has the power of the incumbency, and in Nigeria this is a very, very powerfulthing," said Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the director of the Civil Society LegislativeAdvocacy Centre, a watchdog group in Abuja.

Nigeria has held two successive elections deemed deeply flawed by internal andexternal observers. For the coming election, registration of the expected 70 millionvoters hasn't yet begun and the electronic registration machines to be used haven't beenordered.--------------------France Refuses Extradition for Rwandan Genocide Suspect (Voice of America)

A French court has rejected a Rwandan government request to extradite a doctoraccused of taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

A judge in Versailles ruled Wednesday Eugene Rwamucyo could not receive a fair trialin Rwanda. The judge decided to release him in France.

Rwamucyo's lawyer, Philippe Meilhac, told reporters the court decision was a "relief"and called it a victory of law over politics.



Rwamucyo still faces a criminal investigation in Paris for genocide and crimes againsthumanity. The case against him was brought by a Rwandan victims group.

Wednesday's ruling comes as France and Rwanda are working to repair fragilerelations. In March, French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a visit to Rwanda after a

three-year break in diplomatic ties.

A team of French investigators is currently in Kigali looking into the assassination ofRwanda's and Burundi's presidents in a 1994 plane crash. The incident is widelyconsidered the trigger for the genocide.

A French finding in 2006 accusing President Paul Kagame, a former Tutsi rebel leader,of ordering the assassination led Rwanda to break ties with France. Mr. Kagamestrongly denied the charge.

Rwanda's own investigation blamed Hutu extremists for the assassinations saying theywere trying to create an excuse for the genocide.

Another Rwandan doctor faces an extradition hearing in Bordeaux in October.

During the genocide, Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and Hutumoderates in the span of 100 days.--------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

UN measures to protect civilians in eastern DR Congo bearing fruit 15 September ² The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC) today reported that an operation designed to enhance the protection of civiliansin the eastern areas of the country has resulted in the arrests of some suspected humanrights abusers and a return of many internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes.

UN-supported project aims to boost Eritrea·s traditional fisheries catch15 September ² The United Nations agency helping poor rural people overcomepoverty is supporting efforts to boost Eritrea·s traditional fisheries sector whileconserving fish stocks and the marine ecosystem.

Security Council renews mandate of UN mission to Liberia

15 September ² The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United NationsMission in Liberia (UNMIL) for another year and authorized the peacekeeping force toprovide support to the Government as it makes arrangements for presidential andlegislative elections next year.



UNESCO chief calls on Ugandan authorities to punish journalist·s killers15 September ² The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with defending pressfreedom today called on the Ugandan authorities to do everything possible to bring to justice the killers of a journalist who was attacked by an angry crowd while covering aprotest by dozens of motorcyclists.

AFRICOM Related News Clips September 16, 2010

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