AFRICOM Related News Clips September 27, 2010

8/8/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips September 27, 2010

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/africom-related-news-clips-september-27-2010 1/25

United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office27 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Unidentified helicopter bombs Al Shabaab meeting in Somalia (Garowe Online)(Somalia) A warships helicopter stationed off Somalia's coast on Sunday attacked ahouse where affiliates of the insurgent group, Al-Shabaab were meeting in Marka,in Lower Shabelle region, Radio Garowe reports. Residents told Garowe Online that the

insurgents meeting there left the house moments before the helicopter attack.Helicopter Attacks Militant Meeting in Somalia (New York Times)(Somalia) An unidentified military helicopter blasted rockets at a house where Somalimilitants were meeting on Sunday, according to residents and insurgent leaders, in anapparent strike against the Shabab insurgent group.

Saharan Army Chiefs Discuss al-Qaida Threat (Voice of America)(Algeria) The army chiefs of four Saharan countries met Sunday to establish a jointstrategy for fighting al-Qaida-linked militants. Chiefs of staff from Algeria, Mali,Mauritania, and Niger met in Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria, where the countriesrecently set up a joint headquarters to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts.

Africa's neocolonial era ending as US and France seek new partnerships (DeutscheWelle)(Pan Africa) For generations, Africa·s fate lay in the hands of self-interested foreignpowers. Today, the US and France promise a fresh approach to the continent that putsAfricans in charge of their own security and development.

Somalia chief says Al-Qaeda seeks growing African base (AFP)(United Nations) The head of Somalia's weakened transitional government on Saturdayaccused Islamist insurgents of seeking to turn the war-stricken country into a base forAl-Qaeda to bring terror to the whole of the Horn of Africa. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed,whose western-backed administration only retains a shaky control of Mogadishu withAfrican Union peacekeepers, appealed for greater international support including moretroops to fight Islamists.



Uganda: A pawn in the US·s proxy African war on terror (The Peninsula)(Uganda) Efforts to forcibly pacify Somalia have created fertile ground for it to developand spread, while also risking fragile freedoms elsewhere. This fiasco has been ledpolitically by Washington which, since the catastrophic American occupation ofSomalia in 1993, has preferred to see its security objectives advanced through Africanproxies and private security contractors.

Obama Presses for Peace in Likely Sudan Partition (New York Times)(Sudan) After months of leaving Sudan policy on a back burner, President Obama putthe weight of his administration and his own personal esteem in Africa on the lineFriday, demanding that north and south Sudan ensure that their likely split into twonations early next year proceed peacefully.

Critics Claim Obama·s Sudan Push is PR (Fox News)(Sudan) As President Obama wraps up his three-day trip to New York City and the

United Nations General Assembly, he will chair a meeting on Sudan, the largestcountry in Africa, that has been waging a bloody civil war for years. But, even as themeeting is getting underway, critics say this latest push by the administration is nothingmore than public relations.

Clinton's New Report Praises and Attacks Electoral Commission (The Monitor)(Uganda) The Obama administration has criticised alleged manhandling of politicalopponents in Uganda ahead of the 2011 elections and voiced fresh disapproval aboutthe independence of the Dr Badru Kiggundu-led Electoral Commission.

Sanctions stay until Zimbabwean rights improve: U.S. (Reuters)(Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe must show greater respect for human rights and politicalfreedoms before the U.S. sanctions on the impoverished African nation can be removed,the State Department said on Sunday.

US asks Japan, other countries to aid Somalia (AFP)(Somalia) The United States on Friday urged Japan and other countries in Asia, Europeand the Middle East to contribute funds to Somalia's beleaguered government and theAfrica Union peacekeeping force there.

Somalia·s Puntland, Somaliland Support U.S. Cooperation (All Headline News)(Somaliland/Puntland) The semi-autonomous region of Somalia·s Puntland and thebreak-away republic of Somaliland support U.S. cooperation, authorities said Sunday.

Kenya says West wasting money on anti-piracy ships (Associated Press)(Kenya) Kenya's foreign minister said Saturday the millions being spent to fight pirateattacks off the coast of Somalia should be spent instead on helping the country becomea functioning state.



Kidnapped French, African Aid Workers Reported Alive In Mali (All Headline News)(Mali) Sources in Mali told French officials on Sunday that five French nationals, aTogolese and a Malagasy kidnapped by Al Qaeda militants in Niger on Sept. 16 arealive and are now in the neighboring African country.

USAFE general: Keep U.S. military forces in Europe (Stars and Stripes)(Germany) On the eve of his departure as U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, Gen.Roger Brady remains a vocal advocate of a robust U.S. military presence in Europe,despite calls by some U.S. lawmakers to reduce that footprint in an effort to curtail aballooning defense budget.

UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

y General Assembly: Ban and Rwandan President discuss various issuesy African nations push for permanent Security Council representationy UN and African U nion launch joint task force on peace and securityy Guinea-Bissau requires sustained international support, General Assembly

hearsy Sudan: Ban meets senior official for talks ahead of critical referenda

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

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, October 6, Noon; Cato InstituteWHAT: Why Africa Is Poor and What Africans Can Do about It

WHO: Greg Mills, Director, Brenthurst Foundation, South Africa; Marian L. Tupy,Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute; moderated byIan Vásquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato InstituteInfo: http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=7401 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

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

Unidentified helicopter bombs Al Shabaab meeting in Somalia (Garowe Online)

(Somalia) A warships helicopter stationed off Somalia's coast on Sunday attacked ahouse where affiliates of the insurgent group, Al-Shabaab were meeting in Marka,in Lower Shabelle region, Radio Garowe reports. Residents told Garowe Online that theinsurgents meeting there left the house moments before the helicopter attack.

A report says that the helicopter flew from a warship that patrols Indian Ocean.



" The attacks happen instantaneously, the helicopter flew away after Islamist forces firedback at it, " eyewitnesses said.

One of Al-Shabaab militant stated that the attacks targeted the senior officials whoparticipated the meeting but failed to succeed after Al Shabaab fighters back at it.

" The helicopter flying at the east, then start firing mortars at the house whichcompletely destroyed it, " said an Al-Shabaab source.

Somali journalists were refused to cover the story in Marka.

The attack was the second one that erupted in that region. In Sept 2009, an American airstrike killed a senior Al-Shabaab linked to Al-Qaeda, Salah Ali Nabhan. In May 2008, AlShabaab founder Adan Hashi Ayro was killed in a U.S. airstrike.

Al-Shabaab strongly opposes the policies of the government in Somalia. It is accused ofhaving links with terrorist groups, chiefly Al-Qaeda.

The Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu backed by AU,which has long promised to launch a major offensive against insurgents, controls only afew streets of Mogadishu.

Helicopter Attacks Militant Meeting in Somalia (New York Times)

(Somalia) An unidentified military helicopter blasted rockets at a house where Somalimilitants were meeting on Sunday, according to residents and insurgent leaders, in anapparent strike against the Shabab insurgent group.

Residents in Merca, a seaside town firmly in Shabab hands, said that a foreign militaryhelicopter was flying in low circles overhead on Sunday morning before the attack. Theresidents said they saw the helicopter coming from the ocean, but they did not see anyships or know what country it belonged to.

According to one Shabab official, the helicopter·s rockets narrowly missed killingseveral leaders of the group. Immediately after the attack, the group started blockingthe roads in and outside the town and started investigations. They also seizedcellphones from local reporters in an effort to ensure that the information did not gobeyond Merca, according to residents.



The rockets hit ´between two houses, and for God·s sake no one has been killed orinjured in the attack,µ said the Shabab official, who spoke from Merca on the conditionof anonymity. ´It was in fact a house where Shabab officials were meeting.µA senior Pentagon official and a senior military official, both in Washington, said late

Sunday that there were no American aircraft in the area and no American involvementin the attack. In fact, it would be highly unlikely for a single American helicoptergunship to carry out such an attack without one or more other aircraft nearby.

Last year, American commandos killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a wanted agent of AlQaeda, in a helicopter raid not far from Merca. That swath of southern Somalia iswidely believed to be a sanctuary for several wanted terrorists and insurgent leaders,including Omar Hammami, an American militant originally from Alabama who hassteadily risen up the Shabab ranks and become one of the organization·s top fieldcommanders.

The Shabab, who have gained a reputation of ruthlessness for stoning adulterers andchopping off hands, control much of Somalia and have drawn increasingly close to AlQaeda in recent months. At the same time, Somalia·s internationally recognizedtransitional federal government, which has received tens of millions of dollars ofAmerican aid, is struggling to control a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu.

Over the weekend, the government was hit by another potentially damaging blow.Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa, a powerful group of moderate Islamists, abruptly quit thegovernment after having signed a power-sharing pact earlier this year.On Saturday, Sheik Abdullahi Abdirahman Abu Yusuf, a spokesman for Ahlu SunnaWal Jamaa, announced, ´We will not be part of the upcoming government, and we willnot have any representatives as well.µ

He said that ´the government of Somalia is not committed to the defense of the peopleµand that Ahlu Sunna forces had been the only ones to repel the Shabab. Ahlu Sunna

forces have driven the Shabab out of some areas of central Somalia while thetransitional government forces have steadily lost territory to the Shabab, and, on manyoccasions, fled from the front lines instead of fighting.

The United States is now indicating that it may be shifting its strategy on Somalia.



On Friday, Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said thatthe United States, in addition to supporting the transitional federal government, willnow be ´pursuing a second track, which we think is also increasingly important, andthat is we will work to engage more actively with the governments of Puntland and

Somaliland.µ (Puntland and Somaliland are two northern regions that are relativelypeaceful.)

Mr. Carson added that the United States was also going to ´reach out to groups in southcentral Somalia, groups in local governments, clans and subclans that are opposed to AlShabab.µ Mohamed Ibrahim reported from Mogadishu, and Jeffrey Gettleman from Nairobi, Kenya. EricSchmitt contributed reporting from Washington.

Saharan Army Chiefs Discuss al-Qaida Threat (Voice of America)

(Algeria) The army chiefs of four Saharan countries met Sunday to establish a jointstrategy for fighting al-Qaida-linked militants. Chiefs of staff from Algeria, Mali,Mauritania, and Niger met in Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria, where the countriesrecently set up a joint headquarters to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts.

Algeria says the military chiefs will also talk about ways to combat organized crime.The group known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is holding five French and twoAfrican hostages it seized 10 days ago in Niger. The French president·s office said

Sunday it believes the hostages are being held in the Timetrine region of northernMali.

France says it wants to talk with the al-Qaida group, which has carried out a string ofkillings and abductions across Africa·s Sahel and Sahara regions over the past fewyears. Most recently, the group killed a 78-year-old French hostage after French andMauritanian forces launched a raid into Mali to rescue him.

Western nations have warned that unless Saharan nations cooperate in fightingterrorism, the al-Qaida group could turn the desert into a safe haven and use it as abase for launching attacks.

Some information in this story was provided by AFP and Reuters.

--------------------Africa's neocolonial era ending as US and France seek new partnerships (DeutscheWelle)



US and France want to strengthen the African Union

For generations, Africa·s fate lay in the hands of self-interested foreign powers. Today,the US and France promise a fresh approach to the continent that puts Africans incharge of their own security and development.

During the post-World War II period, the world's major powers championed Africanindependence in word, but undermined it in deed. As the Cold War broadened, the twosuperpowers manipulated the continent's liberation movements for their own politicalends.

Meanwhile, former imperial powers such as France pushed a hidden agenda thatturned newly independent colonies into de-facto protectorates. Although Africanindependence existed on paper, in reality the continent's fate was still decided inforeign capitals.

The consequences of this neocolonialism are far reaching. In a continent politicallyengineered by foreigners, national borders often are not worth the map they are drawnon. Many African states, designed in the mind of a European, cannot maintainlegitimacy before competing indigenous interests. Some have become failed states inwhich government authority often does not reach beyond the capital city.

This instability has bred transnational crime and terrorism that jeopardize globalsecurity. The US and France have responded by initiating a strategy that seeks tostabilize the continent by strengthening African institutions instead of undermining

them. In the 21st century, African unity - not division - serves the interests of worldpowers.

Drift into chaos

As the Soviet Union careened toward collapse, the governing principle of US policy inAfrica became obsolete. Washington no longer needed to cultivate African allies tocontain Moscow's influence on the continent. As a result, the US began to refocus itsinvolvement on humanitarian assistance.

But a policy driven by humanitarianism proved unsustainable after the botchedSomalia intervention in 1993, in which 18 US soldiers died. Washington pulled back andremained aloof from African affairs even as genocide gripped Rwanda.

US reduced its presence in Africa after the intervention in Somalia failed

" After the Cold War you could say Africa was basically very low and this was stronglyreflected by the management by the Clinton Administration, " Roland Marchal, an



expert on Sub-Saharan Africa with the Center for International Studies and Research atSciencesPo Paris, told Deutsche Welle. " For the European Union the situation was neverlike that because of the colonial past. "

While US policy drifted, France maintained a neo-colonial relationship - called" Francafrique " - with Francophone Africa. Paris had cultivated a quid-pro-quoagreement with its former colonies, supporting questionable regimes with its military inexchange for access to economic resources.

As the US and France tended to their own interests, many African states slid intodisarray. The world hardly lifted a finger as countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Somaliaand the Congo imploded in violence.

Partnership with Africa

The US received a shot across its bow in 1998 when al Qaeda bombed its embassies inKenya and Tanzania. The link between state collapse in Africa and internationalsecurity became clear. And September 11 underscored the global reach of transnationalterrorist organizations that take refuge in failed states.

" If you look at US policy globally at all levels, I would say that Africa still has thebottom priority of all the major regions around the world, " Ambassador David Shinn,former US ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, told Deutsche Welle. " Africa hasincreased somewhat in importance, first because increasing amounts of US oil areimported from Africa, and second the counterterrorism angle. That has clearly elevated

Africa in US interests."

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: France has begun tobroaden its policy in Africa beyond colonial tiesAs result, the US quietly reengaged thecontinent. It began training militaries in West and East Africa to combat local terroristorganizations that claim ties to al Qaeda. In 2007, Washington established a separatemilitary command for the continent called Africom. The command is designed toemphasize development aid and public diplomacy in addition to military cooperation.

" There was a lot of suspicion about Africom when it first rolled out, " Richard Downie,an expert on Sub-Saharan Africa with the Center for Strategic and International Studies,told Deutsche Welle. " There were worries because of the colonial experience, that we'llhave troops on the ground and sort of a neo-colonial experience again. I think it took alot of persuasion to convince the African players that Africom is not threatening, [that]it's something that could be beneficial. "

While US strategy was finding direction, many French policymakers had alreadyrecognized that a policy based on old colonial ties made little sense in a world full of



emerging economies. Paris broadened its engagement beyond the Francophonecountries and adopted a multilateral approach that included Anglophone Africa as wellas its European partners.

" There is currently a diversification of interests, " Tobias Koepf, a doctoral fellow withthe Middle East and Africa Research Division at the German Institute for Internationaland Security Affairs, told Deutsche Welle. " France is less focused on historical ties andmore on economic interests. "

As France modernizes its economic engagement in Africa, it is also taking a greaterinterest in the continent's long-term stability. According to Koepf, Paris has begun toclose ranks with Washington in its approach to terrorism, particularly againstorganizations such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Shabab inSouthern Somalia. French nationals have been targeted frequently by AQIM in recentmonths, provoking Paris to declare war on the group.

France and the US are now working through multilateral institutions such as theAfrican Union (AU) instead of unilaterally pursuing their interests through lopsidedbilateral ties that have unintended consequences. They are helping the AU establish a10,000-strong Standby Force, which will give Africa the ability to resolve crises on itsown initiative.

New pitfalls

Although the US and France are modernizing their Africa policies, the growing

emphasis on cooperation with African militaries could lead to new pitfalls." The problem is when you want to implement this policy you understand that on thecivilian component you don't have the money, while on the military component youhave the money, " Marchal said. " The balance between civil and military activities won'tbe taken very seriously. "

Democracy in Africa remains fragile

A lopsided focus on security could jeopardize the civil institutions that the US andFrance claim to support. African leaders could use security - combating terrorism forexample - as an excuse to clamp down on civil liberties and broaden executive power atthe expense of fragile democracy. That would signal a return to the irresponsible,exploitative policies of the past.

" With all the talk of building up institutions and building democracy, the democraticpicture in Africa is not as positive as it was at beginning of the millennium, " Downiesaid. " Security priorities tend to override democratic priorities. You're seeing some



negative trends at the moment in countries like Ethiopia, where the elections werepretty disastrous. [We'll see] whether the US and France will put their money wheretheir mouth is in terms of democracy instead of paying lip service. " --------------------

Somalia chief says Al-Qaeda seeks growing African base (AFP)

(United Nations) The head of Somalia's weakened transitional government on Saturdayaccused Islamist insurgents of seeking to turn the war-stricken country into a base forAl-Qaeda to bring terror to the whole of the Horn of Africa. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed,whose western-backed administration only retains a shaky control of Mogadishu withAfrican Union peacekeepers, appealed for greater international support including moretroops to fight Islamists.

" Somalia is a weak link " in the fight against international terrorism, the president of the

transitional federal government told the UN General Assembly. Sharif told worldleaders that Al-Qaeda was working with the Shebab militants who now control much ofcentral and southern Somalia, which has been at conflict for more than two decades.

The president said the activities of Shebab " turns the stomach of anyone with aconscience. "

" They are killing Somali citizens, cutting their throats, cutting off their limbs and theyhave carried out horrible crimes against humanity such as cutting off the heads of theirvictims and throwing them away, " he told the assembly.

" This movement does not believe in Somalia as a country and does not believe in thecreation of a government in Somalia but wants to turn the whole of the Horn of Africainto a terrorist hub for their Al-Qaeda handlers to wreak havoc in the region andbeyond. "

UN officials say growing numbers of foreign fighters are entering Somalia to joinShebab, and in many cases are leading insurgent attacks against African Union troops.But the international community has been increasingly critical of Sharif's efforts toestablish a stable government.

The transitional government has a mandate until August 2011, but internationalofficials say authorities are failing to effectively bring opposition groups intogovernment and even to organize basic services.

Sharif said his government needed more global resources, more support for the AfricanUnion military mission (AMISOM) and more international security forces.



The United Nations held a special meeting on Somalia on Thursday and a statementcalled on the transitional government to overcome divisions and speedily makearrangements for an administration to take its place.

Uganda: A pawn in the US·s proxy African war on terror (The Peninsula)

The dangers of turning Africa into a front in the ´war on terrorµ ² much as it was a frontin two world wars and a cold war that were not of its making ² have been starklyrevealed in Uganda following the 11 July bombings that killed 76 people watching theWorld Cup final in popular nightspots. That atrocity was attributed to Somali al-Shabaab extremists seeking to carry out retribution for the presence in Somalia ofUgandan ´peacekeepingµ troops.

But there is no peace to keep in Somalia, where a transitional federal government (TFG),established under UN auspices in 2002, controls only a few blocks of the capital city and

would have collapsed altogether but for a US-backed invasion by Ethiopia in 2006. Whydid Uganda·s veteran leader, Yoweri Museveni, rush in with military support forSomalia·s decrepit regime where other African countries, barring Ethiopia and Burundi,had feared to tread?

One factor is that Museveni needs to project Uganda as a ´responsible member of theinternational communityµ to deflect criticism of its own army·s alleged pillaging in theneighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ugandan People·s Defence Forces,built out of the guerrilla army that brought Museveni to power 24 years ago, areaccused of human rights abuses while crushing rebellion in Uganda·s northern region.

More generally, western aid still supplies around a third of Uganda·s governmentbudget, but donor countries were becoming uncomfortable with the corruption that hasincreasingly marred Museveni·s long rule. Alignment with US-backed efforts to seeSomalia pacified ² so as to prevent the incubation and export of terror ² serves both tosmooth relations and to attract US logistical and training support for the Ugandanarmy.

Yet Ugandans, who have paid in blood for their country·s part in the botched counter-insurgency efforts in Somalia, are now paying again in a clampdown on their civicfreedoms. In a new round of security measures, the citizens of Kampala will need policeclearance for all gatherings, including private parties and wedding receptions. ´Nogathering of more than five people, even if it is in your compound, should be heldwithout clearance from the inspector general of police,µ the Kampala metropolitanpolice commander, Andrew Sorowen, told the press last week.

This measure comes as no less than 35 suspects await trial, which will be held behindthe closed doors of the Luzira maximum security prison, charged with involvement in



the 11 July attack. Sceptical Ugandans attribute the speed and number of arrests to a´beauty contestµ between Uganda·s various security forces ² police, army and specialoperations units ² vying for anti-terror funds.

A Kenyan lawyer who travelled to Kampala last week to represent one of thedefendants was arrested and questioned by police before being put on a plane back toNairobi. A Muslim human rights activist accompanying him remains in custody.

Curtailment of civil liberties is widely interpreted as a move to muzzle the opposition inthe run-up to February 2011 general elections. Campaigning has already been marredby violence and fraud in the primaries to select candidates for the ruling party, headedby Museveni, who is seeking another 5-year term.

Thus, far from containing ´Islamistµ terror, efforts forcibly to pacify Somalia havecreated fertile ground ² attractive to fanatics from outside that country ² for it to

develop and spread, while also risking fragile freedoms elsewhere

This fiasco has been led politically by Washington which, since the catastrophicAmerican occupation of Somalia in 1993 (and given the sobering experiences of Iraqand Afghanistan), has preferred to see its security objectives advanced through Africanproxies and private security contractors.

Museveni, a lifelong warrior who does not know the meaning of the word ´retreatµ, hasproved a willing proxy. In a predictably bellicose response to the Kampala bombings,he increased Uganda·s troop commitment to Somalia and led calls for other African

Union states to send their own troops. The rules of engagement have been adjusted toallow peacekeepers to fire first if they feel threatened: a highly ambiguous directive thatwill leave nearly all actions in a grey zone.

Bolstering the Somali peacekeeping forces may be good news for US contractors such asDynCorp International, who equip and train the peacekeepers in Somalia with US statedepartment funding. But it is hard to see how it is good for anyone else.--------------------Obama Presses for Peace in Likely Sudan Partition (New York Times)

UNITED NATIONS ³ After months of leaving Sudan policy on a back burner,President Obama put the weight of his administration and his own personal esteem inAfrica on the line Friday, demanding that north and south Sudan ensure that theirlikely split into two nations early next year proceed peacefully.

At a high-level Sudan meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations GeneralAssembly, Mr. Obama said Washington would normalize relations should the Jan. 9



referendum for the independence of southern Sudan be carried off calmly and theDarfur conflict be settled. Failing in either would bring further isolation, he warned.

If Khartoum fulfills its obligations in settling the conflicts, then the United States willsupport agricultural development, expand trade and investment, exchangeambassadors and eventually lift sanctions, Mr. Obama said.

´What happens in Sudan in the days ahead may decide whether a people who haveendured too much war move forward towards peace or slip backwards intobloodshed,µ Mr. Obama said, establishing the warning tone taken by all speakers at thesession.

With the southern Sudan independence vote a little more than 100 days away,preparations are greatly lagging. Voter registration that was to have been done by theend of August remains incomplete, and many technical issues are unsettled. Almost

nothing has been done to prepare for a secondary referendum to decide the fate ofAbyei, a contested area of important oil deposits.

The two sides are dragging their feet on details of the eventual divorce, given that theroughly 4.8 million eligible voters in the south, the only side voting, are likely to chooseindependence. With independence scheduled six months after the vote, major issueslike citizenship, borders and the division of oil revenue have not been negotiated. Atleast 1.5 million southerners are believed to be living in Khartoum, the capital, and anunknown number of northerners in the south.

United Nations officials had intended the meeting to be a small gathering of foreignministers to stress in the presence of senior representatives of both sides that thereferendum not be delayed.

But it ballooned into something much larger after President Obama decided to attend.About 40 foreign leaders or senior officials signed up to speak. Ultimately the meetingbecame a highly visible means to serve notice that the onus is on the Sudanese to carryout the last, hardest stages of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement they signed in 2005.

All the governments participating, including major Security Council members likeRussia and China, as well as major pan-African organizations, endorsed a finalcommuniqué vowing that the referendum would be held on time and peace respectedno matter what the outcome. It also stressed the need to support peacekeeping efforts inDarfur, the embattled western Sudanese region where violence flared anew in recentmonths.



The Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended decades of war pitting the north,dominated by Arab Muslims, against the Christian and animist south. The civil war lefttwo million people dead and millions more homeless.

Sudan borders on nine other African states, and many speakers worried aloud that anyinstability ´will not stop at its borders,µ said Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, theleader of Qatar, which is trying to negotiate a peace among the Darfur militias.

The Sudanese had sought a closed meeting, but ultimately it was open, leaving Sudan·svice president, Ali Osman Taha, and Salva Kiir, the president of the south and a vicepresident in the north, to sketch their differences in diplomatic terms.

Mr. Taha assured the gathering that the referendum would be held on time, but hecriticized the international community for supporting peace on one hand whilecontinuing the ´demonizationµ of the north on the other. The International Criminal

Court·s indictment of Sudan·s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on war crimescharges, economic sanctions, the lack of debt relief and Sudan·s presence on the UnitedStates list of state sponsors of terrorism were all intended to weaken the country, hesaid.

Mr. Kiir said that the Jan. 9 referendum date was sacred and that any technical delayshad to be overcome. ´Any delays risk the return to instability and violence,µ he said.

Numerous aid organizations, concerned that a lack of attention might encourageopponents of the referendum to delay it, hailed the meeting. But some were outraged

that the final communiqué welcomed a commitment by Sudan to pursue war criminals,given that Mr. Bashir has mocked his own indictment.

The final communiqué could not really attack Mr. Bashir while encouraging him torespect the referendum deadline, said two senior officials involved with thenegotiations, who said the reference to Sudan·s commitment to pursue war criminalswas to ensure that the issue of impunity would not be ignored.--------------------Critics Claim Obama·s Sudan Push is PR (Fox News)

As President Obama wraps up his three-day trip to New York City and the UnitedNations General Assembly, he will chair a meeting on Sudan, the largest country inAfrica, that has been waging a bloody civil war for years. But, even as the meeting isgetting underway, critics say this latest push by the administration is nothing more thanpublic relations.

The White House is pushing hard on the Sudan agenda, using the upcomingreferendum in that country as a milestone to encourage other nations in addition to the



United States to put pressure on the Sudanese. The referendum is part of a peaceagreement, originally settled on in 2005, which ended the armed conflict between thenorth and the south of the nation. Sudan has been engaged in a civil war for almost allof the country's history. The latest cycle of violence began in early 2003 when the SudanLiberation Army and the Equality Movement started attacking a variety of governmenttargets and accused the government based in the capital of Khartoum of oppressingblack Africans in favor of Arabs inside Sudan.

White House Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs, Samantha Power, said the meetingis a chance for world powers to show Sudan they are united in ensuring peace in thecountry. " It's no secret that the parties, in any conflict, but in this one, as well, have oftenthought to play countries within the international community off one another, and thisis an event that will show that the world is united and that the parties need to movevery, very briskly and responsibly to ensure that these votes take place on time, " Powertold reporters in a conference call on Monday.

But a former United States Envoy to Africa under President George W. Bush says themeeting in New York is all show, and not much substance. " It's public relations. It's a lotof PR. The president needs to insert himself into the policy and be seen to actually careabout it and not just use this moment in New York to make a nice pretty speech, " says Jendayi Frazer.

Frazer says it's clear the Obama White House feels pressure to perform on Africanaffairs, especially in the face of criticism that Obama's predecessors did more for thatcontinent. " It's very clear the criticism he is getting is ¶President Bush had done a better

job on Sudan and other African issues' has motivated them to show more of a profile ofthe president on Africa. "

While most U.S. administrations have been reluctant to engage militarily in Sudan,Frazer says this would be a good time to show some sort of force from the UnitedStates. " I'm not saying we need to use U.S. troops. But we need to provide thesoutherners with the wherewithal to protect themselves. We need to work withneighboring countries to support a southern independent state that is strong andviable. "

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice says the aim Friday is toincite the Sudanese people to advocate on their own behalf. " Our aim is to spur themforward in their own interest, consistent with their own commitments, and to besupportive of the parties as they do so in the critical time where the stakes are high forthe people of Sudan, for the region and, indeed, for international peace and security, " Rice told reporters on a conference call Monday.



Power says the conditions in Sudan, particularly in the region of Darfur, wherethousands of refugees live in tent cities, after being forced from their homes cannotcontinue and the president will address that Friday. " We continue to see unacceptableconditions for the people living in camps and the fact that they -- none of them feel safeenough to return to their homes. So he will, of course, speak to the need for enhancedsecurity and dignity for the people of Darfur and the need for accountability, as well. "

For her part, Frazer says there's more productive steps for Obama to take than justFriday's meeting and says Obama's communication to the world should change. " He'sin campaign mode, showing up at the meeting on Sudan. The president needs to getsubstantially engaged and be willing to make hard choices and put some credibilitybehind the policy. " --------------------Clinton's New Report Praises and Attacks Electoral Commission (The Monitor)

The Obama administration has criticised alleged manhandling of political opponents inUganda ahead of the 2011 elections and voiced fresh disapproval about theindependence of the Dr Badru Kiggundu-led Electoral Commission.

" The Ugandan government continued to intimidate and restrict the activities ofopposition parties, " Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in a new report to Congresson Uganda's preparations for the upcoming election.

In this, the second such filing to lawmakers, Ms Clinton says the government " took noaction " to further the independence of the EC despite agitation by Opposition leaders

and some donors, including the US, to reconstitute the team.The government yesterday reiterated its position that the EC is " independent enough " to organise flawless elections and is going no-where.

" They [Americans] don't seem to understand that the mere representation of theopposition on the EC does not necessarily make it independent, " Information MinisterKabakumba Masiko said.

She added: " Let them say what they really want because this commission wasappointed according to the laws of Uganda. And I like the way the US is policing us. "

The Kiggundu team was first appointed in 2002, when Uganda was still under the 'no-party' Movement system, and the Supreme Court later ruled that it mismanaged thefirst general elections it organised in 2006.

Re-composition calls



Thus the demand for re-composition of the EC team, in part to accommodate oppositionpolitical parties, gained currency after the last ballot, which like the forthcoming one,will be held under multi-party system re-adopted in 2005.

The US Congress in March directed the secretary of state to closely watch Uganda'sgroundwork for the elections, and appraise lawmakers every quarter until 30 days afterthe voting.

Key issues Congress wants scrutinised include the independence of the EC; security ofpresidential candidates, media freedom and other civil liberties, need for anaccurate/verifiable voters' register; announcing and posting of results at pollingstations and freedom of movement/assembly as well as an electoral process free ofintimidation.

In the first report issued in April, Ms Clinton warned of an early " damage " to the

process, citing among other anomalies, a compromised EC and suffocation of civilliberties.

The new report praises government for uploading the national voter's register online toease verification, and " generally " allowing other political parties to hold selective rallies.

Acting police spokesman Vincent Ssekatte yesterday said he needed to read the reportbefore commenting on allegations the Force brutalises opposition supporters and journalists.

Minister Masiko, however, said police are justified to forcibly disrupt illegal gatherings,whose participants allegedly assault officers on duty.

" If people are violent, you don't go to them with folded arms, " she said, " Uganda isn'tgoing to compromise on its national interests, which include security and economicdevelopment. "

Ms Clinton flags Resident District Commissioners as state actors in Uganda leading inarm-twisting and stifling free media through intimidation of proprietors and reporters.These restrictions have made criticism of President Museveni and his ruling NRM partya taboo, she noted.

Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju, spokesman of the Inter-party Cooperation that brings togetherfour opposition political parties, last night welcomed the report " demonstrating theground isn't levelled as we head to the 2011 elections " .



" All we expect of Ms Clinton is to make recommendation, for instance, to freeze aid orslap travel ban on [Ugandan political executives] in case of non-compliance withbenchmarks set, " said Mr Ssemujju.--------------------Sanctions stay until Zimbabwean rights improve: U.S. (Reuters)

WASHINGTON ² Zimbabwe must show greater respect for human rights and politicalfreedoms before the U.S. sanctions on the impoverished African nation can be removed,the State Department said on Sunday.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle have been subject toWestern sanctions since his ZANU-PF party won an election in 2000 after a violentcampaign.

The sanctions were imposed at the start of his government's policy of seizing

commercial, often white-owned, farms to resettle landless blacks.

Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing deal last year with opposition leader MorganTsvangirai that has stabilized the economy after a decade of decline but the UnitedStates argues that human rights violations continue.

The State Department said its top diplomat for Africa and other U.S. officials met threeZimbabwean ministers on Thursday and had praised the economic advances but raisedconcerns " that political progress has not been as successful. "

"

Zimbabwe must make further progress for the removal of targeted sanctions,"

the StateDepartment said in a statement.

" As long as human rights violations, land seizures, and intimidation of thoseparticipating in the political process continue, the sanctioned individuals and entities onthe list who continue to perpetrate and benefit from these acts are unlikely to beremoved, " the statement said.

" Significant improvements in the political environment, greater respect for humanrights and political freedoms will result in change in U.S. posture. "

The statement described last week's meeting as cordial and saying the United Stateswas committed to keeping the door open for further dialogue.--------------------US asks Japan, other countries to aid Somalia (AFP)



NEW YORK ³ The United States on Friday urged Japan and other countries in Asia,Europe and the Middle East to contribute funds to Somalia's beleaguered governmentand the Africa Union peacekeeping force there.

Johnnie Carson, the State Department's pointman for Africa, also asked these countriesto help neighbors like Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and the Seychelles to cover the costof prosecuting and jailing Somali pirates.

Carson, speaking to reporters in a New York hotel, said he personally asked Japanesediplomats he met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to make suchcontributions.

" I certainly encouraged the Japanese government to think about financial contributionsto help (defray) the cost of the countries in the region to handling pirates, " Carson said.

He said"

I also encouraged them to think about making monetary contributions that canbe used and directed toward AMISOM and directed toward supporting the TFG, " theTransitional Federal Government.

AMISOM is the African Union mission in Somalia, a 7,000-strong force made up mostlyof Ugandan troops.

The United Nations sponsored a mini-summit late Thursday in which participantssought to mobilize both greater and more coherent support for Somalia's governmentand for AMISOM.

The meeting took place as Somalia's Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab militants launched afresh offensive in Mogadishu, sparking clashes that medics said killed at least 19civilians.

Carson, who is the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, asked the Japanese toconsider providing military equipment for the African peacekeeping force.

" This is something that we are encouraging a number of states in Europe, the MiddleEast and Asia to look at, " he said.

He said Saudi Arabia had a stake in helping the countries in the region tackle theproblem of Somali pirates who have targeted Saudi supertankers.

" It is a close neighbor to Somalia and is impacted by what happens in Somalia. They toocould make substantial financial and material contributions to this, " he said.--------------------Somalia·s Puntland, Somaliland Support U.S. Cooperation (All Headline News)



Garowe, Hargeisa, Somalia - The semi-autonomous region of Somalia·s Puntland andthe break-away republic of Somaliland support U.S. cooperation, authorities saidSunday.

Abdullahi Ahmed Jama·, the interior minister of the Puntland administration, said theywere happy to support cooperation with the United States for aid and developmentaspects with their administration. Jama· said Puntland had already called for the UnitedStates and the international community to support and help peaceful areas in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.

A press release issued by Puntland·s Ministry of Planning and InternationalCooperation said, ´The government of Puntland appreciates this new and pragmaticapproach which we think better reflects the current political reality in the country aswell as how best the long lasting present quagmire can be ended. The TFG [Transitional

Federal Government] has a glaring lack of capacity to fulfill its mandate by upholdingthe charter, fostering national reconciliation, embracing and encouraging theconstitutional development process, and fighting and defeating violent extremistgroups can no longer be ignored.µ

Separately, the break-away republic of Somaliland welcomed the U.S. engagementpolicy in Somalia. Mohammed Abdullahi Omar, foreign affairs minister of Somaliland,signaled that Somaliland was interested in U.S. cooperation, particularly education,health, aid and development aspects.

´After [the] last free and fair democratic election which occurred in Somaliland, wewere expecting from United States and [the] international community to take suchstep,µ said Omar.

Friday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said U.S. officials weredeveloping ties with both Puntland and Somaliland, both of which declared themselvesindependent in the early 1990s. " Both of these parts of Somalia have been zones ofrelative political and civil stability and we think they in fact will be a bulwark againstextremism and radicalism that might emerge from the south, " Carson told reporters.

Somaliland and Puntland have been the most stable areas in Somalia after the collapseof the country·s military government in 1991.

Kenya says West wasting money on anti-piracy ships (Associated Press)

UNITED NATIONS ³ Kenya's foreign minister said Saturday the millions being spentto fight pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia should be spent instead on helping thecountry become a functioning state.



Moses Wetangula said in an interview with The Associated Press that Uganda hasoffered troops to expand the African Union force in Somalia from 7,100 to 20,000 tosupport the restoration of law and order.

But he said that nobody is stepping up to help with much needed money andequipment.

" Piracy is not born at sea. It's born on land. And if you are able to patrol and protectyour coastline, it's unlikely that pirates will find a way to the high seas to cause themenace, " Wetangula said. " Instead, what are we seeing? 52 warships patroling ... thewaters of the Indian Ocean, but piracy is still going on. "

Wetangula said the flotilla should be disbanded and the money should be used insteadto help Somalia " become a state. "

He warned that neglecting Somalia amid increasing attacks from militants and Jihadiststrying to overthrow the weak U.N.-backed transitional government " may end up beinga tragedy that would vibrate far and wide. "

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when warlords overthrewlongtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other, plunging thecountry into chaos. African Union peacekeepers have struggled to protect the smallenclave in the capital, Mogadishu, where the Somali government operates.

Al-Shabab Islamic extremists, accused of links with al-Qaida, have launched a series ofattacks over the last month after declaring a " new " war against the transitionalgovernment, established in 2004. They also claimed responsibility for the deadlybombings that killed scores of civilians watching the World Cup finals in Uganda in July.

Wetangula called the Jihadist threat " very strong " and " very worrying, " saying Somalimilitants are being bolstered by mercenaries from abroad.

" If the government was given the capacity to strengthen its ability to fight back, I wouldhave no doubt that al-Shabab can be defeated in a very short time, " Wetangula said.

" Those with the money don't seem to open their envelopes to Somalia, or to the cause ofSomalia, " he said.

Wetangula pointed to a high-level meeting to promote peace in Sudan at the U.N. onFriday which President Barack Obama and numerous other world leaders and ministersattended, saying " I wish the same could be done for Somalia. "



The Kenyan minister said he has met with U.S. officials on numerous occasions,including talks on Friday with Johnnie Carson, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa. Manyother African leaders and ministers have also pressed for U.S. equipment and funds foran expanded force in Somalia.

" I think it's not the reaction that is lacking " because that's " always very positive, " Wetangula said. " It's the action that is lacking. "

Carson said Friday the Obama administration plans to strengthen ties with twobreakaway republics in northern Somalia to blunt the threat from al-Shabab, and willprovide more aid to the transitional government, but he didn't elaborate.

Wetangula noted that when Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally, sent thousands of troops intoSomalia in early 2007 it took them two days to get to Mogadishu and they faced no

resistance from militants who had been in power for six months. The unpopularEthiopians withdrew two years later, with the militants in near-total control of a failedstate with a worsening humanitarian crisis.

He said African leaders " will not allow " al-Shabab to take over Mogadishsu. If thecapital is seriously threatened, he said, " I do not rule out anything, " including thepossible return of the Ethopian troops.

He said the African Union isn't asking for a lot to help the transitional government ³ afew tanks, " even second hand ones from Iraq can do, " a few military helicopters so they

can"

roar around and show who's boss,"

and weapons that are superior to theKalashnikov rifles used by most of the militants, as well as patrol boats.

Wetangula also criticized humanitarian organizations based in Nairobi that say they'redealing with issues like maternal health care and malaria in Somalia.

" It doesn't add up, " he said, " and all these things can be done by Somalis themselves ifthey have a viable government. " --------------------Kidnapped French, African Aid Workers Reported Alive In Mali (All Headline News)

Paris, France - Sources in Mali told French officials on Sunday that five Frenchnationals, a Togolese and a Malagasy kidnapped by Al Qaeda militants in Niger onSept. 16 are alive and are now in the neighboring African country.

The unnamed sources said the hostages were taken to the hilly desert zone of Timetrinenear Mali·s border with Algeria.



Meanwhile, another source revealed that talks are ongoing between Malian and Frenchofficials on how to deal with the kidnapping without involving French, American andWestern troops. France is also talking with other countries for support in rescuing thehostages.

Military leaders of Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger are meeting on Sunday tooutline a strategy to deal with Al Qaeda in their countries.--------------------

USAFE general: Keep U.S. military forces in Europe (Stars and Stripes)

(Germany) On the eve of his departure as U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, Gen.Roger Brady remains a vocal advocate of a robust U.S. military presence in Europe,despite calls by some U.S. lawmakers to reduce that footprint in an effort to curtail aballooning defense budget.

Working with European allies builds partnerships that reap dividends in war andpeace, Brady said, citing support from more than three dozen European nations in theAfghanistan war. Those alliances can·t be forged from a distance, he said in a recentinterview at USAFE headquarters.

´You do that by being here,µ he said, sitting in his office on Ramstein Air Base.Brady,64, has commanded USAFE since January 2008, in what is supposed to be his lastassignment in a decorated Air Force career reaching back more than 40 years. He wasexpected to hang up his uniform by now.

The Air Force announced nearly a year ago that Brady would retire in early January,naming Lt. Gen. Mark Welsh III as his successor. The Senate confirmed Welsh, the AirForce·s top officer at the CIA, for promotion to general last year.

But as of Friday, there was still no word on Brady·s retirement date. General officerretirements must be approved by the Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Office ofthe Secretary of Defense, and finally, by the president, said Beth Gosselin, an Air Forcespokeswoman at the Pentagon. She could not say where Brady·s retirement was in thatapproval chain.

´It·s a process and that process takes time,µ Gosselin said Friday. In the meantime,Brady soldiers on, continuing to underscore the importance of keeping U.S. militarybases in Europe, as some U.S. politicians clamor to bring more overseas U.S. troopshome.



Í do not think we should be spending money to have troops in Germany 65 years afterWorld War II,µ Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, said recently. ´We have a terrible deficitand we have to cut back.µ

Frank and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, are leading a congressional effort to save anestimated $1 trillion in military spending by vastly curtailing the U.S. military·soverseas commitments, including in Europe.

´The nations of Western Europe now collectively have greater resources at theircommand than we do, yet they continue to depend overwhelmingly on Americantaxpayers to provide for their defense,µ Frank and Paul wrote in an article firstpublished this summer in The Huffington Post.

But Brady is focused on building relationships on the Continent, efforts that he sayshave translated into support from European countries when the United States has

needed it most ³ in Afghanistan.Of the 46 nations involved in the war in Afghanistan, 39 are from Europe, Brady said,contributing about 39,000 of the more than 119,000 troops serving in Afghanistan.

Í think that is huge,µ he said. And, while the Cold War may be over, the nature offuture conflicts is unpredictable, Brady said. Íf you·re going to go to war « or if you·regoing to conduct humanitarian operations with people, you practice with them,µ Bradysaid.

´When we go to war, we go to war with our European allies. They are our most reliablepartners.µ Brady said the U.S. footprint in Europe is vastly smaller than it has been inthe past. Currently, there are more than 25,000 active-duty members assigned toUSAFE, spanning nine wings, seven fighter squadrons and eight bases. There weremore than 32,000 airmen in Europe 10 years ago.

USAFE funds its military partnering activities through the U.S. European Command.Most partnership building is accomplished ás a natural outcomeµ through combinedtraining and exercises, USAFE officials said, primarily conducted by those forward-stationed forces in Europe.

´The mission is not going away,µ Brady said. ´The mission of maintaining access tothree continents, the issue of enabling our allies « none of that changes. We really can·tdo that effectively with less.µ

----------------------



UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

General Assembly: Ban and Rwandan President discuss various issues26 September ² Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today had a meeting with RwandaPresident Paul Kagame, on the sidelines of the General Assembly''s high-level debate,during which they discussed a range of issues, including maternal and child health.

African nations push for permanent Security Council representation25 September ² Top officials from three African nations have called for the continent tohave a permanent representative on the Security Council, saying it was a travesty thatthe region that comprises so much of the body·s work does not have a permanent place.

UN and African U nion launch joint task force on peace and security

25 September ² The United Nations and the African Union today launched a joint taskforce on peace and security as the two organizations continue to step up theircooperation in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding across thecontinent.

Guinea-Bissau requires sustained international support, General Assembly hears25 September ² Guinea-Bissau needs sustained international support to help the fragileand impoverished nation tackle its major challenges, such as organized crime, highunemployment, environmental degradation and a poorly performing justice system, itsPresident told the General Assembly today.

Sudan: Ban meets senior official for talks ahead of critical referenda25 September ² Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks today with a top Sudaneseofficial as part of his ongoing efforts to try to ensure that two key referenda on self-determination in the African country are staged peacefully and on schedule next January.

AFRICOM Related News Clips September 27, 2010

Documents

Transcript of AFRICOM Related News Clips September 27, 2010