United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

2 April 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

U.S. Holds Suspects After Pirate Standoff (Wall Street Journal)

A U.S. Navy warship sank a pirate vessel and detained five suspects Thursday after
Somali pirates fired at it in one of the more brazen attacks by armed men in skiffs who
prey on vessels plying the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.

Pirates Held in Attack on U.S. Ship (Associated Press)

Gunmen suspected of being Somali pirates fired on a United States Navy warship off
East Africa early Thursday in what appeared to be a ransom-seeking attack, officials
said.

U.S. Navy frigate captures pirate mother ship (NBC News)

NAIROBI, Kenya - U.S. naval forces said Thursday they've captured five pirates after
exchanging fire with them, sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship.

Sudan Election Problems Spark US Fears of Unraveling Peace Deals (Voice of

America)
Growing problems with Sudan's upcoming election are sparking fears of more
instability in the volatile and fragmented country. The U.S. government has been
involved in trying to bring about what it calls a credible election to normalize the
situation, but analysts in the United States fear it could have the opposite effect.

No big offensive in Somalia, fight to be 'gradual' (Associated Press)

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Despite months of pronouncements by officials that a big
offensive is imminent, Somalia's prime minister told The Associated Press the
government will only gradually try to expand its control of the capital, most of which is
held by al-Qaida-linked Islamist rebels.

Ghana US Naval Partnering – Hosting a US Sea Base? (Modern Ghana)

The United States (US) Government on Saturday, presented four speed patrol boats to
the Ghana Navy, to help ensure maritime safety and security.

PM arrested in coup-prone Guinea Bissau (Press TV)

A group of soldiers have reportedly arrested Guinea-Bissau's premier and the army's
chief of staff, raising coup fears in a country with a history of similar rebellions.

New chief named for UN force in Chad (AFP)

NDJAMENA, Chad – A UN negotiator heading talks with Chad on the future of a UN
peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) has been
made head of MINURCAT, a UN statement said Thursday.

Mauritius PM dissolves parliament (Xinhua)

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar - Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam
on Wednesday dissolved parliament, saying his country would hold elections on May 5
this year, reports from Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, said.

Africa must promote investment to develop: Blair (Reuters)

LONDON – Former British prime minister Tony Blair on Thursday added his voice to
calls for African development strategies to go beyond aid, saying a predictable and
transparent business environment was critical to sustainable development.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
Ban urges leaders in Guinea-Bissau to maintain rule of law
Côte d’Ivoire: UN pursues multi-pronged strategy for peaceful elections
DR Congo: UN helps women fight under-representation in government
UN efforts to improve refugee protection in Morocco bear fruit
ICC Prosecutor welcomes decision to move forward with Kenya probe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 5; 3:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Center for Strategic and International Studies: Positioning the Navy for Cyber Warfare
WHO: Vice Admiral Bernard J. "Barry" McCullough, III, Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber
Command/Commander, U.S. 10th Flee
Info: http://csis.org/event/cyber-warfare

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 15; 6:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: US Institute of Peace: Rebuilding Hope
WHO: Screening of "Rebuilding Hope" a film following three of Sudan's "Lost Boys" on a
journey back home to find surviving family members, and rediscover and contribute to their
homeland, followed by a panel discussion featuring the film's director, Jen Marlowe, and one of
central characters in the film.
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/rebuilding-hope-washington-dc-premiere
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT
U.S. Holds Suspects After Pirate Standoff (Wall Street Journal)
A U.S. Navy warship sank a pirate vessel and detained five suspects Thursday after
Somali pirates fired at it in one of the more brazen attacks by armed men in skiffs who
prey on vessels plying the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.

The USS Nicholas took fire just after midnight from a small skiff, according to a
statement from U.S. Africa Command. The guided-missile frigate, which was patrolling
west of the island nation of the Seychelles, fired back, chased down the skiff and
detained three people on board, according to Lt. Patrick Foughty, spokesman for U.S.
Naval Forces Africa.

The warship had received a tip from other U.S. ships that suspected pirates might be in
the area, Lt. Foughty said. After the exchange of fire, officials boarded the skiff,
detained the men, confiscated ammunition and sank the boat. The naval frigate then
overtook a second ship that naval officials believe was a so-called pirate mother ship
and arrested two suspects on board, Lt. Foughty said. A third ship escaped.

The clashes off Somalia's coast highlight a wide and often wild search among pirates for
targets that can yield lucrative ransoms. Though international naval forces have joined
forces and stepped up patrols, the pirates have hardly been deterred. And the
struggling Somali government has been largely powerless to stop them.

Confronted by powerful navies close to home, many pirates are heading farther out to
sea—often supported by mother ships that supply food and fuel to small attack skiffs.
On March 17, a Dutch warship fired warning shots at two skiffs of suspected pirates
speeding farther from the Somali coast near the Seychelles. They were operating near
what was believed to be a pirate mother ship, according to a statement from the
European Union's antipiracy naval force.

Thursday's attack perplexed some fellow Somali pirates. Reached by phone in the
central Somali coast pirate town of Xaradheere, pirate Abdi Fanah said: "Some of our
friends have approached a warship and some were captured, along with the boat."

Mr. Fanah said that he had spoken with his colleagues by satellite phone to glean more
information. He didn't know why they had attacked the warship. But in the dark, the
pirates may have mistaken the warship for the many cargo ships that have brought
them lucrative ransoms.

The Nicholas is attached to the U.S. Naval Forces Africa, the naval component of U.S.
Africa Command, or Africom, and has been patrolling the waters off of East Africa since
late December. Among other things, it has been tasked with intercepting suspected
pirates.
Africom officials said the suspects would remain in custody aboard the Nicholas until a
determination is made about what to do with them. Where the suspects would be taken
is unclear. Prosecuting suspected pirates detained in international waters has proved
difficult amid disputes about where to try them.

The Kenyan government has accepted several suspected pirates apprehended by other
governments and put them on trial. But the country's overburdened justice system
already struggles to try Kenyan suspects. Kenyan officials have complained that they
have taken on too much of the international community's responsibility to try suspected
pirates and have received insufficient compensation.

Lt. Foughty said that he was aware of the Kenyan authorities' concerns and that U.S.
officials were examining legal options.

Last month, the U.S. government warned of possible al Qaeda attacks against ships off
the coast of Yemen, where an offshoot of the terrorist network has established a
significant base of operations over the past year, according to the Associated Press.

The warning said such attacks could be similar to the 2000 strike against the Navy
destroyer USS Cole in Yemen's Aden harbor that killed 17 American sailors. The
attackers used a small boat laden with explosives to blow a hole in the ship's side.
--------------------
Pirates Held in Attack on U.S. Ship (Associated Press)

Gunmen suspected of being Somali pirates fired on a United States Navy warship off
East Africa early Thursday in what appeared to be a ransom-seeking attack, officials
said. The warship, a guided-missile frigate called the Nicholas, returned fire, sinking
the men’s skiff and confiscating a nearby mothership. The Navy detained five suspects,
said Lt. Patrick Foughty, a spokesman. The United States Africa Command said the five
men would remain in American custody for now.
--------------------
U.S. Navy frigate captures pirate mother ship (NBC News)

NAIROBI, Kenya - U.S. naval forces said Thursday they've captured five pirates after
exchanging fire with them, sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship.

The USS Nicholas was just west of the Seychelles in international waters Thursday
when crew began taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff, NBC News reported. The
Nicholas returned fire and disabled the pirate boat, then pursued the skiff until it finally
broke down.

The U.S. sailors were able to board the skiff and arrest three suspected pirates. On
board, the sailors found ammunition and several cans of fuel, NBC News reported.
A short time later, the sailors were able to take control of a nearby mother ship and
detained two more suspected pirates.

Mother ships are often used to take gangs of pirates and smaller attack boats into deep
water, and can be used as mobile bases to attack merchant vessels.

The U.S. Africa Command said the five pirates seized would remain in U.S. custody on
board the frigate. The Nicholas is home-ported in Norfolk, Va.

International naval forces have stepped up their enforcement of the waters off East
Africa in an effort to thwart a growing pirate trade.

Experts say piracy will continue to be a problem until an effective government is

established on Somalia's lawless shores. The country has not had a functioning
government for 19 years.
--------------------
Sudan Election Problems Spark US Fears of Unraveling Peace Deals (Voice of
America)

Growing problems with Sudan's upcoming election are sparking fears of more
instability in the volatile and fragmented country. The U.S. government has been
involved in trying to bring about what it calls a credible election to normalize the
situation, but analysts in the United States fear it could have the opposite effect.

Partial and full boycotts are being announced by parties opposed to the president's
National Congress Party (NCP) for the April 11 to 13 vote.

This comes as Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir warned that if the former
southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which now rules in the
south, boycotted the election, he would reject the planned referendum on southern
secession in January 2011.

The SPLM candidate for president, Yasir Arman, has pulled out because his party says
conditions are not set for a fair vote. But the party has said it will contest parliamentary
and municipal polls everywhere except in the troubled western Darfur region, where
registration has been scarce and violence persists.

Terrence Lyons, a Horn of Africa expert at George Mason University, says he fears the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 between the southern SPLM rebels
and the ruling NCP ending more than two decades of war, could be derailed. "I think
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was an extraordinary accomplishment and
that needs the attention of the international community so that all the hard work that
went into negotiating that agreement is not lost," he said.

J. Peter Pham, the director of the Africa Project at the National Committee on American
Foreign Policy, sees what he calls a 'train wreck'. The agreement, known by its initials,
CPA, initially called for elections in 2008. "If the CPA had been adhered to in the spirit
and the letter which it was crafted, the election should have been held two years ago,
which would have given a national government of unity that would have been credible
a three-year period leading up to a referendum," he said.

U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, has been very busy in recent days in
Khartoum meeting many government and opposition leaders in a bid to rescue the
election. In the past few weeks, he has also been trying to help get a comprehensive
peace deal for Darfur, and make sure the north-south deal stays on track.

Steven McDonald, the consulting director for the Africa program at the Woodrow
Wilson Center for Scholars, says it is not clear which U.S. approach can be effective in
reaching these goals. "It remains for the administration about how to play it, whether it
is a carrots or a stick approach, and that does not come out clearly to the outside
observer like myself, as to where the administration has settled, what leverage does the
United States really have, how much is it coordinating with the international
community on this," he said.

A joint statement released by the U.S., British and Norwegian governments this week
expressed concern over the election, conditions on the ground in Darfur, and the slow
implementation of other parts of the CPA, like border demarcation. Britain is the
former colonial power, while Norway is a main provider of aid.

Further complicating negotiations is last year's indictment of Mr. Bashir by the

International Criminal Court in the Hague for alleged crimes against humanity in
Darfur. Envoy Gration has said the Sudanese president should respond to the charges,
which he has rejected as a western conspiracy.

The court's prosecutor said last month an election in Sudan now is like what it was in
Nazi Germany. Mark Davidheiser, who heads the U.S.-based Africa Peace and Conflict
Network, says such statements are not helpful. "Given the man's world view and his
cultural perspective and background that is just going to stiffen his resolve to resist.
And, it is not going to have any productive impact at all," he said.

Davidheiser recently organized a public forum about Sudan, and several other
organizations are planning similar events in the days ahead in the United States, amid
growing uncertainty over the future of a country that has greatly worried Africa policy
makers, activists and experts alike.
--------------------
No big offensive in Somalia, fight to be 'gradual' (Associated Press)

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Despite months of pronouncements by officials that a big

offensive is imminent, Somalia's prime minister told The Associated Press the
government will only gradually try to expand its control of the capital, most of which is
held by al-Qaida-linked Islamist rebels.

Officials familiar with the offensive's planning said it was repeatedly delayed because
the Somali army lacks equipment, training and a reliable system to pay its soldiers —
problems that the EU hopes to address by training 2,000 troops under a plan it
approved Wednesday.

Any offensive action will be more of a gradual expansion of the area under the
government's control, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said, claiming
the media had misunderstood the government's plans.

"It is not a big push. It will be gradual and well-planned," Sharmarke said in an
interview Wednesday.

U.S. diplomats have been pressing Somali leaders to detail the goals of the assault, to
figure out how the U.S. could help. The Pentagon is considering dispatching
surveillance drones and other limited military support. Somali Interior Minister of State
Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig said there is already "strong collaboration" between the
U.S. and Somalia on security, humanitarian and development issues and that U.S.
surveillance planes already fly over Somalia's skies, something Somalia encourages.

"The U.S. has the full permission to carry out any security operations against
international and local terrorists in Somalia. It had already targeted some terrorist
elements," Hidig said. A 2008 airstrike and a 2009 helicopter raid by U.S. special forces
killed two men accused of terrorism.

In a sign of building international support for the beleaguered government, the EU will
send around 100 military officials to help train two groups of 1,000 soldiers each for six
months at a time in Uganda, which already contributes peacekeeping troops to an
African Union mission in Somalia.

The EU said it will work in close partnership with the U.S., U.N. and African Union.

U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment on the form their support
might take in the training. Somali State Minister for Defense Yusuf Mohamed Siyad
said it is hoped the U.S. would help guarantee pay for the soldiers.
Without a guaranteed salary, soldiers might simply desert to the Islamists after training.
Siyad said this has happened several times before. The U.S. already pays the salaries of
about 1,800 Somali soldiers, he said.

The Somali government is also hoping that divisions between the two main Islamist
insurgent factions deepen before any offensive, Hidig said. Two insurgent groups that
are nominal allies, Hizbul Islam and al-Shabab, have launched a campaign of
assassinations against each other in recent weeks. Al-Shabab controls much of Somalia
and large sections of its capital, and is loosely allied with al-Qaida.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for nearly 20 years.

--------------------
Ghana US Naval Partnering – Hosting a US Sea Base? (Modern Ghana)

… when somebody gives you a gift, the purpose is mostly to compromise your decision
making. – Obenfo

The United States (US) Government on Saturday, presented four speed patrol boats to
the Ghana Navy, to help ensure maritime safety and security. – Sekondi, March 13,
GNA

Ms Julie Furuta-Toy, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Ghana presented

certificates on the boats to Lieutenant-General Joseph Henry Smith (rtd), Minister of
Defense, at a ceremony at the Western Naval Command in Sekondi.

Lt-General Smith thanked the US Government for the gift, which he said is an
expression of the cordial relationship between the two countries and hoped the
friendship between the two countries would be further strengthened. He spoke of the
economic, social and security assistance the country has received from US government
over the years, saying that, Ghana had received security assistance such as the
International Military Education and Training (IMET) and the African Contingency
Training Assistance (ACOTA) programmes.

Lt-General Smith said USS Gunston Hall; a US Naval is presently berthed at the
Western Naval Command for the 2010 Africa Partnership Training Programme. He said
the government is committed to equipping the Ghana Navy, to play a pivotal role in the
protection of the countries maritime resources, especially fisheries stock and the oil
find. He said steps were being taken to complete the Slipway and the Test bench
Projects at the Sekondi Naval Dockyard to enhance fleet maintenance and ensure
availability of ships to perform assigned roles.

…
Miss Furuta-Toy said the four boats are meant to augment three defender boats
presented to the Ghana Navy in October 2008. She said the US is proud of its multi-
national military partnerships, and that from 2008 to 2009, five West and Central
African Countries received 17 identical defender class boats.

The US African Partnership Station, currently led in West Africa by the USS Gunston
Hall has been engaged in training missions. Sammy Darko, one of the Ghanaian
reporters hosted by the US Africa Command in its Stuttgart headquarters, was on board
the USS Gunston Hall and a witness to the training. It looks like he is an embedded
reporter in the way the US military has used reporters in the US media. He writes for
JoyFM, myjoyonline.com:

The United States Africa Command is collaborating with the Ghana navy to patrol the
country's high seas.

The naval commands say the surveillance has become necessary to check increasing
illegal activities such as drug trafficking, fishing and dumping of waste along the West
coast.

The project will also involve training for Ghana's Navy and logistical support.

Joy FM's Sammy Darko will be on the patrol ship and he believes the trip will be a
challenging one.

Expectations
The capacity of the Ghana Navy is soon expected to be boosted to a level where they
can ward off most illegal activities on the high seas.

In recent times, concerns have been raised about the country's inability to combat drug
traffickers, illegal fishing and dumping of waste on the high seas.

That is because the Navy lacks the equipment and required skills to do so.

But the US Africa Command is hoping to reverse the trend with its African partnership
station.

Pirates on high seas

The object of this program is to improve maritime safety and security on the African
continent.

Under the program, officers of the Ghana Navy will be given professional training and
provided with some logistics to aid in patrol offshore.
For instance, under this exercise the US has given Ghana four defender class boats for
surveillance. These are fast speed boats attached to a vessel to chase out criminals on
the high seas.

The training is considered crucial as the nation prepares to sell its oil in commercial
quantities in the last quarter of this year.

So for the next eight days, my job on this trip will be to observe and if possible, assist in
the arrest of criminals.

Mr. Darko has a unique opportunity. I hope he learns much from his chance to observe.
In another article from March 2010 in his blog he writes:

Seventeen Ghanaian Navy officers and sailors are receiving training on how to secure
the nations maritime boundary on a US naval ship currently on sail on the gulf of
Guinea.

Also onboard the ship are navy officers from other West African countries. The idea is
to pull together synergy on how to check insecurity on the African waters in recent
times.

The training is being organized by the United States naval forces Africa and its partners
under a program code named African partnership station.

The reporter is currently onboard the USS Gunston hall currently enroute to Sao Tome
and Principe to deliver some items. It will take us roughly four days to get there.

To give you an idea about the ship I am on, picture two football fields put together, that
is how big this ship is.

It is a well equipped vessel. Inside this ship are several lecture halls where naval officers
from Ghana and other West African countries are undergoing tutorials on a wide range
of maritime courses with emphasis on professional development, respond capabilities,
and infrastructural development.

Some of the students tell me the lessons have been very useful. ‖ I have learnt how to
administer first aid to any of my offers if they were to suffer injury- A ghanaian naval
officer said‖.

For the next seven days, trainees are expected to also undergo practical training as we
sail to Sao Tome and back to Tema.
There is no question that both the training and equipment are useful and much needed
in Ghana. The drug trade plus trade in other contraband, the illegal fishing and
dumping are a plague on Ghanaian shores and all African shores. The US military is
actively targeting Africa. With a seabase, the US may have the equivalent of a base in
Ghana, without an actual land base. All the arrows point to Africa in the USMC map of
the future global security environment pictured below. You can read the planning and
the rational in the text on the graphic, also reprinted below. Of course a great deal of US
policy is exacerbating these problems rather than helping resolve them, as discussed in
many contexts over several years on this blog.

The text reads:

Future Security Environment (PDF p.3)
―Hybrid‖ Threats &
Challenges …
Largely in the Littorals
ARC OF INSTABILITY
• Nuclear armed states
• Top ten oil reserves
• Significant drug regions
• Anti-West attitudes
• Increasing Global Interdependence
• Emerging Global Powers
• Improved anti-access weapons
• ―Haves‖ vs ―Have Nots‖
The ―asymmetrical kind of war‖ we face today will last at least two decades…

The African Partnership Station is an active part of the seabase concept The original of
the above graphic is at Seabasing Concepts and Programs PDF, but it may not be
possible to connect from IP addresses outside the US. As you can see from the words
along the bottom, they are preparing for a war they expect to last at least 2o years. As
has been discussed on this blog many times, in respect to many countries, much of this
war will be self fulfilling prophecy, the result of militarization: training, and arming the
continent. The US sees sea basing as the way to use its military to police and control the
world, and particularly the oil and other resources it covets from Africa. And because
the US military is overextended, they will be using military contractors for a lot of this
arming and training activity, making them even less accountable.

The US appears to have given up on putting an Africa Command headquarters in

Africa. At present it looks likely to stay in Stuttgart, or move to the continental United
States. With seabasing, the Africa Command does not need a land base in Africa. It can
bring an immense base offshore of any country with a coastline. So you may:
Imagine a future where the people of countries at odds with U.S. policies suddenly find
America's ―massive seaborne platforms‖ floating just outside their territorial waters.

Ghanaians remain smart and skeptical, from the five comments at myjoyonline, two
comments are simply grateful for the equipment. The other three follow:

US-Ghana Navy
Posted By: Piorgah Tetteh , 3/18/2010 1:01:42 PM
So finally, the US Africom is using diversionary tactics to invade the continent. They
failed to set up a base here and are now coming under the pretext of partnership to
operate. The US will go to any length to poke its nose in people's business. Sake of this
small oil wey we find…

Azaa Amerika. Atta Mill, shine your eyes.

Yankee Go Home
Posted By: ObibiNIBAKOJO , 3/18/2010 5:41:44 PM
Ghanaman ,the US has double standards and hidden motives…warn president mills
and the Ghana Navy…Look at this illegal drugs…the most drugs are here in the US and
the Carribean route ……don't let this stupid marines fool you…Ghanaman.

USA IN GHANA? am sad!!!¬!!

Posted By: ab , 3/19/2010 4:26:09 PM
USA oooooh? am supprised they are here too. is because of the oil oooooh Ghana. very
soon we will start fight over the oil and they will start selling guns to us at the exchange
of oil. USA. is our leaders really reading between two lines at all.

why allowed this people here. my heart is bleeding seriously

--------------------
PM arrested in coup-prone Guinea Bissau (Press TV)

A group of soldiers have reportedly arrested Guinea-Bissau's premier and the army's
chief of staff, raising coup fears in a country with a history of similar rebellions.

"Very early this morning (Thursday), young soldiers left the barracks and proceeded to
arrest the prime minister after invading his residence," a military source told the AFP
news agency.

Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was freed after several hours and escorted back to
his private residence. The head of the armed forces Zamora Induta remained under
guard at a military base while his No. 2 appeared to be in control.
Initial reports said hundreds of people gathered in front of his office demanding his
release. The supporters later gathered about 150 metres from the prime minister's home,
AFP said.

Army deputy chief of staff General Antonio Indjai warned he would "kill" Gomes if the
arrested leader's sympathizers did not disperse.

"We ask you to avoid any assembly in the streets. If you do not, that could lead us to kill
Cadogo," said the general, using the nickname of the prime minister.

The whereabouts of President Malam Bacai Sanha, who took power following elections
in July, were not immediately known and the situation in the country remains unclear.

Military music interrupted the usual broadcasts on national radio which experts say
indicates a coup.

The country has been struggling to overcome a crisis after the retaliatory killing of
President Joao Bernardo Vieira in March 2009.

Troops loyal to then head of the armed forces, General Tagme Na Waie, attacked and
shot Bernardo, blaming him for a bombing that killed the general hours earlier.

The poor West African nation has seen a series of coups since independence from
Portugal in the 1970s.
--------------------
New chief named for UN force in Chad (AFP)

NDJAMENA, Chad – A UN negotiator heading talks with Chad on the future of a UN

peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) has been
made head of MINURCAT, a UN statement said Thursday.

"The secretary-general of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-Moon has named Mr Youssef
Mahmoud to the post of interim special representative at the head of MINURCAT,
replacing Mr Victor Angelo, who left on retirement at the end of the month of March,"
the MINURCAT statement said.

Mahmoud, a Tunisian, was named to lead the mission while engaged in talks with a
Chadian team headed by General Oki Dagache, special representative of Chad's
President Idriss Deby Itno at the UN mission.

He had been due to leave Chad on Wednesday, but will stay for further talks and to
head MINURCAT at least until May 15, when its current mandate expires.
MINURCAT's mandate was renewed in March by the UN Security Council to allow
time for talks on the future of the force, which is tasked with protecting scores of
thousands of displaced people and refugees and with facilitating aid work.

The Chadian authorities want the force scaled down and then to withdraw on the
grounds that it has been "a failure," in Deby's words. The talks faltered this week on the
number of UN troops and police to remain on the ground, according to a Chadian
diplomatic source.

"We proposed to the UN to reduce the number of elements in MINURCAT to 400,

which is largely sufficient to guard installations and civilian personnel, but the United
Nations wants to keep 1,000 men," the source said.

The mission was created in 2007 to take over from a European force, EUFOR, that
looked after Chadians and Central Africans displaced by insurgency in their own
countries and refugees from Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, across the eastern border
of Chad and the northeastern border of the CAR.

The UN and other organisations have expressed reservations at the idea of a possible
withdrawal of the military component of MINURCAT fearing for the safety of those
displaced.

The force included about 2,510 troops, 260 police, and 975 civilian personnel, according
to its UN website as of last December.
--------------------
Mauritius PM dissolves parliament (Xinhua)

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar - Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam

on Wednesday dissolved parliament, saying his country would hold elections on May 5
this year, reports from Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, said.

"This afternoon, I have informed the President of the Republic that I shall dissolve the
National Assembly today. I have decided to call the country for the elections on May 5,"
the 62-year-old premier declared on state television and local radio.

Ramgoolam said he made the decision to end the speculations about the date of the
elections as uncertainties were rising to threaten the national economy.

He had promised to make 2009 the year of the economy and 2010 the year of elections.
"The hour of the democratic rendez-vous has arrived. I have arrived at the end of my
mandate," he said.
-------------------
Africa must promote investment to develop: Blair (Reuters)
LONDON – Former British prime minister Tony Blair on Thursday added his voice to
calls for African development strategies to go beyond aid, saying a predictable and
transparent business environment was critical to sustainable development.

Blair whose African Governance Initiative advises three African governments, said
developing countries needed to do more to promote government accountability, battle
graft and create a "one-stop shop" for frontier investors.

Blair's comments echo proposals by Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, who has called
for a financial market-led approach to development.

"The problem with African countries is not just a matter of aid," Blair told Reuters in an
interview.

"The two absolutely critical things for any African country that wants to develop
sustainably are that you put together the right business environment and that
(investors) can come in on a transparent and open basis."

Blair's initiative operates in Rwanda and Sierra Leone and recently began work in
Liberia, all of which are recovering from conflicts and present good opportunities for
intrepid financiers, Blair said.

"You've got to put all the caveats in, but the natural potential of these three countries is
enormous and the political leadership and determination is there," he said.

"There are very few frontier markets that you go into where there isn't a risk-reward
balance, but if the investment pays off, it's going to pay off in a very big way."

Moyo, who wrote the book "Dead Aid," has criticized aid flows, arguing instead for
increased trade, foreign direct investment, and use of capital markets through bond
issues.

African economies weathered the global economic slowdown relatively well.

The IMF recently forecast the continent's growth for 2010 at 4.5 percent, although this
presents a significant drop from the six percent growth rates enjoyed over the past
decade.
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UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Ban urges leaders in Guinea-Bissau to maintain rule of law

1 April – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the military and political
leadership of Guinea-Bissau to resolve their differences peacefully and to maintain
constitutional order and the rule of law, after military incidents in which the Prime
Minister was briefly detained.

Côte d’Ivoire: UN pursues multi-pronged strategy for peaceful elections

1 April – From high-level political meetings to workshops and sporting events, the
United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) is deploying a multifaceted strategy
to create a peaceful environment for the repeatedly delayed elections that are intended
to reunify the divided country.

DR Congo: UN helps women fight under-representation in government

1 April – The United Nations is boosting the efforts of women in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) to overcome decades of low female participation in
politics and achieve their rightful role in governing the vast African country and
rebuilding it after years of civil war.

UN efforts to improve refugee protection in Morocco bear fruit

1 April – Efforts by the United Nations refugee agency to address refugee protection
and mixed migration in Morocco have helped to improve protection, but significant
challenges remain, the agency said in a new report.

ICC Prosecutor welcomes decision to move forward with Kenya probe

1 April – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today welcomed the
body’s decision to grant his request to investigate alleged crimes against humanity
committed in the wake of disputed Kenyan elections two years ago.