United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

22 April 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

US Admiral: Commercial Ships Need Armed Guards to Fight Pirates (Voice of

America)
U.S. Admiral Mark Fitzgerald says commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian
Ocean should carry armed guards to help defend against Somali pirates.

Winning Hearts and Minds? Examining the Relationship Between Aid and Security
in Kenya (Feinstein International Center)
This case study on Kenya, researched and written by Mark Bradbury and Michael
Kleinman, is the first in a series of publications presenting the findings of a two-year
FIC comparative study on the relationship between aid and security in northeastern
Kenya and in five provinces of Afghanistan. The overall study has focused in particular
on trying to determine the effectiveness of aid in promoting stabilization and security
objectives, including by helping to "win hearts and minds" of local populations.

4 Saharan countries set up joint military base (bnd.com)

ALGIERS, Algeria - Four countries in the Sahara desert opened a joint military
headquarters Wednesday in an unusual, united effort to combat al-Qaida-linked
terrorism and trafficking in northwest Africa.

As food crisis looms, FAO steps up aid to Niger, Chad (AFP)

ROME – The UN food agency said Wednesday it was stepping up aid to herders and
shepherds in Niger and Chad as the two African countries face a food crisis following
poor rains last year.

Kenya: Rwanda's most wanted not in the country (Associated Press)

NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kenyan government says statements by the U.S. and a U.N.
tribunal that an alleged mastermind of the Rwandan genocide is hiding in Kenya are
misleading and acts of bad faith.

Presidential Candidate Is Arrested in Rwanda (New York Times)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Rwandan authorities arrested a top opposition politician on
Wednesday and charged her with genocide ideology — a contentious crime that many
critics say has been used to stifle dissent — and with cooperating with a notorious rebel
group.

Peace still elusive in eastern DR Congo (Xinhua)

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - After days of negotiations with the South
Kivu provincial authorities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR
Congo), the local Mai Mai armed group on Friday released the eight hostages working
for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

LRA Resorts to Undressing People and Taking Their Clothes (The Monitor)
The Lord's Resistance Army rebels have resorted to undressing people in DR Congo
and Central Africa Republic to get clothes, a non governmental organisation has said.
According to a statement issued by Enough field researcher on LRA, Ledio Cakaj, the
rebels are in dire need of clothes after running short of uniforms.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
• UN-backed scholarship recipients reach out to fellow Somali refugees
• Challenges remain in accessing HIV prevention, treatment in Africa – UN official
• UN agency boosts aid to livestock herders in Niger and Chad at risk of hunger
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 23; 12:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Center for Global Development and The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies: In Defense of Competition: The Industrial Organization of Rebellion: The
Logic of Forced Labor and Child Soldiering
WHO: Christopher Blattman, Yale University; James Habyarimana, Georgetown University
Info: http://www.cgdev.org/content/calendar/detail/1424065/

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 23; 11:45 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Washington Foreign Press Center (WFPC) Briefing on "Forging a Dynamic Partnership
Between Africa and the U.S.: Opportunities for Engagement and Development."
WHO: Jean Ping, Chairman of the African Union and Michael Battle, U.S. Ambassador to the
African Union
Info: http://fpc.state.gov/events/124194.htm

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday through Thursday, April 27-29; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Corporate Council on Africa: U.S.-Africa Infrastructure Conference
WHO: Top U.S. and African government officials, seasoned business executives, sector experts
and financiers convene at the U.S. Africa Infrastructure Conference.
Info: http://www.africacncl.org/(xtahp03q0g1wdb55d42z1w55)/Default.aspx

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, April 28; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace: U.S.-Relations with the Muslim World
WHO: This event will examine U.S. relations with the Muslim world one year after President
Obama's pivotal speech at Cairo University. Speakers include Oxford professor Tariq Ramadan,
Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, and U.S. Special Envoy to the
Organization of the Islamic Conference Rashad Hussain. USIP specialists Abiodun Williams,
Daniel Brumberg and Mona Yacoubian will also participate in the event.
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/us-relations-the-muslim-world-one-year-after-cairo
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

US Admiral: Commercial Ships Need Armed Guards to Fight Pirates (Voice of

America)

U.S. Admiral Mark Fitzgerald says commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian
Ocean should carry armed guards to help defend against Somali pirates.

"The area is enormous and we just do not have enough assets to cover every place in the
Indian Ocean," said Fitzgerald, who commands U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa.

While trying to open a corridor through the Gulf of Aden, some of the pirates have been
forced into the Indian Ocean as far away as the Seychelles.

"There has got to be security on these ships in my opinion," said Fitzgerald. "Those
security detachments that are on some of the large commercial ships have been very
effective. It is up to the commercial industry to figure out how to deal with this. But I
do not think that we can give them a 100 percent guarantee that we can protect them,
nor should we."

Somali pirates have stepped up hijacking attacks in recent months, making tens of
millions of dollars in ransom by seizing ships, including oil tankers, despite the
presence of dozens of foreign naval vessels. They have been particularly active in recent
weeks, and now hold about 20 ships with hundreds of crew members.

The U.S. Navy says it has five to 10 ships, ranging from speed boats to frigates, involved
in counter-piracy efforts off the coast of East Africa.

Fitzgerald says Somalis enriched by piracy are buying up properties in the Kenyan
cities of Nairobi and Mombassa, as well as in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He says the
international community must organize a joint campaign to crack down on those who
finance the pirates.

"We really need to go after, in my opinion, the money, the logistics, how are they being
supported with ships, fuel, those kinds of things," he said. "And we really need the rule
of law piece to be fixed so that when we do catch these pirates, we are able to bring
them to justice."
The admiral says it is difficult to find countries willing to prosecute the pirates.

He says the U.S. State and Justice departments are working on a plan to prosecute
pirates being held on board Navy ships.

The United States and international partners are helping to train African navies through
what are called African Partnership Stations. According to Admiral Fitzgerald, the
program focuses on enforcing a country's laws in its own waters.

"It is a lot cheaper and a lot more constructive to train the allies how to do the job and
let them enforce their own territorial seas, their own economic exclusion zone, than for
us to have to come down there in a shooting war," said Admiral Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald says it is unrealistic to expect a stable government in Somalia anytime soon,

so there needs to be a stronger international effort to address the piracy problem.

The admiral cautions that naval patrols alone will not solve the dilemma because
calmer waters are now allowing the pirates to operate thousands of kilometers off the
African coast.
--------------------
Winning Hearts and Minds? Examining the Relationship Between Aid and Security
in Kenya (Feinstein International Center)

This case study on Kenya, researched and written by Mark Bradbury and Michael
Kleinman, is the first in a series of publications presenting the findings of a two-year
FIC comparative study on the relationship between aid and security in northeastern
Kenya and in five provinces of Afghanistan. The overall study has focused in particular
on trying to determine the effectiveness of aid in promoting stabilization and security
objectives, including by helping to "win hearts and minds" of local populations. (For
more information and links to publications related to the study see the Aid and Security
project page.)

Since the late 1990's Kenya's large and thinly populated northeastern region bordering
Somalia has become a focus for US government efforts in Africa to counter terrorism,
mitigate violent extremism and promote stability and governance. This paper examines
the effectiveness of one aspect of those efforts, namely the aid projects implemented by
US Civil Affairs teams deployed from the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa
(CJTF-HOA) in Garissa and Wajir districts in North Eastern province, and Lamu district
in Coast province. The paper argues that these activities were useful at a tactical level in
terms of facilitating the US military's entry into regions of potential concern, and in
helping them to acquire local knowledge and connections. However, it also highlights
some of the limitations at a strategic level of using foreign aid as a tool for countering
terrorism or insurgencies and promoting stability and security. For example, the
research found that these small-scale and scattered projects did little to win hearts and
minds or change perceptions of the US in the communities where the projects were
implemented. There was also little evidence that the projects had contributed to
improved security by addressing some of the perceived underlying causes of terrorism
and violent extremism in the region.

Funding for this Kenya case study was provided by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
(SIDA).
--------------------
4 Saharan countries set up joint military base (bnd.com)

ALGIERS, Algeria - Four countries in the Sahara desert opened a joint military
headquarters Wednesday in an unusual, united effort to combat al-Qaida-linked
terrorism and trafficking in northwest Africa.

The new command and control center is in the Algerian city of Tamanrasset, about
2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) south of the nation's capital deep in the desert, the
Algerian army chief of staff said in a statement.

The four countries directing the operation are Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger,
which share porous borders across the Sahara, the world's largest desert.

The countries are hoping to establish a collective security response to threats from
traffickers and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which operates across
northern Africa.

Experts and intelligence officials say the threat is on the rise because terrorist groups are
linking up with organized crime, especially South American drug cartels that are
increasingly using the Sahara as a cocaine trafficking route. Islamist militants can get
new funding and resources by working for these traffickers, experts say.

Countries in the region, many of them poor and grappling with conflicts at home, have
a history of not working much across borders, and security officials say terror groups
have used this to avoid capture.

Algeria's military did not specify when Tamanrasset's new combined headquarters
would be operational, or how many officers would staff it.

A western security official who follows the region closely said enhanced cooperation
had been made urgent by several recent cross-border incidents.

In March, army patrols from Algeria and Mali clashed by mistake for several hours near
their common border before realizing neither were terror groups, the official said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because he works on intelligence matters, the
official said army units in the Sahara sometimes have difficulties knowing which
country they are in because there are often no landmarks along the border and they lack
radio equipment to link with each other.

An Algerian security official confirmed the incident, which caused several injuries but
no casualty. The official, who also spoke anonymously because Algerian law forbids
discussing security matters with the media, said the new command center would
ensure that patrols on the border combine efforts better.

The new command center aims at much more than just securing the borders, said
M'hand Berkouk, a Sahara expert who teaches international relations at Algiers
university.

"It's really the first time in Africa that a sub-region decides to integrate its security
operations," Berkouk said.

The goal will be to launch joint simultaneous operations in partner states and create a
common database of terror suspects and traffickers.

Algeria has a large and well-equipped military funded by the country's oil and gas
revenues. Berkouk said the new partnership likely means that less-equipped armies in
the poorer countries to its south will receive more training and support.

Born in northern Algeria, AQIM is now viewed as more potent in the country's far
south, where it can rely on fall-back bases and recruits in neighboring Mali, Mauritania
and Niger.

The United States and other Western nations have pressed for years for Saharan
countries to better cooperate at controlling the desert. AQIM claimed several
kidnappings of tourists in the region in recent years, including British hostage Edwin
Dyer, who was killed last year when Britain refused to pay a ransom. The group is also
blamed for killing a U.S. aid worker in neighboring Mauritania last June.

The U.S. army says it will conduct large-scale training exercises with the military in
Mali, Mauritania and other countries next month in the desert.
--------------------
As food crisis looms, FAO steps up aid to Niger, Chad (AFP)

ROME – The UN food agency said Wednesday it was stepping up aid to herders and
shepherds in Niger and Chad as the two African countries face a food crisis following
poor rains last year.

Livestock pastures have dried out and agricultural production had plunged in both
Saharan countries, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a statement.
"An estimated 9.8 million people are now vulnerable to severe hunger in the two
countries, with thousands more under threat in the north of Burkina Faso and northeast
Mali," the Rome-based agency said.

"The situation in the region is very worrying indeed," said Fatouma Seid, the FAO's
coordinator for west Africa.

"Poor livestock herders are being forced to sell their only assets and an important source
of nutrition, their animals, at discount prices in order to buy enough food for their
families while farmers have no seeds to plant," she said.

The FAO said it would finance the purchase and distribution of livestock feed,
fertilisers and crop seed worth 12.7 million dollars (9.5 million euros) in Niger and 4.5
million dollars in Chad.

The organisation will also fund a 4.1 million dollar programme to improve Niger's
agricultural infrastructure through the reproduction of quality seeds, strengthening
farmers' organisations and easing credit by allowing farmers to borrow against their
crops.

"The priority for FAO is to get feed to animals and to supply farmers with the seeds for
the June planting season," Seid said.

The FAO is also distributing veterinary products and livestock feed to shepherds in
Mali and Burkina Faso.
--------------------
Kenya: Rwanda's most wanted not in the country (Associated Press)

NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kenyan government says statements by the U.S. and a U.N.
tribunal that an alleged mastermind of the Rwandan genocide is hiding in Kenya are
misleading and acts of bad faith.

In a statement issued Wednesday, five Kenyan Cabinet ministers and the Attorney
General say investigations have shown that businessman Felicien Kabuga is not in
Kenya. Kabuga is wanted for financing and inciting killers during the 1994 genocide, in
which at least 500,000 people died.

Stephen Rapp, the U.S. envoy for war crime, has said he believes Kabuga is in the
country.

The Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwandan genocide has also
said that Kabuga is in Kenya.
--------------------
Presidential Candidate Is Arrested in Rwanda (New York Times)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Rwandan authorities arrested a top opposition politician on

Wednesday and charged her with genocide ideology — a contentious crime that many
critics say has been used to stifle dissent — and with cooperating with a notorious rebel
group.

The politician, Victoire Ingabire, has been one of the most vocal opposition figures in a
country that seems to have grown increasingly intolerant of political challenges. She
was summoned to a police station at 9 a.m., according to her assistant. Mrs. Ingabire, an
accountant who had lived in Europe for years, has been under investigation since
nearly the moment she returned to Rwanda in January and announced she was running
for president.

Investigators have interrogated her several times on suspicion of instigating ethnic

divisions. She said in an interview last month that she was being persecuted for simply
challenging the government.

Rwandan officials have denied that they are cracking down on political opposition, and
they point to the impressive strides the economy has made in the past 10 years as
evidence that their leadership is improving the country. Rwanda is scheduled to hold a
national election in August, and many analysts predict more turbulence — and more
arrests — in the months to come.

Mrs. Ingabire is an ethnic Hutu, and the Rwandan government is dominated by ethnic
Tutsis. Some Rwandans fear that their country is becoming ethnically polarized again,
stirring bitter memories of 1994 when Hutu militias massacred hundreds of thousands
of Tutsis.

By Wednesday afternoon, several police officers were still stationed outside Mrs.
Ingabire’s upper-middle-class townhouse in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. Her staff said
they were scared to step outside.

“She was arrested this morning, but still now we can’t know many details,” said her
assistant, Florence Hakurimina. “There are policemen here outside. We don’t have any
news.”

Rwanda’s prosecutor general, Martin Ngoga, confirmed that Mrs. Ingabire was in
police custody and that she was facing charges of genocide ideology, divisionism and
cooperating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a brutal rebel
army led by fugitives from the genocide in 1994. Earlier this year, one of Mrs. Ingabire’s
colleagues in her political party was jailed for crimes committed during the genocide.
As for the genocide ideology charge, it could stem from public statements in which Mrs.
Ingabire has said that many Hutus — not just Tutsis — were also killed during the
genocide and never officially mourned. She has repeatedly criticized the government’s
account of what happened in 1994 as being too simplistic.

Her arrest follows a recent shake-up in the military and the arrests this week of two
high-ranking generals, who were accused of corruption and immoral conduct. In
February, another senior Rwandan official and former general defected to South Africa,
saying that his life was in danger because he disagreed with government policies.
--------------------
Peace still elusive in eastern DR Congo (Xinhua)

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - After days of negotiations with the South
Kivu provincial authorities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR
Congo), the local Mai Mai armed group on Friday released the eight hostages working
for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The ICRC staff were kidnapped on April 9 in the Fizi territory, about 200 km south of
Bukavu, the provincial capital, according to the Fizi administrator.

The official said Mai Mai fighters continued battling DR Congo's Armed Forces
(FARDC) in resistance against military integration before the release of the ICRC
hostages.

The fighting killed three FARDA soldiers and 15 Mai Mai militia and injured many
more, the local official said after the release of the hostages.

The territorial administrator, who had visited his provincial headquarters, told Radio
Okapi run by the UN mission in Congo (MONUC) that inhabitants of the Fizi territory
were running away.

The official lamented the systematic looting by both militia and men in uniform.

Another local independent source told Radio Okapi that vehicles carrying looted goods
were intercepted on the road towards Baraka in South Kivu province.
--------------------
LRA Resorts to Undressing People and Taking Their Clothes (The Monitor)

The Lord's Resistance Army rebels have resorted to undressing people in DR Congo
and Central Africa Republic to get clothes, a non governmental organisation has said.
According to a statement issued by Enough field researcher on LRA, Ledio Cakaj, the
rebels are in dire need of clothes after running short of uniforms.

People undressed
"Congolese witnesses of LRA attacks said that LRA fighters were recently not only
looting food and other property, but were also stealing peoples' clothes," Mr Cakaj said
in a statement issued last week. The statement quoted a Congolese woman who was
reportedly undressed by the rebels: "They made us take all of our clothes off."

Peace talks

Meanwhile the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, an umbrella organisation for
clergy has launched fresh demands for the government to rescind its position and re-
engage the LRA rebels in talks to end the atrocities in Central Africa Republic.

In a press statement dated April 13, the group noted that the financial obligation the
military option imposes is especially troubling given the needs in northern Uganda. The
group also called upon the LRA rebels to desist from all forms of violence against the
civilians and release the abducted children to return home.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

UN-backed scholarship recipients reach out to fellow Somali refugees

21 April – After graduating from a teacher training college in Kenya thanks to a United
Nations-backed scholarship scheme, three Somali men are returning to the refugee
camp they grew up in to help the next generation of children.

Challenges remain in accessing HIV prevention, treatment in Africa – UN official

21 April – Despite the progress that has been made in the AIDS response in Africa,
many challenges remain that prevent people from accessing the HIV prevention and
treatment services they need, a top United Nations official said during a visit to
Senegal.

UN agency boosts aid to livestock herders in Niger and Chad at risk of hunger
21 April – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is boosting
assistance to herders and pastoralists in Niger and Chad, where nearly 10 million
people are vulnerable to severe hunger owing to poor rains last year which impacted
food production.