United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

5 May 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

U.S. Africa Command conducts exercise with Morocco and Senegal (World Tribune)
U.S. Africa Command has completed arrangements for a maritime counter-insurgency
exercise in the Mediterranean Sea in May 2010.

Clinton Defends U.S. Record on Khartoum (AllAfrica.com)

The United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, has defended the Obama
administration's record on Sudan, saying although she is "certainly not satisfied" with
what it has achieved, "it is an immensely complicated arena."

Opting Out or Copping Out in Sudan (The Huffington Post)

Opposition parties across Africa are copping out on their constituents and citizens
when they opt out of elections. Election challengers lose elections more because of their
disunity than their all too common accusation of incumbent rigging.

US envoy visits Sudan for first time since elections (AFP)

WASHINGTON – US envoy Scott Gration returned this week to Sudan, his first visit
there since last month's controversial elections, to pursue efforts to stabilize both
southern and western parts of the country.

U.S. Donors Defend Deal with Clerics (Daily Nation)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Americans funding churches in Kenya to campaign against the
proposed constitution say they were approached for assistance.

EU-trained Somali gov't troops to be monitored to avoid defection to militant groups

(Xinhua)
KAMPALA, Uganda - All Somali government troops who are going to be trained by the
European Union (EU) forces in southwestern Uganda will be monitored to avoid them
defecting to militant groups when they return home.

Islamic group to distribute food in Somalia (Associated Press)

MOGADISHU, Somalia – An official with the Organization of Islamic Conference says
the group plans to reopen its office in war-ravaged Somalia after nearly 17 years.
Famine Persists in Niger, but Denial Is Past (New York Times)
NIAMEY, Niger —Once again Niger is facing a food crisis, a grimly familiar
predicament in a vast desert country with an explosive birthrate and rudimentary
agriculture. Rains and crops failed last year — rainfall was about 70 percent below
normal in the region — and now half the population of 15 million faces food shortages,
officials say.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
Actress Mia Farrow bears UN message of hope and help for Guinea’s afflicted
children
Senior UN official lauds Mali’s development initiatives
Ban outlines proposals for reduced UN force in Chad
UN urges calm in Darfur as fresh clashes erupt despite peace process
ICC prosecutor to travel to Kenya to lead probe into political violence
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, May 6, 7:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: American Enterprise Institute: Delivery of an Irving Kristol lecture and receipt of the
Irving Kristol award at the annual dinner
WHO: Commander of the U.S. Central Command Gen. David Petraeus
Info: http://fpc.state.gov/events/124193.htm

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, May 14, 9:30 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace: Responsive and Accountable Leadership for a Peaceful and
Prosperous Congo
WHO: Commander of the U.S. Central Command Gen. David Petraeus
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/responsive-and-accountable-leadership-peaceful-and-
prosperous-congo
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S. Africa Command conducts exercise with Morocco and Senegal (World Tribune)

The U.S. military has been preparing for a major security exercise in North Africa.

U.S. Africa Command has completed arrangements for a maritime counter-insurgency

exercise in the Mediterranean Sea in May 2010. The exercise, titled Phoenix Express-
2010, would team U.S. personnel with Morocco and Senegal.

"Multilateral exercises like Phoenix Express are an important part of the U.S. Naval
Forces Africa Maritime Supporting Plans and the International Military Partnering
Lines of Operations," U.S.Navy Capt. Martin Beck, commander of Naval Expeditionary
Task Force Europe and Africa, said.

Officials said Phoenix Express would focus on interdiction and counter-insurgency

missions. Since April 19, they said, Morocco and Senegal have been training for the
exercise with the U.S. Navy's Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team in Rota, Spain.

"The FAST Marines are working with our Spanish host to help train and prepare our
North African partners for maritime security operations, which is key in our combined
readiness to address the security challenges we face at sea," Beck said.

The United States has sought to enhance maritime security capabilities of its North
African allies. Officials said Africom has been facilitating exercises and training to
Morocco and other regional states, including the use of air operations to battle illegal
immigration as well as narcotics and weapons trafficking.

During the current training course, scheduled to end on May 7, the U.S. Navy helped
teams from Morocco and Senegal in live-fire, helicopter rope suspension techniques,
close quarters battle, and marine martial arts. They said the U.S. Navy envisions
participation by Morocco and other allies in joint maritime security patrols in the
Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean.

"We want to ensure we are providing exceptional support to our warfighters," U.S.
Navy Capt. Bill Mosk, commander at the base in Rota, Spain, said.
--------------------
Clinton Defends U.S. Record on Khartoum (AllAfrica.com)
The United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, has defended the Obama
administration's record on Sudan, saying although she is "certainly not satisfied" with
what it has achieved, "it is an immensely complicated arena."

During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, the host, David Gregory,
challenged Clinton, saying that President Omar al-Bashir was classified by the U.S. as a
"sponsor of state terror" and has been charged with crimes against humanity, but
President Barack Obama and his aides had "caved, leaving Sudan gloating at American
weakness."

Clinton responded that the U.S. had secured the return of aid to displaced people in
Darfur after Bashir had expelled non-governmental groups from their camps, and
added that "we're beginning to see some slight progress in Darfur."

She continued: "I don't want to overstate it because it is still a deplorable situation. But
we're working to try to get the people back to their homes, out of the camps."
She said the recent Sudanese election was, "by any measure... flawed... There were
many, many things wrong with it, but there hadn't been an election in many years. And
so part of our goal was to try to empower opposition parties, empower people to go out
and vote.

"Thousands and thousands did. The result, I think, was pretty much foreordained that
Bashir would come out the winner, and that's unfortunate."

The U.S., she added, was now "turning all of our attention to trying to help the south
and to mitigate against the attitudes of the north."

The administration "could back off and say, 'We won't deal with these people, we're not
going to have anything to do with them, Bashir is a war criminal.' I don't think that will
improve the situation. So along with our partners - the UK, Norway, neighboring
countries - we are trying to manage what is a very explosive problem.
--------------------
Opting Out or Copping Out in Sudan (The Huffington Post)

All too predictably Sudanese opposition parties boycotted Sudan's April elections. Their
case that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP)
had set the stage to steal the election is indisputable. The NCP manipulated the 2008
census, used national security legislation to undermine basic freedom of expression,
association, movement and assembly, and prevented state funds from going to all
political parties as allowed by the electoral rules. The opposition was underrepresented
on the voter registration rolls, harassed from campaigning, and starved of resources to
fairly contest the elections.

But, was boycotting the right response? Opposition parties across Africa are copping
out on their constituents and citizens when they opt out of elections. Election
challengers lose elections more because of their disunity than their all too common
accusation of incumbent rigging. In Sudan, 72 political parties contested the elections
and fielded 12 Presidential candidates before they boycotted. Instead of copping out,
the opposition parties should have united to reduce the field to one or two candidates
capable of winning outright against al-Bashir or stopping him from a first round
victory. Take another tragic case, Zimbabwe in 2009: if the opposition had united,
especially the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change, then Zimbabwe
today would be rid of Mugabe. The MDC would have attained a convincing first round
victory with no need for a second round boycott. Cheating incumbents like al-Bashir
and Mugabe are the culprits for sure, but boycotting leaves the population in the hands
of tyrants with no alternatives.

The decision particularly of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the
Umma Party to withdraw and boycott respectively left the Sudanese people in the
hands of an indicted war criminal. Al-Bashir's party now dominates the 450-seat
National Assembly and the northern State Assemblies, and the NCP got 13 of the 14
Governorships in the north. In other words, the NCP consolidated its control over the
laws and policies of Sudan for years to come. This outcome negates the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement's (CPA) goal of having national elections serve as a mechanism for the
democratic transformation of Sudan, and places the future of the January 2011
referendum for southern self-determination at risk.

The SPLM has left itself limited options to prevent the NCP from stopping the
referendum; mainly threatening to go back to war and appealing for international
support. Neither option can stop the NCP. Western governments abandoned the
Sudanese people by cynically using euphemisms--"logistical and technical challenges"--
to downplay the NCP's intentional manipulation to return Bashir to power. Even worse,
the African Union and Arab League (with the West in concert) judged the Sudanese as
incapable of meeting "international standards" so they accepted so-called "local
standards" as good enough. "This cover-up of NCP cheating reinforces the pernicious
view that Africans are inferior, sets a precedent for lowering African election standards,
and threatens the gains achieved in governance over the last decade.

The SPLM would have been better served to contest in the North, gain sufficient seats in
the legislature to shape Sudan's future, and give the Sudanese people a real alternative
to an NCP-dominated government. Deal-making with al-Bashir and depending on the
NCP to fully honor the CPA is an exercise in wishful thinking and ignoring the divide
and conquer tactics the NCP has perfected. U.S. interests are severely undermined with
the SPLM so completely abandoning Garang's vision of unity and handing al-Bashir an
easy victory. The Obama Administration will need a new strategy for the democratic
transformation of Sudan with our traditional SPLM allies out, and the NCP so firmly
entrenched.
--------------------
US envoy visits Sudan for first time since elections (AFP)

WASHINGTON – US envoy Scott Gration returned this week to Sudan, his first visit
there since last month's controversial elections, to pursue efforts to stabilize both
southern and western parts of the country.

US State Department officials said Gration arrived Monday in the Sudanese capital
Khartoum for two days of talks with Sudanese, UN and other officials about the fragile
2005 north-south Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The envoy is also likely to discuss the aftermath of the April 11-15 multi-party polls, the
first in 24 years which re-elected President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an international
arrest warrant on war crimes charges.
The credibility of the election was undermined by opposition boycotts, allegations of
fraud and questions from international monitors about transparency.

A State Department official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Gration will
travel to the southern city of Juba on Wednesday.

In Juba, he will consult the Sudan People?s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the
southern Sudanese government about "the remaining issues around the full and
complete implementation of the CPA," a State Department statement said.

Under the CPA, the Sudanese are set to hold a referendum in January on whether the
mainly Christian and animists in the south will remain part of Sudan, which is
dominated by the majority Arabs and Muslims in the north.

They are also set to hold a referendum next year on the status of the contested oil-rich
region of Abyei.

He will also travel Thursday to Nyala, in the violence-hit western Darfur region, to
meet with officials serving in the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID), a State Department official said.

On the last leg of a trip ending May 9, Gration will leave Friday for Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia to participate in African Union meetings on Sudan.

The talks will touch on "regional strategies and international coordination in support of
CPA implementation and the Darfur peace process," the State Department statement
said.

In Doha, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the main rebel group in Darfur, said
at the weekend that the Sudanese government has brought the Darfur peace process to
an end by launching a military offensive against the JEM.

JEM, one of two key Darfur rebel groups, signed a framework accord in February in
Doha that was hailed by the international community as a major step toward bringing
peace to the region devastated by a seven-year war.
--------------------
U.S. Donors Defend Deal with Clerics (Daily Nation)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Americans funding churches in Kenya to campaign against the

proposed constitution say they were approached for assistance.
In an interview with the BBC, the international operations director of the American
Center for Law and Justice, Mr Jay Sekulow, said the organisation was not interfering
with Kenya's sovereignty.

"We provide funds to the East Africa Center for Law and Justice," he said, adding they
were approached for "assistance, guidance and help".

Mr Sekulow said his organisation was providing the funds to ensure that Kenya did not
pass a law that permitted abortion on demand.

He added that Kenyan churches were opposed to the "broad definition of equality" in
relation to the kadhi's courts.

Bishop Mark Kariuki of the Deliverance Church, who has been linked to the American
group, denied in Nairobi on Monday that they were receiving funding from the US.

The church leaders intend to launch their 'No' campaign against the draft on Saturday
at a prayer rally in Uhuru Park, Nairobi.
--------------------
EU-trained Somali gov't troops to be monitored to avoid defection to militant groups
(Xinhua)

KAMPALA, Uganda - All Somali government troops who are going to be trained by the
European Union (EU) forces in southwestern Uganda will be monitored to avoid them
defecting to militant groups when they return home.

Col. Gonzalez Elul, EU Mission Commander of EUTM Somalia and Lt. Gen. Katumba
Wamala Commander of Land Forces Uganda People's Defense Force told reporters here
on Tuesday that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will ensure that the
troops stay focused in stabilizing the volatile Horn of African country.

"The time they land back in Mogadishu, they have about two months of mentoring by
the AMISOM forces so that helps them to stay in shape and also stay focused on the
mission," said Wamala.

Elul said that the 2,000 Somali government troops that are going to be trained at
Bihanga camp in Ibanda district southwestern Uganda have been vetted to ensure that
?there are no wrong elements. The first batch of 250 troops is scheduled to arrive in
Uganda on Tuesday.

"All these people have gone through our vetting mechanisms implemented by the
United States in terms of being sure that all the guys we are training are good guys and
they will respond effectively," he said.
--------------------
Islamic group to distribute food in Somalia (Associated Press)

MOGADISHU, Somalia – An official with the Organization of Islamic Conference says

the group plans to reopen its office in war-ravaged Somalia after nearly 17 years.

The group's director of humanitarian affairs, Fuad Ali Al-Masna'i, says the aim is to
provide aid to hungry Somalis whose humanitarian situation is deteriorating due to the
withdrawal of the U.N.'s food agency early this year. He said Monday that the office
would open soon, but did not give a date.

Nearly half of Somalia's 7 million people depend on food aid.

The militant group al-Shabab barred the World Food Program from distributing food in
areas under its control.
--------------------
Famine Persists in Niger, but Denial Is Past (New York Times)

NIAMEY, Niger — Outside the state food warehouses here, women sift in the dirt for
spilled grains of rice. Seven hundred miles to the east, mothers pluck bitter green
berries and boil them for hours in an attempt to feed their children. In urban slums and
desert villages, one word is on all lips: famine.

Once again Niger is facing a food crisis, a grimly familiar predicament in a vast desert
country with an explosive birthrate and rudimentary agriculture. Rains and crops failed
last year — rainfall was about 70 percent below normal in the region — and now half
the population of 15 million faces food shortages, officials say. Thus it was in 2005, 1985
and 1974.

But there is a big difference this year: the new military government here is
acknowledging serious hunger, trying to do something about it — and asking for help.

Before the country’s autocratic president, Mamadou Tandja, was overthrown in

February, the state warehouses remained stocked, despite the people’s need for help.
Now they are largely empty of grain, a sign of how much has been distributed in recent
weeks.

The new prime minister travels the suffering countryside, asking about the food
shortage. Before, Mr. Tandja would fly into a rage at the very mention of the word
famine, according to officials and newspapers here.

And when John Holmes, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, flew in last
week, his extensive caravan received a military and police escort. Though Mr. Holmes
was inquiring about what had been one of Niger’s most politically delicate topics,
chronic hunger, government ministers with retinues of functionaries barreled into the
dusty villages with him, and everywhere he went he was treated like a visiting head of
state.

In the 2005 famine, by contrast, United Nations agencies were accused by Mr. Tandja of
collaborating with the opposition to discredit him.

―Before, we didn’t speak about famine; it was forbidden,‖ said Idrissa Kouboukoye,
head of the Niger Foodstuffs Agency office at the edge of town here. He chuckled softly,
noting that this year, sacks of grain started to be dispensed from the massive concrete
warehouses behind him on March 1, less than two weeks after Mr. Tandja was deposed.

―When people who don’t have enough to eat have to say that everything is fine, this is a
problem,‖ Mr. Kouboukoye said of the previous government.

Mr. Tandja, an ardent nationalist, had participated in the 1974 coup that was
precipitated in part by that year’s famine. But four years ago, while tens of thousands of
children suffering from acute malnutrition flooded centers staffed by Doctors Without
Borders, Mr. Tandja’s regime accused journalists covering the issue of not being
patriotic.

This year, one of the military junta’s first pronouncements was on the looming food
crisis.

―There’s no comparison,‖ said Dr. Mamadou Yami Chegou, director of nutrition at the
health ministry, while attending a food distribution in the village of Koleram, in Niger’s
stricken east. ―The political will to address this has been clearly declared. Before, there
was a silence surrounding the question.‖

Nobody now disputes the seriousness of Niger’s current crisis, though officials say the
worst may yet be to come as the period lengthens between last year’s crop failure and
the fall harvest.

―The situation is not catastrophic yet,‖ said Mr. Holmes, after a day of visiting hungry
villages hundreds of miles from here.

At the edge of Niamey, the capital, mud-brick compounds are full of food refugees from
the north. ―There’s almost nothing left,‖ said Ramatou Bubacar, 42, who had brought
her seven children down from the Tillabéri department 12 days before, hoping the city
would be kinder. ―Everything’s been eaten.‖
Thousands of children are being pulled out of schools because parents have left their
villages to search for food, and a handful have closed. ―Exceptionally, this year, we’ve
had this departure,‖ said Salissou Hachimou, the director of the school in Kongomé,
where 43 out of 232 children have left.

In the countryside, ribs poke from under the taut skin of livestock. The animal fodder
supply is 66 percent below normal. Mangy camels range, nuzzling the denuded tops of
trees.

About 12 percent of the country’s children are acutely malnourished, according to

Unicef. A handful of tiny babies with feeble limbs populated a ward in an intensive
nutrition clinic in the desert town of Tanout. But the atmosphere was calm and the
clinic was not overwhelmed, as Mr. Holmes noted.

The arid region was 11,000 tons short of its expected cereal production last year. The
crop failed entirely in the village of Dalli. ―Yes, I am hungry now,‖ said Safia Joulou, 26,
who prepares one meal per day, boiling leaves gathered in the endless surrounding
sand and scrub.

Like others interviewed, she has a large family to care for, seven children. The young
mother standing next to her, Nana Boukari, 20, has five. A woman questioned by the
Mr. Holmes in Dalli, Maria Ali, 52, has 10.

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, has the highest birthrate in the world
in some estimates and is near the top in others, greatly contributing to the country’s
chronic food problems. In the regional capital of Zinder, south of Tanout, there are
billboards for the local brand of condom, but there is nothing like a vigorous family
planning effort in this Muslim country. The ―overwhelming cultural attitude‖ militates
against it, Mr. Holmes said.

He said he brought up family planning in meetings with high government officials

here. ―They are aware of it as an issue, but it’s not at the top of their agenda,‖ he said.

In Dalli, the grain in a recent free distribution was quickly exhausted. ―The children
don’t eat before they go to school,‖ said Ms. Ali, the mother of 10. ―During school
breaks, the children come home, but they find nothing to eat.‖
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Actress Mia Farrow bears UN message of hope and help for Guinea’s afflicted children
4 May – The acclaimed actress Mia Farrow leaves for Guinea tomorrow in her real-life
role as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador to boost
funding for maternal and child health in a country where youngsters are among those
most seriously hurt by recent political and economic turmoil.

Senior UN official lauds Mali’s development initiatives

4 May – The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today
concluded a visit to the West African nation of Mali, lauding the efforts the country was
making as its strives to alleviate poverty and provide basic social services to the people.

Ban outlines proposals for reduced UN force in Chad

4 May – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon laid out his proposals for a revised mandate for
the United Nations mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad in a new
report released today, including a significant reduction of troops in response to the
latter country’s request to assume full responsibility for protecting civilians in its
territory.

UN urges calm in Darfur as fresh clashes erupt despite peace process

4 May – The joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur today urged the
Government and one of the leading insurgent groups in the western Sudanese region to
stop fighting as it confirmed that fresh clashes had erupted between the two sides
despite a peace process intended to end the conflict.

ICC prosecutor to travel to Kenya to lead probe into political violence

4 May – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo
will travel to Kenya next weekend to start investigations into the violence that broke out
in the east African country following the 2007 general elections, and to meet with some
of those directly affected by the unrest.