United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

17 May 2010

USAFRICOM -related news stories

From and About Africa

FLASH: PASSENGER AIRPLANE CRASHES IN AFGHANISTAN 2010-05-17 18:05:16

DRUG RING OPERATING WITHIN GHANA

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE
The Head of Maintenance and Engineering of Ghana International Airline
(GIA), Mr. Len Hobbs, has in a damaging document revealed that there
was a drug ring operating within the airline, which enjoyed official
protection of the management of the airline. Mr. Hobbs, who is a respected aviation engineer, has
said. According to Mr. Hobbs, in some instances when drugs were found on the plane, the
management seized the drugs and kept mute of the deals. ―There were several incidents of illegal
drugs being discovered by the company ground servicing personnel and subsequently seized by
GIA management and never reported,‖ he said. Continuing, he noted that on certain occasions,
―GIA employees were caught selling baggage weight waivers for personal gain, illegal drugs and
precious metal smuggling, went unreported.‖

ASH CLOUD TO HIT 1,000 EUROPEAN FLIGHTS

The closure of airspace in the Netherlands and southeast Britain due to volcanic ash from Iceland
will cause the cancellation of about 1,000 flights on Monday, European air traffic agency
Eurocontrol said. The current ash cloud is expected partially to disperse during the course of
Monday. But by 1200 GMT, the cloud is expected to affect Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland
and parts of southwest Britain, the agency said in a statement. "There may be some continuing
disruption in the greater London area," it said, adding that it expected 28,000 flights to operate,
1,000 fewer than normal.

LONDON AIRPORTS CLOSE AS VOLCANIC ASH APPROACHES

LONDON - Several airports in and around London were closed early Monday morning as the latest wave of
volcanic ash from Iceland moved southward, aviation authorities said. An airspace ban issued by the British
National Air Traffic Service late Sunday affected Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports, where
flights may resume from 7:00 a.m. Monday (0600 GMT). Airports in northern England which closed Sunday will
be reopened as the volcanic ash drifts southward, but Northern Ireland and some parts of Scotland will remain
subject to the no-fly zone restrictions, the authorities said.

CAR LEADER HEADS FOR LIFE PRESIDENCY

The military turned civilian president of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize, heads for life presidency.
Following a controversial constitutional amendment, the lawmakers of the embattled country have declared the
leader aspire to an "indefinite" mandate.

TOLL RISES TO 20 AS OPPOSING SOMALI MPS VOTE OUT SPEAKER, GOVERNMENT

MOGADISHU - Somali lawmakers opposed to the Speaker on Sunday said that they sacked the official hours after
he announced the Somali government has lost a vote of confidence which he said was conducted during closed doors
session of the parliament.The tit-for-tat move comes after the Somali parliament met in Mogadishu for the first time
in more than five months following row between the two, the Somali government on the one hand and supporters of
the speaker in the Somali legislature. The latest development came as the death toll from the fighting that ensued
after Islamist launched mortars attack on the parliament meeting, rose to 20 while the number of the wounded
reached almost 60, according to medical and emergency services in Mogadishu.

SOUTH AFRICAN POWER PLANT BLAST KILLS ONE, INJURES 25

JOHANNESBURG - One South African worker was killed and 25 others were injured during an explosion on
Saturday afternoon at Lethabo power station operated by South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom near
Vereeniging in Guateng province, Eskom said.Andrew Etzinger, spokesman for Eskom, confirmed the incident to
the South African Press Association (SAPA), saying a contractor was killed. Twenty-five people were injured and
nine were hospitalized, but have since been discharged, he said.

EU ENVOY APPEALS AGAINST UNILATERAL NILE-SHARING DEAL

CAIRO — A senior EU envoy urged seven east African countries on Thursday to settle differences with Egypt and
Sudan over sharing the waters of the Nile river and refrain from signing a new deal on their own. Marc Franco, who
heads the European Union delegation in Egypt, issued the appeal as Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda were expected to launch the signing on Friday of a new water-
sharing deal. The agreement would replace a 1959 accord between Egypt and Sudan that gives them control of more
than 90 percent of the water flow.

MUBARAK SET FOR ITALY TRIP

Cairo Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will travel to Italy tomorrow on his first trip abroad since undergoing
surgery in March, the official Mena news agency reported.

EGYPT AND SUDAN SAY NO TO NILE BASIN AGREEMENT

After a decade of negotiations, four east African countries on Friday signed an agreement that would allow for more
equitable distribution of water from the Nile River. Egypt and Sudan, which have primary and secondary rights to
the water, refused to sign.

EGYPT EYES DIPLOMATIC ACTION TO RESOLVE NILE BASIN DISPUTE

CAIRO - A senior Egyptian official said Sunday the coming weeks are to see intensive diplomatic actions by Cairo
to resolve a water dispute which has for long plagued Nile Basin countries. Addressing a parliamentary session,
Egyptian Minister of Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils Moufid Shehab said Egypt is keen to opening
dialogue with upstream countries to reach a formula that meets the interests of all states, Egyptian media reported.
For Egypt, Nile water is a national security issue and a line that must not be crossed, he said, adding that dialogue
is the only way to reach a satisfactory compromise. Four Nile basin countries, namely Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania
and Uganda, signed the Cooperative Framework Agreement on the usage of River Nile water on Friday in Entebbe,
40 km south of the Ugandan capital Kampala, despite disapproval of Egypt and Sudan.

SUDAN DEFENDS RIGHT TO ARREST ANY PERSON FOR SECURITY INVESTIGATION

KHARTOUM - Sudanese Minister of Information and Communications and government spokesman al-Zahawe
Ibrahim Malik said on Sunday the security authorities have the right to arrest any person to investigate on
information they received. "The National Security Law gives the security authorities the right to question any
Sudanese on information they received that constitute a threat to the country's national security," Malik told
Xinhua in a first official comment on the arrest of Hassan al- Turabi, leader of the opposition Popular Congress
Party (PCP). The Sudanese minister denied that arrest of PCP Secretary General Hassan al-Turabi on Saturday
evening was because of statements he made earlier in which he accused the National Congress Party (NCP) of
forging the recent general elections.

JEM CLASHES INTENSIFY IN SUDAN

Violence is escalating between the Sudanese rebel group Justice and Equality Movement
(JEM) and Sudanese police, two weeks after the suspension of peace negotiations. On
Friday, government troops raided a major Jem base in the region of Jebel Moon in western
Darfur, capturing 61 rebels and killing 108, according to the Sudan Tribune. On Thursday,
Sudanese and Jem forces clashed near Nyala in south Darfur. The rebels captured and destroyed the 150-vehicle
army convoy, according to the Tribune. Both sides say the other initiated the attack. Government officials reported
that 27 police and 33 JEM members were killed in the clash, three were leaders.

NIGERIA RULING PARTY CHAIRMAN QUITS

The chairman of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has resigned after being charged with
conspiracy and fraud, state radio has said. Vincent Ogbulafor submitted his letter of resignation amid mounting
pressure after being charged with conspiring, along with four other people, to siphon off $1.5m in public funds while
he was a government minister in 2001. Ogbulafor, who has been granted bail, pleaded not guilty to the charges in
the Abuja high court on Monday. His trial will begin in late June.

NIGER JAILS DRIVER OF FRENCH HOSTAGE

Niamey - Niger authorities have jailed the driver of a French tourist taken hostage last month in the West African
country's remote northern desert, accusing him of complicity in the kidnapping, a judicial source said on Sunday.
The Algerian driver, Ouaghi Abidine, was originally thought to have been taken hostage alongside Frenchman
Michel Germaneau before being released four days later in Mali and returned to Algeria by camel riders who found
him in the desert. "A judge has accused Ouaghi Abidine of complicity in the abduction and kidnapping and he has
been placed in a civilian prison in Niamey. The Algerian was extradited by his country early last week," a judicial
source in Niamey told Reuters on condition of anonymity

SIX YEARS FOR QAEDA-LINKED MURDER OF FRENCH TOURISTS IN MAURITANIA

NOUAKCHOTT — A Mauritanian court convicted a man charged with an Al-Qaeda-linked attack in which four
French tourists were killed in 2007, sentencing him to six years hard labour. "The verdict was handed down for the
first (defendant) to have appeared, Abdallahi Ould Mohamed Sidya. He was sentenced to six years of prison with
hard labour," said his lawyer, Ahmed Ould Ely, after leaving the courtroom. Abdallahi Ould Mohamed Sidya was
also fined the equivalent of 7,000 euros (8,900 dollars), according to prosecutors who had been seeking a 30-year jail
term. A total of 12 people are on trial at Noukchaott's criminal court over the December 2007 shooting of five
French tourists outside the southern town of Aleg, in which four were killed and the fifth seriously wounded. Three
Mauritanians linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who are accused of having pulled the triggers,
are expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

ISLAMIST FIGHTERS ATTACK SOMALI PARLIAMENT SESSION, LEAVING SEVEN DEAD

MOGADISHU - Heavy fighting broke out on Sunday in the Somali capital Mogadishu after Islamist fighters
launched mortars at the parliament first session in months, leaving at least seven dead in the fire exchange.
Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said his staff counted 16 bodies and that 31 wounded people
were taken to the hospital.

FUND RAISING: NIGERIA ANSARUL ISLAM HOLDS HADIYU NABIYY IN ABUJA

The Abuja branch of the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria Saturday held its annual Hadiyu Nabiyy celebrations at
the society's Mosque at Utako, Abuja.The Chairman of the occasion and one of the awardees, Alhaji Isiaq Ajibola,
appealed to Muslim Ummah to donate generously to the course of Islam and humanity in general at all times.
Ajibola, who is the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Media Trust Limited, Abuja, lamented that
less than 10 percent of Muslims contribute financially to the development of Islam in Nigeria and called for
attitudinal changes among the Muslim community.
CHAD REBELS UNITE TO OUST PRESIDENT
Libreville - Four rebel groups in Chad announced on Saturday they had formed a new coalition with the aim of
overturning President Idriss Deby Itno "by any means". "We say that we must take power by any means, in a
peaceful way or by taking up arms if the path of peace is closed, as is currently the case," General Nouri Mahamat
told AFP. The former defence minister turned rebel chief is heading the new coalition. "Our goal is to chase Deby
from Ndjamena and to establish a period of pre-transition.... Currently there is no peace in Chad. It is Idriss Deby
who has forced us to take up an armed fight," Mahamat said.

ALGERIAN, ZIMBABWEAN, SENEGALESE PRESIDENTS ARRIVE IN TEHRAN FOR G15

SUMMIT
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Algerian President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Senegalese
President Abdoulaye Wade along with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will preside over the
meeting, are set to hold talks on challenges facing independent and developing countries during the summit.

MUSEVENI BLASTS KARAMOJA ARMY COMMANDERS ON ARMY

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has blamed the army leadership in Karamoja region for the continued cattle raids,
saying they have all the means to stop the ‗nonsense‘ but have failed. He said he is ready to take over the command of
the army in Karamoja if the commanders there do not show seriousness. Museveni said he would shake up the
security forces in the area to ensure no more disturbances are perpetrated by cattle rustlers. ―If my commanders
cannot end the disarmament exercise, then I will take over,‖ said Museveni who added that a lot of resources had
been invested in ending the insecurity in Karamoja. ―I cannot keep on wasting resources in the name of picking
illegal guns (disarmament) ,‖ he said.

LIBERIAN PRESIDENT SIRLEAF VISITS THE U.S.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has arrived in the United States for what aides are
calling a combination of both private and official visit. But, it‘s not clear whether she will meet
with President Barack Obama at the White House, amid speculation of U.S. dissatisfaction over
the Liberian government‘s fight against corruption, and whether President Sirleaf is ready to
implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report.

EVANGELICALS URGE CAUTION IN WAKE OF MOROCCO EXPULSIONS

A delegation of evangelical church leaders visiting Morocco urged Representative Frank Wolf on Friday to postpone
hearings on the recent expulsion of Christians. "We believe it is too early to hold hearings because much more time
is needed to determine facts and to give this issue the attention it deserves," said the Rev Dr David Anderson,
spokesman for the delegation. A hearing, led by Wolf, is scheduled for June 17 to look into the "harsh nature" of the
expulsions of more than 40 Christians – some of whom are US citizens – who were accused of proselytising. Wolf
said in a statement Thursday that he has been working with Moroccan and US officials over the last two months in
an attempt to find a satisfactory solution but the "Moroccan government seems unwilling to compromise". "I feel it
is my responsibility to speak out about the human rights abuses being perpetrated by the Moroccan government," he
stated.

BURUNDI LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN BURUNDI

On May 21, Burundi begins a four-month election season , the country's first elections following the end of a nearly
16-year civil war in 2009. Five distinct elections—municipal (communal), presidential, parliamentary, senatorial
and local (collinaire) —are slated to take place by September 7, with the ruling National Council for the Defense of
Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie-Forces pour la
Défense de la Démocratie, CNDD-FDD) seeking to maintain its hold on power. Burundi's recent history has been
marred by political violence. This threatens to continue, and even intensify, if the government, political, security
and judicial officials—all of whom have failed to respond effectively to violent incidents during the past year—do
not take urgent action to discourage such crimes and prosecute those who appear to have committed them. Since
September 2009, Human Rights Watch has identified acts of violence initiated by supporters of several political
parties, most often by members of their youth wings, which include large numbers of ex-combatants from the
country's civil war. They are often persuaded—sometimes with party money—to intimidate political rivals with
verbal threats, vandalism, and physical assaults. Weapons include sticks, rocks, hoes, machetes and grenades.
Inflammatory rhetoric and the circulation of weapons throughout the country fuel these abuses, which frequently
result in injuries serious enough to require medical treatment.

AQ IN IRAQ 'NAMES REPLACEMENTS FOR SLAIN LEADERS'

DUBAI — Al-Qaeda's front organisation in Iraq has announced new leaders to replace those killed in April in a
US-Iraqi operation, an Internet monitoring service reported on Sunday. The new leaders are "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
al-Husseini al-Qurashi, the Emir of the Believers of the Islamic State of Iraq" and "Sheikh Abu Abdullah al-Hassani
al-Qurashi is his prime minister and deputy," it quoted a statement from the group as saying. The ISI statement is
likely to have used noms de guerre for the two new leaders.