United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

19 May 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

U.S. trains Africans to fight al-Qaida (UPI)

(Burkina Faso) U.S., Dutch and Spanish special forces are training African soldiers how
to fight al-Qaida in the Sahara as regional states establish a joint counterinsurgency
command to coordinate an offensive against the jihadists.

AFRICOM readies for its largest exercise (Stars and Stripes)

(Morocco) More than 150 troops with the joint task force conducting Exercise African
Lion 10 arrived in Morocco on Friday to mark the beginning of the largest exercise in
U.S. Africa Command’s area of activity.

Pres. Sirleaf To Meet Officials in Washington (The Analyst)

(Liberia) President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Friday, May 14, 2010, left the country for
the United States to participate in several events and consultations with U.S.
Government officials, business executives and other partners.

Health Minister Meets U.S. Counterpart (Angola Press)

(Angola) The success of the programme of the Angolan President's initiative to combat
malaria was highlighted Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, by Health minister Jose Van-
Dunem, during the bilateral meeting with the US secretary for Health Services,
Kathleen Sebelius.

Ethiopian Diaspora, US Rights Groups Seek Democratic Progress in Ethiopia (Voice

of America)
(Ethiopia) Members of the Ethiopian diaspora and U.S. human rights groups want the
U.S. government to put pressure on its Horn of Africa ally Ethiopia to implement
democratic reform, ahead of parliamentary elections Sunday.

Nigerian National Assembly confirms state governor as VP (Xinhua)

(Nigeria) The Nigerian National Assembly on Tuesday approved northern Kaduna
State Governor Namadi Sambo as new vice president of the country after voting.

In Africa, Google Sows Seeds for Future Growth (Wall Street Journal)
(Nigeria) Despite some of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the world, Africa has
enticed Google Inc. Lured by the continent's growth potential, Google aims to convince
entrepreneurs, students and aid workers to make use of its search, mapping and
mobile-phone technologies.

US woman among three aid workers abducted in Darfur (AFP)

(Sudan) A female American aid worker and two Sudanese colleagues were ambushed
and abducted by gunmen in the war-torn region of Darfur on Tuesday, Sudan's state
minister for humanitarian affairs said.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
• Harness Africa’s potential for durable peace and development, Migiro tells
leaders
• Employment creation key to poverty reduction in Africa – UN report
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, May 25, 8:30 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Council on Foreign Relations: A Conversation with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
WHO: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia
Info: http://www.cfr.org/

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, May 26, 2:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace: The Nigerian Predicament: Strategies for Advancing Growth,
Governance and Security
WHO: Richard Joseph, Professor, Northwestern University; Oka Obono, Senior Lecturer,
University of Ibadan; Layi Erinosho, President, African Sociological Association; Dorina Bekoe,
Moderator, Senior Research Associate, U.S. Institute of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/the-nigerian-predicament-strategies-advancing-growth-
governance-and-security

WHEN/WHERE: Thurday, May 27, 9:00 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Brookings Institution: Ending Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS Pandemic
WHO: Ernest Aryeetey, Senior Fellow and Director, Africa Growth Initiative; Layi Erinosho,
President, African Sociological Association; Uche Isiugo-Abanihe, Professor of Demography
and REACH Chair, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Gbenga Sunmola, Principal Researcher,
REACH, Research Coordinator, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Nigeria; Oka Obono,
Principal Researcher, REACH, University of Ibadan; Jacques van der Gaag, Senior Fellow and
Co-Director, Center for Universal Education; Phillip Nieburg, Public Health Epidemiologist,
REACH, Senior Associate, Center for Strategic & International Studies; Nkem Dike, Associate
Project Director, REACH, Northwestern University; Gbenga Sunmola, Principal Researcher,
REACH, Research Coordinator, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Nigeria; Richard
Joseph, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Principal Investigator, REACH;
John Evans Professor, Northwestern University
Info: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0527_nigeria_aids.aspx
WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, June 2, 9:30 a.m.; Washington, D.C.
WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace: Threats to Maritime Security
WHO: Donna Hopkins, Director, Office of Plans, Policy and Analysis, Bureau of Political
Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Bruce A. Averill, Ph.D., Founder and Senior Partner,
Strategic Energy Security Solutions; Michael Berkow, President, Altegrity Security Consulting;
Robert M. Perito, Moderator, Director, Initiative on Security Sector Governance, U.S. Institute
of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/threats-maritime-security
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S. trains Africans to fight al-Qaida (UPI)

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - U.S., Dutch and Spanish special forces are training
African soldiers how to fight al-Qaida in the Sahara as regional states establish a joint
counterinsurgency command to coordinate an offensive against the jihadists.

For years, al-Qaida groups have exploited the political and ethnic rivalries between the
regional states to dodge from one country to another when things got too hot.

The Americans and their allies have long urged these governments to join forces against
the jihadists or risk have them turn the vast ungoverned spaces in the Sahara into a
sanctuary from which to launch large-scale attacks while operating with narcotics
smugglers and other criminal elements based in the unpoliced desert wastes.

As the region's military forces finally start working together and the new U.S. Africa
Command, which became operational in October 2008, steps up its training program,
there are expectations that the pressure will build up on al-Qaida in the Islamic
Maghreb.

The Algerian-led group has an avowedly transnational agenda and seeks to re-establish
an Islamic caliphate in the region.

There are some signs that the jihadists are starting to feel the pinch. On Sunday, 19
suspected al-Qaida operatives went in trial in Nouakchott, capital of Arab-majority
Mauritania, where the jihadists have carried out a series of attacks over the last two
years and have been seeking to recruit members.

Three of the men are accused of murdering four French tourists who were kidnapped in
the desert in 2007.

Two of the alleged ringleaders were arrested in Guinea Bissau, several hundred miles to
the south, in January 2008. That's one of several instances where fugitives have been
arrested in other countries and extradited.
Most of the suspects have been linked to Mokhtar Belmokhtar, leader of an AQIM
group in the Sahara which specializes in kidnapping foreigners for ransom.

His group killed a British hostage, Edwin Dyer, 61, in May 2009 after the British
government refused to release a Jordanian jihadist cleric imprisoned on terrorism-
related charges.

So far, the jihadists appear defiant in the face of a major offensive against them by seven
or eight regional governments, headed by Algeria, which fought Islamist insurgents in a
civil war throughout the 1990s.

AQIM posted an audio message on Islamist websites Friday claiming responsibility for
kidnapping a 78-year-old Frenchman, Michel Germaneau, in northern Niger on April
22.

The jihadists demanded the release of some of their men held by regional states in
return for freeing the retired oil engineer. Dozens of Europeans have been kidnapped in
the region since 2003. Most were freed through ransoms totaling $20 million to $30
million.

The regional effort to crush AQIM got under way in January when Algeria, the regional
military heavyweight, unveiled a new strategy designed to interdict the jihadist bands
and deny them access to water and supplies in the inhospitable Sahara.

The Algerian army deployed 3,000 troops tasked with running the jihadists ragged,
reinforcing some 15,000 soldiers operating along the borders with Niger, Mali and
Mauritania.

In March, Algeria hosted a conference attended by ministers from Burkina Faso, Chad,
Libya, Mail, Mauritania and Niger to determine a region-wide security plan "to root out
the scourge of the Jihadists."

Following meetings between military and security chiefs, the blueprint for moving
against AQIM took shape. The operational center appears to be the Algerian air base at
Tamanrasset, deep in the Sahara south of Algiers.

Efforts are under way to remedy the regional forces' lack of surveillance aircraft and
transport aircraft and helicopters capable of moving large bodies of troops swiftly to
engage the jihadists wherever they are found.

The campaign will likely take some time to get up to speed, and given the history of
rivalries between states in the region -- Algeria and Morocco, for instance, have been at
odds for three decades over the disputed, mineral-rich Western Sahara -- there may be
some bumps along the way.

But the current military exercise, Operation Flintlock, now under way in West Africa
underlines how regional forces are being mobilized to counter the al-Qaida threat.

The exercise, one of several held annually under the U.S. Trans-Sahara Counter-
Terrorism Partnership, mainly involves Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Chad,
Niger and Nigeria. British and French forces are also involved with the Americans,
Dutch and Spanish.
--------------------
AFRICOM readies for its largest exercise (Stars and Stripes)

STUTTGART, Germany — More than 150 troops with the joint task force conducting
Exercise African Lion 10 arrived in Morocco on Friday to mark the beginning of the
largest exercise in U.S. Africa Command’s area of activity.

The 150 service members represent the first phase of arrivals for an exercise that will
involve nearly 1,000 U.S. troops from 16 locations throughout Europe and North
America, and more than 1,000 members of the Moroccan military, according to U.S.
Marine Forces Africa.

The exercise includes live-fire training, peacekeeping operations and disaster response
training, as well as health assistance projects.

African Lion is designed to promote interoperability and mutual understanding of each

nation’s military tactics, techniques and procedures and is scheduled to end June 9.
--------------------
Pres. Sirleaf To Meet Officials in Washington (The Analyst)

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Friday, May 14, 2010, left the country for the United
States to participate in several events and consultations with U.S. Government officials,
business executives and other partners. The President will be away from the country
through June 2, 2010.

While in the United States, the Liberian leader will hold discussions with key
Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Howard Berman, and leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus.

An Executive Mansion release states that the President will also meet with executives of
Lockheed Martin Corporation to review plans regarding Delta Airlines’ Trans-Atlantic
Flights to Liberia. American billionaire Bob Johnson, a key supporter of the initiative,
will take part in those discussions.
The President will also hold talks with executives of the Chevron Corporation on the
prospects for oil exploration in Liberia.

During the Liberian President’s trip abroad, she will also undergo her routine annual
medical check-up, and participate in events of the Millennium Challenge Corporation,
an independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping to lead the fight against global
poverty.

In the academic arena, the President will receive honorary degrees from Rutgers
University, in New Jersey, and Yale University, in Connecticut. She will also deliver the
Commencement Address at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.

Outside of the United States, the President will keep a long-standing commitment to
deliver the keynote address at the Annual World Health Assembly in Geneva,
Switzerland, on May 18, 2010.

Before returning to Liberia, President Sirleaf will participate in the Africa-France

Summit, taking place in Nice, France, from May 31 to June 1. The forum will provide
the President the opportunity to address an outstanding issue relating to the
cancellation of Liberia’s bilateral debt held by a few European Countries, not included
in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) arrangement.

During President Sirleaf’s absence from the country, the Minister of Justice, Cllr.
Christiana Tah, will act as Chairman of the Cabinet for the period May 15-21, and the
Minister of National Defense, Brownie Samukai, for the period May 22- June 2, will
coordinate the affairs of the Executive in consultation with Vice President Joseph N.
Boakai and under the President’s direction by telephone.
--------------------
Health Minister Meets U.S. Counterpart (Angola Press)

LUANDA, Angola — The success of the programme of the Angolan President's

initiative to combat malaria was highlighted Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, by
Health minister Jose Van-Dunem, during the bilateral meeting with the US secretary for
Health Services, Kathleen Sebelius.

During the meeting, which took place in a climate of cordiality and interactivity, on the
sidelines of the 63rd World Health Assembly, the two sides discussed several issues,
especially US support in fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria, which increased significantly.

The minister mentioned the experience of revitalisation of primary care in Angola,

based in the municipalities, as an important strategy of strengthening health systems.

The possibility that the US supports the establishment of a laboratory for Excellence in
the country, the strengthening of capacity to respond to epidemics and monitoring
current problems, such as water quality, food, air and calibration of equipment were
also highlighted.

The minister Jose Van-Dunem is leading the Angolan delegation participating since
Monday in the 63rd World Health Assembly, held under the motto "Health related to
millennium development goals".
--------------------
Ethiopian Diaspora, US Rights Groups Seek Democratic Progress in Ethiopia (Voice
of America)

Members of the Ethiopian diaspora and U.S. human rights groups want the U.S.
government to put pressure on its Horn of Africa ally Ethiopia to implement democratic
reform, ahead of parliamentary elections Sunday. But Africa experts say Washington
has little leverage to effect change.

Ethiopian-Americans recently marched from the State Department to the White House
demanding that U.S. officials put pressure on Ethiopia's government to free opposition
leader Birtukan Mideksa.

Birtukan, along with other opposition politicians and Ethiopian journalists are currently
in jail on allegations of undermining state authority. They aren't able to report or run in
Sunday's parliamentary elections.

U.S. human rights groups say Ethiopia's government is stifling freedom of speech and
oppressing the opposition.

Ethiopian-American Hana Haile was one of the protesters in Washington. She says this
demonstration would not be possible in Ethiopia.

"There would be a lot of fear of retaliation against us for this march," she said. "There
could be lots of gunshots and lots of deaths. And that's what we want people back
home to experience the same as we do here."

Ethiopian officials say their democracy is a work in progress and that the elections will
be free and fair.

Africa expert J. Peter Pham, from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy,
says Ethiopia is such an important ally that the U.S. must cooperate with its
government, however imperfect.

"Ethiopia has been an important and pivotal state in the Horn of Africa subregion for
many years and all the more so in this particular period of history when we have utter
chaos in most of the former Somali state, the prospect of a breakup of Sudan and other
tensions in the area with Kenya, with elections coming up."
Terrence Lyons, at George Mason University, says the Obama administration has tried
to modify the relationship.

"During the Bush administration, policy toward Ethiopia was very heavily dominated
by counter-terrorism concerns," he said. "President Obama, I believe, is trying to re-
calibrate the relationship so that human rights, democracy and other issues reach equal
status with the counter-terrorism agenda."

Lyons says the United States has little leverage in Ethiopia, where China, India and
Saudi Arabia have larger business interests.

Meanwhile, in front of the White House, human rights activist Chris Flaherty staged a
week-long hunger strike, demanding that the U.S. pressure Ethiopia to release Birtukan.

He says it takes sacrifice to bring change.

"You know, your freedom is going to come at a cost and it's going to take tremendous
effort," said Flaherty. "People are going to get hurt. People are going to go to jail.
People could possibly get killed. But you have to resign yourself that that is going to be
the reality."

He says demonstrations and sanctions helped topple apartheid in South Africa. And he
says that's a good example of what he hopes will happen in Ethiopia.
--------------------
Nigerian National Assembly confirms state governor as VP (Xinhua)

ABUJA, Nigeria - The Nigerian National Assembly on Tuesday approved northern

Kaduna State Governor Namadi Sambo as new vice president of the country after
voting.

Both the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives approved the nomination.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan nominated after the president's meeting with
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state governors last Wednesday in Abuja.

The Senate, in its own plenary session, did not waste time in giving approval to the
nomination made by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The session was straight forward and rancor-free.

The House of Representatives also approved the choice of Namadi Sambo as the vice
president of Nigeria after a rowdy session that lasted about 15 minutes.
In the House of Representatives, the plenary session began with Speaker Dimeji
Bankole reading the citation of Sambo.

The House considered some petitions which did not border on the integrity of the vice
president-designate.

The Speaker then called on the House Leader, Tunde Akogun from Edo State, to move a
motion for the House to consider the request to approve the nomination of Sambo.

The motion was seconded by Hon. Danlami Hamza of Kano State.

The speaker said after this, each member of the House would vote one after the other on
their approval of Sambo.

At this time, a point of order was raised by a member of the House, which the speaker
disregarded. He said the point of order would be taken after the vote.

The House became rowdy as members of the House were divided. The House became
so noisy that Bankole, who had tried in vain to control his colleagues, watched
helplessly as the commotion in the House persisted.

Normalcy, however, returned after about 15 minutes. The House eventually settled for
a voice vote after listening to presentations from both the House Leader, Akogun, and
the Minority Leader, Alli Ndume, who said that the VP-designate met all the
constitutional requirements and as such should be endorsed.

The approval of the National Assembly was in accordance with section 146 (3) of the
1999 Constitution which says that "where the office of the vice president becomes
vacant by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or
removal in accordance with section 143 or 144 of this constitution, by his assumption of
the office of president in accordance with subsection 1 or this section, or for any other
reason, the president shall nominate and with the approval of each House of the
National Assembly, appoint a new vice president."

President Jonathan nominated Sambo after the president's meeting with ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) state governors last Wednesday in Abuja.

Various interest groups, including the northern senators' caucus,former governor's

forum and serving governors forum, had campaigned for the position, following the
death of former President Umaru Yar'Adua on May 6 and the subsequent ascendancy
of Jonathan to the position of president.

Born on Aug. 2, 1954, in Zaria, Kaduna State, Sambo started his early education in 1959
in Kaduna before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1972 where he
qualified as an architect in 1976. Sambo was elected and inaugurated as governor on the
platform of the PDP in 2007.
--------------------
In Africa, Google Sows Seeds for Future Growth (Wall Street Journal)

LAGOS, Nigeria—Despite some of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the world,
Africa has enticed Google Inc.

Lured by the continent's growth potential, Google aims to convince entrepreneurs,

students and aid workers to make use of its search, mapping and mobile-phone
technologies. But Africa—with roughly one billion inhabitants, over 50 countries and
many regions that have limited access to electricity—presents huge obstacles.

"The Internet is not an integral part of everyday life for people in Africa," said Joe
Mucheru of Google's Kenya office.

Africa lags far behind other big emerging markets in Internet use. Africa has 4% of
global Internet users; China has 21%.

Africa Leads Way in Mobile MoneyAccess thousands of business sources not available
on the free web. The continent also has some of the world's highest costs for mobile-
phone and Internet service. In Nigeria, bandwidth for Internet carriers costs $3,000 to
$6,000 a month per megabyte, according to Nyimbi Odero of Google's Nigeria office.

By comparison, the cost in the U.K. is about $20 a month per megabyte.

Despite the expense of Internet service, Google executives say Africa represents one of
the fastest growth rates for Internet use in the world. Nigeria already has about 24
million users and South Africa and Kenya aren't far behind, according to the World
Bank and research sites like Internet World Stats.

"The goal is to get more people online," said Estelle Akofio-Sowah, the Google country
head in Ghana.

Google wouldn't disclose how much it has invested in Africa-based operations, and
says it doesn't yet have a revenue target for the continent. The company—which has a
physical presence in Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa—says it
has around 40 employees working on Africa-focused projects, with some based on the
continent and others working from elsewhere.

Other technology companies have also set their sights on the continent. Microsoft Corp.,
International Business Machines Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
have sales offices throughout Africa, selling laptops, printers and software to fast-
growing companies and an emerging middle class.
Though there are small-scale Internet service providers, most Internet services in Africa
are provided by cellphone companies, who provide data cards that users stick into
computers' USB ports.

Mobile-phone use in Africa has grown rapidly in the last decade, and remains the most
common way people communicate with each other, as opposed to email or social-
networking sites.

"There is a tremendous pent-up demand for connectivity and access," Mr. Odero said.

Among the first Google initiatives on the continent since setting up offices there three
years ago was the expansion of Google Maps. Detailed online maps of even the biggest
African cities were almost nonexistent five years ago, analysts say. There are now
Google maps of 51 African countries.

Tunji Lardner, a consultant in Lagos working with the state government, aims to use
Google technology to prevent a common scam: selling homes in Lagos that aren't
actually for sale. Hand-painted signs reading "This House is Not For Sale" are
ubiquitous on the walls of homes in Lagos and most of the rest of Nigeria, but buyers
continue to get cheated.

Google staffers in Nigeria recently provided Mr. Lardner with a phone that uses
Google's Android operating system, which he will use to pinpoint houses actually for
sale on Google Maps and create a database.

Other initiatives include the nonprofit VetAid, which has started using Android phones
donated by Google in Tanzania and Kenya to track the health status of livestock.

And independent groups of developers have formed Google Technology User Groups,
which meet to share knowledge about Google applications and services in eight African
countries, including Cameroon and Egypt.

Not every Google initiative in Africa has been successful. Google staff in Uganda, in
partnership with South African telecom giant MTN Group Ltd. and the Grameen
Foundation, started three text-based programs for cellphones: Search, Tips and Trader.
The free services attracted a large user base when they were first rolled out last
summer—2.7 million texts sent in the first six months, according to Google. When MTN
started charging for Google Trader, the marketplace text service, usage rates
plummeted, according to MTN.

"The problem with offering services alone is that they're at the mercy of the mobile
service carriers," said Jon Gossier, the American head of Appfrica, a company that
mentors and incubates technology entrepreneurs in East Africa.
Google will be trying to prime interest during the coming World Cup in South Africa by
launching a public relations drive through its YouTube unit, which launched a site
dedicated to South Africa Monday.

The company is using the Internet video service to sponsor a street soccer tournament
that will travel through several African countries and finish in South Africa.

A Google Street View team has also been traveling throughout South Africa to map as
much of the country as possible before the World Cup.
--------------------
US woman among three aid workers abducted in Darfur (AFP)

KHARTOUM, Sudan – A female American aid worker and two Sudanese colleagues
were ambushed and abducted by gunmen in the war-torn region of Darfur on Tuesday,
Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs said.

The kidnapping took place when the trio, working for an "American organisation," was
travelling to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, Abdel Baqi al-Jilani told AFP.

It was confirmed by the US embassy in Khartoum as well as a United Nations

spokesman in the Sudanese capital.

"The US embassy is aware of the abduction. We are now working with the relevant
authorities to get more information," spokeswoman Judith Ravin told AFP.

UN spokesman Samuel Hendricks said armed men stopped two vehicles transporting
nine workers from the still-unnamed non-governmental organisation.

"It happened near a village called Abu Ajura in South Darfur as the convoy was
heading to Nyala. Three of the people were captured. The remaining six are in Abu
Ajura and are believed to be secure," Hendricks told AFP.

A security source told AFP the abductors, who had been travelling in eight cars,
"robbed the aid workers of their mobile phones and money before driving off with three
people."

Jilani said he believed the abduction was financially motivated.

"From our experience, we expect that a ransom will be demanded. We had asked aid
groups working in Darfur to decrease foreigners' movements there," the state minister
said.
During the past year, Darfur has seen a wave of kidnappings of aid workers and of
expatriates in general, and of other violence.

On May 7, two Egyptian peacekeepers serving with the joint UN-African Union mission
in Darfur were killed in an ambush in South Darfur, which saw three other Egyptians
badly wounded.

UNAMID special representative Ibrahim Gambari had expressed "outrage" at what he

called a "cowardly attack."

The joint UN-African Union mission called on the Sudanese government "to identify,
capture and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and reminds all parties that any
attack against peacekeepers constitutes a war crime."

UNAMID had said it "remains undaunted and unwavering in its commitment to

carrying out its mandate in the service of peace" despite the bloodshed.

The death of the Egyptians brought to 24 the number of UNAMID members killed in
Darfur since the force was deployed there in January 2008.

Last month four South African peacekeepers who had been held in Darfur were freed
unharmed after 15 days in captivity.

Their abductors said the kidnapping occurred in order to show the world "that security
conditions in Darfur did not allow for elections."

That was a reference to Sudan holding its first competitive elections since 1986,
including in war-torn Darfur.

Election observers from the European Union had pulled out of the western region,
where ethnic rebels have been fighting government troops and allied Arab militia for
seven years, citing a lack of security.

According to the United Nations, 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million
have fled their homes since rebels in Darfur rose up against the Khartoum government
which was aided by local Arab militias, in February 2003.

The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10,000.

--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Harness Africa’s potential for durable peace and development, Migiro tells leaders
18 May – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today urged African nations to
harness the continent’s “boundless potential” to put an end to brutal conflicts and make
headway on the road to economic and social development.

Employment creation key to poverty reduction in Africa – UN report

18 May – High unemployment rates continue to hinder poverty reduction efforts in
Africa, the United Nations says in a new report released today, stressing that African
countries must give priority to diversifying their economies to create decent jobs to
boost social development.