United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

7 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

DR Congo, U.S to stage joint military exercise for humanitarian aid (Xinhua)
(Democratic Republic of Congo) The U. S. army in Africa (USARAF) and the Armed
Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) plan to stage a joint military
exercise for humanitarian aid on Monday, according to USARAF.

US calls on Kenya to cooperate with ICC (Xinhua)

(Kenya) The United States has asked Kenya to cooperate with the International
Criminal Court (ICC) in dealing with the perpetrators of 2007 post-election violence.

Obama Is Still AWOL on Sudan (Wall Street Journal)

(Sudan) If the current U.S. policy gridlock remains, the next round of Sudanese
bloodletting could be the worst yet. The country is 128 days away from a contentious
referendum to split it in two, and a return to war between the North and the South
seems evermore likely.

Khartoum hopes for new U.S. policy in normalizing ties (Xinhua)

(Sudan) Sudan's government on Monday expressed hope that the U.S. administration
would adopt a new strategy that will contribute to normalization of bilateral ties and
help resolve many of Sudan's current issues.

South Sudan Buys Russian Helicopters Ahead of a Planned Vote on Secession

(Bloomberg)
(Sudan) Southern Sudan, which is scheduled to hold a referendum in January on
whether to secede from Sudan, is acquiring 10 Russian helicopters that give the semi-
autonomous region its first aerial capability.

In Somalia, foreign intervention won't resolve Al Shabab threat (Christian Science

Monitor)
(Somalia) Western governments may consider the rising power of the militant group Al
Shabab a major threat to the Horn of Africa. But they have learned enough from the ill-
fated US military intervention of 1991-93 – portrayed in "Black Hawk Down" – to know
that Western troops are not the solution.
Are US Marines Somalia's Only Hope? (Garowe Online)
(Somalia) There’s no certifiable way of knowing whether the Marines would rescue
Mogadishu and, more importantly, establish a sustainable mission going forward.
Many foreseen and unforeseen events could stall an offensive during the initial push or
deeper in al-Shabab territory.

U.S. Ends 40 Years of Mkuranga Villagers' Medical Trek (Tanzania Daily News)
(Tanzania) Kiziko village is one of the communities in the region that a US
organization, African Reflections Foundation (ARF) supports. To reduce medical
problems for the people, the organization has promised to complete a dispensary in the
village. The facility, on completion, will serve five villages with a population of more
than 3,000 people.

Equatorial Guinea Defends Execution of 4 Would Be Assassins (Voice of America)

(Equatorial Guinea) Equatorial Guinea is defending the execution of four men found
guilty of trying to assassinate the president. The execution has been criticized by the
Obama administration and Amnesty International.

Rwandan leader slams Western critics at swearing-in (Reuters)

(Rwanda) Rwandan President Paul Kagame rejected on Monday accusations he has
failed to safeguard human rights and vowed not to let Western critics of his rule
influence the path of the central African country.

70 Die and 200 Are Feared Dead as 2 Boats Capsize on Congo Rivers (Associated
Press)
(Democratic Republic of Congo) Two boats capsized in one weekend on Congo’s vast
rivers, leaving 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead in unrelated accidents that
both involved heavily loaded boats operated with few safety measures, officials said
Sunday.

Mainstream US Media Criticized for Ignoring Positive Developments in Africa

(Voice of America)
(Pan Africa) The president and CEO of the Africa Society of the National Summit on
Africa says that important stories about Africa continue to feature less prominently in
mainstream American media outlets.

Peacekeeping cushioning African states from scrutiny: analysts (AFP)

(Pan Africa) Troop contributions for UN peacekeeping missions are helping African
nations build a buffer against criticism over democratic and human rights failings,
analysts said Monday.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Aid and fairer trade crucial to boost Africa's poverty reduction efforts – Ban
  Floods worsen misery for hunger-stricken Niger – UN
 More than 20 children among hundreds raped in eastern DR Congo – UN
 UN mission opens first base ahead of referendum in southern Sudan
 UN reports thousands more displaced by fighting in Somali capital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, September 8, 2:30 p.m., U.S. Institute of Peace

WHAT: Sudan: Conflict and Peace Along the North-South Border
WHO: Benedetta de Alessi, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London; Amir Idris, Fordham University; Christopher Milner, Concordis International;
Martin Pratt, Durham University; Andrew Blum, Moderator, United States Institute of
Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/sudan-conflict-and-peace-along-the-north-south-
border
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

DR Congo, U.S to stage joint military exercise for humanitarian aid (Xinhua)

KINSHASA - The U. S. army in Africa (USARAF) and the Armed Forces of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) plan to stage a joint military exercise for
humanitarian aid on Monday, according to USARAF.

USARAF's public affairs office in Kinshasa told reporters a medical camp will be set up
during the exercise in the capital city. Dubbed "MEDFLAG 10", the camp is the last in a
series to be established by the U.S military and its African partners.

The joint exercise was designed to develop U.S. military cooperation with African
countries in the region, USARAF said on Sunday.

U.S and Congolese medical teams will join the MEDFLAG 10 operation, which includes
professional teaching, an exercise to demonstrate how to save victims and the delivery
of humanitarian assistance.

The bilateral medical exercise was proposed by the U.S army in Europe. In 2009, a
MEDFLAG exercise was transferred to a regional U.S command supervising and
coordinating the activities of the U.S military in Africa.
--------------------
US calls on Kenya to cooperate with ICC (Xinhua)

MOMBASA - The United States has asked Kenya to cooperate with the International
Criminal Court (ICC) in dealing with the perpetrators of 2007 post-election violence.
U. S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger on Sunday said there was need for the
Kenyan government to collaborate with ICC on the technical issues so as to enable them
to begin prosecution work.

At a press conference held in the coastal town of Malindi, the envoy commended the
government for setting a good example in the implementation of the draft constitution,
saying Kenyan officials should continue working together.

Ranneberger pledged the continued U.S. support for the implementation process of the
draft constitution until everything is in place. "The U.S. is happy about the decision
made by Kenyans to promulgate the new constitution and will continue to support the
implementation process ," he said

The ambassador spoke after the government signed 16 articles of understanding to

allow ICC to set up local offices to ease the work of collecting and bringing together
evidence, and tracking down post-election violence suspects.

On a separate occasion, the envoy met with Malindi District Commissioner Arthur
Mugira on issues of security, drug abuse and sex tourism.

He asked the government to prosecute all child traffickers promoting sex tourism in
order to protect the integrity of the country.

"The legislative should introduce tough laws that would protect children from
trafficking or else some tourists will begin shunning away from visiting the country due
to the bad image," he said.

Ranneberger noted the fight against sex tourism required joint efforts of all stakeholders
in the hotels, NGOs, the government and the private sector.

He said there has been progress since the formation of the organizations to fight against
child trafficking two years ago.
--------------------
Obama Is Still AWOL on Sudan (Wall Street Journal)

For a second-tier foreign policy issue, Sudan has seen its share of first-tier finger-
pointing over the last decade. Congress has blamed the White House, administrations
have blamed activists and Congress, and everyone has condemned the Chinese whose
multibillion dollar oil investment underwrites the Khartoum regime's war policies in
Darfur and the South.

But if the current U.S. policy gridlock remains, the next round of Sudanese bloodletting
could be the worst yet. The country is 128 days away from a contentious referendum to
split it in two, and a return to war between the North and the South seems evermore
likely.

Beginning in 1983, Southern-based insurgents rebelled in response to racial, religious

and resource discrimination perpetrated by the government in Khartoum. The North-
South war, which ended in 2005, left over two million Sudanese dead. Since 2003,
another 350,000 lives have been lost in the separate genocide and war in Darfur, a
region in the country's west.

If this death and destruction has proven anything, it's that the regime in Khartoum
knows how to maintain power by any means necessary. Its use of ethnic-based militias
has been chillingly effective.

In a spasm of effective diplomacy, the Bush administration helped broker the 2005
North-South peace deal. The administration committed a full-time team, led by
presidential envoy and former Sen. John Danforth, to support negotiations and unite
the international community around the effort.

Much has changed in five years. Perceptions of diminished U.S. influence in the world
have not escaped this corner of Africa. Analysts and diplomats contend that the U.S. is
no longer affecting the calculations of the jockeying Sudanese parties.

At its moments of greatest influence in Sudan, the U.S. has had clear policy objectives,
worked closely with allies to achieve results and effectively leveraged incentives and
pressures. The successes have been significant: the removal of Osama bin Laden from
Khartoum; the dismantling of al Qaeda's infrastructure in the mid-1990s; the end of
Khartoum's support of the slave-raiding militias; the end of aerial bombing in southern
Sudan early in the previous decade; and, finally, the end of the North-South war.

At one point during the North-South talks in 2004, a Sudanese government official
signed a logjam-breaking protocol. At the dinner table that evening, his furious
colleagues grilled him about the concessions he made. The official pointed to a table full
of American diplomats across the room and told his colleagues, "If we don't sign, we
have to deal with them."

This all makes the Obama administration's efforts in Sudan nothing short of head-
scratching. Without clear direction from the president, internal policy battles among
officials at the State Department, the White House, and the U.S. mission to the U.N.
have spilled out into public view, exposing disunity and a lack of top-level direction.
Disputes have usually centered around the public comments of President Obama's
Special Envoy, Scott Gration, who has favored a more conciliatory approach towards
the regime.
These disagreements have severely undercut diplomatic efforts. When a high-level U.N.
and African Union delegation visited the White House and State Department last
month, their message was unambiguous: The divided U.S. policy is harming
international efforts to achieve peace in Sudan.

It's true that internecine battles are par for the course in the shaping of foreign policy.
The real problem here is that the decider hasn't decided. The absence of presidential
clarity has left allies confused and the Sudanese regime gleeful.

At last, a decision memo is winding its way through the system to President Obama's
desk. The hope is that in the very near future he will make some clear decisions about
U.S. policy. The most pressing question is how the U.S. and the international
community can convince the various parties in Khartoum, the South and Darfur to
abandon violence.

A deft combination of carrots and sticks—backed by unified international support for

African-led peace processes on the ground in Sudan—will make the critical difference.
But the carrots and sticks have to be big enough to get the attention of the Sudanese.

On the incentives side, benefits for actually making peace—not simply taking
incremental steps toward it—could involve full normalization of relations, debt relief,
and a coveted one-year suspension of the International Criminal Court arrest warrant
for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. On the pressures side, consequences for
pursuing war could involve the expansion of travel restrictions and asset freezes for key
war-mongers, and new efforts to enforce arms embargoes.

With Sudan about to split and Darfur volatile, time is running out. The moment has
come for President Obama to lay out a clear policy, ending the conflict inside his
administration and potentially preventing a real war in Sudan.
--------------------
Khartoum hopes for new U.S. policy in normalizing ties (Xinhua)

KHARTOUM - Sudan's government on Monday expressed hope that the U.S.

administration would adopt a new strategy that will contribute to normalization of
bilateral ties and help resolve many of Sudan's current issues.

"We were optimistic with the coming of President Obama and his new style, but he fell
in the trap of the old guard and his policy has not changed anything in Sudan's issues,"
Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudanese Presidential Adviser, told reporters in a first comment
on media leakages about a new U.S. strategy for dealing with Sudan.

"Additionally, Obama's Special Envoy to Sudan could not effect any change. He comes
to Sudan and goes and he has no effect on our urgent issues. If there is a new American
vision to deal with Sudan, we hope it would be built on new bases", Ismail added.
Media sources recently said that the U.S. President Barack Obama was to announce a
new policy for dealing with Sudan including such incentives as full restoration of
diplomatic ties between the two countries, relieving Sudan from its foreign debts and
issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council delaying implementation of the
decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on arresting Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir for a year.

The U.S. new strategy on the other hand would include, according to the media reports,
sanctions against Sudan including imposition of travel ban against senior Sudanese
government officials and freezing their assets in international banks besides banning
the Sudanese armed forces from purchasing arms.

In the meantime, the U.S. Administration is expected to hold a conference on Sudan on

Sept. 24 in New York where Sudanese media on Monday reported that the Sudanese
government partners, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM), had received the invitation to take part in the conference.

The conference, which would be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
meetings, is expected to discuss progress in implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA), south Sudan referendum arrangements and the international
arbitration on Abyei and Abyei referendum.

The conference would bring together the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the
Sudanese First Vice-President Salva Kiir Mayardit, representing the SPLM, the
Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, representing the NCP, the
patronages of the peace talks and representatives of the Inter-Governmental Authority
for Development (IGAD).
--------------------
South Sudan Buys Russian Helicopters Ahead of a Planned Vote on Secession
(Bloomberg)

Southern Sudan, which is scheduled to hold a referendum in January on whether to

secede from Sudan, is acquiring 10 Russian helicopters that give the semi- autonomous
region its first aerial capability.

The Sudanese government has been informed about the purchases and told that the
aircraft are for civilian purposes, said al-Sawarmi Khaled, spokesman for Sudan’s army.

The region’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement “has confirmed that they’re
for transport use,” Khaled said by phone from Khartoum on Aug. 30.

Rebels in Southern Sudan and the Sudanese government signed a Comprehensive

Peace Agreement, or CPA, in 2005 that ended a conflict in which 2 million people died.
The political wing of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, known as the SPLA, gained
semi-autonomous control over Southern Sudan, which was promised a plebiscite on
whether to form an independent nation.

SPLA spokesman Lieutenant-General Kuol Deim Kuol said in June that Southern Sudan
planned to have an air force before the referendum. He denied these plans would
violate the cease-fire agreement, pointing to capacity-building and technical training
services the U.S. and U.K. governments are providing the SPLA.

“We are not prohibited,” said Kuol. “The international community is supposed to help
us in modernizing the SPLA.”

Under the accord, both sides were required to stop the “replenishment of ammunition,
weapons and other lethal or military equipment.” The cease-fire zone specified in the
deal covers all of Southern Sudan and some of the north. The accord allows for the “re-
supply” of “lethal items” if approved by a Joint Defense Board, or JDB, in coordination
with the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Contravention

“Research conducted by the Small Arms Survey has shown that in practice the JDB does
not appear to play any role in scrutinizing their acquisitions,” said Claire McEvoy,
project manager on Sudan at the Geneva-based research group. Both sides have actively
re-armed, in contravention of their cease-fire commitments, according to a 2009 report
by the survey.

The helicopters ordered by the government of Southern Sudan are MI-17s

manufactured by Kazan Helicopters of Russia, a copy of the agreement between Kazan
and the government of Southern Sudan obtained by Bloomberg shows.

The aircraft are an upgraded version of a model first used in Russia’s 1979 invasion of
Afghanistan.

“An MI-17 is a military transport helicopter, so it could be used for civilian purposes,”
E.J. Hogendoorn, Horn of Africa project director at International Crisis Group, said in
an interview on Sept. 2. “You could mount guns on it, and then it becomes an offensive
platform.”

‘Technical Violation’

The import of the aircraft may represent a “technical violation” of the CPA and comes
after the government in Khartoum imported MI-24 attack helicopters in recent years,
Hogendoorn said. “Both sides have been importing lots and lots of weapons.”
The purchase of the helicopters comes after IHS Jane’s, the Englewood, Colorado-based
research group, last year reported Southern Sudan acquired 100 Russian-built T-72
tanks and other artillery.

“Taken together with the purchase of those tanks, the acquisition of these helicopters
looks to me like Southern Sudan is putting together a big enough force to discourage
Khartoum from trying to preempt or nullify the referendum,” said Helmoed Romer-
Heitman, a Cape Town-based defense analyst. “Southern Sudan expects the January
vote to go for secession and for Khartoum not to take it lying down.”

Oil Exports

Sudan is sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest producer of oil and most of its daily
production of 490,000 barrels is pumped in Southern Sudan. The crude is exported
through a pipeline that runs north through Sudan to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. No
agreement has been reached between the two sides on a revenue- sharing arrangement
or pipeline-usage fees following the referendum. Most of Sudan’s oil is shipped to
China.

When contacted on Aug. 29, Kuol wouldn’t comment on the MI- 17 purchases and hung
up. He didn’t answer several subsequent calls to his mobile phone. Calls to Kazan’s
head office didn’t connect when Bloomberg called and the company didn’t immediately
respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

“There is nothing to prove that the aircraft are for military purposes,” Khaled of the
Sudanese army said. “The south’s government has announced that it has no intention of
acquiring military aircraft.”

Delivery

The first batch of the helicopters was scheduled to arrive in Uganda, which neighbors
Southern Sudan, in May 2010, according to a March 2009 supplement to a contract
dated May 2007. A copy of the agreement between Kazan and the government of
Southern Sudan, represented by SPLA Chief of Staff James Hoth Mai, was obtained by
Bloomberg.

The first four helicopters were later scheduled to be flown from Kazan airport to
Entebbe in Uganda on Aug. 12 aboard an Antonov AN-124 aircraft, according to
correspondence between the parties.

Southern Sudan government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin said no helicopters

had been delivered to the region.
--------------------
In Somalia, foreign intervention won't resolve Al Shabab threat (Christian Science
Monitor)

Western governments may consider the rising power of the militant group Al Shabab a
major threat to the Horn of Africa. But they have learned enough from the ill-fated US
military intervention of 1991-93 – portrayed in "Black Hawk Down" – to know that
Western troops are not the solution.

Yet, as the Al Qaeda-backed fighters take control of much of Somalia's rubble-strewn

capital, Mogadishu, there is certainly plenty of reason for the West and for democratic
African countries in the region to be concerned. On Aug. 24, Al Shabab claimed
responsibility for a suicide bombing in a part of Mogadishu thought to be under
government control, an event that killed more than 30, including six members of
parliament.

Until the tottering three-year-old interim Somali government stands up to the

challenge, the best hope for stability lies in the 6,000-strong African Union peacekeeping
mission (AMISOM), manned primarily by troops from Uganda and Burundi and
funded mostly by nations worried about the threat of a terror haven in East Africa.

"There are not many countries lining up to join this mission," says E.J. Hogendoorn,
head of the Horn of Africa mission for the International Crisis Group in Nairobi, Kenya.
"Everyone is concerned, but no one wants to be the one risking their forces' lives.

"Now we hear of reinforcements for AMISOM, but even the Ethiopian contingent
numbered 40,000 troops, and they still weren't able to pacify the place," he adds.
Ethiopia occupied Somalia from 2007 to 2008, when Al Shabab was less formidable.

It's not that Somalia has been free of foreign intervention. In the two decades since the
fall of Somalia's last government, the country has accepted massive foreign food relief;
today, half the population survives on foreign food aid. But foreign troops tend to
strengthen the hand of extremist politicians of either the nationalist or religious sort,
and the legacy of the US intervention and the Ethiopian invasion has been a network of
warlords who are difficult to dislodge.

Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage, Al Shabab's spokesman, said on Aug. 24 that Al Shabab
would be starting a war against "invaders" – referring to the Ugandan and Burundian
forces in AMISOM.

Uganda, which recently suffered a string of Al Shabab suicide attacks in Kampala, has
pledged to add troops to the mission, and there are rumors South Africa may contribute
to the overall protection force.
But AMISOM has said the solution will have to come from Somalia's government. The
transitional government has been adding troops in preparation for an offensive against
Al Shabab, many of them trained by the European Union in Uganda. Moderate Islamist
militias have made headway against Al Shabab in central Somalia.

"We have to dissipate the perception that AMISOM is looking for more soldiers to fight
Al Shabab," said AMISOM spokesman Maj. Barigye Bahoku. "Our mandate is to
maintain peace and create an environment for national discussion and political
settlement. We cannot directly confront Al Shabab, but we have the right to self-defense
when we are attacked."
--------------------
Are US Marines Somalia's Only Hope? (Garowe Online)

The propaganda war raging in Mogadishu nears the military activity in its streets.
African Union (AU) officials disseminate statements of repelling al-Shabab’s offensive,
seizing its bases, and holding territory. Much is propaganda. Though hardly objective,
sometimes al-Shabab's actions leave an undeniable impression. A few sparks fizzle
when the AU and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) promise a “major
offensive.”

When al-Shabab vows a major offensive, hotels are bombed, main roads overrun, and
mortars regularly slam into Villa Somalia, the presidential palace.

The last ten days have been particularly ugly in Mogadishu. After storming the Muna
hotel and targeting Somali parliament members, al-Shabab fought its way up and shut
down Mekka-al-mukarama, a strategic avenue connecting government ministries that
also links to the Bakara arms market. Villa Somalia has come under increasing attack,
with AU forces halting one al-Shabab incursion at their last line of tanks, and a mortar
recently struck the compound killing four AU soldiers. Hundreds of civilians have been
killed in the crossfire.

And TFG soldiers, the few that exist, stand helplessly behind the AU ranks. "When you
ask the soldiers why they are not fighting, they reply, 'We have no bullets, we have no
salaries,'” said Said Yusef Abdullah, 22, who fled his home and was searching for a
place to sleep. "I don't blame them."

Al-Shabab’s offensive is clearly designed to knockout the TFG before AU

reinforcements arrive. None of the 4,000 soldiers pledged at July’s AU summit in
Kampala, Uganda have been deployed yet and al-Shabab is hoping to beat them to Villa
Somalia. But it likely understands that its raw numbers cannot displace the AU’s 6,300
troops; al-Shabab’s estimated 5,000 troops cannot all deploy to Mogadishu, as they must
hold their southern territory while advancing. Thus al-Shabab is liable to enhance its
assault with a series of high-profile bombings on TFG positions to destroy the AU’s
credibility and create further doubt in African and Western capitals.
Prematurely toppling the TFG would give contributing countries new reason to
reinforce the AU’s AMISOM mission, but could also scare them away from what is now
an even deadlier challenge. The end result is financial depravity. Uganda's Chief of
Defence Forces, General Aronda Nyakairima, told reporters on Thursday that
“inadequate financing by the international community” could cause Uganda to re-think
its presence in Somalia. Uganda is the main contributor to the AU’s AMISOM force
with 4,000 soldiers.

Though surely a bluff - Uganda is eager for retaliation - a lack of funds is no lie, and
coordination isn’t so rosy as US, AU, and UN officials portray in their united front. A
UN delegation led by B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, is
putting on a well-intentioned show in Mogadishu, but shortfalls in troops, resources,
and time have generated substantial uncertainty around AMISOM. A lack of US
funding suggests nagging doubts in the TFG’s ability to govern and prevent corruption
of international funds.

Taking Mogadishu and driving AU forces “into the sea” is too ambitious for al-Shabab,
but spreading doubt behind the curtains of a publicly optimistic international
community has already been achieved. And the possibility of the TFG’s collapse is real
enough to secretly and not-so secretly terrify those government involved.

In Uganda, General Nyakairima told The Daily Monitor that 1,000 troops were
prepared for immediate deployment, half of the 2,000 emergency forces pledged in the
weeks before al-Shabab bombed Kampala. Highlighting the truth of US strategy in
Somalia, Nyakairima said the troops wouldn’t launch until Washington paid up.
Though Uganda holds a regional stake in the conflict, Ugandan troops are first and
foremost operating as US mercenaries to avoid direct US intervention. Said Nyakairima,
“We can even call up to 10,000 but that will depend on whether the United States
supports us or not.

He doesn’t mean political cover. Nyakairima explained. "We don’t want to overstretch
our budget by calling up our [reserve] forces and then we have to even pay their salary.
To my knowledge, America has undertaken to support that undertaking; that when we
call up [the reserves], they will do this. But we will be waiting and see what happens."

US officials have yet to comment on the latest developments. They may not, but
Uganda is ready for war as soon as Washington approves the transfer.

The sheer number of reports and denials also indicate, regardless of the whole truth,
that Ethiopian troops have increased their activity on Somalia’s western border.
Multiple incursions were reported during August, all denied by Ethiopian and TFG
officials, thus Ethiopia’s military is active to some degree inside Somalia’s border. With
Uganda awaiting its funds and Ethiopia itching for a fight after repeated border
skirmishes with al-Shabab, Washington could have arranged for a military diversion
with Addis Ababa.

Voice of America reports that one of Ethiopia’s objectives, other than “possibly paving
the way” for an AU offensive, is to, “draw al-Shabab's attention and resources away
from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, where the al-Qaida-linked group has recently
redoubled their effort to topple the Somali government.”

These events feed back into al-Shabab’s strategy and methods for responding. al-Shabab
cannot hope to take Mogadishu while also holding minor cities like Kismayo and
Beledweyne, which Ethiopia allegedly and briefly entered several days ago. So will al-
Shabab exhaust its strength before deterring AU reinforcements from reaching the
capital? How vulnerable is it to counterattack, both during and after its offensive? And
who should counterattack if the opportunity presents itself?

Many reasons exist to cap foreign troop levels and allow the TFG to sink or swim. One
cannot exclude the possibility that this option may improve upon stalemate between al-
Shabab and the AU, the inevitable result without a political solution, as
counterinsurgency cannot succeed without a functioning government. al-Shabab’s
factions could splinter upon losing their AU focus-point, a likelier possibility than al-
Qaeda’s transnational agenda dividing the group. Conversely, the AU and the West
aren’t in position to gamble Mogadishu’s fate above al-Qaeda’s shadowy hands.

Given this reality, new forces must be anticipated.

Yet 1,000 reserve Ugandan troops offer no answer to one of the world’s most
demanding counterinsurgencies, and neither are 10,000 in the absence of a national and
regional political solution. Ethiopia, still blamed for the current power vacuum after
withdrawing 40,000 troops 2009, remains too unpopular to conduct counterinsurgency.
So too goes the theory of US troops. Though Somalia’s conflict doesn’t trace specifically
to Black Hawk Down, the event is burned into the US psyche and has inhibited support
for proper action. So desperate is President Barack Obama to appear out of Somalia
while knee deep in it that Washington has deployed US Special Forces as battlefield
shapers and contracted the general mission to Uganda and the AU.

Instead of paying them to fight Somalia’s war, perhaps America should finally
overcome its historical fear and pay its own troops to do the job.

The United States Marine Corp might welcome the challenge of exorcising Black Hawk
Down. US forces may also attract the least Somali resistance out of all possible foreign
troops so long as they operate under a strict counterinsurgency mandate, though that is
easier said than done. Colonel Ahmed Mohammed, a TFG commander trying to hold
his poorly-equipped troops together, pleaded for US assistance: "They must forget this
pain (Black Hawk Down) and realize that we share a common threat coming from
international terrorism.”

Adding a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) to the mix would, among many
factors, ensure a reliable supply of funds. US Marines have achieved a long record of
policing operations, including 1992’s Unified Task Force (UNITAF) in Mogadishu, and
the capital still requires the constant presence Marine brigade provides and the AU
lacks. Their role would take on a military-police operation over a conventional, urban
assault. Of course the Marines would lead the heavy fighting too, concentrating on
driving al-Shabab’s rank and file out of the capital and freeing up the AU and UN for
peacekeeping operations. The Marines should function as a one or two-year transition
to a more stable and robust AU mission.

And given that any new deployments to Somalia necessitate a workable political
system, South Africa must be persuaded by a comprehensive strategy to add its forces.
A US-South African front would provide the ideal cover for direct US involvement,
tapping Africa’s leading nation to push the vital - and currently absent - message of
Pan-Africanism to counter al-Qaeda’s own message of Islamic jihad.

There’s no certifiable way of knowing whether the Marines would rescue Mogadishu
and, more importantly, establish a sustainable mission going forward. Many foreseen
and unforeseen events could stall an offensive during the initial push or deeper in al-
Shabab territory. al-Shabab won’t risk its entire force on one final push into Mogadishu;
it expects AU reinforcements, anticipates Western air-strikes, and is preparing for rural
guerrilla warfare. But insurgencies are based on the past and must be amended if
possible, and Black Hawk Down must be confronted rather than ignored.

Somalia has passed the point where America can ignore its history and future in the
conflict. All options must be reviewed during a catastrophe.
--------------------
U.S. Ends 40 Years of Mkuranga Villagers' Medical Trek (Tanzania Daily News)

Dar es Salaam — Residents of Kiziko Village in Mkuranga District have for over 40
years trekked a distance of six kilometres to Mkuranga Medical Centre in the Coast
Region to get medical service. "More than ten pregnant women in labour died on their
way to the hospital in the last five years," says Local Government Chairman of Kiziko
Village, Ally Kituku.

The Coast Region has only one medical centre, far away from many villages. Kituku
remembers that the distance to the hospital has caused many people in the region
untold difficulties in their time of medical need. Kiziko village is one of the
communities in the region that a US organization, African Reflections Foundation
(ARF) supports.
Last week, the Founder and African Reflections Foundation International (ARF) Co-
ordinator, Ms Maryvonne Pool and President and Chairperson of ARF from US, Ms
Sajida Mamdani made a visit to the village. The ARF organization was established in
2007 in the country and has currently four projects in Mkuranga which include water
and sanitation, community development, education and healthcare.

To reduce medical problems for the people, the organization has promised to complete
a dispensary in the village. The facility, on completion, will serve five villages with a
population of more than 3,000 people. The villages are Bigwa, Kitonga, Mwarusembe,
Kiziko and Lunyala. The cost of the dispensary is 80m/-. The government has
contributed 30m/- and the ARF will donate the rest.

"We are ready to support you to complete the dispensary with the remaining amount
and the medical equipment supplies," said Ms Pool. Mr Kituku appreciated the
assistance and said: "We thank you so much for the contribution because it will reduce
maternity deaths." Last year, some medics from USA gave health service to the district
for two weeks. However, the district had mobile clinics which gave service for six hours
per day, checking more than 200 people daily.

"The mobile clinics checked malaria, headache, stomachache, wounds and other small
illnesses before prescribing some medicines," he said. The services saved the trouble of
walking long distances because the clinics had laboratories. Ms Stumai Rashid, a
villager, is happy with the contribution, saying women in the village will hence forth
deliver their babies safely because the organization promised to make Reproductive
and Child Health Centre (RCH) one of their priorities.

"Construction of the dispensary will reduce the fear of problematic delivery," she said.
Men with bicycles had to carry their wives on the long journey to the hospital. Those
with no means of transport had nothing to do, but to see their wives lose their babies in
an agonizing delivery. Ms Rashid said owners of transport charge 700/- , the amount
many expectant mothers could not afford. The US organization has promised to
provide Mkuranga District solar panels top produce power to pump water from the
wells they have prepared for the villagers.

The solar panels will save the people in comparison with generators and oil, ensuring
the people of a steady power supply without interruptions. The people got the
assistance after their appeal for help to Ms Pool, when they complained of frequent
power problems. ARF has built more than 30 wells in the district and promised to fix
solar panels at all area. "I know you face problems of such kind," said Ms Rashid.

"We are ready to help you. We have solicited support from the donors in US to provide
solar panels. They have agreed to help us soon." She told the residents the organization
had a few of the panels, which they would soon fix at the wells. Some more would
arrive shortly afterwards from the US. Getting water from the wells was another
headache for the residents. The Doctor In-Charge, Dr Adelard Bureta said power cuts
which lasted for 4 hours daily forced them to draw water from the well.

"We thank the US organization for the support although we still face a shortage of
electricity. The well and most of the clinical procedures depend on the power," he said.
Residents of Uzizi village face the problem of the shortage of oil for the generator they
use to pump water out of the well. To generate money for the oil, they are compelled to
sell a bucket for 50/- and 30/- for big and small ones respectively. The scarcity has
produced a business opportunity that some villagers have cashed in on.

"We can get easily water from the well instead of walking miles away for it and I sell a
small bucket for 30/- and a big one for 50/-," Kulwa Ally told the 'Sunday News.'
Maternity work at the dispensary is increasing fast. The Child Health Centre built last
year has so far delivered 60 babies. The enormity of the task has prompted the
provincial authorities to ask for two more medical officers. Women at Kisele village
have formed groups for small scale farming to earn their living. They cultivate
vegetables like spinach, pumpkins, okra and cassava. That gives them a few more
shillings for oil for the generator as well.

The US organization also assists the villagers to find a market for their produce. To
protect them from poverty and domestic violence, Ms Mamdani urged the women's
groups to be creative so that they could develop the projects and stop being
dependants. "You should stop becoming lazy and complaining work hard and make
sure the farms do not die otherwise you will always remain dependants," she said.

The women complained of lack of irrigation machines to make their farming a success.
Irrigating their land plots by using water buckets was tedious, they say. One of them,
Ms Mwanaisha Said had stopped working with the group because the work of
irrigating the crops by using a bucket of water was too hard for her, she said. "My waist
and chest are all paining. Irrigation pumps would make the work lighter and enable us
to farm more," she said. Ms Mamdani promised to assist the women with irrigation
pumps.
--------------------
Equatorial Guinea Defends Execution of 4 Would Be Assassins (Voice of America)

Equatorial Guinea is defending the execution of four men found guilty of trying to
assassinate the president. The execution has been criticized by the Obama
administration and Amnesty International.

Equatorial Guinea says there was nothing wrong with its speedy trial and execution of
four men convicted of trying to kill President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Former military officers were executed within an hour of their verdict before a military
tribunal.
Amnesty International said the confessions of the military officers were extracted
through torture after the men were abducted in Benin in January. The human rights
group also criticized the speediness of the trial and execution.

Equatorial Guinea's delegate to the United Nations, Anatolio Ndong Mba, says the men
returned to the country on their own with plans to overthrow the government.

"Some say that these people were abducted from Benin," said Anatolio Ndong Mba.
"You will find that they say that they are from Nigeria, or they will say that they reside
in Cameroon. Where were they? In Cameroon, in Nigeria, or in Benin? And because
they came back to Equatorial Guinea to try to perpetrate other action they were
captured and judged."

The executions come at a moment when Africa's only Spanish-speaking country is

trying to reform an image of corruption and repression. President Obiang has led the
oil-exporting nation autocratically, outlasting numerous botched attempts to unseat
him since the 1979 coup that brought him to power.

One quarter of the country's population live in exile. In Madrid, opposition leaders
released a statement saying they were revolted by the court's refusal to offer the men a
chance for appeal.

Mba says this was a military tribunal and should be judged differently than a civil case,
given the severity of the accusations.

"The legislation set out in the constitution specifically article thirteen sub-section eight,
paragraph two of this basic law provides for the application of capital punishment for
crimes such as judged in this cause," said Mba. "That decision and actions have
complied with applicable legal provisions in the country."

The Obama administration says it respects Equatorial Guinea's right to defend its
national security but believes the trial failed to meet minimum human rights
guarantees. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says Equatorial Guinea
must commit itself to upholding the rights in its own constitution and its obligations
under international human rights law.

Mba says foreign governments are naive about the dangers facing President Obiang.

"Unfortunately, those who criticize my country most of them they don't know the
country," said Anatolio Ndong Mba. "I question even many of them, they don't even
know where it is situated. They haven't been there. They have not been in Equatorial
Guinea, all what they read in some presses. They don't even know what is going on. "
In a written statement, President Obiang says the men were convicted and executed
immediately due to the imminent danger to him, his family, and his government. He
says he greatly laments what he calls "estimations of faults in the legal process and the
prompt execution of the convicted."

The president says he hopes the United States and other donors understand the severity
of the danger to national security and his personal security because Equatorial Guinea
still needs assistance to implement ongoing reforms.
--------------------
Rwandan leader slams Western critics at swearing-in (Reuters)

KIGALI - Rwandan President Paul Kagame rejected on Monday accusations he has

failed to safeguard human rights and vowed not to let Western critics of his rule
influence the path of the central African country.

Kagame won 93 percent support in a presidential election last month after a campaign
that opposition leaders and rights watchdogs said was marred by repression and
violence.

He has been praised for rebuilding and restoring peace in Rwanda following the 1994
genocide, but critics say stability has come at the expense of free speech and a free
media.

"It is difficult for us to comprehend those who want to give us lessons on inclusion,
tolerance and human rights. We reject all their accusations," Kagame said after being
sworn in for a second seven-year term.

"Self-proclaimed critics of Rwanda may say what they want, but they will neither
dictate the direction we take as a nation, nor will they make a dent in our quest for self-
determination," he said.

Kagame said a lack of democracy was not Africa's biggest problem, but rather a culture
of donor dependency. He criticised Western governments and NGOs (Non Government
Organisations) he said were accountable to no one for trying to impinge on the rights of
sovereign nations to dictate policy.

Rwanda has been angered by a leaked draft United Nations report that said its troops
may have committed genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1990s.

Kagame's administration reacted by threatening to pull out all its troops from U.N.
peacekeeping operations unless changes were made to the document.
At his inauguration ceremony in the Rwandan capital, attended by a dozen regional
heads of state, Kagame said foreign powers continued to press for Rwanda's politics to
be drawn up along ethnic lines, which he called a hangover from the colonial era.

"This approach may work elsewhere, but in our case, political divisionism and
extremism led to the total devastation of our country," he said.

More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered during the genocide
that ended only after Tutsi-led fighters under Kagame took control of the country.
--------------------
70 Die and 200 Are Feared Dead as 2 Boats Capsize on Congo Rivers (Associated
Press)

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Two boats capsized in one weekend on

Congo’s vast rivers, leaving 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead in unrelated
accidents that both involved heavily loaded boats operated with few safety measures,
officials said Sunday.

Early Saturday, a boat on the Rupi River in northwest Equateur Province hit a rock and
capsized, a provincial spokeswoman, Ebale Engumba, said Sunday. She said more than
70 people were believed dead among an estimated 100 passengers. She said officials
were investigating why the boat was traveling through the darkness without a light.

In another accident on the Kasai River in Kasai-Occidental Province, 200 people were
feared dead after a boat loaded with passengers and fuel drums caught fire and
capsized in southern Congo, survivors said Sunday.

The episode in southern Congo would be the deadliest boat accident in that country
and among the worst in Africa this year.

The boats that cross Congo’s rivers are often in poor repair and filled beyond capacity.
The industry is not well regulated and operators are known to fill boats to dangerous
levels.

In the first accident, in northwest Congo, Ms. Engumba said officials believed the boat’s
lack of lighting was responsible.

“We are going to arrest people involved who are in charge of regulating the boat’s
movement who failed to stop that boat from traveling at night,” she said.

In the second accident, survivors said the boat was overloaded with people and goods.
Francois Madila, a local official, said two of the boat’s crew members had been arrested,
but he did not say how many people were aboard.
A survivor, Romaine Mishondo, said the boat was already packed with hundreds of
passengers when it stopped about 10 minutes before the fire to pick up more people.

When the fire started and people began jumping overboard, she said, nearby fishermen
ignored pleas for help.

“Fishermen attacked the boat and started beating passengers with paddles” as they
tried to loot goods, she said.

The boat’s owner said a survivor and an employee had told him that workers spilled
fuel and the engine ignited.
--------------------
Mainstream US Media Criticized for Ignoring Positive Developments in Africa
(Voice of America)

The president and CEO of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa says that
important stories about Africa continue to feature less prominently in mainstream
American media outlets.

The Africa Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that strives to educate

Americans about the richness and diversity of Africa, as well as the economic
opportunities that the continent offers.

Bernadette Paolo said, despite the fact that the month of August featured many Africa-
related events in Washington, those events did not make the mainstream American
media.

She said there is a need to demand positive coverage of Africa by providing the media
with information that contrasts with the usual negative stories.

“When you ask students throughout the United States, the first four images that come
to mind when they hear the word “Africa” is war, disease, starving children and
animals. And, I think that the reporting in the media is primarily negative,” she said.

Paolo said, although there are challenges facing African countries, Americans need to
know the contributions the continent is making and the potential it holds.

“When you think about it, many of the mineral resources in the entire world are from
the continent of Africa, never mind the fact that the African diaspora in the United
States is the highest educated among all immigrant populations. These are facts that
never come to the fore through the media,” Paolo said.

She said changes in U.S. foreign policy toward Africa over the years suggest that Africa
is getting the attention it warrants from the U.S. government.
But, Paolo said much more needs to be done to improve the negative coverage of the
continent in the mainstream U.S. media.

“I think that, with journalists, you have to feed them with information and make them
aware of these changes, of the economic development, of a country such as Botswana
and others that are making great strides economically, of the number of democracies
that are on the continent now, as opposed to 20 years ago,” Paolo said.

Paolo said the responsibility of disseminating positive information about Africa is not
solely that of the media, but also the duty of all Africanists through the use of modern
technology.

“I think it’s a combined effort of getting more information out there using social media,
people who are Africanists, people from the African diaspora, putting things in
newspapers, writing letters to the editors. So, the responsibility isn’t solely journalists.
It’s all of ours,” she said.

Paolo said she lamented the fact that millions of Americans did not get the chance to
meet and see the young people from Africa who attended President Obama’s Forum
with African Youth Leaders.

“We had heads of state. We had foreign ministers. In Africa, in August, we had the
AGOA Forum. We had these youth leaders that President Obama had here, 115
extraordinary young people with contributions already in their lives that were just
mind-boggling. All these things are missed opportunities to have a different picture of
African leaders. And so, I think, we seldom have reporting on positive developments
such as these,” Paolo said.
--------------------
Peacekeeping cushioning African states from scrutiny: analysts (AFP)

NAIROBI – Troop contributions for UN peacekeeping missions are helping African

nations build a buffer against criticism over democratic and human rights failings,
analysts said Monday.

Reacting to a leaked United Nations report last week that its forces committed war
crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda threatened to pull out its soldiers
from Darfur if the document is published.

Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said the UN cannot have it both ways:
"You cannot accuse our army... and want the same army to be a disciplined moral army
to protect civilians around the world."
Providing some 3,000 peacekeepers for the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur and
the United Nations Mission in Sudan may be spreening Kigali's international image, but
could also be providing a shield against scrutiny, observers said.

"It's clear that by contributing troops to peacekeeping missions, Rwanda wants to get a
positive image at the international level," said Carina Tertsakian, a Rwanda researcher
for the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"I do think they hoped that because they are appreciated at the international level it
may mean they get less criticism of their human rights record back home or elsewhere,"
she told AFP.

Not only does withdrawing troops fail to address the allegations of crime, but it would
portray Kigali as attempting a cover up.

"We can understand that Rwanda is sensitive to the allegations that crimes were
committed by its troops in DRC, but we think that this kind of threat and intimidation is
really not helpful and even counterproductive.

"It would give the impression that Rwanda has something to hide by preventing the
publication of this report," said Tertsakian, whose visa Rwanda refused to renew in
April.

While on her first tour of sub-Saharan Africa in 2007, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel asserted the need for political freedom and respect for human rights in Ethiopia,
which has been criticised for such failures.

Instead of tackling Merkel's concerns, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who
addressed a joint press conference with his guest, pledged to send 5,000 troops for the
Darfur mission.

Uganda, which provides the bulk of troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia,
had come under stinging attack in 2005 by Johnnie Carson, the current US assistant
secretary for Africa.

Carson lambasted President Yoweri Museveni for clinging to power.

But five years on when he attended the African Union summit in Kampala in July this
year, just days after Somalia's Shebab militia claimed a suicide attack there, Carson said
Museveni was no dictator but "duly elected in a free and fair elections" in comments in
Uganda's state-run daily New Vision.
Despite lamenting the opposition boycott of Burundi's June elections, European Union
monitors however praised their conduct. The opposition had stayed away in protest
over alleged goverment rigging of previous local elections.

Like Uganda, Burundi has also deployed troops to Somalia, although its security forces
have repeatedly been blamed for arbitrary arrests, torture and other violations.

"We have noted that the United States, and more so the EU are turning a blind eye
regarding the numerous political and human rights violations as well as corruption in
Burundi," said an official with the Great Lakes Human Rights League.

"Is this linked to Burundi's troop deployment in Somalia? I cannot affirm that, but it
seems very possible," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But seeking to deflect international criticism may not be the key reason states deploy
peacekeepers, said Ej Hogendoorn, a Nairobi-based analyst with the International Crisis
Group.

Financial benefits and military experience are among other the motivations, he added.

"Countries contribute forces for a variety of reasons," Hogendoorn told AFP. "One of
them is to generate goodwill with the international community."
-------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Aid and fairer trade crucial to boost Africa's poverty reduction efforts – Ban
4 September – Africans need both foreign aid and fairer trading terms with other
regions to achieve the poverty reduction and social development targets known as the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their 2015 deadline, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon stressed today.

Floods worsen misery for hunger-stricken Niger – UN

3 September – Already stricken by a severe food crisis brought on by a prolonged
drought, the people of Niger have now to contend with floods which have affected
more than 200,000 people, the United Nations reported today.

More than 20 children among hundreds raped in eastern DR Congo – UN

3 September – More than two dozen children were among the hundreds of civilians
recently raped by members of armed groups active in the far east of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations reported today.

UN mission opens first base ahead of referendum in southern Sudan

3 September – The United Nations peacekeeping mission set up after the end of the
north-south civil war has opened its first field office for the referendum to be held next
January on whether the south should secede from the rest of the country.

UN reports thousands more displaced by fighting in Somali capital

3 September – Continuing fighting in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, has caused the
displacement of at least 22,000 more civilians and forced relief agencies to curtail their
operations in the war-scarred city during the past 12 days, the United Nations reported
today.