United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

10 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

AFRICOM boss’s visit to Guinea postponed indefinitely (African Press Agency)

(Guinea) The planned visit to Guinea by the Chief of the US Command for Africa
(AFRICOM) General William Ward, has been deferred sine die, the Communication
Section of the U.S. Embassy in Conakry told APA here.

Clinton comments on Sudan split "incorrect": party (Reuters)

(Sudan) A senior Sudanese official on Thursday hit back at comments by U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton that Sudan was facing a "ticking time-bomb" in the countdown
to the "inevitable" secession of the country's south.

U.S. Marines Retake Ship From Pirates (Wall Street Journal)

(Somalia) U.S. Marines early Thursday boarded and seized control of a German-owned
commercial vessel that had been commandeered by pirates, in what appeared to be the
first American-led military boarding of its kind amid a recent surge of attacks in the
Gulf of Aden and along the east coast of Africa.

Somali Militants Try Piracy to Fund Attacks (Wall Street Journal)

(Somalia) A Somali militant group that has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda has turned
to piracy to finance its effort to topple Somalia's government, posing new risks for
shipping companies and the international naval forces patrolling the waters off the horn
of Africa.

U.S. Gives HIV Drugs Worth Us$7million (New Vision)

(Uganda) The American government has offered Uganda Anti-retro-viral drugs worth
7 million dollars.

Call for humanitarian aid in Uganda (Washington Post)

(Uganda) In accordance with recently passed legislation, the Obama administration is
developing an inter-agency framework and strategy that seeks to end the cross-border
violence caused by the LRA. While this new bill brings hope to many, this strategy must
avoid repeating past military failures that only resulted in death, displacement and
entrenchment of the conflict.

AMISOM foils Mogadishu airport attack (Xinhua)

(Somalia) African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM) on Thursday foiled
a suicide attack by militant group, Al-Shabab on Mogadishu International Airport.

Angola sends military advisors to Guinea-Bissau to support reform programs

(Xinhua)
(Angola) Angola will send a military and security team to Guinea-Bissau to support the
implementation of the reform programs of the armed forces under an agreement signed
by military leaders of the two countries in Luanda on Thursday.

Giant rats put noses to work on Africa's land mine epidemic (CNN)
(Mozambique) In 2008 and 2009, about 30 state-accredited HeroRats, their noses
atwitter, scampered across more than a million square meters of Mozambican land,
ferreting out almost 400 mines and other ordnance.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 UN and partners use new mobile phone application to enable refugees to trace
families
 UN deplores deadly attack against African peacekeepers in Somali capital
 Ban’s discussions with Rwandan leader on UN rights report to continue
 UN-backed radio station in DR Congo recognized for courageous reporting
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, September 21, 2:00 p.m., U.S. Institute of Peace

WHAT: Civil Society in Darfur: The Missing Peace
WHO: Theodore Murphy, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; Jérôme Tubiana,
Independent researcher; Jon Temin, Moderator,U.S. Institute of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/civil-society-in-darfur-the-missing-peace

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, September 23, 9:00 a.m.

WHAT: Breakfast Briefing with The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, New Ambassador of
the United States to Cameroon
WHO: Business Council for International Understanding with Chevron Corporation
Info: http://www.bciu.org/wip01/online_event_invitation.asp?
continent=0&country=0&currentorpast=current&eventsorprograms=events&IDNumbe
r=1431&ProgramIDNumber=0&Keycode=8031275
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

AFRICOM boss’s visit to Guinea postponed indefinitely (African Press Agency)

The planned visit to Guinea by the Chief of the US Command for Africa (AFRICOM)
General William Ward, has been deferred sine die, the Communication Section of the
U.S. Embassy in Conakry told APA here.

No official reasons have been given for this adjournment. It should be recalled that Gen.
William Ward was expected in Guinea on Thursday, to hold a series of talks with
interim President General Sekouba Konate and the country’s high military command.

General Ward would have also seized this opportunity to “congratulate and encourage
the military for their leadership and neutrality in the electoral process underway in
Guinea, with the organisation of the second round of the 19 September 2010
presidential elections between Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde.

Washington is closely monitoring the electoral process in Guinea and has initiated a
series of actions to ensure the smooth holding of the poll, through technical and
material aid to the country’s transitional government.
--------------------
Clinton comments on Sudan split "incorrect": party (Reuters)

KHARTOUM – A senior Sudanese official on Thursday hit back at comments by U.S.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Sudan was facing a "ticking time-bomb" in the
countdown to the "inevitable" secession of the country's south.

People from Sudan's oil-producing south are four months away from the scheduled
start of a referendum on whether to stay united with north Sudan or declare
independence -- a vote promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south
civil war.

Analysts say southerners overwhelmingly want independence and there is a risk of a

return to conflict if the north tries to delay or obstruct the vote to keep control of the
south's oil.

Clinton told the Council on Foreign Relations think tank on Wednesday that it was
"inevitable" southerners would vote for secession and that Washington, together with
international partners, needed to work out ways to persuade the north to accept that
result peacefully.

Rabie Abdelati, from the north's dominant National Congress Party (NCP), told Reuters
on Thursday Clinton was "incorrect" and that Sudan would reject any foreign attempts
to interfere in the poll.

"We are working to achieve unity up to the last moment. We don't think secession is
inevitable," he said. "Everything is going very smoothly. We don't see any sign that
there will be a problem between the north and the south, that there will be war."
Abdelati said most southerners favored unity but their voices were drowned out by a
few separatist leaders from the south's former rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Movement (SPLM). Nobody was immediately available for comment from the SPLM.

Northerners and southerners remain split on how they would divide oil revenues after
the vote -- most of the country's crude reserves lie in the south but the north has the
bulk of the infrastructure.

Clinton said southern independence would be difficult for northerners to accept,

adding: "We've got to figure out some ways to make it worth their while to peacefully
accept an independent south," without specifying possible incentives.

"We do not need any incentives or temptations from the U.S., Europe or France ... There
is no need to accept any interference," Abdelati said on Thursday.

There have been widespread concerns that Sudan had not left itself enough time to
organize the potentially explosive plebiscite.

The members of a commission to organize the referendum were only announced in late
June, and its secretary general appointed last week, after months of wrangling between
northern and southern leaders.

Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who leads the NCP, has promised to accept
the result of the vote but says he will campaign to persuade southerners to choose
unity.

Aid agencies estimate 2 million people died in Sudan's north-south conflict over oil,
religion, ethnicity and ideology. The war destabilized much of east Africa.
--------------------
U.S. Marines Retake Ship From Pirates (Wall Street Journal)

DUBAI—U.S. Marines early Thursday boarded and seized control of a German-owned

commercial vessel that had been commandeered by pirates, in what appeared to be the
first American-led military boarding of its kind amid a recent surge of attacks in the
Gulf of Aden and along the east coast of Africa.

A raiding party of 24 Marines boarded the ship about 85 miles southeast of Mukallah,
Yemen, in the Gulf of Aden, according to the U.S. Navy. Pirates had captured the
vessel, which was carrying steel chains, in the same vicinity the previous day, the Navy
said.

The U.S. said there were no casualties among the raiding party or the ship's crew. Nine
alleged pirates were captured in the operation.
Somalia-based pirates started to ratchet up their attacks in the gulf and along the east
coast of Africa in late 2008. In the spring of 2009, the U.S. military intervened in a pirate
attack on an American-flagged merchant ship.

The crew of that ship retook control of the vessel, but pirates escaped in a lifeboat with
the captain of the ship as a hostage. U.S. snipers killed three pirates, captured a fourth
and freed the captain in an elaborate naval rescue.

American warships since then have intervened a number of times to ward off attacks
while they were still under way, often sending helicopters over ships being pursued by
pirates, for instance. But this appeared to be the first time that a U.S. military team
boarded a large vessel under pirate control.

French commandos have in the past stormed French-owned ships taken by pirates, with
mixed results. In April, the French Navy recaptured a 48-foot sailing yacht from pirates,
who were holding five hostages, including a toddler. One of the hostages—the owner of
the yacht and the father of the child—was killed during the French operation.

Amid the increase in attacks, a number of multinational naval task forces have sprung
up to patrol pirate-infested waters in and around the Gulf of Aden. Still, naval
commanders often have been frustrated by not having ships or aircraft available to
respond to attacks, considering the large expanse of ocean they are patrolling.

A U.S. Navy spokesman said Thursday's raid didn't necessarily signal a change in
tactics in the U.S. response to pirate attacks. But because commanders had resources
available this time around, they decided to act.

"This is a case of us having the right people, with the right capabilities at the right place
and at the right time," said Lt. John Fage, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in
Bahrain.

In a statement, the Fifth Fleet said 24 Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit,
attached to the amphibious warship U.S.S. Dubuque, boarded the German-owned M/V
Magellan Star, after pirates attacked it the previous day.

The U.S. military said a Turkish warship, currently in command of a multinational

antipiracy task force in the region, responded to a distress call from the German ship.
Two U.S. warships also part of the task force, the Dubuque and the guided-missile
cruiser U.S.S. Princeton, joined the Turkish ship on the scene.

A spokesman for the task force said in an email response to questions that no shots
were fired during the boarding, which lasted about one hour. No pirates were injured
in the operation, he said.
--------------------
Somali Militants Try Piracy to Fund Attacks (Wall Street Journal)

A Somali militant group that has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda has turned to piracy to
finance its effort to topple Somalia's government, posing new risks for shipping
companies and the international naval forces patrolling the waters off the horn of
Africa.

Al Shabaab, which has been designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group, has proceeded
from taxing Somali pirates' ransom revenue to dispatching its own fighters to attack
ships—American vessels in particular—according to pirates, al Shabaab officials,
residents of seaside towns and the Somali government.

In a recent sermon in the southern port city of Kismayo, Sheikh Mahad, a senior al
Shabaab official, branded the group's piracy as "sea jihad" and called on young militants
about to head to sea to target American ships. "America is our enemy," he said,
according to a person who was present and recorded the sermon. "We have to retaliate
against them by sea or by land."

The U.S. views the Somali government as a bulwark against al Shabaab and a rare
chance for stability in Somalia—though it controls only a few blocks of the capital,
Mogadishu, under the protection of African Union troops.

Much of southern and central Somalia is controlled by al Shabaab. The rest is

dominated by other militant groups, clans and along the northern coast, pirates.

Al Shabaab has been waging an offensive against the government since the beginning of
Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, that has left 230 people dead and about 20,000
people displaced, according to the United Nations. On Thursday, the day before
Somalis were to celebrate the end of Ramadan, al Shabaab suicide bombers struck
Mogadishu's airport, leaving two African Union troops, two civilians and five militants
dead.

In July, al Shabaab claimed responsibility for its first known attack outside the country:
three coordinated bombings in the Ugandan capital of Kampala that killed at least 76
people. The suspected mastermind of the attack said Americans were among its targets.

Al Shabaab largely funds itself by taxing businesses that operate in the territory it
controls—much of southern and central Somalia—as well as with contributions from
supporters outside the country.

In recent months, the group has sought more funds to support its fight. "We know they
are directly using the pirates" to raise money, said Abdirisaq Qaylow, spokesman of
Somalia's information ministry.
Al Shabaab officials and pirates say the group has begun to send out militants in pirate
skiffs from two southern cities it controls, Kismayo and Barawe. Residents of the cities,
which previously weren't believed to be involved in piracy, say they have seen militants
heading out to sea with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 rifles.

There was no immediate evidence that the pirates who on Wednesday hijacked a
German-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden, only to have U.S. Marines retake it the
following day, were members of al Shabaab.

Since January, there have been 119 attempted or successful hijackings by Somali pirates,
according to the International Maritime Bureau. Analysts say the average ransom
payment to Somali pirates is about $2 million, twice last year's average. Shipping
companies have become increasingly willing to pay as quickly as possible to secure a
ship's release, according to Roger Middleton, a researcher at Chatham House who
studies piracy.

In January, hijackers aboard a Greek supertanker reported receiving $7 million to

release it—the highest ransom that has been reliably reported, according to analysts.

The piracy boom has prompted foreign governments to dispatch multinational naval
patrols, including the European Union Naval Force Somalia's Operation Atalanta.
Russia, Japan and China have also sent warships to patrol these waters, and the U.S.
Navy has established a multinational antipiracy task force.

An al Shabaab associate and businessman said the group has attempted to attack
American ships, but hasn't succeeded.

Spokesmen for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which oversees the U.S. task force, and the EU Naval
Force declined to comment on al Shabaab's threat to attack U.S. ships.

While most of the traffic in Indian Ocean shipping lanes isn't American, some U.S.-
flagged ships do pass through—notably the Maersk Alabama container ship, which was
hijacked off Somalia in April 2009. The U.S. Navy ended the five-day hostage standoff.

The development complicates the problem of how U.S. companies can get their ships
and hostages back. Shippers and insurers could inadvertently pay otherwise legal
ransoms that end up in the pockets of suspected terrorists—a violation of U.S. law that
could entail penalties of up to $1 million.

Because it is often difficult to know where ransom money ends up, said a representative
of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. sanctions, only blatant
or willful violations of the regulations are likely to be prosecuted. So far, the
representative said, no companies had been prosecuted by OFAC for paying a ransom.
The Islamist militants-turned-pirates have been instructed to avoid ships from Muslim
countries, in contrast to established Somali pirates, who are known for an impious
lifestyle and chiefly seek targets that are easier to board from their small skiffs.

Pirates new to the trade apparently endure a steep learning curve. Some recently
arrested pirates were caught without food, water or fuel, and appeared to lask basic
knowledge of the sea, according to Alan Cole, the coordinator of the United Nations'
counterpiracy program in Nairobi.

"The proficiency level is going down sharply," Mr. Cole said. "There are fewer
fishermen and more fighters."

Al Shabaab's piracy activities began with a militant leader who hails from the pirate
haven Harardheere, and whose clan is involved in the piracy business, according to an
al Shabaab official.

About five months ago, when al Shabaab commanders called a meeting to discuss the
group's need for funds, the leader, who had been collecting taxes from pirates,
proposed launching the group's own pirate skiffs, according to an al Shabaab member
based at Kismayo port.

Veteran pirates complain that al Shabaab's involvement carries risks for them. "This
could cause the antipiracy ships to shoot us since (al Shabaab) is an enemy to them,"
said Nur Abdi, a Somali pirate in Kismayo. "If the Americans find out, every seized ship
will be rescued by force, and that's troublesome!"
--------------------
U.S. Gives HIV Drugs Worth Us$7million (New Vision)

Kampala — The American government has offered Uganda Anti-retro-viral drugs

worth 7 million dollars.

U.S Ambassador Jerry Lanier says the emergency supply is to address the urgent need
for life-saving medicine.

The drugs have already been delivered to the National Medical Stores and Joint Stores
for quick distribution to government aided hospitals.

Lanier says the American government will directly support more than 250,000
Ugandans on ARVs.
--------------------
Call for humanitarian aid in Uganda (Washington Post)
For over 23 years, millions of our sisters and brothers throughout central Africa have
suffered violence at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group. As church
leaders from Northern Uganda, we have witnessed the past and present impact of the
LRA in our communities. We know children who were abducted and forced to fight for
the LRA. We know women who were raped and abused by the LRA. Countless others
are still in captivity.

Originally hailing from Northern Uganda, the LRA is now committing atrocities in the
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan. After
years of neglect, this crisis is now receiving international attention. In accordance with
recently passed legislation, the Obama administration is developing an inter-agency
framework and strategy that seeks to end the cross-border violence caused by the LRA.
While this new bill brings hope to many, this strategy must avoid repeating past
military failures that only resulted in death, displacement and entrenchment of the
conflict.
On May 24th President Obama signed the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and
Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 (S.1067/HR 2478) "To support...lasting
peace...through development of a regional strategy to support multilateral efforts to
successfully protect civilians ...and to authorize funds for humanitarian relief." Indeed,
long term reconstruction efforts are sorely needed in LRA-affected communities in
order to promote healing and spur economic development. However, it is critical that
the United States' strategy reflect lessons learned from previous attempts to disarm the
LRA rather than repeat past mistakes.
The U.S. attempted to rid central Africa of the LRA by providing support for 'Operation
Lighting Thunder,' (OLT) a military operation launched in December 2008. U.S.
assistance for this operation consisted of $1 million for fuel, satellite phones and 17
military advisors from AFRICOM (the U.S. military command for Africa) to counsel
Ugandan troops.
In February 2009, the New York Times reported that this botched U.S. military
intervention let the LRA "loose, moving from village to village, seemingly unhindered,
leaving a wake of scorched huts and crushed skulls". Instead of containing the conflict,
this endeavor incited the LRA to expand its horrendous violence by killing and
displacing innocent civilians.
With the goal of sustainable peace, we, the affected groups in Uganda, DRC, CAR and
Sudan, are asking that the Obama administration's new strategy emphasize
humanitarian reconstruction and dialogue over military force. This would not only
create pathways for peace and reintegration, but also recognizes the complex questions
of justice and reconciliation that the LRA poses.
Last month, religious leaders from the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the
Central African Republic and Uganda met with non-governmental organizations and
civil society representatives from communities affected by LRA violence. We discussed
sustainable solutions to violent conflict and formulated a concrete action plan for
tackling violence in the affected region. The statement from our meetings advises that
peace-initiatives must, "communicate with the LRA...give...incentives to come out of the
bush...[support] the creation of retrieval centers for LRA victims and ex-
combatants...organize and pursue inter-community exchange and dialogues ...and take
into account the needs and concerns of those undergoing reintegration processes".

We, as representatives from the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative will be in
Washington September 13th-17th to bring the opinion of the region to the application of
the new LRA bill. In this message, communities from the DRC, CAR, Sudan and
Uganda plead that the U.S. "prioritize and creatively explore non-violent actions to
resolving the conflict...[because] this is the only way to bring a lasting solution that will
foster healing and reconciliation in a region of the world that longs for and deserves
peace."
It is critical for local communities, civil society organizations and faith groups to shape
policies that will undoubtedly affect our own lives. As the Obama administration
formulates its strategy to rid Africa of the LRA, our voices need to be heard. The risk is
too high to repeat the failures of the past strategies.
--------------------
AMISOM foils Mogadishu airport attack (Xinhua)

NAIROBI - African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM) on Thursday

foiled a suicide attack by militant group, Al-Shabab on Mogadishu International
Airport.

AMISOM spokesman Major Barigye Ba-Hoku said the suicide attack was foiled by
AMISOM troops manning the main entrance of the airport.

"At around 2:15pm local time, two vehicles and around 5 insurgents attempted to
breach the airport defences. The first vehicle exploded at the airport entrance, around
500 meters from the airport terminal," Ba-Hoku said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
"Sadly, two AMISOM sentries were killed in the explosion and a further three
wounded. The second vehicle, following immediately behind the first, was halted and
did not explode."

Mogadishu's airport, of huge strategic importance, is one of the few parts of the capital
controlled by forces from the AU and the government.

Ba-Hoku said two suicide bombers, dressed in TFG combat uniforms, ran from the
vehicles firing small arms, adding that both managed to run at speed through the gates,
under fire from AMISOM soldiers. "Both were brought to a halt within 200 meters of
the terminal building where they exploded their IED vests. It is understood that at least
one civilian, an employee of the local airline African Express, was killed in the incident,"
he said.

The full extent of injured and killed is not yet clear. The spokesman said the airport
defences held tight and the attack was quickly condemned as a failure on the part of the
extremists by the Force Commander, General Nathan Mugisha. "The airport was
quickly locked down and cleared so that a full investigation can begin.

Ba-Hoku said the airport is a high profile target and an attack on the airport had been
anticipated as it came a day after the country's information minister had warned of such
an Al Shabab spectacular as Ramadan draws to a close. "The Airport is a very high
profile target and we always expect an attempt of sabotage here. This attack was in vain
and will not deter us from our mission," Ba-Hoku said. "AMISOM is here to protect the
Transitional Federal institutions and to protect the Somali people. We will continue to
do this," he said.

More than 230 civilians have died in fighting over the past two weeks between Somali
transitional government forces and Al-Shabaab militants in the Somali capital, the UN
refugee agency reported this week.

At least 400 people have been wounded and 23,000 displaced in the latest violence, the
agency said Tuesday. So far this year, more than 200,000 civilians are believed to have
fled their homes in the capital, it said.
--------------------
Angola sends military advisors to Guinea-Bissau to support reform programs
(Xinhua)

LUANDA - Angola will send a military and security team to Guinea-Bissau to support
the implementation of the reform programs of the armed forces under an agreement
signed by military leaders of the two countries in Luanda on Thursday.

The agreement was signed by Chief of Staff of the Angolan armed forces Francisco
Pereira Furtado and his visiting Buinea-Bissau counterpart Antonio Injai.

The Angolan team to Guinea Bissau will group military and police experts to join
specialists of that west African to assess the real needs for the implementation of reform
programs, according to a final communique of the talks between the two military
delegations in Luanda.

Speaking to the press, Francisco Pereira Furtado said this team will be comprised by
officers of the Angolan Armed Forces and Angolan National Police.

Francisco Pereira Furtado described his talks with his Guinea- Bissau counterpart as
"courageous, transparent and confident," which he said would contribute to the
reinforcement of bilateral military relations between the two countries.

Before the talks, the Guinean delegation visited the Technical and Military Higher
Institute and War Higher School in Grafanil, where Guinea-Bissau officers were
attending training courses.
The Guinea-Bissau military chief and his delegation arrived in Luanda on Saturday for
a five-day visit to reinforce military cooperation between the two countries.

Antonio Indjai said his country's army and defense sectors need an urgent restructuring
and he hoped for assistance from Angola during the process.

"We are asking for assistance from our Angolan brothers, namely the Armed Forces'
General Staff, the Ministry of Defense and the Government," said the Guinea-Bissau
military leader.

Angola and Guinea-Bissau have developed cooperation both in bilateral framework

and within the framework of the Portuguese Speaking Community (CPLP) and of the
group of African Portuguese Speaking Countries (PALOP), in areas of politics,
diplomacy, defense and security, education, health and transport, Angola's official news
agency Angop said.
--------------------
Giant rats put noses to work on Africa's land mine epidemic (CNN)

Niko Mushi hated rats, as did most people in his village near Tanzania's Mt.
Kilimanjaro -- until he learned the critters had a nose for land mines.

Mushi, 32, has been working with giant African pouched rats for almost seven years.
He now enjoys their company -- "They're just like my friend," he says -- but he concedes
he was skeptical when the man who conceived the idea for HeroRats first told him they
could sniff out live ordnance.

"I thought maybe he was making some jokes," Mushi said. "I was amazed that rats
could do such a thing."

Before he started working with rats, Mushi had a comfortable job teaching the Kiswahili
language at a Lutheran seminary. He was terrified when he first took one of his long-
tailed protégés into a Mozambican minefield.

He'd heard stories of accidents involving the mines, mostly leftovers from
Mozambique's civil war, which ended in 1992. He was not emboldened by the skeletons
of soldiers and others who'd taken unfortunate steps before him.

But his rat found 16 land mines that day.

"We are not a good friend to these creatures," Mushi said of his countrymen, "but after
people see this work that we are doing, they change this position."

Tuberculosis, Too!
Africa, because of its prevalence of HIV, has more deadly tuberculosis than any other
continent, but if TB is diagnosed early, it can be treated for about $10.

When APOPO founder Bart Weetjens saw a 2002 World Health Organization report
predicting TB deaths would quadruple to 8 million by 2015, he started thinking.

The ancient Chinese claimed they could diagnose the disease by the smell of a person's
saliva on a flame or hot rock. The Flemish use the word "tering" to describe the "smell of
tar" TB patients exude. Even Van Morrison crooned, "I can almost smell your TB
sheets."

"If we can smell it with our dilapidated olfactory senses," Weetjens thought, "rats and
dogs must be able to smell it at a much earlier stage."

He and his wife, Maureen Jubitana, collected samples and trained APOPO's rats to
identify the smell of TB in human sputum.

"Wonderfully, they did detect it," Weetjens said.

In 2008 and 2009, HeroRats in Tanzania, where less than half of TB patients are
diagnosed before death, detected 900 cases of TB. APOPO estimates the rats prevented
13,575 transmissions. Bart Weetjens is the brain and Buddhist monk behind APOPO (a
Dutch acronym meaning Anti-Personnel Land Mines Detection Product Development),
which trains HeroRats. He said Mushi's initial repulsion is common.

Prejudice against rats is "deep in our psyche" and has roots in the Middle Ages when
the rodents were blamed for the plague, Weetjens said. He quickly cited Black Death's
rightful culprit: fleas.

The Belgian-born Weetjens, 43, is an apt candidate to change rats' unsavory image. A
self-professed rodent lover, he was given his first hamster, Goldy, for his ninth
birthday.

"Fascinated as I was by it, I wanted to have a female hamster. Soon, I had a nest of
hamsters," he said. "Mother didn't like that too much, so I took them to the pet shop and
they gave me money for those hamsters."

He soon found out pet shops paid even more for rats, and more still for gerbils and
squirrels. It wasn't long before Weetjens had a "kind of breeding arrangement in my
room" and was selling various rodents for walking-around money.

At 14, he gave up his enterprise when he was sent to boarding school, but he
maintained his love for rodents.
Several of Weetjens' family members had worked in Africa, and Weetjens harbored a
commitment to the continent. In the spring of 1995, he was analyzing the world's land
mine epidemic -- a cause made vogue at the time by Britain's Princess Diana -- when he
came across research that spoke to his childhood proclivity.

Scientists were studying the use of gerbils in land mine detection, but they were using a
system involving brain electrodes that Weetjens found unsustainable. He wanted a
locally based solution that might empower communities.

"Yes, rats can do that," he thought. "I knew I was right, even if it was very hard to
defend."

It's difficult to quantify the scourge of land mines in Africa. Experts are reluctant to give
statistics, but it's safe to say there are single countries hosting millions of them.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines says land mines and related devices
were responsible for 73,576 casualties worldwide from 1999 to 2009. Campaign data
from 2007 say there were 5,426 recorded casualties, with almost a fifth of them in 24
African countries.

Death and injury, however, are only two ramifications of the buried terrors, said land
mine expert Havard Bach, formerly of the Geneva International Center for
Humanitarian Demining.

Unexploded ordnance renders roads, highways and enormous swaths of land useless,
Bach said. Fear lingers for years after a single accident, holding back growth,
movement, development and opportunities for commerce and aid.

"One mine in an area is enough to prevent an entire population from making use of it,"
he said.

In a land where resources are scarce, Weetjens felt rats were suited to the task -- but he
had to get past people laughing at his plan. Bach said he kept an open mind.

"I just thought it was a strange idea," Bach said. "You come across a lot of silly ideas that
never result in anything when you work in this industry."

Their olfactory senses are superb. They're native to Africa, so tropical disease is no
problem, and they don't grow heavier than the 3 to 10 kilograms required to trip a
mine, Bach said. It also helps that the mine-sniffing rats are not bonded to individual
trainers or prone to ennui, as dogs are, he said.
"If you compare them to canine mine detectors, it's pretty much the same in terms of
sensitivity and capability," Bach said, noting that dogs are better equipped to work in
brush or high grass that might conceal a rat.

"Rats are not going to oust dogs in this industry, but it's a very positive complement,"
he added. "You could say they work for peanuts."

Indeed, said Weetjens, cost is especially an advantage in Africa. It takes limited skill and
only six to eight months to train a rat -- or a year for the "slow" rats because "some rats
are smarter than others," said trainer Mushi, who oversees 14 rats.

The cost to train a rat is 6,000 euros ($7,700), roughly a third of what it costs to train a
dog. Where dogs need expansive kennel facilities and regular veterinary care because of
African climates, APOPO's kennel facilities at Sokoine University of Agriculture in
Morogoro, Tanzania, can house up to 300 rats. The rats see a single vet once a week and
are much easier to transport than dogs, Weetjens said.

Training begins with socialization when the rats are 4 weeks old because "it's really
important they learn man are friends," Weetjens said.

A system of "operant conditioning" follows. Trainers teach the rodents to associate a

clicking noise with something tasty: a banana or peanuts. The same treats are used to
teach them how to signal when they find a mine and how to detect the scent of TNT in
tea balls.

The final phase before they're shipped to Mozambique for accreditation includes
several trial runs in APOPO's training minefields, some of which contain tea balls,
others live mines.

Nailing down the regimen was tricky. At one point in APOPO's early days, the rats
performed perfectly in trials, making Weetjens suspicious. It turned out the rats were
outsmarting the humans.

"They knew which samples had been touched by the trainers," he said. "We have to
remain extremely vigilant not to bring in additional cues that help the animal find out
what the rewarding samples are."

It hasn't been easy convincing the international community that mine-sniffing rats are
viable, but donors are coming around. A partners list once consisting solely of Antwerp
University and the Belgian government now includes about 30 groups, including the
U.N. Development Program, World Bank Development Marketplace and the Schwab
Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
When people tell you that mine is live, you are very scared. ... Fear keeps you to be
very, very careful.

APOPO also enjoys sponsorship from individuals through its Adopt-A-Rat program.

In June, Bach left his position of 11 years at the Geneva International Center for
Humanitarian Demining, another partner, to become APOPO's chief of mine action and
human security. He said it's "rewarding to work for a small firm with great potential."

In 2008 and 2009, about 30 state-accredited HeroRats, their noses atwitter, scampered
across more than a million square meters of Mozambican land, ferreting out almost 400
mines and other ordnance. The U.N. says 9.6 million square meters still needed to be
cleared in 2009.

Bach said APOPO is considering taking its rats to other war-torn nations, such as
Angola and eastern Congo. Also, HeroRats' sniffers are being employed to detect
tuberculosis, and APOPO is working to apply its techniques to pinpoint gas leaks,
narcotics, tainted food and people trapped in rubble.

Though APOPO says its methods are being refined and the time it takes to train the rats
is diminishing, Mushi said even after seven years he remains anxious walking into
minefields.

"When people tell you that mine is live, you are very scared," he said, but he welcomes
the fright. "Fear keeps you to be very, very careful, makes you cautious in every step
that you make."
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
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