United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 9 Aug 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA Somali famine: First UNHCR airlift arrives in Mogadishu (BBC) 8 August 2011 - The UN refugee agency has flown aid to famine victims in Somalia's capital - its first airlift to war-torn Mogadishu for five years. Fighting erupts in Mogadishu as rebels clear out (Reuters) 8 August 2011 - Fighting erupted on Sunday in Mogadishu between government troops and al Shabaab insurgents a day after the rebels said they were leaving the Somali capital and the government declared it controlled most of the city, residents and officials said. Rebels in captured town plan push towards Tripoli (Reuters Africa) 8 August 2011 - Libyan rebels who seized this town 80 km (50 miles) south of Tripoli said on Monday they would now push on towards Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital but expected a tough fight. Libyans struggle to cope with blackouts, gas shortages (CNN) 8 August 2011 - The alleys and archways along Rashid Street in central Tripoli were plunged in darkness this weekend, as the Libyan capital struggled to cope with widespread shortages of electricity. Getting ready for war! (The Southern Times) 8 August 2011 - The United States planned a military operation in Zimbabwe in support of a perceived faction in ZANU-PF in alliance with Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T. Marange diamond field: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered (BBC) 8 August 2011 - A torture camp run by Zimbabwe's security forces is operating in the country's rich Marange diamond fields, BBC Panorama has found. Soldiers tell of Zimbabwe diamond field massacre (BBC) 8 August 2011 - Soldiers and paramilitary police from Zimbabwe have broken ranks to speak out about a 2008 operation in which civilians working in the Marange diamond fields were massacred.

A lesson in foreign policy for Malema and the ANCYL (Leadership) 8 August 2011 - South Africans are receiving a media overload of the ANCYL (ANC Youth League) and its leader now that Malema fatigue has started to set in. But there are still occasions when Malema and company stray so far off course that a response becomes inevitable. U.S.-Africa Ops Being Lured to Woodbridge (Potomaclocal.com) 5 August 2011 - After Virginias loss of one large military neighbor, the Potomac Communities may soon be home to another. UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website Security Council calls for end to impunity in attacks on UN-AU force in Darfur 8 August 2011 The Security Council today condemned in the strongest terms Fridays attack on a joint United Nations-African Union force in Darfur (UNAMID) patrol in which one peacekeeper from Sierra Leone was killed and another wounded. UN official deplores NATO attack on Libyan television station 8 August 2011 The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with safeguarding press freedom today deplored a recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) attack on Libyan State broadcasting facilities last month which killed three media workers and injured 21 people. Somalia: UN agency airlifts emergency aid for famine-hit people in Mogadishu 8 August 2011 The United Nations refugee agency today airlifted the first of three consignments of emergency relief supplies for famine-stricken people in Somalias capital, Mogadishu, the first time the agency has delivered aid to the city by air in five years. -----------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST: WHEN/WHERE: Aug. 11, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.; 799 United Nations Plaza, New York. WHAT: New York Foreign Press Center On-The-Record Briefing on Global Social Change and new engagement in the Muslim world: Where we go from here and the role of youth and social media. WHO: Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim Communities, briefs. INFO: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/125492.htm -----------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Somali famine: First UNHCR airlift arrives in Mogadishu (BBC) By Non-Attributed Author BBC 8 Aug 2011 - The UN refugee agency has flown aid to famine victims in Somalia's capital - its first airlift to war-torn Mogadishu for five years. Some 100,000 people have arrived in the city in the last two months in search of food. Insecurity makes it difficult for aid agencies to distribute materials. The Islamist al-Shabab group was reported to have pulled out of the city on Saturday but its fighters can still be seen patrolling some areas. While the government has been celebrating what it called its "victory" over al-Shabab, BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says few people expect Mogadishu to be peaceful. For the aid agencies, the city remains an environment full of challenges, he says. Extended drought is causing a severe food crisis in the Horn of Africa, which includes Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Weather conditions over the Pacific means the rains have failed for two seasons and are unlikely to return until September. An estimated 10 million people in the region are affected by the drought. The UN has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia, where 30% of children are acutely malnourished and four children out of every 10,000 are dying daily. The humanitarian problem is made worse by ongoing conflicts. Militants had lifted a ban on aid agencies operating in parts of southern Somalia, but now say reports of famine are exaggerated and have again limited access. Since the beginning of 2011, around 15,000 Somalis each month have fled into refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia looking for food and water. The refugee camp at Dadaab, in Kenya, has been overwhelmed by an estimated 400,000 people. Farmers unable to meet their basic food costs are abandoning their herds. High cereal and fuel prices had already forced them to sell many animals before the drought and their smaller herds are now unprofitable or dying. The refugee problem may have been preventable. However, violent conflict in the region has deterred international investment in long-term development programmes, which may have reduced the effects of the drought.

Development aid would focus on reducing deforestation, topsoil erosion and overgrazing and improving water conservation. New roads and infrastructure for markets would help farmers increase their profits. The result of climate conditions, conflict and lack of investment is that 6.7 million people in Kenya and Ethiopia are currently existing on food rations, and relief agencies estimate 2.6 million in Somalia will need assistance a new emergency operation. Last week, one of the large camps for displaced people was attacked by progovernment militiamen who stole all the food. Many people are still too scared to return to that camp and remain scattered across Mogadishu. The 31-tonne UNHCR consignment - including plastic sheeting for shelters, blankets and sleeping mats - landed at Mogadishu airport on Monday afternoon. The UNHCR said it usually ships its relief items to Mogadishu by sea and by land but because to the unprecedented rise in the number of people arriving in Mogadishu, it had decided to airlift supplies in order to save time. There are now a total of five famine zones in Somalia - where the UN says 3.2 million people - almost half the population - are in need of immediate life-saving assistance. More than 11 million people across the Horn of Africa have been affected by drought the region's worst for 60 years. The US has announced it is giving another $105m (64m) in to help to the drought-hit areas. The announcement coincided with a visit by the wife of US Vice President Joe Biden to Kenya's Daadab refugee camp where tens of thousands of Somalis have come for assistance. Jill Biden said the aim of her visit was to raise awareness and convince donors to give more, AP news agency reports. "There is hope if people start to pay attention to this," she said. In south-eastern Ethiopia, the UN refugee agency has said it is concerned about the plight of refugees in the Dollo Ado camps following an outbreak of suspected measles. The mix of measles and high levels of malnutrition can be fatal, the UNHCR says.

Moses Okello, UNHCR's representative in Ethiopia, said it was a priority to organise a mass vaccination campaign. --------------------------------------------------------Fighting erupts in Mogadishu as rebels clear out (Reuters) By Non-Attributed Author France 24 8 August 2011 - Fighting erupted on Sunday in Mogadishu between government troops and al Shabaab insurgents a day after the rebels said they were leaving the Somali capital and the government declared it controlled most of the city, residents and officials said. A spokesman for the African Union (AU) peace keeping force, AMISOM, said al Shabaab fighters had attacked them in one district late on Saturday, but that they and the government now controlled most of Mogadishu. After al Shabaab started its withdrawal, President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said his troops had defeated the rebels intent on overthrowing his Western-backed government. Al Shabaab, which has its stronghold in the south of the anarchic country, denied this and said it would re-group and fight on. Somalia has been without effective central government since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre 20 years ago, and is now suffering mass hunger from the worst drought in decades. Peace remains a distant prospect. Last night al Shabaab fired mortars and attacked us... they were not so strong, we chased them immediately, an AMISOM spokesman, Captain Ndayiragije Come, told Reuters on Sunday. AMISOM and the government forces now control 90 percent of the capital. We are very sure we shall uproot the few al Shabaab elements remaining in the few parts of the capital. Residents said the fighting had continued into Sunday and that in some areas al Shabaab fighters had the upper hand. Now there is fighting near the football stadium. Organised clan militia and al Shabaab remnants have repulsed the advancing government troops, one resident, Somow Ali, told Reuters by phone from Huriwaa, in the north of Mogadishu.

The U.N.s special envoy for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, said al Shabaab remained a threat despite their pullout, and said the priority would now shift to delivering food aid in a country gripped by famine in some areas in the south. The immediate priority must now be to focus on the humanitarian situation and I call on all parties ... to do everything possible to ensure and facilitate the immediate delivery of assistance to those most in need, he said. Al Shabaabs exit from Mogadishu, if confirmed, could mean a change of tactics from military combat against the government and AMISOM troops to al Qaeda-style suicide attacks. Some Mogadishu residents fear they will come under attack from government troops flushing out al Shabaab remnants. The Islamist militia has in turned threatened to decapitate anyone who turns its fighters in to the police. The al Shabaabs camouflaged departure and the advancing government are two newly modified threats, local elder Gele Bixi told Reuters. Jihadists will continue (with their) blasts and beheadings and the so-called government forces will have the chance and space to rape and rob. We have no near future to talk about. --------------------------------------------------------Rebels in captured town plan push towards Tripoli (Reuters Africa) By Michael Georgy Reuters 8 August 2011 - Libyan rebels who seized this town 80 km (50 miles) south of Tripoli said on Monday they would now push on towards Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital but expected a tough fight. This small settlement in the desert is now the closest rebel position to Tripoli and its capture at the weekend is likely to inject some new momentum into a six-month campaign to oust Gaddafi which has been faltering over the past few weeks. Anti-Gaddafi fighters had been camped since late June on the outskirts of Bir alGhanam, unable to advance. According to rebels in the town on Monday, they moved in on Saturday under cover from NATO warplanes. They said their next target was Zawiyah, a town on the Mediterranean coast 50 km west of Tripoli.

Zawiyah was the scene of two failed uprisings against Gaddafi's rule since February. Many of the fighters in Bir al-Ghanam are from there, although a number of those who took part in the uprisings are now in prison or dead. "Our aim is to get to Zawiyah. Once we do that Gaddafi is finished," said rebel fighter Murad Bada, who was sitting under the shade of a tree and humming a song about Zawiyah. In the eastern third of Libya, rebel officials said they had created a security force to protect oil installations, a step which could allow them to resume regular crude exports. The capture of Bir al-Ghanam is the biggest rebel breakthrough in weeks of largely static fighting on three fronts across Libya. But that alone is not enough to undermine Gaddafi's grip on power. The small rebel force approaching from the south could face much stiffer resistance as it draws nearer to the capital, where Gaddafi's troops are concentrated and where he can count on a certain level of popular support. The rebel advance elsewhere has been hampered by divisions and infighting, as well as a lack of experience in warfare. BOMB CRATER Libya's prime minister told reporters in Tripoli on Sunday that government forces were in control of Bir al-Ghanam after fighting off a rebel attack. But in the town early on Monday, the only sign of government forces was the weaponry they had left behind when they fled, said a Reuters reporter in the town centre. One artillery piece was abandoned, and three tanks were burned out. Next to one tank - still mounted on the trailer of a tank transporter -- was a deep crater which appeared to have been caused by a NATO air strike. Rebel fighters were resting in the heat. One was wrapping a wound on his arm which he said was caused by rocket shrapnel. Another fighter, 32-year-old Salim Shawsh, said in the five-hour battle on Saturday to take Bir al-Ghanam, rebels attacked on foot from behind ridges on the outskirts of the town, with NATO air support. He said five rebel fighters were killed, including a Libyan-American father and son, part of a large contingent of foreigners with Libyan roots who have come back to fight against Gaddafi.

The pair was hit by rocket fire and they died with the father clutching the son, Shawsh said. By Monday afternoon, rebel fighters had pushed on a few kilometres north of Bir alGhanam, coming to a stop at a point they said was about 35 km from Zawiyah. Fighters near the new front line said pro-Gaddafi forces were positioned in the nearby village of Nasr. The rebels said they expected a tough fight to push onwards towards Zawiyah. OIL FORCE Rebels stopped pumping oil to Mediterranean Sea export terminals under their control after pro-Gaddafi raiding parties attacked oil facilities in the desert. A rebel military spokesman in the eastern city of Benghazi, the main rebel base, said a dedicated force had been created to protect the oil fields. He said it was equipped with weapons, vehicles and night-vision equipment. That raised the prospect of oil exports resuming soon from rebel-controlled terminals, a step which would provide the rebel administration with badly-needed revenue. The rebels and their NATO allies hope Gaddafi will eventually be forced to relinquish power if they maintain the pressure on him by starving him of weapons, fuel and cash and attacking his forces. But if NATO's commitment to the campaign wavers, that could give Gaddafi an opportunity to hold on to power. Some alliance members are unsettled by how long the Libyan campaign is dragging on and how much it is costing, especially at a time of economic uncertainty. There are doubts too in some Western capitals about whether the rebel leadership is capable of holding the country together if Gaddafi is no longer in charge. Those concerns heightened last month after the rebel military chief was assassinated by people on his own side. For now, at least, there is no sign of any let-up in the NATO bombing campaign. The alliance says the air strikes are to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces but there is evidence of NATO coordinating its attacks with rebel offensives.

On Sunday, British Apache attack helicopters took off from a warship in the Mediterranean Sea and fired Hellfire missiles at military vehicles in Al-Watyah, the site of a government air base 170 km southwest of Tripoli, spokesman Major General Nick Pope said. --------------------------------------------------------Libyans struggle to cope with blackouts, gas shortages (CNN) By Ivan Watson, Jomana Karadsheh, and Joe Duran 8 August 2011 - The alleys and archways along Rashid Street in central Tripoli were plunged in darkness this weekend, as the Libyan capital struggled to cope with widespread shortages of electricity. After sunset, the only light in one corner cafe came from two candles. Their flickering glow barely lit the faces of men seated at a handful of tables, where they were breaking their Ramadan fast. Nearby, residents trudged down the center of empty streets enveloped in darkness. Some men played music from parked cars. Others sat silently in doorways, their presence only marked by the glow of a cigarette butt. "It's a disaster. My father's neighborhood hasn't had electricity for five straight days," said one Libyan man who asked not to be named, for fear of attracting the ire of government authorities. He said he evacuated his entire family to Egypt and was staying behind to keep an eye on his property. The rapid deterioration of power supplies in Tripoli over the past two weeks has come as a shock to many Libyans. Some residents complain pumps have stopped channeling water to their apartment buildings, leaving them without both water and light. This week, a nightly talk show that fiercely supports Moammar Gadhafi on state television addressed the growing problem of the black-outs. "The Tripoli power cuts are caused by NATO and rebel attacks on power stations," announced a television presenter on Thursday. Frustration could be felt at a recent government press conference, when a Libyan man repeatedly pressed Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim on why some Tripoli neighborhoods had power while others suffered black-outs for days. "Surely a large country like Libya doesn't depend on one power station," the Libyan man said. Kaim responded by accusing NATO warplanes and Libyan rebels of attacking power stations, high-voltage lines and pipelines.

In an e-mail to CNN, NATO military spokesman denied accusations that the alliance targeted Libyan electrical power lines. "There is no evidence to suggest that if the country's power lines have been damaged, such an event could be linked to a NATO strike," the spokesman wrote. The Gadhafi regime is struggling under an international blockade of its seaports and airports. Shortages of gas have been a fact of daily life for months now, with drivers waiting days in line at gas stations for fuel. "One liter of petrol, 4 dinars!" a taxi driver yelled on Saturday, as he thumped a plastic jug full of fuel sitting in the back passenger seat of his car. That is roughly the equivalent of 13 dollars for a gallon of gasoline, a huge price surge in a country long accustomed to cheap, heavily subsidized fuel. Until anti-Gadhafi protests first erupted last February, Libya was a major oil-exporting country. Since then, oil exports have slowed to a trickle. Hopes for a reprieve in the fuel shortages were dashed this week when the regime in Tripoli announced rebels somehow seized control of the fuel tanker ship Cartagena off the coast of Malta. Kaim denounced the capture of the ship and its cargo of tens of thousands of tons of gasoline, calling it an act of international piracy. "The tanker was taken with the help of NATO to Benghazi and it arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon to Benghazi seaport," Kaim said on Friday. "The age of piracy is coming back to the Mediterranean because of NATO," Kaim concluded. The Reuters news agency has distributed video filmed Thursday of the tanker Cartagena sailing into the Libyan rebel capital of Benghazi. According to the energy trade publication Petroleum Economist, the Cartagena was the property of the Libyan state-owned shipping company GNMTC. "The MV Cartagena was outside Maltese territorial waters," an official from the Maltese Foreign Ministry wrote to CNN in an e-mail, after being asked about allegations of the ship's capture by rebels. A NATO spokesman in Naples, Italy, wrote to CNN, "On the afternoon of 3 August a NATO warship established visual and voice contact with the MT Cartagena and found

the crew cooperative. NATO concluded that the ship could proceed to its next port of call Benghazi. Following this decision the NATO warships returned to their patrol duties and did not escort the ship to Benghazi as suggested in some media reports." Meanwhile, tempers were flaring at the Ghot al-Shaal shopping district in western Tripoli, where almost all the shops were dark and stifling hot due to the lack of electricity and air-conditioning. "We've had no power all day, how are we going to work like this?" said one angry merchant as he stalked out of his women's clothing shop. "At a time like this people want air-conditioning," said 26-year old Ridha Abdullah, who runs a children's clothing store. Abdullah said the power outages began within the last two weeks. "God willing it will be fixed, if NATO would stop and leave us alone to resolve our problems," Abdullah added. At a nearby fruit and vegetable bazaar, some passersby yelled pro-Gadhafi chants and vowed to stand strong against rebel and NATO attacks. One man carrying a shopping bag stopped to accuse foreign journalists of being the cause of the crisis. But, as is often the case in public places, other Libyans discreetly approached CNN reporters to whisper messages of dissent against the Gadhafi regime. "The government is lying and the rebels will be in Tripoli soon," one man said nervously, before quickly walking away. "Gadhafi not good," said another young man, who smiled at a reporter before he climbed into a car and drove away. One store owner decided to deal with summer heat and lack of electricity by simply closing shop early. "I'm going to the beach to cool down," the man said with a smile, as he pulled down the heavy metal shutters that covered his shop windows. --------------------------------------------------------Getting ready for war! (The Southern Times) By Mabasa 8 August 2011 - The United States planned a military operation in Zimbabwe in support of a perceived faction in ZANU-PF in alliance with Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T.

Called 'Operation Shumba' and mulled in 2007 with Zimbabwe headed for a general election the following year the US National Security Council reportedly pooled think tanks to look at the various aspects of a military incursion. The alleged plot came to light after a 'Preliminary Legal Planning Document for Counterinsurgency Operations in Zimbabwe' became public on the Internet. The legal team was co-ordinated by Professor David P Fidler from the Centre on American and Global Security at Indiana University, and included no less than eight lawyers from the US Army. They submitted the report to the National Security Council on December 14, 2007. The team was asked to look at various 'rule of law' considerations that the US should take into account should it launch a counterinsurgency operation in Zimbabwe. A Wikileaks cable first made reference to 'Operation Shumba' but now the report by the legal think tank has shed more light on the plan. The plan was premised on President Robert Mugabe dying (for some unstated reason in Senegal) and Retired General Solomon Mujuru husband of Vice President Joice Mujuru forming a coalition government with Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party. They hypothesized that Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa would organize insurgents in a 'Fourth Chimurenga' to topple that government on the basis that it would be too close to the West and thus a puppet a regime. The US government would then deploy civillian and military resources to support the Mujuru/Tsvangirai coalition, most likely through AFRICOM, the Africa Command military base that Washington in 2007/8 actively sought to set up in Southern Africa. US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, this past week denied knowledge of the existence of the report or 'Operation Shumba'. Interestingly, Ambassador Ray worked at the Pentagon at the time this scenario was being hypothesized and he was subsequently posted to Zimbabwe. He said: 'I don't comment on Wikileaks cables, I have no knowledge of Operation Shumba, and from what you are saying that is a historical thing, since I can't live in the past there is no much point in cluttering my head up on something that is old and unimplemented.

'I was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence, and I was involved with the staffing and creation and mission planning for AFRICOM. 'I am not familiar with any Operation Shumba. I can tell you that AFRICOM's original mandate had nothing to do with conducting combat operations. 'And if you take the time to find their man in charge you will see why they can't. They don't have any forces. AFRICOM was created as a unique military geographic command to address non-military issues such as disease, piracy and other developmental issues. 'A huge portion of that command, unlike all of our other military commands, is in fact civilian coming from USAID and the State Department. 'And so, I would say unless there was a cell of people hidden in the sub-basement in the Pentagon where I was not allowed to go there was no such plan for AFRICOM. 'You can't attack a country when you don't have an army to attack with. Staffs don't attack.' However, the legal team's report makes it clear that the National Security Council was really thinking out the military scenario and it would have to be a major conspiracy theory if the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defence did not know about it. More oddly, that same senior Defence Department official was then posted to Zimbabwe in 2009. 'This Report contains preliminary legal analysis for the National Security Council focused on potential US intervention in the Republic of Zimbabwe. The NSC organized this legal team to examine legal issues that might arise if the United States engaged in counterinsurgency efforts in Zimbabwe. 'The NSC plans to use this report as it prepares to advise the (US) President on possible US responses to the crisis in Zimbabwe.' It adds; 'The government of the United States of America is analyzing whether it should intervene with civilian and military assets in the Republic of Zimbabwe.' The legal team went on to say 'A (counterinsurgency) campaign in Zimbabwe by the United States would mark a 180-degree change in US policy because the ultimate purpose of the campaign would be to support the interim government's claim to be the legitimate government for the next period of Zimbabwe's political history.

'Rather than using sanctions to punish individuals, such as Mujuru and Mnangagwa, the United States is now considering shedding blood and spending treasure to support Mujuru's fight against Mnangagwa. 'Politicians, policy experts, voters, potential coalition partners, international organizations, and affected NGOs would want explanations for this shift in US policy towards Zimbabwe. 'US policy approaches to Africa have passed through three phases in recent decades. The Cold War witnessed the United States focus on Africa as part of the struggle with the Soviet Union. 'In the post-Cold War period, Africa declined in importance in US policy because the Soviet threat to US interests on the continent had vanished. 'The third phase emerged in the post-9/11 world where the United States increasingly views threats to its national security as intertwined with complex political, economic, cultural, and social forces in vulnerable states in Africa and elsewhere. 'Awareness of Africa's new strategic importance is reflected in US concerns about China's growing activities in Africa. 'In recent years, China has increased its diplomatic activities, political influence, and access to economic resources and markets in Africa. Before his death, Mugabe had embraced increased relations with China. 'Chinese interest in Africa contributes to the new US focus on the continent's future. The establishment and unique military-civilian structure of the US military's new Africa Command (AFRICOM) provide signs that US thinking about Africa continues to undergo a sea change. 'The crisis in Zimbabwe arises as this sea change in US policy unfolds. This crisis perhaps represents an early test of US willingness to engage in complex military and civilian operations and possibly prevent another African country from slipping into the nightmare of civil war. 'The stability of the southern African region, and the interests of the United States and other countries in this region, is linked to what happens in Zimbabwe. 'The United States can anticipate what fate awaits a Zimbabwe torn apart by civil war. The outcome of US participation in (counterinsurgency) operations in Zimbabwe is less foreseeable.'

The team said America should learn from its experiences in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan when considering low-intensity warfare in Zimbabwe. 'In terms of Zimbabwe, the United States has to think about potential rule of law compromises, including compromises related to: - The participation of ZANU-PF leaders, such as Solomon Mujuru, in the interim and permanent governments of Zimbabwe; - Not pursuing criminal forms of transitional justice against ZANU-PF leaders who serve in the interim and permanent governments; and - The consequences of Mugabe's harmful efforts at land reform. 'International legitimacy is important to establish and sustain. An unauthorized intervention may obtain legitimacy through suppressing violence, providing essential services, and rebuilding economic capabilities. 'Offensive military operations by US armed forces in Zimbabwe would require authorization under US law. 'This authorization would be important for sustaining US popular and political support for a sustained deployment of US military forces. 'As the war in Iraq has shown, authorization of an intervention by the appropriate US constitutional processes does not ensure the action's international legitimacy, so the legitimacy limits of authorization within US law must be kept in mind.' The legal team said the best way would be to get Congress to support the war, after which Security Council backing should also preferably be sought under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. They said the problem would be getting Russia and China to agree to sending forces to Zimbabwe. Interestingly, in 2008 the US tried to get the UN Security Council to use Chapter VII to have Zimbabwe classified as an international security threat. China invoked its veto power to block this, with the support of Russia and South Africa among other countries. Burkina Faso, oddly, supported the motion.

The legal team also said the US would have problems getting SADC to support the counterinsurgency operation. 'However, unlike the Economic Community of West African States that intervened in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the SADC and the African Union seem less willing or able to confront the (Fourth Chimurenga).' They said an easy route would be to get the Mujuru/Tsvangirai coalition to 'invite' NATO's assistance in opposing the Mnangagwa insurgency. 'NATO acted without Security Council authorization in its intervention in Kosovo, and the interim government is considering formally inviting NATO intervention. 'Whether NATO would intervene in Zimbabwe in the manner it did in Kosovo is unlikely. A combined SADC, AU, and NATO intervention might be worth exploring because it would combine NATO's military capabilities with SADC's and the AU's regional expertise and legitimacy.' The report said unilateral intervention would be difficult. The legal team said the US must first negotiate immunity agreements with the coalition in Zimbabwe to protect its military and civilian deployments from prosecution. 'The United States has entered into agreements with countries that are parties to the Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to ensure that those countries do not subject US military personnel within their territories to ICC jurisdiction. 'Zimbabwe is not a party to the ICC, thus relieving the United States of the need to address the implications of the ICC on US military participation in (counterinsurgency) in Zimbabwe.' They also recommended use of private security contractors, such as those used in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the main objectives of the counterinsurgency was restructuring Zimbabwe's security sector and legal system something that has gained currency in the antiZANU-PF lobby today. --------------------------------------------------------Marange diamond field: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered (BBC) By Hilary Andersson 8 August 2011 - A torture camp run by Zimbabwe's security forces is operating in the country's rich Marange diamond fields, BBC Panorama has found. The programme heard from recent victims who told of severe beatings and sexual assault.

The claims come as the European Union pushes to let some banned diamonds from the country led by President Robert Mugabe back onto world markets. The Zimbabwean government has not responded to the BBC's findings. In an internal document seen by the BBC, the EU said it was confident that two mines in the area now meet international standards and it wants diamonds from those areas to be immediately approved for export, which would partially lift a trade ban dating back to 2009. The ban was imposed by the Kimberley Process (KP), the international organisation that polices diamonds, following reports of large-scale killings and abuse by Zimbabwe's security forces in the Marange diamond fields. 'Forty whips' The main torture camp uncovered by the programme is known locally as "Diamond Base". Witnesses said it is a remote collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the prisoners are kept. It is near an area known as Zengeni in Marange, said to be one of the world's most significant diamond fields. The camp is about one mile from the main Mbada mine that the EU wants to approve exports from. The company that runs the mine is headed by a personal friend of President Mugabe. A second camp is located in nearby Muchena "It is the place of torture where sometimes miners are unable to walk on account of the beatings," a victim who was released from the main camp in February told the BBC. All the released prisoners the BBC spoke to requested anonymity. "They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the evening," said the man, who still could not use one of his arms after the beatings and could barely walk. "They used logs to beat me here, under my feet, as I lay on the ground. They also used stones to beat my ankles." He and other former captives said men are held in the camp for several days at a time, before new prisoners come in. Women are released more quickly, often after being raped, witnesses said.

"Even if someone dies there, the soldiers do not disclose, because they do not want it known," an officer in Zimbabwe's military told the BBC, again on condition of anonymity. Witnesses said the camps have been operating for at least three years. In Marange, the police and military recruit civilians to illegally dig for diamonds for them. Those workers are taken to the camps for punishment if they demand too large a share of the profits. Civilians caught mining for themselves are also punished in the camps. Dog maulings A former member of a paramilitary police unit who worked in the main camp in late 2008 told the BBC that at the time he tortured prisoners by mock-drowning them and whipping them on their genitals. He also said that dogs were methodically ordered by a handler to maul prisoners. "They would handcuff the prisoner, they would unleash the dogs so that he can bite," he said. "There was a lot of screaming". He said one woman was bitten on the breast by the dogs whilst he was working in the camp. "I do not think she survived," he said. Another witness the BBC spoke to said he was locked up in Muchena camp in 2008 after police set dogs on him. He was recaptured in November 2010. "Nothing has changed between 2008 and 2010... a lot of people are still being beaten or bitten by dogs." 'Pandering' Marange diamonds were banned in 2009 by the KP, the international initiative of the diamond industry, national governments and non-governmental organisations that attempts to keep conflict or so-called "blood" diamonds out of the lucrative market.

Representatives of the KP visited the area briefly in August 2010 and concluded that the situation in the diamond areas was still problematic but there had been significant progress. The KP had previously requested that the Zimbabwean police secure the diamond area. Witnesses told the BBC that it is Zimbabwe's police and military that run the torture camps. Nick Westcott, spokesman for the Working Group on Monitoring of the KP, said of the BBC's discovery of the torture camps: "It is not something that has been notified to the Kimberley Process." The EU's proposal to allow diamond sales from two key mines in Marange to resume is part of an attempt to broker a deal within the KP, which is in turmoil over the issue.

In June, KP chairman Matieu Yamba formally announced that the export ban on the two key Marange mines was lifted with immediate effect. The EU, among others, did not accept his decision. Now the EU's proposal, designed to break the deadlock, agrees with the partial lifting of the ban, but insists that international monitoring should continue throughout Marange. Panorama asked the Foreign Office to comment on the EU's position. In a statement, Henry Bellingham MP, Minister for Africa, said: "It is only from these locations that we support exports, subject to ongoing monitoring. From all other Marange mines, the UK and the EU continue to strongly oppose the resumption of exports until independent, international experts deem them to comply with the KP." Critics have said it is a weak proposal. Annie Dunneback of the advocacy group Global Witness said of the EU proposal: "It is the latest in a series of deals that have cast aside the principle of exports for progress and pandered to the demands of the Zimbabwean government." --------------------------------------------------------Soldiers tell of Zimbabwe diamond field massacre (BBC) By Hilary Andersson 8 August 2011 - Soldiers and paramilitary police from Zimbabwe have broken ranks to speak out about a 2008 operation in which civilians working in the Marange diamond fields were massacred.

Some of those involved in the attacks have told BBC Panorama that civilians were encircled, trapped and fired upon with automatic weapons. Civilians who were present during the attacks said people were gunned down as they attempted to flee in panic. The soldiers, many racked with guilt over their own actions, told the BBC the massacre was part of a full-scale military operation ordered from senior levels in Zimbabwe's military. Its purpose was to clear the diamond fields of freelance diamond diggers to pave the way for the military to take charge of the area. Military sources said that about 1,500 soldiers took part in the operation. The BBC collected testimonies from 53 witnesses and victims of the attacks, as well as a number of perpetrators, including military officers. The military operation was known as "Operation Hakudzokwe", which translates as Operation "You Shall Never Return". The Zimbabwean government has not responded to the BBC's latest findings, but had previously denied its troops carried out killings in Marange in late 2008 following reports of the killings by human rights organisations. Marange's riches became publicly known in 2006 and are of great interest to the diamond industry. "In the last 20 years, we haven't found a significant great new deposit. It was the most significant find in many, many years," said Chaim Evan Zohar, international diamond analyst. Trap laid Some Marange diamonds are now starting to reappear on world markets due to mixed signals from the Kimberley Process (KP), the joint industry, government and nongovernmental organisation group that is mandated to prevent so-called conflict or "blood" diamonds from being sold on international markets. The KP eventually imposed a sales ban on Marange diamonds in 2009, when reports of large scale killings and abuses a year earlier surfaced. But now there is disagreement over whether or not the ban is still in place.

The massacre investigated by the BBC took place in late October 2008 when Zimbabwe was in the depths of economic crisis. Thousands of civilians had flocked to the diamond fields in the hope of finding gems. Among the victims were women and children, some working in a makeshift market which had sprung up to sell food and clothes to the miners. Unknown to them, several weeks before the killings began, the military had started laying a circular trap around the civilians. They laid strings of mines and ultimately stationed armoured vehicles, mounted soldiers and an infantry battalion in a circular pattern around the 2.5km area. "In the end there was no way out," said an officer who was directly involved in laying the trap. Warning shots were initially fired, but soon after soldiers and paramilitary police then began firing AK47's directly into those fleeing, said former soldiers and paramilitary policemen, who have since fled to South Africa. Multiple civilian and military witnesses said soldiers fired down on civilians from military helicopters. "Twenty to 30 people would die every day. I am talking about the ones I saw with my own eyes," said one officer involved in the attacks. "Even those that had been injured were being finished off," said another witness. Mass graves Several people told of seeing groups of bodies left in shallow graves in the diamond fields, or loosely covered with leaves. Many civilians were severely mauled by trained dog units. Two told the BBC the dogs bit them on their testicles while soldiers or police looked on. "Vumbai", a 27 year old mother of two, was dragged into a bush by a soldier. "He then raped me. I could hear other people screaming and crying, female voices. It meant they were being raped like me." The BBC has confirmed that a mass grave, containing between 69 and 105 bodies, exists at Damgamvura Cemetery in Mutare, the main town near the diamond fields.

A man who worked in the cemetery, who wished to remain anonymous, witnessed the burials. "The body parts were packed in black plastic bags. You could actually see the bones piercing through the plastic. Blood was dripping everywhere. It was disgusting." A morgue worker who helped pack the bodies for burial said the bodies decomposed at the morgue, which was overcrowded and was suffering electrical power cuts at the time. He said he helped pack 105 bodies which went to Damgamvura. Other sources put the number buried there at 69. The BBC has obtained morgue documents showing 88 bodies came in from the diamond fields during three weeks in late 2008. Several former paramilitary police and soldiers told the BBC that the operation was commanded in the normal way for a large scale military operation. "Without orders from the top this would not have been possible," said a military officer who was directly involved in Operation Hakudzokwe. President Robert Mugabe is Commander in Chief of Zimbabwe's military. The BBC has collected evidence from two eyewitnesses who saw General Constantine Chiwenga, next in command, in the town closest to the diamond area, Mutare, during the period of the massacre. Separately, the BBC has confirmed that the helicopters deployed in the killings came from Manyame air base, where Air Marshall Perence Shiri, Zimbabwe's air force chief, is based. Global tensions Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, said attacks of this nature would be considered crimes against humanity. "I cannot make any comment on your specific case but crimes against humanity can be committed when there is a widespread killing, attacks against the civilian population or systematic attacks against civilian population," he said of the BBC's findings. Together with President Mugabe, Perence Shiri has been accused of masterminding the Gukurahundi killings in the 1980s in which many thousands of supporters of Mr

Mugabe's key political opponent, Joshua Nkomo, were killed over a two-year period their bodies dumped in mass graves. They have never been prosecuted, partly because those attacks pre-date the ICC, which was constituted in 2002. While the fresh accounts of the 2008 massacre could prompt an opportunity for a new investigation, the ICC cannot launch an investigation without a UN Security Council referral. This is because Zimbabwe is not a party to the International Criminal Court. Currently there is not the international will to push for such a prosecution. The international community is instead focusing more closely on how to use diplomacy to help foster a stable democracy in Zimbabwe, both in the immediate future and after President Mugabe, now 87, dies. Behind the scenes there are global tensions over the merits of international justice, with many governments quietly opposing strident efforts at prosecution because of the negative impact they can have on diplomacy. But there are no guarantees that Perence Shiri, Constantine Chiwenga and other giants of Zimbabwe's political and security structures who allegedly have been party to large scale killings, will not still loom large on the political scene in a future Zimbabwe. --------------------------------------------------------The Botswana incident: A lesson in foreign policy for Malema and the ANCYL (Leadership) By Non-Attributed Author 8 August 2011 - South Africans are receiving a media overload of the ANCYL (ANC Youth League) and its leader now that Malema fatigue has started to set in. But there are still occasions when Malema and company stray so far off course that a response becomes inevitable. The latest is Malema and the ANCYLs surprise attack on President Ian Khama and his ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) as a stooge of Western imperialism that is working in full cooperation with imperialists and capitalists. The puppet government [of President Ian Khama] is not only going to undermine the African agenda but is also a serious threat to Africa. After lambasting the Botswana government, Malema smugly promised that a Botswana commando team will soon be on its way to the country to help and assist in

the consolidation of the opposition to democratically effect regime change and remove the BDP from power. Unacceptable and unwarranted interference Malema and his antics have long lost their entertainment value. It should in fact never have been seen as entertainment. All the ridiculing of Malema did the seriousness of what is really at stake a disservice. The statements by Malema regarding Botswana and the president are not only unacceptable and in bad taste but are unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of a neighbour with which the South African Government maintains cordial relations. The arrogance and tone in which these statements were made not only embarrassed the South African Government, the ANC and all self-respecting South Africans but also hurt the international image of the country -- and that really hurts. If the ANC feel embarrassed, as they obviously do, they should call Malema and his troops to proper order in a way they see fit and be seen to do so. What the ANC do to discipline the ANCYL and the leadership that are now clearly running riot must be oit in the open.. International image damaged Most important is to try and repair the damage caused to South Africas status and reputation as a responsible leader in Africa and the wider international community. The damage done to South Africas international image by an individual and an organisation that clearly have little insight in the complexities of interstate relations and the consequences of their shallow and ill-considered statements will be long lasting . Even the opposition in Botswana, the supposedly beneficiaries of the ANCYLs planned intervention were taken by surprise. In their response spokespersons for the three main opposition parties in Botswana said that they were not approached prior to Malemas statements or consulted. They were unaware of the plans the ANCYL had in store for them. This might explain their careful response. Although welcoming the promise of assistance it is obvious that the opposition in Botswana are in the dark of what exactly to expect and made it clear that meetings need to follow to come to a better understanding of the way ahead.

Interestingly the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), the biggest of the three opposition parties, in its response to Malemas announcement paid more attention to a recently published report of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), commissioned by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). The report stated that a combined opposition could in future take power in Botswana. All past attempts in Botswana to form an opposition front ended in failure and with new talks at a delicate state the opposition will have to be cautious and concerned about the wisdom of involving external participants and do-gooders. It would not be at all surprising if the opposition in Botswana feel uneasy and compromised with this sudden unexpected offer. In elucidating their offer Malema and the ANCYL explained that they are not acting unilaterally but are implementing a decision taken at last Novembers World Festival of Youth and Students. It was apparently agreed that in countries with AFRICOM interests, there should be concentrated youth command teams. In countries where the US either has military bases or is planning them, the work of the youth command teams is to condemn AFRICOM and make sure that it does not exist. Accordingly the Pan African Youth Union charged the ANCYL, as the country closest to Botswana, to run the youth command team. A kiss of death? The opposition might still experience that the sudden attention and support from Malema and the Botswana command team to be the kiss of death. The consolidation of opposition forces and expected growing popular support suddenly seems in danger. If the public response in Botswana and the letters in the countrys daily newspapers are anything to go by the best advice to the opposition would be to be careful and rather distance themselves from any invasion by the Botswana command team. Foreign interference, and rightly so, is clearly not well received and Malema and the Botswana command team are hardly seen as great liberators. Early Christmas The reaction from the Botswana government was predictable low keyed and dismissive in typical traditional diplomatic language.

The Botswana government acknowledged Malemas utterances and as he holds no official position in government they requires no response. The Botswana government will however, if deemed necessary, take it up with the ANC using established channels which they will undoubtedly do. This unexpected appearance of Malema and the ANCYL onto the Botswana domestic political arena must be a godsend for President Ian Khama. He and his party must think Christmas has come early this year. Yes, President Khama and the BDP have problems, his popularity is waning, he is autocratic being a professional soldier and a reluctant politician by his own admission. He follows his own convictions which bring him in conflict with other African leaders. But, to accuse the Botswana president and his government of being a stooge and servant of imperialists and capitalists and a security threat to Africa is absurd. On hearing this President Khama must have been bemused. Is this the same Malema who recently in advancing his nationalisation beliefs explained that, part of the models we are considering as an approach to nationalisation of mines is the Botswana model where De Beers is a 50% partnership with the Botswana government and still pays royalties and tax To crown it all, there is the unsubstantiated claim of an American military base being planned to be built in Botswana. When asked, a spokesperson of the Botswana government described it as b....s and utter garbage which is exactly what it is. A quick internet search would tell Malema and the ANCYL that plans for a US military base in Botswana were shelved years ago. Also, AFRICOM, formed in 2007, did envisage its headquarters somewhere in Africa but dropped the idea due to almost universal African opposition. Presently, and for the next couple of years AFRICOM headquarters will stay in Stuttgart, Germany. For the record, Botswana was never even seriously considered. In a change in strategy it was decided that the US would develop a number of small operational bases, known as lily pads, for fast deployment purposes across Africa. Botswana was identified as a possible venue as were Namibia, Zambia, the DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Gabon, Mali, Algeria, Tunisia and more. Fort Lemonier in Djibouti is the current temporary base for AFRICOM in Africa with approximately 5 000 American troops stationed there.

The lesson Credibility requires consistency and if Malema and the ANCYL plan to be true to the decision taken at the World Youth Festival they might have to reconsider and shortlist a few extra countries to be attended to by team commandos. To dabble in the affairs of another country means you lose home field advantage and more often than not it shows in the score. The result is always more humiliating when you go in ill -prepared. It is a game for professionals. --------------------------------------------------------U.S.-Africa Ops Being Lured to Woodbridge (Potomaclocal.com) By Non-Attributed Author 5 August 2011 - After Virginias loss of one large military neighbor, the Potomac Communities may soon be home to another. Woodbridge District Supervisor candidate Chris Royse announced Friday hes been working with AFRICOM, the U.S. militarys joint command for all things Africa, urging them to relocate from Germany to Woodbridge. Many people look at Africa as a place, but its multiple nations, multiple diverse cultures, and its becoming more and more strategically important to the United States in terms of its location and different threats that have evolved there, and natural resources, said Royse. The announcement comes one day after U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) closed down its operation in Suffolk, leaving many business leaders in that city reeling the wake of lost government contracts and other services workers at the command brought to the city since 1999. While hes not clear on how many jobs a new AFRICOM headquarters would bring to the area, or when a decision could be made to relocate, Royse said access to two Virginia Railway Express stations with connections to Metro makes eastern Prince William an east choice. There could be opportunity for a headquarters in Woodbridge, rapid access to pentagon by a sustainable option, is exactly where the [Department of Defense] is wanting to move, this is what theyre looking for in BRAC. Its how do we reduce commuter time, become more green, and have more reliable transportation between where our commanders need to be to keep the security of the United States moving forward, said Royse. The Republican said he waited until JCOM closed down operations before making the announcement, and adds he plans to make bringing AFRICOM to Woodbridge a

campaign issue. He faces democratic incumbent Frank Principi in the general election Nov. 8. ---------------------------------------------------------