AFRICOM Related News Clips 2 May 2011

8/7/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 2 May 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office2 May 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Strike on Libya came after West intercepted high-level communications (LA Times)(Libya) A NATO missile strike that Libyan officials say killed one of Moammar Kadafi'ssons and three of his grandchildren was launched after Western intelligence interceptedhigh-level communications from the site, NATO and U.S. military officers said.

NATO insists Gadhafi not target of airstrikes (USA Today)(Libya) NATO officials insisted Sunday that an airstrike that may have killed Libyanleader Moammar Gadhafi's son was aimed at destroying a military control center, notan assassination attempt.

Ethiopia: Deputy Prime Minister Calls on Africa, US to Jointly Tackle Terrorism(Addis Ababa Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)(Ethiopia) Africa and United States of America needs to work together on areas ofcounter terrorism and airborne related illicit activities is increasingly become evident ,the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affair Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said.

Allies Defending Actions in Libya After Airstrike (NYT)(Libya) NATO officials and Western leaders defended the increasingly aggressiveairstrikes in Libya on Sunday after the Libyan government said one barrage had killedfour members of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafis family, raising criticism that the attacksexceeded the Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force.

Libyan Rebels Doubt Government Claims Gadhafi Son Was Killed (ABC)(Libya) The Libyan government was quick to announce the deadly accuracy of a NATOmissile strike on the compound of Moammar Gadhafi, but rebel leaders today said theclaims that four Gadhafi family members were killed are a publicity stunt by theflamboyant strongman.

Ivory Coast President Faces Reconciliation Challenges (VOA)(Ivory Coast) Human rights activists and Africa scholars say the new president in IvoryCoast, Alassane Ouattara, faces very difficult and possibly competing challenges of


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pursuing reconciliation and justice following years of division in the West Africannation.

3 top mediators to try to mend Ivory Coast (CNN)(Ivory Coast) Three of the international diplomatic community's most respected

mediators arrived in the Ivory Coast Sunday to start a process of national reconciliation.Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu andformer President of the Republic of Ireland Mary Robinson gathered in Abidjan for thefirst day of their two-day visit.

In Sudan's Nuba Mountains, On the Edge of War (Time)(Sudan) Deep in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, by the light of a full moon, I am passeda glass of sugary tea and the discussion of another civil war in the heart of Africabegins. My two hosts in the town of Dilling are commanders in a government-sponsored Arab paramilitary force that a decade ago carried out Darfur-style atrocities

against their African neighbors in the surrounding mountains. For nine years, they haveheld a ceasefire. But now the coming secession of South Sudan has prompted fears ofrenewed ethnic conflict.

Sudan protests US criticism of Al-Bashirs comments (Sudan Tribune)(Sudan) Sudan on Saturday faulted criticism leveled by the US State Department atrecent comments in which the countrys president Omer Al-Bashir threatened not torecognize South Sudan independence if the latter approves a draft constitution layingclaims to the contested region of Abyei.

Shipping Company Says Pirates Hijack Tanker (VOA)(Somalia) A shipping firm says Somali pirates have likely hijacked a chemical tankerwith 25 crew members off the coast of Kenya.

Number of Injured in Kampala Riots Shoots to 84 (The Monitor)(Uganda) The ambulances with sirens blaring are arriving to deliver the injured atMulago National Referral Hospital at an interval of 3 minutes, our reporter JustusLyatuu reports.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Uganda: UN human rights chief deplores 'excessive' use of force by authoritiesy UN official calls on Mauritania to do more to eradicate slave-like practicesy UN refugee agency alarmed by large number of people fleeing Somaliay Security Council and Secretary-General deplore deadly bombing in Morocco

-------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:


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WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, May 5th; DOD Intelligence Systems Support Office, BrianHibbeln's Conference Room, 2231 Crystal Drive, Suite 900, Crystal Park 3WHAT: Cyber Security Form Initiative (CSFI) Briefing on Libyan cyber vulnerabilities.Discussion of "Project Cyber Dawn"WHO: Paul de Souza, Director of Cyber Security Form Initiative

Info: No website available; call 703-746-1200----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Strike on Libya came after West intercepted high-level communications (LA Times)By David S. Cloud and Patrick J. McDonnellMay 2, 2011Washington and Benghazi, Libya A NATO missile strike that Libyan officials saykilled one of Moammar Kadafi's sons and three of his grandchildren was launched afterWestern intelligence intercepted high-level communications from the site, NATO and

U.S. military officers said.

Up to three missiles slammed into what appears to have been an upscale villa in Tripolilate Saturday after "clear indications from signals" that the Libyan regime was using itto communicate with military units to carry out attacks against rebel-held areas, said asenior NATO officer.

"Signals intelligence" is a term for various forms of personal and electroniccommunications, including cellphone conversations and email. It wasn't clear ifintelligence operations had detected Kadafi's voice or had intercepted other

communications by him or his aides.

The building "had been disguised as a residence but was really a C2 [command-and-control] bunker," the North Atlantic Treaty Organization officer, who spoke oncondition of anonymity because he was discussing intelligence, said Sunday. "It just sohappened certain folks were there."

The Libyan government said Kadafi and his wife, Safiya, were on a social visit at thehouse in the Bab Azizia area when the attack occurred but that they escaped harm.Reporters who were taken to the site said it was difficult to see how anyone could havesurvived the explosions, which left shattered concrete, twisted metal and children'sbooks and toys in a deep crater above what appeared to be an underground cellar orbunker.

The strike was the second in a week, and at least the fourth since the air war began inmid-March, against a facility used by Kadafi. NATO officers, frustrated by theirinability to stop Kadafi's military and mercenary forces from attacking civilians, said


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last week that they intended to expand their target list and step up attacks against theregime's command facilities.

In Tripoli, mobs attacked the U.S., British and Italian embassies, which have been closedsince the international air campaign began, in apparent reaction to the latest airstrike. A

BBC report from Tripoli said the British Embassy was "completely burnt out" by fire.

The United Nations compound in Tripoli also was looted and U.N. officials said theyhad withdrawn their 12 remaining international staff to neighboring Tunisia.

Intruders apparently set fire to a building in the U.S. Embassy compound, and hadoccupied the two other buildings, according to a U.S. official. Turkish diplomats havebeen overseeing security at the shuttered U.S. mission.

Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said he could not confirm the attacks. "If

true, we condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms," he said.

In London, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, announced that Libya'sambassador, Omar Jelban, had been ordered to leave the country within 24 hours. Byfailing to protect diplomatic missions, Hague said, the Kadafi regime had "once againbreached its international responsibilities and obligations."

The Italian Foreign Ministry condemned the "acts of vandalism" on its embassy, callingthem "grave and vile." Italy last week became the seventh NATO nation to take part inthe bombing missions in Libya.

In the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the report of the deaths of Kadafi's son andgrandchildren was denounced as a likely hoax meant to garner international sympathyfor Kadafi and undermine support for the NATO bombing campaign.

Libyan state television showed a body identified as that of Kadafi's 29-year-old son, SeifArab Kadafi, lying in state in Tripoli as dignitaries paid their respects. It was covered ina green Libyan flag, a banner designed by the Kadafi regime, and no face was visible.

A Libyan government spokesman called the airstrike "a direct operation to assassinatethe leader of this country."

NATO officials declined to say which country's warplanes had fired the missiles.

The Obama administration and NATO defended the airstrike amid criticism fromRussia and Venezuela, among others, that the alliance had overstepped the U.N.mandate to protect civilians.


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NATO officials said the attack targeted "a known command-and-control building" andwas not aimed at killing Kadafi, and that they were surprised when Libyan officialsrevealed that Kadafi had been inside.

A NATO official noted, however, that "command-and-control centers don't operate

themselves," suggesting some leeway in the defining and selection of targets.

A U.S. military officer played down the possibility that the strike would deependivisions among alliance members about the goals and tactics of the air campaign.

"As long as these targets are legitimate command, control, intelligence or operationallyrelevant sites, they will be hit and NATO can easily defend the hitting," the officer said.

Killing Kadafi is probably a long shot, several officials said. A more realistic goal, theysaid, is to increase pressure on him, hoping to force defections from his inner circle and

weaken his regime.

"That's the delicate line we've been dancing all along," said a NATO officer. "Ultimately,by eliminating Kadafi's ability to kill his citizenry, the Libyans will be able to decide"their own future.

In Washington, two influential U.S. senators said on TV talk shows that they had noproblem targeting Kadafi as part of Libya's command-and-control structure.

"In my view, wherever Kadafi goes, he is the legitimate military target. He's the

command-and-control source," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the SenateArmed Services Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday." "I'd like to have a pour-it-onapproach to get this over with."

Asked if such strikes would violate a U.S. ban on assassinating foreign leaders, Grahamsaid Kadafi was "acting as a murderer," making him a legitimate target.

"He is not the legitimate leader of Libya," Graham said. "He should be brought to justiceor he should be killed."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a fervent supporter of increasing aid to rebel leaders, saidthat killing Kadafi could be legitimate "if you view Kadafi himself as part of thecommand and control."

But McCain cautioned on CBS' "Face the Nation" that it was difficult to eliminateforeign leaders, citing unsuccessful attempts to target Saddam Hussein during the Iraqinvasion in 2003, and the decade-old hunt for Osama bin Laden.


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"It's not as easy as you think, so we should be taking out [Kadafi's] command andcontrol, and if he's injured because of that, that's fine," said McCain, the top Republicanon the Armed Services Committee.

On the battlefield, troops loyal to Kadafi were reported to have intensified attacks on

several fronts, including the besieged port city of Misurata. Pro-regime troops havefired artillery and rockets into the port, endangering ships that bring supplies in andtake refugees out.

A rebel spokesman, Col. Ahmed Omar Bani, said the rebels had confirmed reports thatgas masks were being distributed to regime troops outside Misurata.

"We fear they're getting ready to do something dirty," Bani said in Benghazi, the defacto rebel capital hundreds of miles from the fighting in Misurata.

There was no independent confirmation of the gas mask report and no evidence thatloyalist troops are armed with any kind of chemical weapons. Each side in the war haspreviously made exaggerated claims.

A Western official dismissed the report as rumor and speculated that governmentloyalists may have spread it to fuel panic in edgy Misurata. "It sounds like a Kadafi psy-ops campaign," said the official, using military shorthand for psychological operationsconducted in conflict zones.-----------------------NATO insists Gadhafi not target of airstrikes (USA Today)

By Tom Vanden BrookMay 1, 2011WASHINGTON NATO officials insisted Sunday that an airstrike that may havekilled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son was aimed at destroying a militarycontrol center, not an assassination attempt.

Saturday's attack in a Tripoli neighborhood killed Gadhafi's son and three of hisgrandsons, according to the Libyan government. Gadhafi himself escaped unharmed, itsaid.

NATO, in a statement, called the target of the airstrike "a known command-and-controlbuilding." The top NATO commander of the air war in Libya, Canadian Lt. Gen.Charles Bouchard, said reports about the deaths of Gadhafi's son and grandson had notbeen confirmed and added that NATO "does not target individuals."

"All NATO's targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Gadhafiregime's systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas," Bouchardsaid in a statement.


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NATO has been frustrated by Gadhafi's commingling of military communication sitesin residential areas, Stephen Flanagan, a military strategy expert at the Center forStrategic and International Studies, said Sunday. The attack may have been an attemptto show the Gadhafi regime that the allies are willing to root out its remaining

command posts.

"It's a murky game at this point, but I don't think this is part of a direct effort to huntdown Gadhafi," Flanagan said.

The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain of Arizona,defended the airstrikes in Libya on CBS' Face the Nation. He called on President Obamato put U.S. warplanes back in the forefront of the fight. U.S. forces led the initial attacksto destroy Libyan air defense but since then have taken on a support role. U.S. aircraftprimarily fly intelligence, refueling and communications-jamming missions.

"We should be taking out his command and control," McCain said. "And if he is killedor injured because of that, that's fine. But we ought to have a strategy to help the rebelssucceed and overthrow Qadhafi and everybody associated with him."

Meanwhile, the Russian government on Sunday criticized the attack for going beyondthe United Nations authorization for the NATO-led alliance to protect Libyan civiliansfrom attack . Gadhafi sought to quash an armed rebellion that began in February, partof a broad uprising in the Middle East against authoritarian governments. Russiaabstained from voting on the authorization in March.

On Sunday, the Russian foreign ministry accused NATO of using disproportionateforce, blamed it for civilian deaths and called for a cease fire. Russian complaints,Flanagan said, probably stem from its concerns that a Western alliance might interferewith its interests closer to its borders. "They don't have any particular love for Gadhafi,"he said.----------------------------Ethiopia: Deputy Prime Minister Calls on Africa, US to Jointly Tackle Terrorism(Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)28 Apr 11ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Africa and United States of America needs to work togetheron areas of counter terrorism and airborne related illicit activities is increasingly becomeevident , the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affair Minister HailemariamDessalegn said.

Speaking at the Africa Air Chiefs Conference held here on Tuesday, Hailemariam saidthe cooperation between the two parties is increasingly becoming important sinceAfrica particularity, eastern part borders with the major sea lanes where important


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maritime commercial traffic takes place, is attracting the attention of internationalterrorists and pirates.

He said some of the illicit activities include hostage taking of oil tankers and cargoships, others include shipment of weapons using aircraft destined to Somalia, which has

actually been under UN arms embargo.

Hailemariam said since there are states which violate the UN imposed arms embargoon Somalia, considering more practical regional instruments within the framework ofinternational law is important.

He said if Africa and US work together such violators of international law would beheld accountable.

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton Schwartz on his part said U.S. securityinterests in Africa are best served by building long term partnerships with African

countries, regional organizations, and the African Union."An Africa that can generate and sustain broad-based economic development willcontribute to global growth, which is a long standing American interest.' He saidquoting General Carter Ham as saying.

Some 30 African air force air chiefs or their deputies, the leadership and representativesfrom U.S. Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA), officials from U.S. Africa Command, andrepresentatives from civilian agencies and regional organizations that deal withaviation issues are among the participants.-----------------------

Allies Defending Actions in Libya After Airstrike (NYT)By KAREEM FAHIM and MARK MAZZETTIMay 1, 2011BENGHAZI, Libya NATO officials and Western leaders defended the increasinglyaggressive airstrikes in Libya on Sunday after the Libyan government said one barragehad killed four members of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafis family, raising criticism thatthe attacks exceeded the Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force.

The airstrikes on Saturday night killed a son and three grandchildren of ColonelQaddafi, according to the government, which accused the NATO coalition powers of a

direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country in violation of internationallaw. Qaddafi supporters in Tripoli burned or vandalized the closed American, Britishand Italian embassies and ransacked United Nations buildings, forcing the evacuationof the 12 remaining international staff members. And Colonel Qaddafis militaryshowed no sign of restraint after the airstrikes, shelling rebel positions in the besiegedport city of Misurata and elsewhere.


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Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, said the NATO attack arousedserious doubts about coalition members statement that the strikes in Libya do nothave the goal of physically annihilating Mr. Qaddafi and members of his family.

While the Obama administration had no comment about the airstrikes, it criticized the

Libyans attacks on the embassies in Tripoli. Mark Toner, a State Departmentspokesman, condemned the retaliation in the strongest possible terms.

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, also did not comment on theairstrikes, which were authorized under a Security Council resolution to preventColonel Qaddafis military from killing civilians in Libyas two-month-old civil war.

NATO commanders, Western leaders and officials in Washington, who had signaledlast week that they intended to escalate the airstrike campaign in Libya, said the attackon Saturday had hit a legitimate military target.

They reiterated that they were not specifically trying to kill Colonel Qaddafi, whosefour decades of repressive rule has been upended by a rebellion inspired by thedownfalls of autocrats in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt.

Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain told the BBC that the airstrike fell within theSecurity Council mandate to stop a loss of civilian life by targeting Qaddafis war-making machine.

NATO officials say that the intense bombing in Tripoli is designed to batter Col.

Qaddafis military apparatus. Such a strategy is freighted with risk for the alreadyfragile coalition. In Libya, the officials argue, the boundary between legitimate militarytargets and residential compounds is often blurry.

Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said that thestrikes on the command posts are clearly beyond the mandate of the Security Councilresolution, but he called the new attacks a strategy to terminate the campaign asquickly as possible.

And, he said, war planners at NATO headquarters in Brussels have been telegraphingit pretty openly that the bombings would include strikes against Colonel Qaddafiscommand posts.

Still, the international condemnation of Saturdays strike could create fissures in NATOand cause some officials to rethink the allies strategy. And it could create a backlashamong Libyans who have been willing to put aside misgivings about the foreignmilitary intervention because it was intended to prevent Colonel Qaddafis loyalistsfrom killing civilians.


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Both Republicans and Democrats in Washington also raised concerns that the NATOcampaign could bring unwanted consequences.

The narrative we want to come out of this is that the Libyan people overthrew a

dictator, not that we came in and toppled a despot, said Stephen J. Hadley, a formernational security adviser to President George W. Bush.

And thats the problem with going after command and control if it results in the deathof Qaddafi, because what we really want him to do is for him to leave or to die at aLibyan hand, not an American hand, said Mr. Hadley, speaking on CNNs State ofthe Union.

Jane Harman, the former California congresswoman and member of the HouseIntelligence Committee, said on the same program that the campaign in Libya could

become a new recruiting tool for bad guys.

There have been tensions concerning the campaigns goals from the start. PresidentObama has declared that Colonel Qaddafi must step down, and yet the United Nationsresolution authorizing the airstrikes does not allow NATO jets to go after ColonelQaddafi.

Most of the discussion in Washington on Sunday was in support of the NATO mission.

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said he would have no problem if Colonel

Qaddafi were to be killed in an airstrike on a military compound.We should be taking out his command and control, and if he is killed or injuredbecause of that, thats fine, Senator McCain said on the CBS News program Face theNation.

NATO officials said that the compound hit on Saturday housed an elaborate bunkercomplex, with a basement command center from which allied intelligence hadintercepted cellphone calls, radio dispatches and other electronic transmissions.

There was a bunker complex beneath the building, one official said, asserting thatreporters taken to the scene on Sunday witnessed Libyan officials throwing carpets overwhat appeared to be a deeper hole in the rubble.

The site, which had been under allied surveillance for several days, was struck withfour precision-guided weapons, one of the NATO officials said. Despite thatsurveillance, American and NATO officials said they did not know whether ColonelQaddafi and his family were in the compound, which they said appeared to include aresidence.


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Libyans themselves were trying to sort through the consequences of a confusing attack.In the rebel-held east, many people remained convinced that Colonel Qaddafisgovernment was lying about the deaths in his family to garner sympathy or to distractthe world from the increasingly deadly conflict on the ground. Footage broadcast on

state television of bodies draped in white sheets or Libyan flags did little to clearup the mystery.

Elsewhere in Libya, allied airstrikes continued, as did the governments bombardmentof rebel strongholds, including Misurata in western Libya. Heavy artillery strikesrepeatedly hit near the citys port and airport.

In Benghazi, rebel leaders were determined to show that whatever Colonel Qaddafisfate, they were pressing ahead with plans for a new state. They held what they said wasthe first joint meeting between members of an executive council, which includes several

Libyan exiles, and the rebel governing council.

And they continued to question whether the Qaddafi son who was reported to havebeen killed, Seif al-Arab Muammar el-Qaddafi, 29, and the three unidentifiedgrandchildren were in fact dead.

We do not have verification, said Jalal al-Gallal, a rebel spokesman. Whose childrenwere there and what were there names? Nobody should have survived the blast in thatbuilding, he said, referring to footage that officials said showed the house where SeifQaddafi was killed and where Colonel Qaddafi and his wife narrowly avoided injury.

Two friends of the Qaddafi family said that the victims included the 4-year-olddaughter of Colonel Qaddafis daughter, Aisha el-Qaddafi, 36; a 1-year old son ofMohammed el-Qaddafi, the colonels eldest son; and a 2-year-old whose father isHannibal el-Qaddafi, though it was unclear if it was his son or his daughter. Thefunerals for the victims would be held on Monday, the friends said.-----------------------Libyan Rebels Doubt Government Claims Gadhafi Son Was Killed (ABC)By MIGUEL MARQUEZ, LUIS MARTINEZ and DEAN SCHABNERMay 1, 2011The Libyan government was quick to announce the deadly accuracy of a NATO missilestrike on the compound of Moammar Gadhafi, but rebel leaders today said the claimsthat four Gadhafi family members were killed are a publicity stunt by the flamboyantstrongman.

The government announced early today that the dictator and his wife had survived aNATO attack on his compound, but that Gadhafi's son Saif al-Arab was killed, alongwith three of Gadhafi's grandchildren, all younger than 2 years old.


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A government spokesman said it was positive proof that NATO is focused on trying tokill Gadhafi, not merely neutralize his military capabilities, as the alliance has said.

"This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country," Moussa Ibrahim,

Libyan government spokesman, said at a news conference today.

The rebel leadership in Benghazi said they doubt anyone was killed in the attack. Theyclaim Gadhafi is simply trying to win international support and split the coalition ofnations that has supported the NATO air campaign.

NATO confirmed that it struck "a known command and control building in the Bab al-Azizya neighborhood" of Tripoli Saturday evening, but denied that Gadhafi was thetarget of the attack.

"All NATO's targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Gadhafiregime's systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas," said Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector. "We donot target individuals."

Reporters who visited the site today said the damage was so complete it was hard to seehow anyone in the building that were struck could have escaped uninjured.

In Benghazi, the capitol of the rebel movement, news of the strike was greeted withcelebration on the streets.

This was the third NATO strike on targets used by Gadhafi. Last Friday a bunker nearhis Tripoli compound was struck by two bombs.

In the past, when Gadhafi has said shown his family members that were wounded inattacks against him.

When the United States bombed Libya in 1986, Gadhafi allowed Western reporters intothe hospital to see two of his sons injured in that attack. Saif al-Arab, who was allegedlykilled last night, was 4 years old at the time of the U.S. bombing and was one of theinjured.

Supporters of Gadhafi were so angered by the bombingm, they ransacked and burnedthe U.S., U.K., French, Italian and Qatari embassies today in Tripoli.

A senior U.S. official told ABC News that three buildings in the embassy compoundwere attacked and looted by people who appeared to be loyal to Moammar Gadhafi,though it was unclear weather they were Libyan military.


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One of the buildings was set on fire and the other two were occupied by Libyans. TheTripoli fire department put out the blaze, but the amount of damage was unknown, theofficial said.

There are no U.S. personnel in Tripoli, and security for the embassy buildings had beenprovided by Turkey, which kept staff in the Libyan capital even after the U.N.-sanctioned campaign of air strikes against Gadhafi forces began.

The reports that members of Gadhafi's family had been killed in the bombing broughtcriticism of NATO from Russia, which called for an immediate cease-fire andnegotiations to end the conflict between Gadhafi and the rebel forces.

"Statements by participants in the coalition that the strikes on Libya are not aimed at thephysical destruction of ... Gadhafi and members of his family raise serious doubts," a

statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

But NATO said it would continue operations against the Libyan military and all thetroops loyal to Gadhafi, including mercenaries hired by the regime.

Since NATO took over the campaign of air strikes on March 31, Gadhafi has saidseveral times that he was ordering a cease-fire, but the fighting has not stopped.-------------------------Ivory Coast President Faces Reconciliation Challenges (VOA)By Nico Colombant

April 29, 2011Washington - Human rights activists and Africa scholars say the new president in IvoryCoast, Alassane Ouattara, faces very difficult and possibly competing challenges ofpursuing reconciliation and justice following years of division in the West Africannation.

At a Friday event at the United States Institute of Peace, panelists said Mr. Ouattara hasseveral options which could overlap, including pursuing justice within the limitedIvory Coast judicial system, eventually referring cases to the International CriminalCourt, setting up a hybrid international-Ivorian tribunal, as well as creating a Truth andReconciliation commission.

An expert in African politics from George Washington University, Gina Lambright,says it is a complex equation which will have to satisfy Ivorians to ensure a stable andprosperous future.


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"This idea that you are not just trying to bring people to account but that you are tryingto build agreement on a broad narrative, both about history but also thinking about thenation going forward and what the narrative will be," Lambright said.

Panelists said Ivorians must also decide the time frame which will be reviewed. Political

violence escalated with a 1999 coup, divided the country in two after a rebel uprising in2002, and continued after disputed elections last year. The most recent violenceincluded attacks against civilians in the main city Abidjan and in western ethnically-tense areas.

The Africa advocacy director for U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, Jonathan Elliot,accused Mr. Gbagbo of trying to create chaotic conditions to justify remaining in powerafter last year's elections the United Nations says he lost.

"He was seeking to provoke ethnic, sectarian, and other fissures in Ivorian society to his

advantage so the killings that were taking place in Abidjan were not random, they weredeliberate," Elliot said.

The former president was finally captured by pro-Ouattara former rebels at thepresidential residency on April 11.

But Elliot said it is important the justice and reconciliation process does not become oneof winners and losers. He said former rebels should also be held accountable, includingcurrent prime minister Guillaume Soro. Elliot listed atrocities by rebels under hiscommand which include fighting within rebel ranks.

"Putting prisoners for example into shipping containers and leaving them there untilthey died, torture, extrajudicial executions. But it is also relevant to what happened inthe west of the country in late March before this conflict came to an end. We saw aseries of massacres committed by pro-Ouattara forces in the west, notionally under thecommand of Soro but also several other commanders and also local militias mainlytargeted at the Guere ethnic group," Elliot said.

Professor William Zartman from Johns Hopkins University said he does not believe thearm of justice, however patient, will reach that far. "The best one can hope for, it will notsatisfy Human Rights Watch, the best one can hope for is that there will be a couple ofpeople from the Ouattara side that will be brought to justice but reaching up to the topof a national liberation movement, the top is out of reach," Zartman said.

Fighting between pro-Ouattara forces continued this week with the killing of arenegade former rebel leader, Ibrahim Coulibaly. Some of his fighters who were beingdetained at an Abidjan camp said they were being tortured.


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So far, a criminal probe has been launched against former President Gbagbo, his wifeSimone, who has been implicated in death squads during her husband's presidency,and 100 other close associates, who are being detained or under house arrest. Panelistssaid the fate of the pro-Gbagbo youth militia leader Charles Ble Goude remains unclear,but that if found alive, they hope he will also be brought to justice.

All main protagonists in the Ivory Coast violence have denied any direct link to killingsor atrocities.

Meetings have been scheduled for next week between Mr. Ouattara and former UnitedNations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and South African Nobel peace prize laureateDesmond Tutu to discuss the Truth and Reconciliation idea, and learn from otherexperiences, including the South African post-apartheid period.---------------------------3 top mediators to try to mend Ivory Coast (CNN)

By Unattributed AuthorMay 2, 2011Three of the international diplomatic community's most respected mediators arrived inthe Ivory Coast Sunday to start a process of national reconciliation.

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu andformer President of the Republic of Ireland Mary Robinson gathered in Abidjan for thefirst day of their two-day visit.

"You have lived a very difficult experience," Annan said to a crowd of reporters

gathered. "There is only one Ivory Coast, and we must work together and build thiscountry."

Last month, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara told reporters he was setting up aTruth and Reconciliation Commission to bring to justice anyone who committedatrocities during the most recent strife or before that.

The West African nation recently ended a political stalemate, which started inDecember following former President Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to step down after helost elections.

Escalated violence and fears of war forced nearly 1 million residents to flee the maincity of Abidjan, aid groups said. The standoff left hundreds dead.----------------------In Sudan's Nuba Mountains, On the Edge of War (Time)By Alan BoswellMay 01, 2011


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Deep in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, by the light of a full moon, I am passed a glassof sugary tea and the discussion of another civil war in the heart of Africa begins. Mytwo hosts in the town of Dilling are commanders in a government-sponsored Arabparamilitary force that a decade ago carried out Darfur-style atrocities against theirAfrican neighbors in the surrounding mountains. For nine years, they have held a

ceasefire. But now the coming secession of South Sudan has prompted fears of renewedethnic conflict.

The reason? When the line is drawn across Sudan to create two new countries, the NubaMountains and the state of South Kordofan in which they lie will remain in the north.That has once again sharpened divisions between Sudan's Arab rulers, who armed Arabtribes during decades of north-south civil conflict, and the minority Nuba Africans,many of whom fought with the south. My Arab hosts are adamant: no war, ever again."Nobody wants more fighting," says Ibrahim Yagoub Jabreel. "If the government askedus again, we would refuse." But later, my go-between, Juli Argouf Buda, 71, a Nuba

African elder, pulls me aside. "They are not telling the truth," he says. "Most Arabsenjoy being the government's militias. They want our land. To kill a Nuba, for them, isnot a crime."

The Nuba Mountains are a jagged fulcrum for a region that has long been delicatelybalanced between war and peace. To the north is North Africa, mostly Arab, mostlyMuslim; to the south, sub-Saharan Africa, mostly African, mostly Christian. Thatdivision runs across the continent, along the southern edge of the Sahara, and regularlysparks conflict from Chad to Nigeria to Cote d'Ivoire. But in Sudan, this meeting ofworlds has proved the most explosive: around 2 million people died in two wars

between north and south that lasted between 1956 and 2005.

In July, Sudan will split in two after southern Sudanese overwhelmingly voted forindependence in January a key condition of an internationally brokered peace dealsealed in 2005. But instead of ushering in peace, secession could be opening several newfronts of war. In the south, the new government in Juba, whose leadership is dominatedby the Dinka tribe, is battling an ever-growing number of rebellions rooted in othertribes, who say they suffer marginalization since January, more than 1,000 peoplehave died in the fighting.

And in the north, the split has also ratcheted up tensions: most of Sudan's oil lies in theseceding south, and the country's partition has opened new rifts in the ruling party as towhether its divisive iron-fist tactics are the best way forward. So far, the hardlinersseem to be winning. Meanwhile, large-scale agricultural schemes and desertificationhave pushed the nation's poor Arab nomads further south for pasture.Many expect these new trends and the old local grievances to converge with toxicresults around the South Kordofan state elections, scheduled to start on May 2. Thosefears are heightened by the fact that the Khartoum government's candidate for governor


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is Ahmed Haroun, who was a key mobilizer in the government-declared jihad againstAfricans in the Nuba Mountains in the 1990s. Haroun's election rival, Abdulaziz al-Hiluof the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), tells TIME: "Thefuture is very grim." Indeed, recent signs are not encouraging. On April 13, Arabmilitiamen torched al-Hilu's home village, killing up to 29 people.

Outsiders rarely hear about the gathering storm in the Nuba Mountains, and for onegood reason: the Sudanese government wants it that way. Refused official permission totravel to the area, I snuck in from Sudan's south. I found a place of bare bouldermountains, dusty open savannah and poverty: while Khartoum now boasts gleamingsteel-and-glass skyscrapers, the Nuba Mountains mud-brick villages have changed littlesince Africans fleeing Egyptian conquerors first found refuge in these slopes centuriesago. The one modern intrusion: AK-47s, everywhere.

Theoretically, Nuba's African tribes have reason for hope. After the May elections,

whoever leads the new South Kordofan state government will be mandated to presentits demands to the national government in Khartoum which, for the Africans, wouldinclude peace, greater autonomy, and exemption from national Shari'a law.

But even if the African-backed SPLM wins the poll, Khartoum is unlikely to want tocede more power to other regions after accepting the departure of the south particularly since South Kordofan is home to the north's remaining reserves of crude oil.Pessimists foresee a nightmare scenario: renewed full-scale war between north andsouth. Thousands of soldiers in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the armedwing of the SPLM, are from the Nuba Mountains. Should violence escalate in South

Kordofan, many of them would expect to travel north to join the fight against Khartoumand its militias. Malaak Ayuen, the SPLA's head of information, says the south will notsend Nuba soldiers into South Kordofan. But at the same time, he warns: "We won'tdisarm them."

For Al-Hilu, the SPLM's candidate for governor, anyone who thinks the Nuba soldierswill accept an extended exile in the new country to the south doesn't understand howthe rugged, moonlit hills resonate in the hearts of those born here. "Anybody who triesto stop them is not a wise person," he says. "They must come back. This is theirhomeland."--------------------------------Sudan protests US criticism of Al-Bashirs comments (Sudan Tribune)By Unattributed AuthorApril 30, 2011KHARTOUM Sudan on Saturday faulted criticism leveled by the US StateDepartment at recent comments in which the countrys president Omer Al-Bashirthreatened not to recognize South Sudan independence if the latter approves a draftconstitution laying claims to the contested region of Abyei.


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North and South Sudan have been at loggerhead over the central, oil-producing regionof Abyei which straddles their tentative borders since a referendum to decide the statusof the region failed to take place as planned in January due to disagreements over whocan vote.

Another referendum held in January saw the South voting almost unanimously tosecede from the north in July. The plebiscite was the final phase of the 2005sComprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended more than two decades of north-south civil wars.

A draft copy of South Sudan constitution, as received by the media this week, has statedthat Abyei belongs to the South, prompting Al-Bashir to threaten in a speech hedelivered on Thursday in South Kordofan State that his government would re-considerits recognition of south Sudan independence if the latter approves its draft constitution

as it currently stands.

"I say it and repeat it for the million times, Abyei is northern and will remain northern,"Al-Bashir said in his inflammatory speech.

The assistant secretary of state for African affairs at the US State Department, JohnnieCarson, on Friday deplored Al-Bashirs comments, reminding both north and southSudan of their obligation to finalize the implementation of the CPA.

"Those comments are not helpful at all, and they only serve to inflame and heighten

tensions," Carson said, adding that "It is important that both sides those in Khartoumand those in Juba focus intensely on trying to resolve the key issues that have notbeen completed under the CPA."

The US official went on to stress that outstanding issues in CPA implementation, likeAbyei, must be resolved before South Sudans Independence Day on July 9.

But the official spokesman of Sudans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khalid Musa, onSaturday told the countrys official news agency SUNA that the US criticism hadunfairly targeted north Sudan. He said the US Administration should be exertingpressure on the Government of South Sudan to drop the clause concerning Abyei fromthe draft constitution and not to show the region as a part of South Sudan.

The US criticism should be first directed at the political behavior of [South Sudansruling party, the Sudan Peoples liberation] Movement which seeks to impose aunilateral administrative solution by annexing Abyei in the souths constitution Musasaid. This is a violation of the CPA, Sudan constitution and bilateral agreements.


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North and South Sudan are also engaged in negotiations to thrash out a wide-array ofpost referendum arrangements, including shares of oil revenues, Nile water, currency,external debts and citizenship.---------------------Shipping Company Says Pirates Hijack Tanker (VOA)

By Unattributed AuthorMay 01, 2011A shipping firm says Somali pirates have likely hijacked a chemical tanker with 25 crewmembers off the coast of Kenya.

Singapore-based Glory Ship Management says it believes the MT Gemini was seized bypirates on Saturday, as the ship sailed toward the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

A company statement says the vessel is now headed toward Somalia.

The Gemini was carrying 28,000 tons of crude palm oil from Indonesia. Its crew consistsof 13 Indonesians, five Chinese, four South Koreans, and three citizens of Burma.

The shipper says it is making "every effort" to secure the crew's release.

Somali pirates made hundreds of millions of dollars hijacking ships for ransom over thepast few years.-----------------Number of Injured in Kampala Riots Shoots to 84 (The Monitor)By Justus Lyatuu

April 29, 2011The ambulances with sirens blaring are arriving to deliver the injured at MulagoNational Referral Hospital at an interval of 3 minutes, our reporter Justus Lyatuureports.

A police an officer was among the total 84 registered at the medical facility by 12:30pm,many having sustained gunshot wounds. Children and women are among the victims.

Our Reporter Lyatuu says a policeman is making entries of the casualties' particulars ina record book but has no clue how many are dead. Unconfirmed reports indicate atleast four people have died, although the figure could be higher.

Earlier reports said three men were shot dead on spot in downtown Kampala and onetaken to Mulago Hospital in critical condition after suffering gunshot wounds.

His legs were shattered, says a witness. Four other people suffocated by teargascollapsed and have been rushed to hospital after.


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"There are many injured people here but I don't have the figure of how many areinjured or dead. We are too busy now," says Mulago Hospital Spokesman DanKimosho.

The shootings occurred in Katwe, Owino and the Old Taxi Park. Bloody chaos flared up

in that congested market due to agitation over earlier arrest of some of the vendorsthere.

Mercy Nalugo and Sarah Tumwebaze report that Jinja Road has been blocked at Kirekaoutskirt and a police teargas vehicle vandalised by an angry mob in the area. Otheraccounts, she says, indicate the riots erupted at around 10am following reports Besigyehad died after his family was refused to fly him abroad for treatment.

Angry mobs started burning tyres in the middle of the highway and were stoppingevery car at Kireka, and pelting drivers who sped past.

Security forces moved in firing teargas and live ammunition while some police menwere seen exploding the irritant inside people's houses, forcing them out on the streetswhere they were promptly arrested and beaten.

The demonstrations have also erupted at Makaerere University where students areengaged in attack-and-withdraw fight. It is said some police have moved to lob teargascanisters into students' halls of residence.

The mayhem has spread to the eastern Mbale town where there is running street battle

between demonstrators and security forces. Our Bureau Chief, David Mafabi, reportsthat opposition supporters say they are demonstrating over the alleged inhumane anddegrading treatment of opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, by security forces during hisviolent arrest on Thursday.

Plain-clothed and uniformed officers smashed the windscreens of the Land Cruisercarrying Dr Besigye and sprayed liquid pepper into his eyes and body, blinding him.

The situation in Entebbe and on the route to the airport appears to be spiraling out ofcontrol. A police truck has reportedly been burned, but the Force's Spokesperson JudithNabakooba says she is yet to crosscheck the information.

The area between Kajjansi and Zzana is now under virtual security lockdown,according to our staffer David Tumusiime. Enraged youth are burning logs, car tyresand using boulders to block the road while fighting back security crackdown.--------------------------UN News Service Africa BriefsFull Articles on UN Website


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Uganda: UN human rights chief deplores 'excessive' use of force by authorities1 May The United Nations human rights chief today urged Ugandan authorities toimmediate halt the use of excessive force against opposition politicians andprotesters, saying it was only fuelling the crisis in the African nation, where at least

eight people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in recent weeks.

UN official calls on Mauritania to do more to eradicate slave-like practices29 April Mauritania needs to do much more to eliminate slave-like practices, theUnited Nations human rights chief said today as she also called on the West Africancountry to take steps to improve the role of women and set up mechanisms to tacklehuman rights violations by previous regimes.

UN refugee agency alarmed by large number of people fleeing Somalia29 April The United Nations refugee agency today voiced alarm at worsening

insecurity in Somalia, which has forced 50,000 people out of the country in the firstthree months of this year, more than double the number of refugees who fled the Hornof Africa nation during a similar period in 2010.

Security Council and Secretary-General deplore deadly bombing in Morocco29 April The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have both stronglycondemned yesterdays terrorist attack at a caf in the Moroccan city of Marrakech thathas killed at least 16 people and injured many others.

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AFRICOM Related News Clips 2 May 2011