Georgetown Security Law Brief

Nigeria: Boko Haram Islamists 'arrested' in Maiduguri

05/21/13:  The BBC reports about 120 militant Islamists have been arrested in Nigeria's north-eastern city of Maiduguri, as they were organising the burial of a commander, an army spokesman has said. The military has also recaptured five areas from the militants, he added. There has been no independent confirmation of what the army has said. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states last week to quell the insurgency by the Boko Haram group. It has carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations since 2009, saying it wants to establish an Islamic state across Nigeria. A second Islamist group, Ansaru, joined the insurgency in 2012, taking foreigners hostage. Officials say some 2,000 people have fled to neighbouring Niger, while more have crossed into Cameroon, since the army launched its offensive in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe last week. Some 2,000 soldiers were deployed to the region last week, in the biggest campaign to date against the Islamist militants.

M23 rebels attack DRC army as UN force deploys

05/20/13:  The BBC reports heavy fighting has taken place between government and rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This was the first clash between the two sides since the UN began deploying an attack force to the area last week. Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told the BBC that UN troops had "in some cases" made the situation in DR Congo worse. The UN has nearly 20,000 peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo, where armed groups have wreaked havoc for two decades. The BBC's Maud Jullien in the capital, Kinshasa, says it is the most serious fighting in the area since the M23 withdrew from the regional capital, Goma, in December 2012. An army commander, Lt Col Mamadou Ndala, said 600 commandos were being deployed to protect the city, which the rebels seized last November before pulling out under intense diplomatic pressure, AP news agency reports. M23 rebels attacked government troops about 12 km (7 miles) north of Goma, said army spokesman Olivier Hamuli. The army pushed back the rebels after two hours of heavy fighting, but sporadic clashes were continuing, he added. The M23 had probably launched the attack to disrupt the deployment of the UN brigade, government spokesman Lambert Mende said. But the M23 accused government troops of attacking them first.

Nigeria army's offensive to continue "as long as it takes"

05/19/13:  The BBC reports  Nigeria's army has vowed to continue its offensive against militants in the north-east "as long as it takes" to achieve its main objectives. Brig Gen Chris Olukolade told the BBC the aim was to assert Nigeria's "territorial integrity as a nation". Earlier, a 24-hour curfew was imposed in parts of the city of Maiduguri, where the military said it had arrested 65 "terrorists". Maiduguri has been an important base for Boko Haram Islamist militants. Earlier this week, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states - Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe - after a series of deadly attacks by militant groups.  Nigerian military spokesman Brig Gen Olukolade said the army would continue its operation "as long as it takes to achieve our objective of getting rid of insurgents from every part of Nigeria". Earlier, an army statement named 12 areas of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, which would now be under permanent curfew.

Ivory Coast: Duekoue massacre suspect Oueremi held

05/19/13:  The BBC reports authorities in Ivory Coast have arrested a militia leader suspected of a role in one of the worst massacres during 2011 post-election violence. Human rights groups say Amade Oueremi's fighters executed hundreds of supporters of former President Laurent Gbagbo in the western town of Duekoue. Mr Oueremi was detained in a village close to a national park, where he had been based for more than 20 years. Some reports suggest the militia leader turned himself in. It was not immediately clear if he had been been charged with a crime. Human rights groups had criticised the new government's failure to arrest Mr Oueremi, saying that it showed it was not pursuing justice against both sides in the conflict, BBC Africa editor Richard Hamilton reports. Around 3,000 people were killed in Ivory Coast after Laurent Gbagbo refused to acknowledge that his rival, Alassane Ouattara, had won a presidential run-off.

Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria air raids 'kill militants'

05/17/13:  The BBC reports an unknown number of militants have been killed during air raids on their training camps in north-eastern Nigeria, officials say. The army spokesman said jets and helicopter gunships had been used to attack several camps. He told the BBC that a plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire but had managed to returned to base. States of emergency were declared this week in three north-eastern states hit by Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency. Meanwhile, explosions and gunfire have been heard overnight in Katsina state. Residents have told the BBC's Hausa service that banks, police stations and prisons were destroyed in the town of Daura, near the border with Niger. They said they had seen the bodies of five members of the security forces and three militants, but there has been no official confirmation of casualties. Mobile phone networks were not functioning in many parts of north-east Nigeria on Thursday. A security official told the AP news agency that the mobile phone service had been shut down during the military operation. Militants have previously attacked mobile phone masts in the area in an effort to disrupt communications.

 

Nigeria's Benue state conflict 'kills 53'

05/16/13:  The BBC reports fifty-three people have been killed and 13 villages burnt in central Nigeria's Benue state, local MP Sule Audu has told the BBC. The conflict, which started last week, is said to have been caused by a long-running dispute over land ownership between cattle herders and farmers. Forty people were killed on Sunday, in the worst attack carried out by Fulani herdsmen since last week, Mr Audu said. Nigeria is affected by a spate of conflicts over land, religion and oil. The violence in Benue is the latest sign of the growing security challenges facing the government, reports BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross. Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with a spate of deadly attacks. People from the Fulani community confirm they carried out a series of raids on the rival Agatu farming community after several hundred of their cattle were stolen, our correspondent says. However, they deny killing as many 53 people, he adds. Mr Audu, who represents the Agatu community, told BBC Hausa it was unclear what caused the violence.

Kofi Annan: Africa plundered by secret mining deals

05/11/13:  The BBC reports tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom, ex-UN chief Kofi Annan has said. Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn (£25bn) a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads. "Africa loses twice as much money through these loopholes as it gets from donors," Mr Annan told the BBC. It was like taking food off the tables of the poor, he said. The Africa Progress Report is released every May - produced by a panel of 10 prominent figures, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Graca Machel, the wife of South African ex-President Nelson Mandela. African countries needed to improve governance and the world's richest nations should help introduce global rules on transparency and taxation, Mr Annan said. The report gave the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example, where between 2010 and 2012 five under-priced mining concessions were sold in "highly opaque and secretive deals".

Up to 3,000 African peacekeepers killed in Somalia since 2007: UN

05/11/13:  Reuters reports as many as 3,000 African Union peacekeepers have been killed in Somalia in recent years in an attempt to end an Islamist insurgency and bring stability to the Horn of Africa nation, a senior UN official said on Thursday. "You would be shocked to learn that maybe it is up to 3,000 AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) soldiers that have been killed during these years that AMISOM has been there," he said. The 17,700 strong African Union force began deploying to Somalia in 2007. It includes troops from Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Djibouti. "Uganda, Burundi have paid a tremendous price," he added. "The Kenyan troops are, of course, also a large part of AMISOM." By way of comparison, 3,096 U.N. peacekeepers have died since 1948, according to the website of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Somalia is only just emerging from two decades of civil war. Its government is struggling to rebuild a country riven by clan divisions and whose infrastructure and institutions are in tatters. African Union peacekeepers have been largely responsible for pushing al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab out of the capital Mogadishu and other urban centers in the past two years, but the group is still able to launch major attacks, including a suicide bombing on Sunday that killed at least eight people.

Kenya asks UN to halt ICC charges against Kenyatta

05/09/13:  The BBC reports Kenya's government has asked the UN Security Council to halt the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy at the International Criminal Court. The newly elected leaders deny allegations of orchestrating violence after the disputed 2007 election. The letter, sent last week, says the prosecutions are "neither impartial nor independent" and could destabilise Kenya. The UN Security Council is able to defer ICC cases for up to 12 months. The deferral can be renewed indefinitely, but the Security Council cannot order the court to drop a case. Mr Kenyatta, who won presidential elections in March with 50.07% of the vote, is due to appear at the ICC in July for his trial on charges of crimes against humanity. The trial of his deputy, William Ruto, who faces similar charges, was due to begin this month but it has been postponed. A new date has yet to be agreed. The men were on opposite sides in the 2007 election, after which some 1,000 people were killed and 600,000 people fled their homes. Analysts say the ICC prosecutions bolstered their campaign in the 2013 poll, as they presented it as foreign interference in Kenya's domestic affairs. The Kenyan petition, which was stamped "confidential", was sent to the UN Security Council ahead of a briefing by the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Tuesday.

 

Bodies pour in as Nigeria hunts for Islamists

05/08/13:  The New York Times reports a fresh load of battered corpses arrived, 29 of them in a routine delivery by the Nigerian military to the hospital morgue here. Unexpectedly, three bodies started moving. “They were not properly shot,” recalled a security official here. “I had to call the J.T.F.” — the military’s joint task force — “and they gunned them down.” It was a rare oversight. Large numbers of bodies, sometimes more than 60 in a day, are being brought by the Nigerian military to the state hospital, according to government, health and security officials, hospital workers and human rights groups — the product of the military’s brutal war against radical Islamists rooted in this northern city. The corpses were those of young men arrested in neighborhood sweeps by the military and taken to a barracks nearby. Accused, often on flimsy or no evidence, of being members or supporters of Boko Haram — the Islamist militant group waging a bloody insurgency against the Nigerian state — the detainees are beaten, starved, shot and even suffocated to death, say the officials, employees and witnesses. Then, soldiers bring the bodies to the hospital and dump them at the morgue, officials and workers say. The flood is so consistent that the small morgue at the edge of the hospital grounds often has no room, with corpses flung by the military in the sand around it. Residents say they sometimes have to flee the neighborhood because of the fierce smell of rotting flesh. From the outset of the battle between Boko Haram and the military, a dirty war on both sides that has cost nearly 4,000 lives since erupting in this city in 2009, security forces have been accused of extrajudicial killings and broad, often indiscriminate roundups of suspects and sympathizers in residential areas.        

UN peacekeeper killed in eastern Congo

05/08/13:  The Miami Herald reports the spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo confirmed that a U.N. peacekeeper was killed in South Kivu province, located in the troubled east of the country. Felix Prosper Basse told reporters during a press conference Wednesday that the Pakistani peacekeeper was killed Tuesday by unidentified assailants, who were armed. No further details were immediately available. Over 17,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Congo, especially in its volatile east, where numerous armed groups as well as units within the regular army vie for control of lucrative mines and trade routes. Last December, the newly former M23 rebel group overran the provincial capital of Goma, before international pressure succeeded in convincing them to withdraw from the city.

Two Iranians found guilty of Kenya terror plot

05/04/13:  The BBC reports a Kenyan court has found two Iranian men guilty of plotting to attack Western targets inside Kenya. Ahmed Mohammed and Sayed Mansour were caught with 15 kilos (33 pounds) of explosives in the capital, Nairobi, last June. They are accused of belonging to a terror network planning to blow up British, US or Israeli targets in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa. The pair, who deny all charges, face up to 15 years in prison. Judges ruled that both men had been proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt of all terror-related charges. Prosecutors said the suspects had explosives "in circumstances that indicated they were armed with the intent to commit a felony, namely, acts intended to cause grievous harm". Swift action by the Kenyan police in apprehending the men had averted mayhem and a massive number of deaths, the court magistrate said. The two Iranians arrived in Kenya on 12 June last year and travelled to Mombasa to pick up the powerful explosive RDX. They were arrested a week later in Nairobi. Officers discovered the explosives hidden at a golf course in Mombasa. Another accomplice was still at large, police said.

Chad: N'Djamena arrests follow 'failed coup'

05/02/13:  The BBC reports several people including an opposition MP have been arrested in the Chad capital N'Djamena, in what the government has described as an attempted "destabilisation plot". A government statement said a "small group" had been conspiring for more than four months. Leaders of the alleged plot were being investigated by prosecutors, it added. Chad has a long history of coups and revolts. Current President Idriss Deby himself seized power in a coup in 1990. The BBC's Nathalie Magnien in N'Djamena says it is business as usual in the capital and no-one seems particularly concerned about the news. There is no visible sign of increased security in the city or patrols on the streets, she says. "A small group of ill-intentioned individuals attempted to carry out a destabilisation plot against the institutions of the republic," the government said. It said that the country's security forces "neutralised" them, without specifying how many people were involved in the alleged action. Police and opposition sources said opposition MP Saleh Makki was among those held. His party, the coalition Co-ordination of Political Parties for the Defence of the Constitution (CPDC), told the BBC it was confused by his arrest. The security services also carried out a number of arrests in the army, military sources told Reuters news agency.

Somalia famine 'killed 260,000 people'

05/02/13:  The BBC reports nearly 260,000 people died during the famine that hit Somalia from 2010 to 2012, a study shows. Half of them were children under the age of five, says the report by the UN food agency and the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network. The number of deaths was higher than the estimated 220,000 people who died during the 1992 famine. The crisis was caused by a severe drought, worsened by conflict between rival groups fighting for power. UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) senior economist Mark Smulders said the "true enormity of this human tragedy" had emerged for the first time from the study, done jointly with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net). "By nature, estimating mortality in emergencies is an imprecise science, but given the quantity and quality of data that were available, we are confident in the strength of the study," said Fews Net official Chris Hillbruner. "It suggests that what occurred in Somalia was one of the worst famines in the last 25 years," he added. The UN first declared a famine in July 2011 in Somalia's Southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, which were controlled by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab, which is aligned to al-Qaeda. It denied there was a famine and banned several Western aid agencies from operating in its areas. The famine later spread to other areas, including Middle Shabelle, Afgoye and at camps for displaced people in government-controlled capital, Mogadishu. An estimated 4.6% of the total population and 10% of children under five died in southern and central Somalia, the report says.

Massacre in Nigeria spurs outcry over military tactics

04/30/13:  The New York Times reports days later, the survivors’ faces tensed at the memory of the grim evening: soldiers dousing thatched-roof homes with gasoline, setting them on fire and shooting residents when they tried to flee. As the village went up in smoke, one said, a soldier threw a child back into the flames. Even by the scorched-earth standards of the Nigerian military’s campaign against Islamist insurgents stalking the nation’s north, what happened on the muddy shores of Lake Chad this month appears exceptional. The village, Baga, found itself in the cross hairs of Nigerian soldiers enraged by the killing of one of their own, said survivors who fled here to the capital of Borno State, 100 miles south. Their home had paid a heavy price: as many as 200 civilians, maybe more, were killed during the military’s rampage, according to refugees, senior relief workers, civilian officials and human rights organizations. The apparent size of the civilian death toll — staunchly denied by Nigerian military officials, some of whom blame the insurgent group, Boko Haram, for the carnage — has prompted an unusual uproar. Though heavy civilian casualties are routine in the military’s confrontation with Boko Haram, with dozens dying in poor neighborhoods since 2010 as the army searches for “suspects,” Nigeria’s politicians usually have little to say about them. Past massacres of civilians in retaliation for soldier deaths have passed largely with impunity. This time, there have been calls in Nigeria’s national assembly for an investigation, and the government has come under harsh criticism at home and abroad, including the United States. The military has said it has begun its own inquiry, and some longstanding observers of the country’s heavy-handed fight against Islamist militants say a tipping point may have been reached. But in a country where corruption abounds and accountability is rare, others wondered whether it would truly become a watershed moment — or get brushed aside as an unfortunate side effect of fighting a dangerous insurgency.

South Sudan rebels: SSLA 'surrenders'

04/27/13:  The BBC reports some 3,000 fighters from one of South Sudan's biggest rebels groups, the SSLA, have handed in their weapons, officials say. The former rebels crossed the border from Sudan in about 100 trucks, a local official told Reuters news agency. Sudan has always denied accusations that it backs numerous rebel groups in the South. Relations between the two Sudans have improved recently, leading to a resumption in oil production. The South took most of the former country's oil when it seceded in 2011 but the export pipelines all go north into Sudan. The oil-rich Unity state lies on the border with Sudan. South Sudan Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the surrendering rebels, along with other militia groups, had all been pardoned by President Salva Kiir. They would now be integrated into the South Sudan army, Mr Benjamin said.

US Marine rapid response force deploying to Spain base

04/26/13:  CNN reports the first of 500 Marines have begun deploying to Spain as part of a new rapid reaction force to respond to threats against US citizens, government personnel or installations in Africa. The new task force is based at Moron Air Base in southern Spain, which provides quick access especially to northern Africa, where security concerns have grown since the September 2012 attack on a USgovernment facility in Benghazi, Libya, a Pentagon official told CNN. Deployment began Wednesday. When fully operational, the unit will be required to be airborne within six hours of receiving orders, providing the type of rapid response that the Pentagon says was not possible during the Benghazi attack. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died during the assault at the US mission and CIA annex. The Marine unit will have the job of providing protection for embassies and diplomatic compounds under attack or receiving threats; protecting US citizens; rescuing downed pilots; and assisting other elements of the US military in the event of a need to evacuate American citizens, the official said. He declined to be identified because much of the group's work has not yet been publicly discussed by the Marine Corps. Spain provided final approval for the unit's presence Friday. The full 500-strong team, which is to be in place within 30 days, will include 225 Marines equipped for ground combat along with intelligence and communications specialists, plus another 225 personnel to man and maintain the six V-22 Osprey aircraft and two C-130 refueling aircraft that make up the aviation component of the unit.

South Africa 'secrecy bill' approved by parliament

04/26/13:  The BBC reports South African MPs have approved a controversial media bill after a three-year battle over the legislation. Dubbed the "secrecy bill", lawmakers say the Protection of State Information Bill will safeguard state secrets. It has been substantially altered during its passage through parliament. Critics say it still does not provide enough protection for whistleblowers exposing corruption, with penalties of up to 25 years in jail for revealing classified information. It was passed by 189 votes to 74, with one abstention in the National Assembly, where the governing African National Congress (ANC) has an overwhelming majority. State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele said the law would "strengthen democracy while balancing transparency and protecting our national security and national interests", AFP news agency reports. "There is no-one who can hide corruption through this act," he said. But the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party described the bill as "unconstitutional" and urged President Jacob Zuma to refer it back to parliament for further amendments.

United Kingdom opens new embassy in Somali

04/25/13:  The BBC reports Foreign Secretary William Hague has opened a new British embassy in Mogadishu - the first time the UK has had one in Somalia since 1991. The UK is the first European Union country to reopen an embassy in the country since the Federal Government of Somalia was established last year. Mr Hague said Somalia had been through a "dramatic shift", but continues to face "huge challenges". The prime minister will host a Somalia Conference in London on 7 May. The conference, which will be co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, aims to provide co-ordinated international support for the new government as it rebuilds the country after two decades of conflict. He said the opening of the embassy was "testament" to the strength of the UK/Somalia bilateral relationship. "We will continue to work closely with the Somalia government on shared priorities, which include tackling conflict, countering terrorism and piracy, providing humanitarian assistance, and promoting UK interests in Somalia," he added. Accompanied by the president, the foreign secretary opened the core office of the new embassy at Mogadishu International Airport with a short ceremony and flag-raising. British Ambassador Matt Baugh, who had been working from Nairobi in Kenya because of security concerns, will move into the office, but the rest of the embassy compound is not expected to be completed until the end of July. The former British embassy, located close to the port, was closed in January 1991 following the overthrow of the government, and the building is now a ruin.

Guinea-Bissau armed forces chief charged in NYC

04/19/13: The Miami Herald reports the armed forces chief of the small West African nation of Guinea-Bissau has been charged in New York in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and aid a foreign terrorist organization. Federal authorities on Thursday announced the indictment of Antonio Indjai (ihn-JY'). They say a sting operation carried out by US drug enforcement agents resulted in the charges. Indjai has been subject to a United Nations travel ban since authorities say he participated in an April 2012 coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau. The indictment was unsealed two weeks after a former navy chief of Guinea-Bissau was brought to New York for trial following his arrest at sea by federal drug agents. Four others charged in the conspiracy were brought to the US for trial at the same time. Indjai isn't in custody.

Iran's president visits uranium-rich Niger

04/16/13:  The Miami Herald reports Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting the uranium-rich West African nation of Niger, although officials discounted that the mineral was the reason for the visit. Niger's Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Bazoum downplayed international speculation that Iran had come in search of uranium, saying: "I don't think that's the goal of this visit." Niger obeys international regulations on selling uranium, said Bazoum, who added that it would not be legal to provide uranium to Iran. The Iranian leader arrived Monday in Niger's capital, where he was greeted by President Mahamadou Issoufou. The two-day stop in Niger is the second on Ahmadinejad's trip to West Africa. He already has visited Benin and is due to stop in Ghana before returning home. The West has imposed several rounds of punishing sanctions on Iran, hoping to force it to scale back its uranium enrichment program, suspecting it might aim to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has refused, insisting its program is for peaceful purposes.

Chad to pull troops from Mali

04/15/13: Al Jazeera reports the President of Chad announced Monday that the country’s army will be withdrawing from the conflict in Mali.  The announcement comes three months after the French-led mission to oust al-Qaeda-linked fighters in northern Mali began, and just days after a suicide bombing killed three Chadian soldiers.  “Chad’s army has no ability to face the kind of guerrilla fighting that is emerging in northern Mali.  Our soldiers are going to return to Chad.  They have accomplished their mission,” Chadian President Idriss Deby said.  France has said it also wants to hand over responsibility for the mission to Malian and other African soldiers.  The Chadians have been instrumental in helping French troops in the mountainous Kidal region, where elements of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other rebels are hiding out.

Obama approves US military assistance to Somalia

04/09/13:  The BBC reports  President Barack Obama has cleared the way for the US to provide military assistance to Somalia as it rebuilds itself following years of conflict. Mr Obama issued a memo to Secretary of State John Kerry saying it would "strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace". The move now gives Mr Kerry the option to provide defence aid to Somalia. Last month, the UN Security Council agreed to partially lift its ban on selling arms to Somalia for a year. The decision allows Somalia's new government to buy light arms to help it in its fight against the al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabab Islamist militant group. Some countries had been reluctant to ease the ban for fear of fuelling insecurity in Somalia. But a lifting of the embargo - the world's oldest, having been imposed in 1992 - had been pushed for by the new government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

UK warns of terror attack in Somalia capital

04/06/13: The Miami Herald reports the British government says it believes terrorists are in the final stages of planning attacks in Somalia and urged UK nationals to leave the country. The Foreign Office already advises against all travel to Somalia, including Somaliland, where it says there is a specific threat to Westerners. It said Saturday it had revised its travel advice to reflect concerns that terrorists are in the final stages of plotting attacks in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Britain has no diplomatic representation in Somalia and is unable to provide consular assistance in the country.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/06/3326677/uk-warns-of-terror-attack-in-somalia.html#storylink=cpy

Kenya Supreme Court upholds election victory of accused war criminal Kenyatta

03/31/13: The New York Times reports Kenya’s Supreme Court Saturday unanimously upheld the election victory of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country’s president, dismissing allegations that the vote had been rigged.  But almost immediately, protests erupted in some opposition strongholds, with stone-throwing mobs squaring off against Kalashnikov-toting police officers – and Kenyatta’s legal battles are hardly over.  As Kenya’s next president, Kenyatta will soon be summoned to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity, accused of using his vast family fortune to bankroll death squads during the chaos that exploded after Kenya’s last disputed election in 2007.  He says he is innocent and that the charges are based on gossip, but many Western officials believe otherwise.  Still, the US may now have little choice but to work with Kenyatta.

Western money, African boots: A formula for Africa's conflicts

03/30/13:  NPR reports for the past six years in Somalia, Western countries have been putting up the cash and African nations have been supplying the soldiers, a formula that has pushed back al-Qaida-linked militants and allowed Somalia to elect it's first democratic government in 20 years. "We can fix our problems in Africa," says Brig. Michael Ondoga, a contingent commander with the African Union Mission in Somalia or AMISOM. "All we need is your support." It's not at all hard to see why this plan is so agreeable to the American government. AMISOM has driven al-Shabaab out of Somali cities and major towns, and it's done so at a low cost in terms of money. America's contribution in weapons, wages and training for these troops is around $350 million. That is less than Washington spends on the war in Afghanistan in a day and a half. And in a new development, the UN Security Council on Friday authorized sending 2,500 troops to eastern Congo and gave them the unprecedented mandate to launch offensive operations.

Central African Republic: Bodies found in the Capital

03/30/13:  The New York Times reports Volunteers have collected 78 bodies from the streets of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, since rebel fighters seized control of the city last week, the Central African Red Cross reported Friday. Many of the bodies lacked identification documents, a Red Cross official told Agence France-Presse, and other medical officials said it was not immediately clear whether the dead were rebels, government soldiers, foreign soldiers or civilians. Hospitals in the capital are overflowing with rebels and others wounded in the fighting, above, officials said. A loose coalition of armed groups from the country’s northeast ousted President François Bozizé on Sunday; the rebels, who are reported to have child soldiers among their ranks, accused Mr. Bozizé of breaching the terms of a January peace deal. He first fled to Cameroon but has since requested refuge in Benin, news reports said Friday.

UN combat force to target DR Congo rebels

03/29/13:  The BBC reports the UN Security Council has approved the creation of a special combat force to carry out "targeted offensive operations" against armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the first time the UN has given an offensive mandate to its troops. The 2,500-strong brigade will be asked to "neutralise and disarm" rebels. The existing 20,000-strong UN peacekeeping force has been widely criticised as ineffective in ending the two-decade long war. Troops from Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa are expected to form the bulk of the new brigade which is expected to be deployed by July. The region's mineral riches have been plundered by numerous groups and countries during the long conflict. The resolution, unanimously adopted by the Security Council, says the new force will operate "in a robust, highly mobile and versatile manner... to prevent expansion of all armed groups, neutralise these groups, and to disarm them". The UN's peacekeeping mission has been in DR Congo for more than a decade and was at one time the biggest peacekeeping operation in the world. It says that their peacekeepers are spread thinly over a vast and difficult terrain.

Central African Republic army chiefs pledge allegiance to coup leader

03/28/13:  Reuters reports Central African Republic's army chiefs pledged allegiance to the country's self-proclaimed president Michel Djotodia on Thursday as the ex-rebel leader consolidated control four days after his fighters seized the capital. Djotodia seized control of the resource-rich nation after thousands of his rebel fighters swept into the riverside capital Bangui on Sunday, ousting President Francois Bozize and triggering days of looting. "The former FACA (national army) officers wanted to meet with President Djotodia to tell him they recognize him as the new president," said Maurice Ntossui, a commander of the African peacekeeping force in the country who attended the meeting. "All the former chiefs of police, gendarmes, the head of the armed forces and other senior officers came to the meeting. This was a form of surrender," he said. At least 13 South African soldiers, among hundreds deployed to reinforce Bozize's army, were killed in the rebel onslaught in the worst military setback for Pretoria since the end of apartheid in 1994 and one which put a dent in any ambitions it has of becoming a continental superpower. South African media and a senior Ugandan officer said South African soldiers gathered in Uganda on Thursday for a "new mission" to Central African Republic. A UN official in Democratic Republic of Congo said about 70 South African troops had been dispatched to the Congolese town of Gemena, 180 km (112 miles) from Bangui, but it was not clear what they were there to do.

UN gives Congo days to prosecute soldier rapists

03/28/13:  Reuters reports the United Nations has given the Democratic Republic of the Congo four more days to begin prosecuting soldiers accused of raping scores of women in an eastern town or it will halt support to two battalions, the world body said on Thursday. The United Nations said 126 women were raped in Minova in November after Congolese troops fled to the town as so-called M23 rebels briefly captured the nearby provincial capital of Goma. The UN special envoy to Congo, Roger Meece, informed Congolese authorities in a March 25 letter that they had seven days to take action. The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, has a mandate to protect civilians and supports operations by the Congolese army. There are more than 17,000 troops in Congo, a country the size of Western Europe. The United Nations had previously told Congo that it would end support to two battalions linked to the Minova rapes if it did not try the soldiers involved. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said in December that alleged human rights abuses were committed in and around Minova between November 20 and November 30, including the 126 rapes and the killing of two civilians. Nesirky said at the time that two soldiers were charged with rape, while seven more were charged with looting.

Madagascar hit by 'severe' plague of locusts

03/28/13:  The BBC reports a severe plague of locusts has infested about half of Madagascar, threatening crops and raising concerns about food shortages, a UN agency says. The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said billions of the plant-devouring insects could cause hunger for 60% of the population. About $22m (£14.5m) was urgently needed to fight the plague in a country where many people are poor, the FAO added. It was the worst plague to hit the island since the 1950s, the FAO said. FAO locust control expert Annie Monard told BBC Focus on Africa the plague posed a major threat to the Indian Ocean island.

Zimbabwe High Court orders release of human rights lawyer

03/25/13: The Miami Herald reports Zimbabwe’s High Court Monday ordered the immediate release of a prominent human rights lawyer detained for eight days for obstructing justice.  Court officials said Beatrice Mtetwa was asked to post a $500 bail and her release papers will be prepared Monday.  High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa ruled that Mtetwa was following professional legal procedures when she demanded to see a search warrant from police at the offices of four officials in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party.  Those officials are accused of illegally compiling information on high level corruption and will appeal for bail later Monday.  Mtetwa and the four officials deny any wrongdoing.  Lawyers’ groups have cited the arrests as intimidation against opponents of President Robert Mugabe by loyalist police and officials ahead of elections around July.

DR Congo's Bosco Ntaganda in ICC custody

03/22/13:  The BBC reports Congolese war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda has left Rwanda and is on the way to The Hague in the custody of the International Criminal Court. Gen Ntaganda, a key figure in the conflict in eastern DR Congo, surrendered to the US embassy in Kigali on Monday. The ICC has charged him with 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Gen Ntaganda denies. A date for his first appearance before judges is expected to be set soon. Gen Ntaganda is the first suspect to surrender himself voluntarily to the ICC's custody. Known as "The Terminator", Gen Ntaganda has fought for a number of rebel groups as well as the Congolese army. Most recently, he was believed to be one of the leaders of the M23 rebel movement, which has been fighting government troops in the east. He is accused of seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ituri, DR Congo, between 2002-2003. The charges include enlisting child soldiers, murder, rape and sexual slavery.The DR Congo government has said that Gen Ntaganda, who comes from the Tutsi ethnic group, crossed into Rwanda on Saturday after he and some of his followers were defeated by a rival faction of the M23 group. Eastern DR Congo has long suffered from high levels of violence linked to ethnic rivalries and competition for the control of mineral resources.

Team on the way to collect Congo war crimes suspect

03/21/13:  The New York Times reports American officials on Wednesday said that a team from the International Criminal Court  was on its way to Rwanda to collect a war crimes suspect who had turned himself in to the American Embassy and that they were hoping Rwanda would cooperate. Rwanda has indicated that it would not interfere with the transfer of the suspect, Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel commander nicknamed the Terminator, to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, where he has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. On Monday, Mr. Ntaganda, who has been accused of massacring villagers and recruiting child soldiers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, showed up unexpectedly at the American Embassy in Rwanda and surrendered. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson reiterated that the United States now needed Rwanda’s cooperation to get Mr. Ntaganda to The Hague. Rwanda— and the United States, for that matter — are not members of the International Criminal Court, and Rwanda’s foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, said this week, according to the SAPA news agency, “The I.C.C. is a political court, and we have never believed in its jurisdiction.” But she pledged to work with the United States and in other interviews, including one published by Bloomberg, Ms. Mushikiwabo reinforced the position, saying “The U.S. is a partner state, and we commit to give them any support they want."

ICC welcomes Bosco 'Terminator' Ntaganda's surrender

03/19/13:  The BBC reports the International Criminal Court (ICC) has welcomed Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda's surrender to stand trial on war crimes charges. Known as "The Terminator", Gen Ntaganda surrendered on Monday to the US embassy in Rwanda after seven years on the run. The ICC said it was in contact with the relevant authorities to arrange for his immediate transfer to The Hague. He denies committing atrocities during the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DR Congo government says Gen Ntaganda crossed into Rwanda on Saturday with the help of Rwanda forces.

Kenya President-elect Kenyatta seeks dismissal of ICC charges

03/18/13: BBC News reports the International Criminal Court in The Hague is set to hold a special hearing to review its case against Kenya’s President-elect, Uhuru Kenyatta.  He denies accusations of instigating violence after the disputed 2007 election.  The hearing comes a week after charges were dropped against Kenyatta’s co-accused, Francis Muthaura.  Kenyatta says the charges against him are now compromised, but ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda says she has additional evidence against him.  Last week Bensouda said the case against Muthaura had been dropped as some witnesses were too scared to testify, while another had recanted his statement.  At Kenyatta’s hearing today, lawyers will urge the judges to send the case back to the pre-trial chamber for judges to assess what remains of the evidence, and decide whether it is sufficient to go to trial.

Congo M23 faction leader arrested in Rwanda

03/16/13: The Miami Herald reports a rebel faction spokesman says his armed group has regained control of all of the M23 rebel territory in eastern Congo, and the leader of the other faction has been arrested in Rwanda. Col. Vianney Kazarama said Saturday that Jean-Marie Runiga was detained by Rwandan authorities after fleeing across the border. The movement's military leader, Gen. Sultani Makenga, dismissed the political head of the movement, Jean-Marie Runiga, in February. Both men then formed their own factions, which have been fighting since. Kazarama, who is the spokesman for Makenga's faction, says they have taken control of the areas designated for M23 control. The M23 is largely made of Tutsi fighters who were part of a previous rebellion before being integrated into the army in 2009. They rebelled again in April 2012.

ICC drops case against Kenyan suspect

03/12/13:  The New York Times reports a lawyer for Kenyan president-elect Uhuru Kenyatta said Monday the International Criminal Court prosecution of his client for allegedly orchestrating post-election violence five years ago is "utterly flawed" after prosecutors dropped their case against his co-accused for lack of evidence. However, it remains unclear exactly what effect the dropping of charges against top Kenyan civil servant Francis Muthaura will have on Kenyatta's trial, which is scheduled to start in July. The shock decision to drop the case against Muthaura was an unprecedented admission of failure by prosecutors and the first time in the 10-year-old court's history that prosecutors have withdrawn charges against a suspect so close to trial. Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her hand was forced after witnesses died, were killed or bribed and Kenyan authorities failed to live up to their pledges to cooperate. Kenyatta's lawyer Steven Kay urged prosecutors to reconsider their prosecution of the man elected president in Kenyan elections a week ago despite the international charges hanging over him.

Malawi: 10 ex-officials arrested over a 2012 coup plot

03/12/13:  The New York Times reports at least 10 former senior government officials in Malawi, including cabinet ministers, were arrested Monday and accused of plotting a coup to prevent Joyce Banda, then the vice president, from assuming power after the death of the president last April. Those detained included Peter Mutharika, who is the brother of the former president, Bingu wa Mutharika, and a former information minister, Patricia Kaliati. The arrests set off violence in the commercial capital, Blantyre, as supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party, the former governing party, took to the streets. The police fired tear gas to break the up the demonstration. Peter Mutharika is the party’s presidential candidate for the next election, scheduled for May 2014. A report presented to Ms. Banda last week revealed that after the president’s death on April 5, cabinet ministers and senior government officials held secret meetings aimed at preventing Ms. Banda from assuming power as stipulated by the Constitution. The announcement of the president’s death was delayed for two days, but Ms. Banda was finally sworn in on April 7.

France: Northeast Mali should be secure by end of March

03/11/13: Reuters reports French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that French and Chadian forces expect to secure the northeast region of Mali that is the stronghold of Islamist militants by the end of March.  Le Drian said that while the results of DNA tests were still being awaited, it seemed likely that top al-Qaeda leaders in the region had been killed in recent fighting.  His view on the timetable was in line with France’s goal to start winding down its eight-week-old military intervention in Mali in April and handing over to African forces.  Le Drian said Friday at the end of a brief visit that French forces were now deep in the Islamists’ stronghold in the remote valleys of northern Mali and had uncovered weapons caches stockpiled by the al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

UN threatens to stop working with Congo army units accused of rape

03/08/13:  Reuters reports the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has threatened to stop supporting two Congolese army battalions unless soldiers accused of raping scores of women in an eastern town are prosecuted, a senior UN official said on Thursday. The United Nations said 126 women were raped in Minova in November after Congolese troops fled to the town as so-called M23 rebels briefly captured the nearby provincial capital of Goma. The senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two Congolese battalions had been told to start prosecuting soldiers accused of raping the women in Minova this month or they would lose the support of UN peacekeepers.

UN Security Council loosens Somalian arms embargo

03/07/13:  The New York Times reports the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to temporarily rescind part of a 21-year-old arms embargo on Somalia, the East African country once considered synonymous with warlordism, piracy and anarchy, portraying the easing as part of an effort to strengthen the fragile Somalian government’s authority by permitting it to purchase light weapons. A resolution adopted by the council also reauthorized, for one year, the African Union Mission to Somalia, a force of nearly 18,000 peacekeepers deployed in the country. Those troops are considered largely responsible for helping bring a measure of calm and stability to Somalia over the past 18 months by retaking territory formerly held by the Shabab, a fearsome Islamist militant group affiliated with Al Qaeda.

UN Security Council to vote on loosening Somalia arms embargo

03/03/13: Reuters reports the UN Security Council will vote Wednesday on a draft resolution lifting an arms embargo on Somalia’s government for one year so it can beef up its army to combat Islamist fighters.  Mogadishu has asked for the arms embargo to be lifted and the United States wants the Council to agree, but Britain and France have been wary of removing the ban in a country already awash with weapons.  The draft resolution, drawn up by the UK, appears to propose a compromise: lifting the arms embargo for one year but keeping restrictions in place on heavy weapons such as surface-to-air missiles, howitzers, and cannons.  Under the resolution, the embargo would not apply to other “weapons or military equipment or the provision of advice, assistance or training” to the Somali government.

Dutch court jails Rwandan woman for incitement to genocide

03/01/13:  Reuters reports a Dutch court sentenced a Rwandan-born woman to six years and eight months in jail on Friday for inciting genocide two decades ago. Judges said 66-year-old Yvonne Besabya, now a Dutch citizen, had stoked hatred against her ethnic Tutsi neighbors before Rwanda's 1994 genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. The conviction, which was secured under universal jurisdiction - the principle that countries have the right to try the most heinous crimes wherever they were committed - was the first for genocide in a Dutch court since World War Two. District court judges said Besabya, the wealthy Hutu wife of a Rwandan lawmaker, had used her influence to incite her Hutu neighbors to violence against Tutsis. The court acquitted Besabya of all other charges, including perpetrating genocide, murder and war crimes. The Rwandan genocide has increasingly become the focus of court cases in Europe, despite the existence of a dedicated U.N. tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania that has tried those suspected of masterminding the killings.

5 Somalis convicted of piracy in USS Ashland case

02/28/13:  The Miami Herald reports five Somali men were convicted of piracy Wednesday for the 2010 attack on the USS Ashland off the coast of Africa. A sixth man who claimed to be the group's leader had already pleaded guilty to lesser charges and testified that they thought they were attacking a merchant ship when one of his crew members fired an AK-47 at the Ashland. Prosecutors said the men intended to board the ship and hold it for ransom, a common practice in Somalia. But before that could happen, the Virginia-based amphibious dock landing ship returned fire with a 25mm cannon, killing one man and setting the pirates' skiff on fire. Defense attorneys had argued to the federal jury that the men were returning to Somalia after ferrying refugees to Yemen when they came across the ship in the Gulf of Aden. They said an AK-47 was fired in the Ashland's direction to get its attention so it could help them after they were wandering around lost at sea.

In Niger, US troops set up drone base

02/23/13:  The New York Times reports opening a new front in the drone wars against Al Qaeda and its affiliates, President Obama announced on Friday that about 100 American troops had been sent to Niger in West Africa to help set up a new base from which unarmed Predator aircraft would conduct surveillance in the region. The new drone base, located for now in the capital, Niamey, is an indication of the priority Africa has become in American antiterrorism efforts. The United States military has a limited presence in Africa, with only one permanent base, in Djibouti, more than 3,000 miles from Mali, where insurgents had taken over half the country until repelled by a French-led force.  In a letter to Congress, Mr. Obama said about 40 United States military service members arrived in Niger on Wednesday, bringing the total number of those deployed in the country to about 100 people. A military official said the troops were largely Air Force logistics specialists, intelligence analysts and security officers.

Nigeria secret police say terror group broken up

02/21/13:  The Miami Herald reports Nigeria's secret police said Wednesday they broke up a terrorist group backed by "Iranian handlers" who wanted to assassinate a former military ruler and gather intelligence about locations frequented by Americans and Israelis. The State Security Service, responsible for domestic spying in Africa's most populous nation, offered no details about who actually controlled and bankrolled the group. However, it said it had arrested three suspected terrorists, including the group's leader, before they could launch attacks. The service identified the leader as Abdullahi Mustaphah Berende, a 50-year-old leader of a local Shiite sect in Ilorin. Ogar said Berende was arrested along with two other suspected members, while another remains at large. Iran has previously been involved in police actions in Nigeria. In 2010, authorities at Lagos' Apapa Port found a hidden shipment of 107 mm artillery rockets, rifle rounds and other weapons from Iran.

Congo deploys 500 soldiers to hunt Ugandan warlord

02/16/13: The Miami Herald reports the African Union says Congo has sent 500 troops to join a Uganda-led military effort to hunt down Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group.  The troops were handed over in a ceremony Wednesday, the African Union said in a statement received Friday, bringing to 3,350 the number of African soldiers deployed against the LRA.  Uganda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic have already contributed troops to an African Union military program conceived last year to eliminate the LRA from the vast jungles of central Africa. They are assisted by about 100 U.S. military advisers.

 

Militant threats test role of a Pentagon command in Africa

02/12/13:  The New York Times reports created five years ago to focus on training the armed forces of dozens of African nations and strengthening social, political and economic programs, the Pentagon’s Africa Command now finds itself on a more urgent mission: confronting a new generation of Islamist militants who are testing the United States’ resolve to fight terrorism without being drawn into a major conflict.  Some military and Congressional critics question whether the command is up to dealing with its dual mission, and some influential lawmakers warn that Africom, with its headquarters in Germany, is understaffed and poorly financed for challenges that include countering Al Qaeda’s fighters in Mali, Islamic extremists in Libya, drug traffickers in West Africa and armed rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The leader of the command, Gen. Carter F. Ham, must straddle the new and the old missions, as he demonstrated one day last month when he flew to the northern reaches of this largely desert nation to watch United States troops train Niger’s fledgling border corps in basic skills to help combat Al Qaeda’s branch in North and West Africa.

France opens case against terror suspects

02/10/13: BBC News reports a French judge has opened criminal proceedings against four men suspected of links with Islamist militant networks in west Africa.  The four, who were detained near Paris on Tuesday, are being investigated for possible “association with a terrorist enterprise.”  Reports say three are French and one is from Mali.  French officials have said they were arrested in connection with the case of a French national arrested in Niger while trying to join Jihadist groups in Mali last year.  The man was extradited to France, where criminal proceedings were launched against him in August.  France increased its domestic terror threat level after French forces entered Mali on January 11 to push back militants who had captured Timbuktu and other parts of northern Mali.