United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

30 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

US senator seeks Sudan engagement after referendum (AFP)

(Sudan) A key US senator unveiled a bill Wednesday to cement Washington's
engagement with strife-torn Sudan through a January 2011 referendum that could see
the South claim its independence.

Govt and U.S. Update Anti-Drug Trafficking Agreement (Daily Trust)

(Nigeria) The Federal Government and the United States have signed agreement to
update their existing Letter of Agreement on counter-narcotics cooperation.

Moroccan MP addresses Africa Policy Forum (Zawya)

(Morocco) The Maghreb is important to African development, the youngest member of
Morocco's Parliament and chair of its Foreign Affairs Committee, told an international
forum in the US on Tuesday (September 28th).

Banking Expert Urges Americans to Invest (The Herald)

(Zimbabwe) Washington DC-based investment banking expert Mr Greg Lebedev says
Zimbabwe presents massive investment opportunities and the Americans are "late for
the party" as some developed economies are already investing in the country.

U.S. Embassy Officials Visit Bwalam Community Radio (The Daily Observer -
Gambia)
(Gambia) Some officials of the United States Embassy in Banjul, led by Cindy Cregg,
charge De Affaires of the Embassy, Monday visited the Bwiam Community Radio
Station (BCR) in Foni Kansala District of Western Region.

Wal-Mart Deal Draws Fire From Cosatu (Business Day)

(South Africa) The first front in Wal-Mart's battle to win over public opinion in Africa
opened up yesterday when two unions fired shots across the bow of the world's largest
retailer, criticising its labour and procurement record.

Senate Asks Why Lockerbie Bomber Was Freed (Wall Street Journal)
(Libya) The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a long-awaited hearing
Wednesday that aims to find out why Scotland last year gave a controversial
"compassionate release" to cancer-stricken Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.

Uganda holds two key al-Qaida operatives (UPI)

(Uganda) Ugandan authorities are holding two men that intelligence officials say are
key leaders of al-Qaida's network in East Africa and were behind July 11 bombings in
Kampala, underlining links between al-Qaida and the Islamist al-Shebaab organization
in Somalia.

North African spy chiefs meet to fight Al Qaeda (AFP)

(North Africa) Intelligence chiefs from four north African countries were meeting in
Algiers on Wednesday to set up a centre for joint operations against Al Qaeda in the
region, a source at the talks said.

The challenge of civilian protection for peacekeepers in Africa (IRIN)

(Pan Africa) The protection of civilians in conflict situations is a key challenge for blue
berets across the world, but what would it take for peacekeepers deployed in Africa to
do better?

UN lifts arms embargo on Sierra Leone (Associated Press)

(Sierra Leone) The U.N. Security Council is lifting a 13-year-old arms embargo against
the small west African nation of Sierra Leone after being assured that the nation is
sufficiently stable following the civil war that ended in 2002.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Security Council lifts sanctions against Sierra Leone
 At General Assembly, Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of spoiling peace efforts in
Somalia
 Côte d’Ivoire calls at UN for more aid for post-conflict development
 UN rights panel to hear from victims of sexual violence in DR Congo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, October 1, 12:00 p.m to 1:15 p.m ; IPS Conference Room
WHAT: The Political Economy of African Responses to the U.S. Africa Command
WHO: Carl LeVan and Jillian Emerson, co-authors of a new paper on the politics of
African responses to Africom
Info: http://www.fpif.org/

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, October 6, Noon; Cato Institute

WHAT: Why Africa Is Poor and What Africans Can Do about It
WHO: Greg Mills, Director, Brenthurst Foundation, South Africa; Marian L. Tupy,
Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute; moderated by
Ian Vásquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute
Info: http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=7401

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, October 7, 9:00 a.m.; Center for Strategic and International
Studies
WHAT: Next Steps on Sudan: Has the Comprehensive Peace Agreement Paved the
Way to Peace?
WHO: Lieutenant General Lazaro K. Sumbeiywo, former Kenyan Special Envoy and
Lead Mediator of the Sudanese Peace Process
Info: http://csis.org/events
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

US senator seeks Sudan engagement after referendum (AFP)

WASHINGTON – A key US senator unveiled a bill Wednesday to cement Washington's

engagement with strife-torn Sudan through a January 2011 referendum that could see
the South claim its independence.

"Sudan is facing a defining moment. While the Sudanese must own their future, the
United States can help the parties find a peaceful path forward," Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said in a statement.

The proposal from Kerry, a close White House ally, affirms support for President
Barack Obama's diplomatic outreach and efforts to forge a lasting peace, as well as
address the fate of the violence-wracked Darfur region.

The "Sudan Peace and Stability Act of 2010" offers US help to achieve the goals of a 2005
peace agreement between north and south Sudan that ended two decades of civil war,
during which about two million people were killed.

The bill calls for certain types of US aid for security forces and civil aviation in Southern
Sudan but requires progress on good governance and accountability in return,
according to a summary provided by Kerry's office.

The Massachusetts Democrat's proposal called for naming a "full-time, senior official" --
in addition to an existing Sudan "special envoy" post -- to help bolster fractious peace
talks between the Sudanese government in Khartoum and rebel groups in Darfur.

Darfur, an arid desert region, has been gripped by a civil war since 2003 that has killed
300,000 people and displaced another 2.7 million, according to UN figures. Khartoum
says 10,000 people have died.
The legislation notes that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges that he masterminded a campaign of
genocide in Darfur.

And it declares that US policy will be to "support international efforts, including those
of the International Criminal Court, to bring those responsible for genocide, crimes
against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur."

Kerry's bill says oil shipped from Southern Sudan may transit northward without being
subject to US sanctions in some cases, and calls on Washington to work with
international partners to ensure the referendum goes smoothly and humanitarian aid
flows to areas in need.

Senators Russell Feingold and Dick Durbin, both Democrats, co-sponsored the measure
with Republican Senators Sam Brownback and Roger Wicker.
--------------------
Govt and U.S. Update Anti-Drug Trafficking Agreement (Daily Trust)

The Federal Government and the United States have signed agreement to update their
existing Letter of Agreement on counter-narcotics cooperation.

The agreement was signed in a ceremony yesterday at the Ministry of Justice by U.S.
Chargé d' Affaires James P. McAnulty and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of
the Federation Mohammed B. Adoke, SAN, and Executive Chairman of the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ahmadu Giade.

The two countries agreed that Nigeria's capability to investigate and prosecute
international drug trafficking and related organized crimes should be enhanced.

The U.S. will deploy a technical advisor as part of its continued support for the NDLEA
and its fight against drug trafficking in Nigeria while both countries express
commitment to take actions and provide the resources necessary to ensure the success
of the project.

A statement from the U.S embassy said in his brief remarks, McAnulty congratulated
the government of Nigeria for its counter-narcotics efforts underscoring the success of
four U.S. government-donated hi-tech full body scanners at interdicting drug couriers
at all four of Nigeria's international airports.
--------------------
Moroccan MP addresses Africa Policy Forum (Zawya)

(Morocco) The Maghreb is important to African development, the youngest member of

Morocco's Parliament and chair of its Foreign Affairs Committee, told an international
forum in the US on Tuesday (September 28th).

"Our collective thinking and debate on Africa is vital to help all nations on the continent
reach their highest potential," Mbarka Bouaida said in Atlanta at the Leon H. Sullivan
Foundation's Africa Policy Forum. "This conversation is not complete if it doesn't
include North Africa. Morocco and its neighbours have great potential as a region and
can contribute tremendously to its southern neighbours," she said.

Moroccan Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Ouzzine and AFRICOM
commander General William E. "Kip" Ward are among the African and international
officials attending the event, held for the first time this year outside the African
continent. The forum ends Wednesday.
--------------------
Banking Expert Urges Americans to Invest (The Herald)

Harare — Washington DC-based investment banking expert Mr Greg Lebedev says

Zimbabwe presents massive investment opportunities and the Americans are "late for
the party" as some developed economies are already investing in the country.

Mr Lebedev, senior advisor with Adelphi Capital, is the keynote speaker at the Just
Business 2010 conference which begins in Harare today.

"There is massive amount of opportunities in Zimbabwe and America has been late for
the party. Africa is a potential emerging market and the American business community
has to be educated of these opportunities and clear all misconceptions," he said.

The two-day conference is being held under the theme "From Economic Stability to
Growth".

Vice-President Joice Mujuru is expected to officially open the conference, with Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai closing it.

Just Business is a forum between American and Zimbabwean businesses aimed at

increasing investment between the two countries.

The renewed investor interest has been precipitated by the improving economy
following the launch of the multiple currency trading system in February last year and
the formation of the inclusive Government.

International investors had left the country over the last decade when Zimbabwe
experienced a hyper-inflationary environment and serious capital flight.
However, foreign investors' appetite for Zimbabwean markets has since increased
following commitment from Government to revive the economy.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti is projecting the country's economy to grow by about 8
percent this year.

However, Mr Lebedev said Government and the private sector should continue with
dialogue to improve the operating environment.

He added that the country should also improve on the doing business index to access
capital, internationally.

Only 40 percent of Zimbabwe's Gross Domestic Product comes from the formal sector
meaning that the 60 percent is in the informal sector, which has to be legitimised so it
contributes to the fiscus.

Mr Lebedev who will speak on creating economic growth through opening access to
opportunities, is also the chairman of the Centre for International Private Enterprise,
among other positions.

Another international speaker, Mr Scott Eisner, executive director of the African

Business Initiative at the US Chamber of Commerce is also in the country for the
conference.

Former Tanzanian attorney general, Judge Mark Danhi Bomani is part of the line up of
speakers that also includes South Africa's corporate governance guru Professor Mervyn
King.

Some of the speakers include Mr Thierry Kalonji, a senior investment officer at the
Comesa secretariat Zambia, Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion
Tapiwa Mashakada, Dr Godfrey Kanyenze and Mr David Bridgman, manager for
Africa of the Investment Climate Advisory Services.
--------------------
U.S. Embassy Officials Visit Bwalam Community Radio (The Daily Observer -
Gambia)

Some officials of the United States Embassy in Banjul, led by Cindy Cregg, charge De
Affaires of the Embassy, Monday visited the Bwiam Community Radio Station (BCR) in
Foni Kansala District of Western Region.

Upon arrival, the US Embassy officials were taken on a conducted tour of the radio
station by Yankuba Manneh, the programme co-ordinator at Saint Joseph's Family
Farms Centre and some staff of the radio station.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the conducted tour of the radio station, Yankuba
Manneh, said the radio station has brought about a big change in the lives of the people
of the area, adding that the FM station has a lot of interesting human programmes. He
informed the delegation that the radio station has a wider coverage that allows listeners
in the Kombos, Baddibus in the North Bank Region and even in Senegal to tune to the
community radio.

With less than two years since it began operation, Manneh said they used to encounter
problems in the coverage system at certain times, particularly when the weather
changes.

He then thanked the US Embassy officials for the visit, describing it as a great moment
in the history of the radio station, and added that the visit would also serve as a moral
boost for the staffs. He finally thanked the staffs of the community radio for their
commitment and hard work in the execution of their duties. For her part, Cindy Cregg,
charge De Affaires at the US Embassy in Banjul, expressed delight at having such
development at the community level.

She described such initiative as something that will go a long way in bringing about
change in the lives of the rural people, considering the critical role community radios
can play in educating and sensitising people on the burdening issues that are dangerous
to their lives. She then thanked the staffs at the radio station for their hard work, and
urged them to keep up the momentum.

Zack Bailey, political and economic officer at the US Embassy also expressed similar
sentiment.
--------------------
Wal-Mart Deal Draws Fire From Cosatu (Business Day)

Johannesburg — The first front in Wal-Mart's battle to win over public opinion in Africa
opened up yesterday when two unions fired shots across the bow of the world's largest
retailer, criticising its labour and procurement record.

The Western Cape branch of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said
it would oppose any bid to open stores in the province by Wal- Mart, which said on
Monday that it was in talks to buy Massmart.

"We call on urgent national action from government to investigate this hostile move by
Wal- Mart. Companies whose practice it is to abuse workers' rights are not welcome in
SA," it said.

The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) said it
opposed Wal-Mart's practice of procuring from other countries, as this would
undermine the precarious local manufacturing industry.
Wal-Mart's procurement has seen "not only the collapse of local manufacturing in many
instances, but has also fuelled the use of child labour and extreme low wage labour in
other parts of the world", Saccawu said.

Johannesburg-based Massmart, the subject of a R29,8bn bid by the Bentonville,

Arkansas-based retailer, said it intended to protect the rights of all stakeholders,
including labour unions.

It also said it contacted Cosatu and Saccawu leaders early on Monday to discuss the
announcement with them.

While this can be seen as the opening gambit in a lengthy battle, it will be a test for Wal-
Mart as it seeks to ease its way into a growing African continent with nearly 1-billion
consumers. It will have to overcome perceptions created by a history of anti-unionism
and a lengthy record of lawsuits.

In January 2005, the company was fined 135540 by US authorities for charges of
violating child labour laws in three states. The company denied the charges. The same
year, it was ordered to pay 7,5m in damages to a disabled former employee who
claimed it unfairly reassigned him. Also that year, it paid the US government 11m to
settle an investigation into the use of illegal immigrants by Wal-Mart contractors.

The company is fighting a class action lawsuit brought against it by 1,5-million US

women claiming systematic discrimination in pay and promotions.

Wal-Mart has shown better conduct in countries with stronger labour laws, a point it
stressed yesterday. "We respect and honour pre-existing union relationships and are
committed to abiding by South African labour laws," said Doug McMillon, president
and CEO of Wal-Mart International.
--------------------
Senate Asks Why Lockerbie Bomber Was Freed (Wall Street Journal)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a long-awaited hearing Wednesday
that aims to find out why Scotland last year gave a controversial "compassionate
release" to cancer-stricken Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.

But the session may only widen the gulf between U.S. politicians demanding a more
detailed medical explanation of how Mr. Megrahi won his freedom and Scottish
officials who are declining to provide one.

A Senate staffer's fact-finding trip to Britain this month appears to have produced even
more conflict between the U.S. and Scotland, particularly surrounding the details of Mr.
Megrahi's prognosis and the question of whether he began chemotherapy treatments
before or after he was released by the Scots.

The Senate staffer met with George Burgess, who was Scotland's deputy director for
Criminal Law and Licensing at the time of Mr. Megrahi's release. According to an aide
to Sen. Robert Menendez, (D., N.J.), the senator who is heading the hearing, Mr. Burgess
said the convicted bomber began chemotherapy before leaving Scotland. According to
the aide, the Scottish official also said it was Peter Kay, Mr. Megrahi's general
practitioner in the Scottish prison system, who issued the prognosis that Mr. Megrahi
had about three months to live—a guideline prisoners must meet to qualify for
compassionate release in Scotland. That prognosis was later sanctioned by Scottish
Prison Service medical administrator Andrew Fraser. The hearing stands to address
both those assertions on Wednesday, the aide said.

Scotland, however, says that isn't an accurate portrayal of what was said in the meeting.
Mr. Burgess couldn't be reached to comment.

"It is a matter of public record that Megrahi was not on chemotherapy treatment in
Scotland at any point," a spokeswoman for the Scottish government said in an email
Tuesday. She added that "the responsibility to provide a reasonable estimate of
prognosis was Dr. Fraser's—no one else's—and therefore the prognosis was his." The
spokeswoman didn't say whether Dr. Kay agreed to the prognosis, or made it initially.

One year has passed since convicted Pan Am 103 bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was
released from a Scotish prision on compassionate grounds, but controversy over his
return to Libya remains. Video courtesy of Reuters.
Mr. Megrahi is the only person convicted for the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am
Flight 103 that killed 270 people, including 189 Americans, when it exploded over
Lockerbie, Scotland. On Aug. 20, 2009, Scotland granted him a so-called compassionate
release on the grounds that the Libyan convict, suffering from terminal prostate cancer,
had about three months to live.

More than 13 months later, Mr. Megrahi remains alive at home in Libya, raising
questions about how Scottish authorities determined that the convicted bomber was
roughly three months from death. The questions were amplified last month when The
Wall Street Journal reported that there was no evidence that any of the specialists who
treated Mr. Megrahi's cancer signed off on the dire medical prognosis that led to his
release.

The situation has frustrated U.S. politicians who believe Scotland needs to explain its
actions in greater detail. Led by Sen. Menendez, four senators issued a letter in August
calling for the Scottish government to release Mr. Megrahi's full medical records.
Scotland, which had sole decision-making power over Mr. Megrahi's release,
independent of the U.K. government, has refused.
Mr. Megrahi's lawyer, Tony Kelly, said he didn't feel comfortable divulging details of
his client's medical treatment. Despite the haggling between the U.S. and Scotland over
when the chemotherapy began and which doctor made the prognosis, the issue of Mr.
Megrahi's chemotherapy—which had been discussed around the time of his release—
has added weight to the Senate's call for the release of the medical documents.

One of the primary points of inquiry for the Senate is Mr. Megrahi's chemotherapy
treatment, the aide to Sen. Menendez said. Doctors normally wouldn't administer
chemotherapy to a patient seen to be three months from death, experts have said.

Neither the Scottish government nor the U.K. government are sending representatives
to testify at the hearing. Nor is BP PLC, which has at times been accused of influencing
the decision to release Mr. Megrahi to advance its oil interests in Libya. The Senate
committee has said it will explore "the possible influence of commercial interests" on
Mr. Megrahi's release.

BP has said it lobbied to speed the passage of a Prisoner Transfer Agreement between
the U.K. and Libya ratified in spring 2009. But the oil giant's involvement in the
Megrahi case has so far been a moot point. Though Mr. Megrahi applied to be
transferred under that agreement last year, his application was rejected; instead, he
went free thanks to a separate application under Scottish law's provision for
compassionate release.
--------------------
Uganda holds two key al-Qaida operatives (UPI)

KAMPALA, Uganda - Ugandan authorities are holding two men that intelligence
officials say are key leaders of al-Qaida's network in East Africa and were behind July
11 bombings in Kampala, underlining links between al-Qaida and the Islamist al-
Shebaab organization in Somalia.

Omar Awadh Omar, a Kenyan described as the deputy commander of al-Qaida's

regional organization, and Hussein Hassan Agade, one of his lieutenants, are among
some 36 suspects seized following the bombings that killed 79 people as they watched
the World Cup soccer final on television.

Uganda's leading Web site, New Vision, reported that Awadh and Agade were arrested
in a Kampala hotel Sept. 15. The site quoted intelligence sources as saying the pair were
planning a similar attack in Kenya but gave no details.

The sources said that Awadh, whose nom de guerre is Abu Sahal, is a key logistics and
intelligence link to al-Shabaab, which is ideologically affiliated with al-Qaida.
He is No. 2 to Fazul Abdullah Mohammed from the Comoros Islands off East Africa, a
veteran al-Qaida operative held responsible for the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of the U.S.
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 241 people.

He is also considered to have masterminded and led twin attacks in Mombasa, a port
and resort city on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast Nov. 28, 2002. Sixteen people were killed
in the suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel, while Fazul fired two surface-to-air
missiles at an Israeli airliner that had just taken from the city's airport. Both missed.

U.N. and aid officials in Somalia say al-Shabaab is being reinforced with jihadist
veterans from Afghanistan and Pakistan, buttressing U.S. concerns that al-Qaida/al-
Shabaab are planning to expand their operations abroad.

The July 11 bombings in Kampala were seen as the work of seasoned al-Qaida
operatives, although the attacks were linked to the Somali conflict.

Uganda contributes troops to a 7,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force that is

about all that prevents the shaky Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu falling
to al-Shabaab.

Western intelligence officials fear al-Qaida wants to link jihadists in Somalia with al-
Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula based in Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden from the Horn
of Africa.

If that is the jihadists' plan, they would be able to straddle the key shipping route
through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. The strait links the
Red Sea and the Arabian Sea and is a vital oil artery from the Persian Gulf.

Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi, currently executive director of the Council for the
National Interest in Washington, said he believes that the administration of President
Barack Obama is gearing up for conflict with al-Qaida and its fellow travelers in
Somalia and Yemen.

"The administration is clearly thinking beyond Afghanistan (and even Iran),

anticipating the next battlefronts in Yemen and Somalia," he wrote in The American
Conservative.

"It is assiduously gathering resources to enter the fray, including setting up business
fronts that can be used by covert operatives."

The nerve center of the operations envisaged by Giraldi will be the U.S. military base at
Camp Lemonnier, a former French Foreign Legion camp in Djibouti, east of Somalia in
the Horn of Africa.
The U.S. base was established after 9/11 to combat terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
From there, U.S. Special Forces and the CIA, using informants on the ground, have been
running occasional strikes against al-Shabaab and al-Qaida operatives in Somalia since
2006.

"CIA and Special Ops soldiers have been busy placing sensors and electronic
surveillance devices throughout the Horn of Africa and in Yemen to permit greatly
expanded operations," Giraldi wrote.

"Both CIA and (U.S.) Army units in Djibouti have recently been beefed up in
expectation that fighting will intensify in 2011."

Whether this will involve U.S. boots on the ground in Somalia isn't clear but it's
unlikely. Initially, at least, targeted assassinations and other such in-and-out operations
are more likely.

The Ugandan sources said Fazul began planning the Kampala bombings after U.S.
commandos assassinated his close associate, Saleh Ali Nabhan, in Somalia Sept. 14,
2009.

Once that operation, supervised by a senior operative identified only as Jabir, had been
concluded he and Awadh met in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, to start planning twin
bombings in Kenya. The target wasn't disclosed.
--------------------
North African spy chiefs meet to fight Al Qaeda (AFP)

ALGIERS – Intelligence chiefs from four north African countries were meeting in
Algiers on Wednesday to set up a centre for joint operations against Al Qaeda in the
region, a source at the talks said.

The source, who is taking part in the talks, told AFP intelligence chiefs from Mali,
Niger, Mauritania and Algeria were attending the meeting which was under way.

"The atmosphere is good and we are going to end the talks today," said the source,
speaking by telephone to AFP in the Mali capital Bamako.

The source said that there was basic agreement between the four participants "that the
centre should be based in Algiers."

But he said that other nations of the Sahel region of North Africa where the terror threat
is spreading should be invited to participate in the operation.

These nations would include Chad, Libya and Morocco who must "join the club," the
source said, while adding that not everyone agreed and that strained ties between some
of the nations such as Algeria and Morocco would reduce the chances of broadening the
operation for now.

The talks are taking place three days after a meeting of the chiefs of general staff of the
four countries in Tamanrasset in the south of Algeria, where they made known their
readiness to step up the struggle against Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

AQIM is active in all four countries and operates across their desert borders in the
Sahel, a band of territory between the Sahara desert to the north and grasslands to the
south.

In mid-September, AQIM claimed responsibility for taking seven hostages in northern

Niger, who have since been transferred to northeastern Mali, close to the Algerian
border.

The hostages were kidnapped by an armed gang in a September 16 raid on a uranium

mining town.

According to the Algerian newspaper Liberte, the four African nations face obstacles in
working together on terrorism including the failure of Western nations to share
information supplied by sophisticated surveillance techniques such as satellite images.

Newspaper also cite Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose address to the UN
General Assembly on Tuesday condemned nations who pay ransom to terrorists, saying
the money fuelled the spread of the problem.

France was sharply criticised in Algeria in February after Frenchman Pierre Camatte
was freed after three months in captivity at the hands of Al Qaeda. He was freed after
Al Qaeda demands for the release of four detained Islamists were met.

France has said that it is willing to talk to Al Qaeda about the release of the hostages
captured in September.
--------------------
The challenge of civilian protection for peacekeepers in Africa (IRIN)

The protection of civilians in conflict situations is a key challenge for blue berets across
the world, but what would it take for peacekeepers deployed in Africa to do better?

This question has gained added urgency from the mass rape by armed rebels over four
days in late July and early August 2010 of more than 300 civilians in villages in eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo that lie close to a UN peacekeepers’ base.

These peacekeepers, reported the UN Joint Human Rights Office, “had not received any
specific training in the protection of civilians, and suffered from a number of
operational constraints, including their limited capacity to gather information, as well
as the lack of a telecommunications system in the area.”

According to Paul Williams, associate professor at George Washington University, “For

many, civilian protection is the very essence of peacekeeping. But protecting civilians in
Africa’s war zones raises huge challenges."

These, Williams says in Enhancing Civilian Protection in Peace Operations: Insights

from Africa, include the need to devise effective systems of information gathering and
analysis to detect patterns of atrocities, and the development of strategies and
operational approaches for protection from physical violence.

"Although difficult, civilian protection can be enhanced if peace operation policies are
based on a multilayered conception of protection, a sound analysis of the conflict
dynamics in question, a clear view of the strategy guiding protection activities, and
peacekeepers supplied with sufficient resources to undertake crucial operational and
tactical tasks," he notes.

The paper, published by the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies
(ACSS), states: "The most strategic long-term challenge is determining how to
effectively deter attacks on civilians. Progress can be made by responding robustly to
stop and punish those who perpetrate such atrocities; strengthening the international
legal and normative constraints on anti-civilian behaviour, and building security
forces... to uphold these rules.

"The human cost of Africa’s wars is enormous. Civilians are the main victims in these
conflicts, and although most succumb to disease and the effects of malnutrition, a
significant number are slaughtered.

"Since 1990, the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme has recorded the massacres of over
570,000 civilians in 27 African countries," states Williams.

Peacekeeping surge

An unprecedented surge has occurred in the deployment of peacekeepers with 124,000

personnel from 115 countries now serving in 16 missions across four continents,
according to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), costing more
than US$8 billion annually.

Over the years, the focus has shifted from the traditional monitoring of negotiated
agreements between warring parties towards missions tasked with supporting election
processes to building the capacity of state institutions, protecting civilians or engaging
in actual combat.
“The very presence of peacekeepers creates expectations among local people that they
will be protected if violence erupts," the NGO Refugees International (RI) stated in a
February report, Last Line of Defense: How Peacekeepers Can Better Protect Civilians.

"The failure to meet these expectations can result in a breakdown of wider mission
legitimacy that will make it extremely difficult for peacekeepers to accomplish other,
long-term peace-building objectives."

In July 2009, a coalition of 22 NGOs in Sudan warned that more needed to be done for
peacekeepers in Darfur to ensure civilian protection. The UN Mission had "failed at
many critical junctures due to lagging support from the international community and
continued obstruction by the Sudanese government", they said in a joint statement.
"Helicopters that are needed for transport remain undelivered, and the Sudanese
government continues to impede the mission's effectiveness."

Other missions have faced problems too. "Perhaps the most dire example of how failure
to resupply a mission can impact [on] its ability to undertake protection activities was in
the first few days of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when it became clear that [UN
Mission in Rwanda] UNAMIR lacked the ability to replenish its supplies, including its
ammunition and medicines," the ACSS report notes.

In some situations, UN peacekeepers have worked alongside government forces who

have been accused of taking part in atrocities. The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC),
which was helping Congolese government forces to defeat various rebel groups, had to
cope with allegations that "government soldiers regularly committed abuses against
civilians". It also faced allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by its personnel.

Shared responsibility

In June 2010, the UN General Assembly met to discuss peacekeeping. “While long-term
peace is difficult to achieve, it is more likely when a peacekeeping mission is part of the
picture,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. But, he added, successful peacekeeping
"is a shared responsibility".

Lakhdar Brahimi, former special adviser to the Secretary-General, outlined challenges

ranging from systemic problems to lack of data and intelligence, staff recruitment
difficulties and the need for broader participation by developed countries.

"The UN cannot go everywhere and do everything," he said. Some past missions, he

added, had failed because they had been sent into situations that were not suitable for
peacekeeping. "We believed then, and I believe strongly now, that whatever the [UN]
does, it should do well,” he told the meeting.
"If it is going to protect civilians from imminent threat, then it must do so. If it can’t,
then it should think twice about making such commitments."

Changed context

Peacekeepers today undertake a variety of complex tasks, including building

institutions of governance, human rights monitoring, security sector reform,
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants.

"The nature of conflicts has also changed over the years," DPKO notes. While the
military remain the backbone of most peacekeeping operations, its many faces include
administrators and economists, police officers and legal experts, de-miners and electoral
observers, human rights monitors and specialists in civil affairs and governance,
humanitarian workers and experts in communications and public information.

UN peacekeeping continues to evolve conceptually and operationally, but increasing

demand for complex peace operations has overstretched and challenged the
department. Critics say this has led to problems.

"While there is no doubt that the international community’s concern for protecting
civilians has become increasingly entrenched in high-level rhetoric and political
language, soldiers and civilians deployed in peacekeeping missions are confused about
what exactly their mandate for protection civilians involves," notes Nicki Bennett,
former Oxfam global humanitarian policy adviser.

"Faced with a need to retain host government consent, a risk-averse UN Secretariat and
a widespread desire amongst some UN member states to cling to the ‘minimum use of
force’ principle (one of the bedrock tenets of peacekeeping, alongside impartiality and
consent), missions have unsurprisingly found it difficult to define civilian protection,
agree on the precise meaning of mandate caveats and translate these concepts into
comprehensive strategies and concrete action," he wrote in Humanitarian Exchange
Magazine in March.

Lacking resources

RI gives an example of a May 2008 attack in Abyei, Sudan, which destroyed the town
and displaced thousands. "Local communities and international humanitarian actors
were outraged that UNMIS [UN Mission in Sudan] had failed to prevent the crisis," it
noted.

"Yet, the peacekeepers did not feel that they had the resources required to respond, and
the terms of the mandate led many people within the mission to deny that this sort of
protection was their responsibility... traditional military doctrines and training were
built mainly to defend territories, not to protect individuals."
They were also increasingly targeted. According to Human Rights Watch, an increase in
deliberate attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian organizations in Sudan (the death
toll reached 27 in July) further hampered operations.

Globally, according to the UN, more than 700 peacekeepers have died in the course of
duty in the past five years, while more than 3,000 have been killed since the first
operation in 1948.

But on the plus side, working under difficult circumstances has encouraged
peacekeepers to seek new ways to protect civilians. Some conduct foot and vehicle
patrols in vulnerable areas to deter attacks, said ACSS.

"In Sudan and the DRC, nearly 35,000 civilians have been massacred in episodes of one-
sided violence since 1990," it notes. "Yet despite being widely regarded as catastrophic
failures, the peace operations in these countries have also produced some of the most
innovative examples of how protection policies might be improved in the future."

Even then, says RI, there is a need for a uniform operational definition of what
protection means from a peacekeeping perspective to guide their planning and
activities.

Strengthening IHL

The legal bedrock for civilian protection is the global effort to strengthen international
humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights laws. For example, IHL has created a
normative standard of civilian protection that not only prohibits certain weapons and
behaviours but also seeks to punish perpetrators of individual or mass crimes.

According to the ACSS, international tribunals and the International Criminal Court
have made important strides in supporting this agenda by eroding the impunity
traditionally enjoyed by perpetrators of gross violations of IHL and human rights.

Security Council Resolution 1265 also cites possible measures in response “to situations
of armed conflict where civilians are being targeted or where humanitarian assistance to
civilians is being deliberately obstructed”. States, it notes, should ratify key human
rights treaties and work towards ending the culture of impunity by prosecuting those
responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of IHL.

Despite challenges, peacekeeping remains a vital element of international conflict

resolution. According to DPKO, UN peacekeepers have helped disarm more than
400,000 ex-combatants in the last decade, cost much less than other forms of
international intervention, and increasingly work with other international and regional
organizations, including the African Union and European Union.
"After a decade of considerable surge, it appears that UN peacekeeping may now be
headed toward a period of consolidation and perhaps even contraction," Alain Le Roy,
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the General Assembly in
June. "This does not mean that our task will be an easy one. The challenges we are
facing today in many ways remain daunting."

The department, he added, had developed a priority agenda to bolster the effectiveness
of UN peacekeeping, including policy development to ensure practical guidance on
critical roles for modern UN peacekeeping, capability development to sustain required
capabilities to support peacekeeping now and into the future, field support, planning
and oversight.
--------------------
UN lifts arms embargo on Sierra Leone (Associated Press)

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council is lifting a 13-year-old arms embargo
against the small west African nation of Sierra Leone after being assured that the nation
is sufficiently stable following the civil war that ended in 2002.

The 15-member council said Wednesday that it was removing the last U.N. sanctions on
the country because the government had fully re-established control over its territory
and former fighters had been successfully disarmed and demobilized.

Nevertheless, the council agreed that Sierra Leone still needed international support
and extended the mandate of the country's U.N. peace building office by one year.

"Today's actions are important milestones in Sierra Leone's long recovery from war,"
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Wednesday, adding that the peace building office,
"will play a critical role in Sierra Leone's continued progress toward development and
stabilization."

The peace building office, launched in October 2008, replaced a U.N. peacekeeping
force that disarmed and demobilized more than 75,000 ex-fighters.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, that was
marked by militia members who hacking off the limbs, noses or lips of their victims,
and the recruitment of child soldiers.

The U.N. arms embargo was first imposed on Sierra Leone in 1997 after a military coup
of the joint forces of the military and revolutionary United Front rebels and ongoing
human rights violations.

Security-General Ban Ki-moon warned the council during consultations on Tuesday

that political stability could be undermined ahead of national elections in 2012 if the
government pursues an inquest into the military junta's 1992 execution of the police
inspector-general and 27 other people.

The 1992 executions took place under a military regime that toppled a civilian
government led by the All People's Congress. That is the party now led by President
Ernest Bai Koroma, who was elected in 2007.

Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Zainab Bangura told the council on Tuesday that
President Koroma is committed to tolerance and democracy, and took note of the U.N.
concerns about the inquest.

Complicating Sierra Leone's situation is the vast mineral wealth that once made the
country a battlefield over the mining and export of so-called "blood diamonds." Sierra
Leone is now about to begin channeling new wealth from the huge Tonkalili iron ore
deposits, believed to total 10.5 billion tons.

On another west African country recovering from conflict, the Security Council agreed
Wednesday to increase the current U.N. peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast by 500
troops to 9,150, to help with security during long-delayed elections now set for Oct. 31.
The balloting was originally scheduled for 2005.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Security Council lifts sanctions against Sierra Leone

29 September – The Security Council today lifted the arms embargo and other sanctions
it imposed on Sierra Leone more than 12 years ago during the civil war that left at least
75,000 people dead and many more maimed.

At General Assembly, Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of spoiling peace efforts in Somalia

29 September – Ethiopia today accused Eritrea of continuing to undermine efforts to
restore peace and stability in Somalia by arming insurgents battling the transitional
Government in Mogadishu and urged the Security Council to strictly enforce existing
sanctions against Eritrea.

Côte d’Ivoire calls at UN for more aid for post-conflict development

29 September – Côte d’Ivoire today appealed for increased international aid as it
prepares for long-delayed elections next month, a crucial stage in United Nations-
backed efforts to bring peace to a country that was split into a rebel-held north and
Government-controlled south by civil war in 2002.

UN rights panel to hear from victims of sexual violence in DR Congo

29 September – Victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) will have the opportunity to speak out before a high-level panel convened by the
United Nations human rights chief beginning on Thursday in the country’s eastern
province of South Kivu.