United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

24 February 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Exercise Kwanza review in Kinshasa focuses on African Standby Force (US Army
Africa)
(DRC) In his "Commander's Intent 2011" message, one of Army Gen. William E. "Kip"
Ward’s key approaches was that, “… [AFRICOM] will continue to support the African
Union (AU) to include strengthening the capabilities and interoperability of the African
Standby Force (ASF) and its sub-regional elements.”

Barack Obama tells Gaddafi: Libya violence must stop (Guardian)

(Libya) Barack Obama has warned the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that he faces
the prospect of international sanctions over violence against demonstrators, and
condemned Gaddafi's actions as outrageous and unacceptable.

Somali Pirates May Face US Trial for Americans' Deaths (VOA)

(Somalia) The U.S. military says 15 Somali pirates may be sent to the U.S. for trial for
their role in the kidnapping and killing of four Americans.

US Praises Congo For Rape Convictions (VOA)

(DRC) The United States is praising the Democratic Republic of Congo for the swift trial
and sentencing of nine soldiers who were found guilty of carrying out mass rapes.

Gaddafi Opponents Control Coastal East, Reports Say (RFI)

(Libya) Opponents of leader Moamer Kadhafi control the coastal east of Libya, with
government troops fraternising with rebels, media reports say.

Al Qaeda's North African wing says it backs Libya uprising (CNN)

Al Qaeda's North African wing has said "it will do whatever we can to help" the
uprising in Libya, according to a statement the militant group posted on jihadist
websites.

On Ivory Coast diplomacy, South Africa goes its own way (Foreign Policy)
(Ivory Coast/South Africa) Last month, South Africa docked its naval frigate, the SAS
Drakensberg, off the coast of Ivory Coast in a rare, and highly ambiguous, show of force
that riled regional African powers and complicated international efforts to compel the
country's defeated presidential incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, to yield power.
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website
 UN and African partners adopt joint strategy on Somalia crisis
 Head of UN mission welcomes verdicts in DR Congo mass rape case
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, February 24, 2011, 1:00 pm; National Endowment for
Democracy (NED)
WHAT: Liberia, Elections, Corruption, Justice and the Role of the International
Community
WHO: J. Aloysius Toe, former executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights
and Democracy; and Dave Peterson of NED
Info: http://www.ned.org/events

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, February 24, 2011, 2:00 pm; Heritage Foundation

WHAT: Referendum in Southern Sudan and the Road to Independence
WHO: Jon Temin, Director of the Sudan Program, U.S. Institute for Peace; Ambassador
Richard Williamson, former U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan; Ambassador Ezekiel Lol
Gatkuoth, Head of Mission to the United States, Government of Southern Sudan.
Info: http://www.heritage.org/Events/2011/02/South-Sudan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

AFRICOM Cites Growth in Partnerships with African Nations (US State Department
Press Release)

Washington - The commander of the U.S. military's Africa Command (AFRICOM) says
that there has been positive growth in the partnership between his command and 53
African nations that work with him in helping to maintain regional stability and
preventing civil strife.

"What we do are things that our partners desire of us to do," Army General William
"Kip" Ward said during a February 18 roundtable briefing at the Washington Foreign
Press Center.

"This is an important part of our work. Through our interactive activities, such as
conferences, exercises, training, our familiarization programs, our senior leader visits,
we listen very carefully to our partners, and this is all part of our understanding what
matters most to them," Ward said.

The work of AFRICOM is in the interests of the United States, Ward said, but also in the
interests of the African nations and the global community.
AFRICOM, one of six Defense Department regional military headquarters, became
operational October 1, 2008. The command, with a military-civilian staff of 1,300, is
located at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. In fiscal year 2009, the command had a
budget of $310 million and was budgeted for $278 million in fiscal year 2010.

Before the creation of a separate military command for Africa, the United States'
military and security engagements on the continent had been episodic. But after the
command became operational, it has taken an approach focusing on building the
security capacity of its partners, promoting strategic relationships, conducting civilian-
military activities that foster stability and providing crisis response.

Africa Command grew out of the U.S. European Command, which had responsibility
for 92 countries in Europe and Africa. AFRICOM focuses entirely on Africa, with the
one exception of Egypt, which is still under the aegis of the U.S. Central Command.
However, Ward said that Egypt is still very much an African nation and actively
participates in the issues and challenges of the continent. When AFRICOM was created,
Egyptian officials were consulted on the U.S. approach.

Coupled with the military cooperation is the expanded civilian cooperation through the
command with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State and
Treasury departments and other agencies.

Ward told reporters there are "absolutely no plans now or in the future to move my
headquarters to Africa." Since creation of the command, the question of a headquarters
in Africa has been raised regularly.

Leaders of African nations have repeatedly told AFRICOM that their security priorities
include such things as the development of capable and accountable professional
military forces; the creation of effective, legitimate and professional security institutions
at the national and regional levels; a collective ability to dissuade, deter and defeat
transnational threats from terrorist and extremist organizations; and increased African
leadership and participation in international peacekeeping missions as well as
peacekeeping currently being conducted in Africa, Ward said.

"We conduct a wide range of programs and activities that help our African partners
meet these goals," Ward added.

Ward said his greatest challenge as commander of AFRICOM is providing the things
that African leaders want.

"Our ability to provide support is certainly a factor of our resources that we have
available," Ward said. And that means, he said, that there are times when the command
cannot do all of things it's asked to do.
Helping African nations build professional militaries takes resources and equipment, he
said.

Asked by reporters about instability in the Middle East and in North Africa, Ward said
that instability anywhere causes him concern because there are always those who want
to take advantage of such situations to generate instability in other places.
-------------------
Exercise Kwanza review in Kinshasa focuses on African Standby Force (US Army
Africa)

VICENZA, Italy — In his "Commander's Intent 2011" message, one of Army Gen.
William E. "Kip" Ward’s key approaches was that, “… [AFRICOM] will continue to
support the African Union (AU) to include strengthening the capabilities and
interoperability of the African Standby Force (ASF) and its sub-regional elements.”

To forward that goal, Maj. George K. Allen Jr. of U.S. Army Africa and Lt. Jonathan
Goerk of U.S. Naval Forces Africa recently traveled to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, to participate in the Conference Bilan et Retour d’experience de L’exercice
Kwanza 2010 or Exercise Kwanza After Action Review (AAR).

Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) held the exercise in order to
validate Central African Multinational Force (CAMF) to AU standards. The force is one
of five brigade-size elements that make up the AU’s ASF—created to respond to crises
on the African continent.

Allen and Goerk sat alongside their ECCAS counterparts to gain a better understanding
of how CAMF performed during Exercise Kwanza in Cabo Ledo, Angola, from May 22
to June 5, 2010. The observers’ participation in the Exercise Kwanza AAR follows their
observation of the exercise this summer.

“We appreciate being invited by ECCAS to brief our observations of Exercise Kwanza,”
Allen said. “This is a virtuous cycle — by supporting CAMF we show that AFRICOM
supports the regional standby forces, thus encouraging ECCAS member countries to
cooperate and solve problems in the region. Basically, Africans solving African
problems.”

According to Allen, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) — an

organization like ECCAS — diplomatically responded recently — and could militarily
respond — to the electoral crisis in the West African country of Cote d’Ivorie. The
ECCAS could respond to a crisis in its area of responsibility composed of Angola,
Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African
Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe and Chad.
“ECCAS and CAMF are professional and ready to go,” Goerk said. “Exercise Kwanza
proved that as an armed force, CAMF can work with diplomats, gendarmerie, and Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on the both the sea and ground.”

Maj. Gen. Charles Richard Mondjo of the Armed Force of the Republic of Congo and
the President of the ECCAS Certification Committee emphasized that ECCAS is at the
forefront of integrating civilians in exercises and operations.

“During ECCAS/CAMF operations and exercises,” Mondjo said, “the Chief of

Mission/Special Representative is in charge of the mission.”

“In working with CAMF and the other regional standby forces, AFRICOM and
USARAF could easily incorporate civilians and NGOs into our military exercise play
and operations,” Allen said. “Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational
(JIIM) personnel are already part of their formations. It is a win-win proposition.”

In addition to briefing at the AAR, AFRICOM military personnel also had the
opportunity to get to know the ECCAS counterparts on a more personal level by taking
in a tour of Kinshasa, a traditional dance performance, and enjoying a Congo River
cruise .
---------------------
Barack Obama tells Gaddafi: Libya violence must stop (Guardian)

Barack Obama has warned the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that he faces the
prospect of international sanctions over violence against demonstrators, and
condemned Gaddafi's actions as outrageous and unacceptable.

Obama is sending secretary of state Hillary Clinton to Europe to discuss what actions
can be taken to stop the violence, and to take part in a meeting of the Human Rights
Council in Geneva.

The US president took care to maintain balance in his pronouncements over the
uprisings in Egypt. By contrast, this statement was unequivocal in its criticism of
Gaddafi's actions. Obama promised that the Libyan leader would be held accountable.

"The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and
orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These
actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This
violence must stop," Obama said.

He broke his silence on Libya as US citizens in the country are preparing to be

evacuated.
Signalling he is considering sanctions, Obama said he has asked his administration for a
list of options on how to respond to the crisis. "This includes those actions we may take
and those we will coordinate with our allies and partners, or those that we will carry
out through multilateral institutions," he said.

Gaddafi has had sanctions imposed on him before when he was regarded as a pariah by
the US, Britain and others before voluntarily surrendering his weapons of mass
destruction. At this stage, the threat of sanctions is mainly symbolic and would not have
any immediate impact, though in the long term they could damage the Libyan
economy.

Obama, at the start of his statement, stressed his priority was to protect US citizens in
Libya. But turning to the Libyans, he extended condolences to the families who have
seen members injured or killed.

Aligning the US with the protesters, Obama said: "The United States also strongly
supports the universal rights of the Libyan people. That includes the rights of peaceful
assembly, free speech, and the ability of the Libyan people to determine their own
destiny. These are human rights. They are not negotiable. They must be respected in
every country. And they cannot be denied through violence or suppression."

He added: "Like all governments, the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain
from violence, to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, and to respect
the rights of its people. It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those
responsibilities, and face the cost of continued violations of human rights."

Meanwhile in Libya, Gaddafi's control seems to be eroding as major cities and towns
closer to the capital fall to the rebellion against his rule. In the east, now all but broken
away, the opposition has vowed to "liberate" Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed
up with a force of militiamen and tanks.

His supporters, a mix of Libyans and foreign African fighters bused in, roam the
capital's main streets, called up by the leader's speech on Tuesday night in which he
vowed to fight to the death.

Gaddafi's residence at Tripoli's Aziziya Gates is guarded by loyalists along with a line
of armed militiamen in vehicles, some masked, an activist reported. The radio station
building downtown is also heavily fortified.

In one western neighborhood, security forces have stormed several homes and arrested
three or four people, witnesses said, while tanks are deployed on the eastern outskirts.
With a steady rain, Tripoli's streets are largely empty. But in many neighborhoods,
residents have set up watch groups to keep out militiamen, barricading streets with
concrete blocks, metal and rocks, and searching those trying to enter.

"Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons," said a resident who spent the night awake
in her home hearing gunfire outside. "You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt
people. We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Muslim."
-----------------------
Somali Pirates May Face US Trial for Americans' Deaths (VOA News)
The U.S. military says 15 Somali pirates may be sent to the U.S. for trial for their role in
the kidnapping and killing of four Americans.

Defense Department spokesman Colonel David Lapan told VOA Wednesday that a U.S.
trial is "one option" facing the suspects.

The U.S. military says it captured the 15 pirates on the Indian Ocean Tuesday, during
an operation to rescue four Americans aboard a hijacked yacht.

Vice Admiral Mark Fox said pirates aboard the yacht fired a rocket-propelled grenade
at a U.S. warship, then shot and killed the hostages.

A U.S. special forces team seized the hijacked vessel and the suspects. Officials say the
team also killed two pirates and found two others on board already dead.

Last week, a U.S. court sentenced a Somali pirate to nearly 34 years in prison for his role
in the hijacking of an American cargo ship.

The Somali man, Abduwali Abdiqadir Muse, pleaded guilty last year to hijacking the
U.S.-flaggedMaersk Alabama near Somalia in 2009.

Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships over the past few years, and taken in
hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom money. The European Union's anti-piracy
task force says the pirates are currently holding at least 32 vessels and nearly 700
hostages.
----------------------------
US Praises Congo For Rape Convictions (VOA)

The United States is praising the Democratic Republic of Congo for the swift trial and
sentencing of nine soldiers who were found guilty of carrying out mass rapes.

A U.S. State Department spokesman Wednesday called the convictions a “significant

milestone.”
He said that ending impunity for rape is an essential part of bringing peace and stability
to eastern Congo.

A Congolese military court convicted nine soldiers of mass rape on Monday, including
an army officer accused of instigating the attack in eastern Congo. Lieutenant Colonel
Kibibi Mutware was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors accused him of ordering his troops to attack the eastern village of Fizi on
New Year's Day. Witnesses say the soldiers raped more than 50 women in addition to
pillaging and looting the village.

This is believed to be the first time a commanding officer has been convicted of rape in
the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Forty-nine women testified about the attacks.

The court sentenced three officers serving under Colonel Mutware to 20 years in prison
each. Five soldiers received sentences between 10 and 15 years.

Human-rights groups have accused Congolese soldiers of abusing and brutalizing

civilians in the country's east, where the government is trying to rein in militia and rebel
groups.
------------------------------
Gaddafi Opponents Control Coastal East, Reports Say (RFI)

Opponents of leader Moamer Kadhafi control the coastal east of Libya, with
government troops fraternising with rebels, media reports say.

Residents in Libya told the AFP news agency that protesters have taken control of the
Libyan coast from the city of Tobruk through to Libya's second city Banghazi and as far
as Ajdabiya.

French daily Le Monde carries a report from "liberated" Tobruk, which it says has a new
anti-Kadhafi radio station.

"They think we are slaves!" "They talks to us as if we were foreigners!" are among the
demonstrators chants the paper reports.

Reuters reports celebrations in Tobruk on Tuesday as anti-government protesters

trashed a monument to Kadhafi and soldiers said they no longer supported the Libyan
leader. Residents say Tobruk had fallen into the hands of anti-Kadhafi opponents.
"This is a revolution," Naji Shelwy, 36, told Reuters. "We are not protesting and we are
not doing a sit-in. We want it to be called a revolution. We have spilled more blood than
in Egypt and in Tunisia."

Residents in eastern Libya, quoted by AFP, also said that militia men loyal to Kadhafi
had been executed in the coastal city of Bayda.

As international condemnation of the government crackdown on protests swells and

expats flee the country, Kadhafi appears increasingly isolated despite his defiant speech
on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Kadhafi who has been in power for 42 years, swore to crush his opponents
and said he would not stand down.

Meanwhile, the country's former envoy to the Arab League says he expects Kadhafi's
regime to collapse in the coming days and predicts massacres in the run-up to his
downfall.

"I think it is a matter of days, not more," Abdel Moneim al-Honi, who quit his position
on Sunday, told the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.

"But unfortunately I also think that this is going to cost Libya and the Libyans dearly,"
he added, while ruling out civil war.
------------------------------
Al Qaeda's North African wing says it backs Libya uprising (CNN)

Al Qaeda's North African wing has said "it will do whatever we can to help" the
uprising in Libya, according to a statement the militant group posted on jihadist
websites.

The statement by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was posted Thursday, said SITE, a
terrorist-tracking organization based outside Washington.

In the statement, the group said Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's decision to hire
mercenaries and use planes to fire on protesters invalidates claims that the group is
killing innocent civilians.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb started as the Salafist Group for Preaching and
Combat with aspirations to overthrow the Algerian government.

Around 2004, it joined forces with al Qaeda and extended its reach across North and
West Africa.
To stop the militant group's growing influence in Libya, the country has in the past
denounced al Qaeda and formed an alliance with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group,
which once was aligned with al Qaeda before it formally ended a nearly two-decades
armed struggle against Gadhafi's regime.

In 2006, al Qaeda documents found by U.S. forces in Iraq showed that per capita, Libya
surpassed other Arab nations in the number of citizens joining al Qaeda. The regime's
fear was that the terror group would bring its fight back to Libya.
------------------------------
On Ivory Coast diplomacy, South Africa goes its own way (Foreign Policy)

Last month, South Africa docked its naval frigate, the SAS Drakensberg, off the coast of
Ivory Coast in a rare, and highly ambiguous, show of force that riled regional African
powers and complicated international efforts to compel the country's defeated
presidential incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, to yield power.

For two months, Ivory Coast's neighbors, led by Nigeria, have mounted a diplomatic
campaign, backed by the United States, the United Nations, and European powers,
combining financial sanctions and the threat of military action to dislodge Gbagbo. But
South Africa's action, carried out without consultations with regional powers, raised
concerns that it may be intending to thwart those efforts and press for a power-sharing
agreement that would preserve a role for Gbagbo in Ivory Coast's government.

West African leaders viewed the South African move as a challenge to their leadership
role in a crisis in their own backyard, as well as signal of its support for Gbagbo, a long-
standing ally in the region. "As we talk now, there is a South African warship docked in
Cote d'Ivoire; action such as that can only complicate the matter further" said James
Victor Gbeho, the Ghanaian chair of the Economic Community of West African States.
"I'm surprised that a distinguished country like South Africa would decide to send a
frigate to Ivory Coast at this time."

South Africa has dismissed claims that it has any intention of intervening militarily in
Ivory Coast's electoral crisis, saying that the boat could support South African
diplomats or extract South African citizens inside the country. On Wednesday, weeks
after the boat was directed to Ivory Coast, South Africa issued a statement saying the
ship is "a non-combatant vessel with a non-aggressive posture." It would, according to
the statement, merely provide "possible assistance to South African diplomats,
designated personnel and other South African citizens in Ivory Coast."

But the action highlighted a growing competition for influence between sub-Saharan
African powers, South Africa and Nigeria, who are seeking international support for
their bids for permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council. The two countries are
currently serving two-year terms as temporary members of the council, which they are
using to stake their claims that they are natural leaders not only in Ivory Coast but
throughout the African subcontinent.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan "sees intervention as a way of asserting Nigeria

role in African foreign policy," according to one U.N. observer. South African President
Jacob Zuma, meanwhile, has sought to extend his country's influence in West Africa by
asserting a far more aggressive diplomatic role in Ivory Coast, the observer said.

The current standoff in Ivory Coast followed the country's disputed Nov. 28 runoff
elections between Gbagbo, the incumbent, and Alassane Ouattara. Ivory Coast's
electoral commission ruled Ouattara the victor, but the country's Constitution Council
challenged the decision and sided with Gbagbo. The U.N. -- which is empowered under
the terms of a peace agreement between the rivals to certify the election -- ruled in favor
of Ouattara, setting the stage for the African Union, ECOWAS, the United States, the
European Union, and the U.N. Security Council to endorse the election outcome that
resulted in Ouattara's victory. At the AU summit in Addis Ababa at the end of January,
Jean Ping, president of the AU commission, affirmed that the group's goal was "to
enable Ouattara to exercise power."

But South Africa has held less confidence in the virtue of trying to force Gbagbo from
power, preferring to negotiate an agreement between the two sides to break the political
impasse. South Africa's involvement in the Ivory Coast has deep roots. South Africa's
former president, Thabo Mbeki, led mediation efforts in Ivory Coast that culminated in
the 2005 Pretoria Agreement that reinforced the country's two-year-old cease-fire
agreement, but failed to outline a plan for elections. But he was perceived as too close to
Gbagbo and was nudged out and replaced by Blaise Compaoré, Burkina Faso's
president, who concluded a 2007 agreement setting the stage for elections

Days after Ivory Coast's election, Mbeki returned to Ivory Coast in an effort to mediate
an end to the standoff. Mbeki proposed the possibility of some sort of power-sharing
agreement, infuriating Gbagbo's West African neighbors, who believed it would
replicate what they have viewed as South Africa's failed diplomatic strategy in
Zimbabwe, a power-sharing agreement that effectively preserved Robert Mugabe's rule.
South African officials insist that Mbeki was not representing South Africa. But Zuma
has also favored a mediated outcome: "We need to do something to help the situation
and don't demand that one leader should go."

South Africa's defenders say it is simply demonstrating pragmatism that is intended to

prevent Ivory Coast from a descent into civil war. But critics say South Africa has
handed a lifeline to Gbagbo and is undermining international efforts to isolate and
ultimately nudge him from power.

"South Africa, a respected democracy with ambitious aspiration on the world scene,
should not allow itself to be seen as helping Gbagbo cling to power, while his security
forces kill, abduct, rape, and terrorize real or perceived opponents, as shown by our
own research," Philippe Bolopion, the U.N. representative for Human Rights Watch,
told Turtle Bay. "Instead of questioning the U.N. certification of Ouattara as the winner
of the election, Pretoria should use its clout to pressure Gbagbo to rein in his supporters
and put an end to widespread human rights violations against Ouattara's supporters
that threaten to reignite the civil war."

"I think South Africa is very concerned about the process in the region and concerned
that you need a more pragmatic situation: Simply calling for Gbagbo to leave is not
going to solve the problem. And using force against him might work, but at what cost
in terms of casualties?" Colin Keating, a former New Zealand ambassador to the United
Nations who heads up the Security Council Report, said in an interview. "I think it's
probably going too far to say South Africa has undermined ECOWAS's position: They
were counseling against a part of ECOWAS's rhetoric which was militarist and
dangerous. And I think in doing so they were in the company of many members of the
international community. But it's also true that South Africa has a history of being less
than completely impartial, and it's probably true that they have undermined the more
legitimate arguments of ECOWAS."

South Africa has been gaining momentum as efforts to compel Gbagbo to leave --
including financial sanctions and a cutoff of World Bank loans -- have failed to resolve
the crisis. Several African countries, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, South Africa, and Uganda are questioning whether the U.N. was too quick to
endorse Ouattara's victory. Last week, the African Union agreed to establish a panel of
five African leaders, including Zuma and Compaoré, to explore a way to resolve the
political standoff. The establishment of the panel provided Gbagbo with more time to
consolidate his power in Ivory Coast. But there were signs the violence between pro-
Gbagbo militants and armed elements from the rebel Forces Nouvelles are seeking to
resolve their differences through the use of force.

On Monday, Compaoré canceled his visit to Ivory Coast following death threats from a
pro-Gbagbo youth association. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman,
Martin Nesirky, meanwhile warned, that mass demonstrations being organized by
Ouattara's supporters could "increase tensions and undermine the prospects for an
early and peaceful end to the crisis."

"The lack of cohesion is an obstacle to the resolution of the conflict, and it gives Gbagbo
ammunition to stay -- a development that goes against the initial African and
international consensus," Fabienne Hara, vice president for multilateral affairs at the
International Crisis Group told Turtle Bay. "The situation is very seriously
deteriorating, and the divisions among the key African powers are clearly an obstacle to
finding a solution to the situation in Ivory Coast."
-----------------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

UN and African partners adopt joint strategy on Somalia crisis

23 February – The United Nations and its African partners today adopted a joint
strategy designed to help the troubled interim government in Somalia manage the
transitional period.

Head of UN mission welcomes verdicts in DR Congo mass rape case

23 February – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) has welcomed the guilty verdicts handed down this week
by a military court for rape and other human rights abuses committed by national army
personnel in the country’s volatile east.