United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 30 June 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA Obama Defends US Involvement in Libyan Conflict (VOA) (Libya) In a White House news conference Wednesday, President Barack Obama again defended U.S. involvement in the NATO-led military operation in Libya and renewed a call for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to step down. France Says It Armed Opposition in Libya (WSJ) (Libya) The French Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the country has directly supplied weapons to Libyan rebel groups fighting Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces, a strategic shift aimed at hastening the strongman's downfall after three months of NATO-led airstrikes. ICC Warrant Pours Oil on Fire in Libya, African Union Says (Bloomberg) (Libya) An International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and two others pours oil on the fire instead of helping to end the war, said Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission. AU summit to grapple with Libya conflict (Mail and Guardian) (Libya) The African Union meets in a summit this week that will try to show a united front on Libya, even though calls are mounting within the grouping for Muammar Gaddafi to leave -- once a taboo topic. North, south Sudan agree on buffer zone along borders (Xinhua) (Sudan) North and south Sudan on Wednesday agreed in principle to establish a buffer zone on their joint borders, provided that an Ethiopian military force would be tasked with monitoring the buffer zone. Sudan President Bashir scrambles to save regime (LA Times) (Sudan) His nation on the verge of shrinking, and trouble unfolding in every direction, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir is playing warrior and diplomat in efforts to keep his supporters loyal and his economy from collapsing under huge debt. Human Trafficking in Africa (Council on Foreign Relations)

(Pan-Africa) On Monday, the State department released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. The study uses a three tier system to rank countries based on compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). More importantly, it includes in-depth evaluations of human trafficking in 184 countries as well as policy recommendations, victims stories, and TIP Report Heroes. Senegal: Buildings torched in power cut riots (BBC News Africa) (Senegal) Protests have broken out in the Senegalese capital Dakar and in the southern city of Mbour over continuing power shortages. Putting the pieces back together again in Libya (Al Arabiya News) No doubt, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi will eventually be forced out of power. But forces loyal to the embattled colonel are likely to be as much part of post-Qaddafi reconstruction as they are part of the problem today. UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website y Additional UN troops and helicopters to stay on in Cte dIvoire y UN official appeals for resources to help millions facing hunger in Horn of Africa y Ban welcomes accord on Sudans Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states ------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST: WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, June 30th from 3:00pm to 4:30pm; The Brookings Institution WHAT: Corruption, Impunity and Inequality: Emerging Discontent and Volatility in Africa WHO: John Githongo, Britains Independent Commissioner for Aid Info: http://www.brookings.edu/events.aspx ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT Obama Defends US Involvement in Libyan Conflict (VOA) By Dan Robinson June 29, 2011 In a White House news conference Wednesday, President Barack Obama again defended U.S. involvement in the NATO-led military operation in Libya and renewed a call for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to step down.

Reporters pressed Mr. Obama about his administration's legal justifications for U.S. participation in the NATO military campaign, backed by a United Nations mandate. Recounting the run-up to NATO-led military operations, he said he made clear to the American people that the initial phase of the operation with the U.S. in the lead would "take days not weeks". The United States has no ground troops in Libya, a point he and administration officials have emphasized. Saying he kept his promise to transition to a NATO lead, Mr. Obama addressed the question of the definition of success. The capacity of Libyan forces has been greatly reduced, he said, but he made clear that as long as Mr. Gadhafi remains in power, Libyan civilians will remain under threat. "As long as Gadhafi is still presenting himself as the head of the Libyan government and as long as he still controls large numbers of troops, the Libyan people are going to be in danger of counter-offensives, and retribution," he said. Mr. Obama reiterated his position that he has not been in violation of the War Powers Act, saying the operation has not resulted in any U.S. casualties, with no risk of escalation, and remains "limited in time and scope. "We have done exactly what we said we would do, under a U.N. mandate and we have protected thousands of lives in the process, and as a consequence a guy who was a state sponsor of terrorist operations against the United States of America is pinned down, and the noose is tightening around him," he said. Asked if any political settlement Libyans might arrive at, with Mr. Gadhafi involved, would be a success from the U.S. perspective, the president said the Libyan leader "needs to go." The president was also asked about his decision to withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of this year from Afghanistan, and another 23,000 next year as part of an overall plan with NATO to transition to an Afghan security lead by 2014. He noted that in his speech last week, and in 2009 when laying out his strategy, he never used the word "victory" but said the U.S. could be successful in a "narrowly drawn" mission. The president said key objectives have been achieved, "severely crippling" alQaida capacities and building up Afghan forces, that make the U.S. drawdown possible. "We will draw them down in a responsible way that will allow

Afghanistan to defend itself, and will give us the operational capacity to continue to put pressure on al-Qaida until that network is entirely defeated," he said. Asked if the recent Taliban attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul caused him concern, Mr. Obama said the larger question is whether Afghan capacity is increasing. Referring to similar attacks in Iraq, where the U.S. combat role is officially ended though just under 50,000 U.S. troops remain, he said neither place will be perfectly safe but in Afghanistan the U.S. can help improve the ability of people to defend themselves. -----------------------France Says It Armed Opposition in Libya (WSJ) By INTI LANDAURO And DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS PARISThe French Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the country has directly supplied weapons to Libyan rebel groups fighting Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces, a strategic shift aimed at hastening the strongman's downfall after three months of NATO-led airstrikes. The ministry said France earlier this month parachuted assault rifles and other weapons into a mountainous area about 50 miles southwest of Tripoli to help rebel groups resist Col. Gadhafi's forces. France decided on the shipments after learning that civilians couldn't defend themselves in the area, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, the French armed-forces spokesman. French daily Le Figaro first reported on the drops on Wednesday. "The goal was to protect civilian populations, and this action has allowed that," he said. With the drops, France became the first member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance involved in the Libyan conflict to acknowledge it was arming rebels. Other NATO members have so far said they were only providing rebels with technical and training assistance. Since the United Nations Security Council's decision in March to authorize the use of force against Col. Gadhafi, the military campaign led by France and the U.K. in Libya has bolstered opposition groups, notably in eastern cities such as Benghazi.

But Col. Gadhafi still appears firmly in control of Tripoli, the capital, and much of Libya's western region. That raises concerns that the Franco-British-led coalition will be dragged into a protracted conflict. French officials said rebel groups now control the Djebel Nefoussa mountain range, where the weapons drops took place.The area stretching from the border with Tunisia to south of Tripoli could become a pivotal region from which various rebel factions could launch an offensive against Col. Gadhafi, the officials said. ---------------------ICC Warrant Pours Oil on Fire in Libya, African Union Says (Bloomberg) By Franz Wild June 29, 2011 An International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and two others pours oil on the fire instead of helping to end the war, said Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission. Everyone can see that the ICC always comes at an inconvenient time, which pours oil on the fire, Ping said today. You know very well that it complicates the situation. There should be no preconditions to talks between rebels and Qaddafis government, Ping told reporters when asked whether the Libyan leader shouldnt be part of a transitional government. Ping was speaking in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, ahead of an African Union summit that starts tomorrow. On June 27, the Hague-based ICC issued arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam Qaddafi and military intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi. The three men are accused of killing, injuring, arresting and imprisoning hundreds of civilians during anti-regime protests that began in February. The National Transitional Council, which is battling the Libyan army to oust the longtime dictator, said after the ICC action that there is no room for Qaddafi, who has led Libya for 42 years, to be involved in talks in any way. AU Initiative Ping insisted that there is no way around an AU initiative calling for the end of NATO airstrikes on Qaddafis forces and political negotiations for a transitional government. While a panel of African leaders tasked with pursuing a solution to

the Libyan crisis on June 26 said Qaddafi shouldnt participate in talks, it didnt say that he shouldnt be involved in the future leadership of the North African nation. The government of France confirmed today that it had provided the rebels with arms to fight Qaddafi. Ping criticized that action, saying that it increases the risk of civil war, risk of partition of the country, the risk of Somalisation of the country -- a reference to longstanding divisions in the east African nation of Somalia. -----------------AU summit to grapple with Libya conflict (Mail and Guardian) By BORIS BACHORZ June 28 2011 10:57 NAIROBI, KENYA - The African Union meets in a summit this week that will try to show a united front on Libya, even though calls are mounting within the grouping for Muammar Gaddafi to leave -- once a taboo topic. The summit will consider a report by an AU panel of leaders tackling the Libyan conflict and which announced after a crisis meeting this weekend that Gaddafi had agreed to stay out of talks on an interim regime for his country. Gaddafi "is finished", said a South African official who was part of a team that travelled to Tripoli last month in a failed bid to launch peace talks to end the conflict that erupted in February. The departure of continent's longest-serving leader, as demanded by the West, was long avoided by Gaddafi's African peers, many of whom have benefited from his funding or support and also object to international interference in their affairs. That was until early June when Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, head of the AU panel on Libya, said Gaddafi "can no longer lead Libya" and "his departure has become necessary". But Ugandan Foreign Minister Henry Oryem Okello -- whose country is also on the mediation panel -- insisted: "That is the West's position." "The African position is very clear: the future of Libya needs to be decided by Libyans," he told Agence France-Presse. Stormy debates

The crisis could see stormy debates within the brand-new 600-million luxury complex that current AU chairperson Equatorial Guinea had built in time for the summit on Thursday and Friday. "Either the heads of state manage to find a consensus, but that risks being difficult, or they could vote," said a diplomat, with the latter process rarely invoked. "All will depend on the position of some of the heavyweights, like Nigeria," he said. Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan received a personal message from Gaddafi on Friday. The Libyan leader also sent at the weekend an emissary to Algiers. The Libya mediation panel, meanwhile, "stressed the need for unity of purpose and action among all AU member states" to ensure an African position "is given due consideration in the international arena". The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that despite public statements, all players in the African Union "want the departure of Gaddafi". "The debate will not be so much on the aim as on how to get there," he said. The summit would also try to do this "while protecting the image of the AU, which cannot [be seen to] change its positions and criticisms of Nato too quickly", he said. The 53-country AU has vigorously condemned the Nato-led bombing campaign against Gaddafi positions launched 100 days ago, saying it undermines its own peace plan based on a ceasefire and negotiations towards elections. South African President Jacob Zuma repeated again on Sunday that aim of the UN resolution that allowed the campaign was to protect the Libyan people and not "to authorise a campaign for regime change or political assassination". Gaddafi has accepted the AU peace plan, but it has been rejected by the rebel National Transitional Council, which says the Libyan leader and his sons must first leave. Arrest warrant Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, called for the AU to refuse to allow impunity for Gaddafi, as it had for Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir who is under an

international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity during his country's civil war. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Gaddafi for war crimes and crimes against humanity. "Al-Bashir was very much supported by the AU and we are concerned that the same trend may be followed by the AU when it comes to the issue of Libya," Human Rights Watch representative Aloys Habimana said. Containing flaring tensions in Sudan ahead of the south of the country's independence on July 9 will be another task for the African leaders. AU Commission chairperson Jean Ping called on Sunday for the north and south to complete talks on outstanding aspects of their peace agreement, saying it was also crucial to accelerate efforts for peace, justice and reconciliation in the western region of Darfur. ---------------------North, south Sudan agree on buffer zone along borders (Xinhua) By Unattributed Author June 30, 2011 KHARTOUM - North and south Sudan on Wednesday agreed in principle to establish a buffer zone on their joint borders, provided that an Ethiopian military force would be tasked with monitoring the buffer zone. "We have agreed, in principle, on establishment of a buffer zone around the 1956 border line and at a distance of 10 kilometers north and 10 kilometers south," Nafie Ali Nafie, Assistant to the Sudanese President, told reporters upon return from Addis Ababa Wednesday. "This buffer zone will be under a limited civil supervision and guarding groups at a number of points in north and south Sudan. We have agreed that the guarding groups would be from Ethiopian troops," he added. The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa has hosted a new round of negotiations between representatives of the National Congress Party (NCP) in north Sudan and the Sudan people's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in south Sudan to discuss the outstanding issues between the two sides before the declaration of south Sudan independence on July 9. The two sides discussed essential issues including the security situation between north and south Sudan, the status of the southerners living in the north and the

northerners living in the south, border demarcation and the conflict in South Kordofan region. The Sudanese presidential assistant, meanwhile, denied that the two sides have agreed on cessation of hostilities in south Kordofan on north-south Sudan border, which has witnessed armed clashes between the Sudanese army and military groups belonging to the SPLM-northern Sudan sector. "It will be subject for further consultations by a joint military committee that has been agreed to form," he said. South Kordofan includes the country's oil-rich area of Abyei, which is an issue of dispute between north and south Sudan besides the issue of the popular consultation and the future of the sons of Nuba Mountains' area who have fought alongside the SPLM during the north-south civil war. In the meantime, Nafie disclosed an agreement between north and south Sudan on a nine-month period to adjust the status of the southerners living in the north and the northerners living in the south. On July 9, 2011, south Sudan would officially declare independence in accordance with the result of the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan, conducted on Jan. 9, 2011. -----------------Sudan President Bashir scrambles to save regime (LA Times) By Jeffrey Fleishman and Alsanosi Ahmed June 30, 2011 Cairo and Khartoum, Sudan His nation on the verge of shrinking, and trouble unfolding in every direction, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir is playing warrior and diplomat in efforts to keep his supporters loyal and his economy from collapsing under huge debt. Bashir's northern troops unleashed weeks of bloodshed and remain massed in the Abyei oil region near the soon-to-be independent southern Sudan. His soldiers further stunned the international community when they swept into nearby South Kordofan state and the Nuba Mountains to attack tribesmen accused of fomenting insurrection. This week, with villages burning on both sides of the border that divides northern and southern Sudan, Bashir flew to China to convince his country's largest trading partner that the 67-year-old president is in control. That proved to be difficult, however, when he arrived in Beijing a day late after his plane was

rerouted to avoid flying over Turkmenistan, which might have arrested him on a war crimes indictment from the International Criminal Court, or ICC. Anxiety brims in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. The ruling National Congress Party has been unable to stem inflation, and Bashir's political mastery appears to be fading. The former paratrooper, who seized power in a 1989 coup, is increasingly isolated and has largely failed to impose the north's corrupt government and Islamic ideals on the south and other non-Muslim parts of the country. "With an indictment that continues to complicate his leadership, Bashir is indeed an embattled president," said Zach Vertin, an expert on Sudan for the International Crisis Group. "Infighting between party elites continues and some see the indicted leader as a growing liability." Sudan is a map of enduring crises. Southern Sudan, after decades of civil war that took more than 2 million lives, gains independence July 9. About 75% of Sudan's oil reserves are in the south and Bashir's north could lose billions of dollars a year in revenue. He is also attempting to crush separatist ambitions in South Kordofan, Blue Nile state and the Darfur region, where the ICC has accused him of genocide. The army's recent air and ground assaults on Abyei and South Kordofan, which killed civilians and forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes, were seen as a gambit by Bashir to strengthen his hold near the contested oil region to win concessions from the south. Khartoum is in desperate need of money to reduce a $40-billion national debt. The south, which is controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, needs the north's pipelines to transport the oil. The two sides have yet to reach an agreement to share revenue from the country's production of about 500,000 barrels a day. Bashir has threatened to shut off the pipelines if the emerging independent south does not pay substantial fees. "President Bashir knows very well that the survival of his regime depends on oil, and the oil is going to be lost. He knew he needed to indulge himself in a war with the south," said Alhajj Hamad, a political analyst. "Now he is getting only 37% of the oil revenues. That is barely enough to pay the staff. Food prices are soaring in the north and the mood in the streets is heading toward revolt." Hence Bashir's trip this week to China, which was akin to a man trying to make sure his lover doesn't stray. Beijing has invested heavily in Sudan's oil, construction and agriculture industries. In return, Bashir has allowed thousands of Chinese workers into the country and has bought hundreds of millions of

dollars in weapons from his partner. But the prospect of an independent southern Sudan is shifting Beijing's attentions as it seeks resources to fuel China's expanding economy. "China wants to win the oil in the south at a time Western countries also see the south as ripe for investment," said Hafiz Mohammed, an analyst in Khartoum. "The north by itself has little the Chinese can benefit from. But China knows that good relations between north and south are important for the stability of the oil refineries." China National Petroleum Corp. already pumps much of southern Sudan's oil. The official New China News Agency reported Wednesday that although Beijing is "maintaining traditional ties with the north of Sudan, China has worked to develop friendly exchanges and expand mutually beneficial cooperation" with the south. Bashir and militias aligned with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement reached an agreement Tuesday that may calm the fighting in South Kordofan. The pact calls for tribesman to disarm and be absorbed into Sudan's army. South Kordofan is in the north, but many of its militias fought against Bashir's forces in the civil war that ended in 2005. The sides also agreed to cooperate in overseeing contested border regions. The U.S. has been pressing Bashir to allow southern Sudan to secede peacefully. As an inducement, Washington has said it would lift some trade sanctions against Sudan and remove the country from a list of states that sponsor terrorism. But Bashir's defiance against the ICC indictment and his recent attacks along the border suggest that mistrust between Sudan and the West runs deep. Sudan must choose "a path of normalization or one that leads to continuing international isolation," Vertin said. -----------------Human Trafficking in Africa (Council on Foreign Relations) by John Campbell June 29, 2011 On Monday, the State department released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. The study uses a three tier system to rank countries based on compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). More importantly, it includes in-depth evaluations of human trafficking in 184 countries as well as policy recommendations, victims stories, and TIP Report Heroes.

The Guardian (UK) produced a useful interactive map showing each countrys ranking, which clearly illustrates that human trafficking continues to be a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Eight African countries received tier three rankingsmeaning they do not comply with the TVPA standards, make no effort to address the problem, and, as per the TVPA, are subject to U.S. sanctions. Only one countryNigeriareceived a tier one ranking, which indicates it meets the minimum TVPA standards. However, the report says that Nigeria is not doing enough to address the magnitude of the problem. For example, the report notes that the Nigerian agency responsible for dealing with trafficking, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters, despite identifying between twenty and forty thousand Nigerian women forced into prostitution in Mali, has not yet engaged Malian officials to rescue the victims and arrest the traffickers. In contrast, the Democratic Republic of Congo received a tier three ranking. The report notes that much of the trafficking is internal and cites that armed groups outside the control of the central government as well as the Congolese national army (FARDC) use forced labor for mineral extraction and military operations. As a result, the first recommendation in the report for Congo focuses on prosecuting the military and other officials involvement in human trafficking, which highlights the importance of reforming Congos security services. South Africa, a middle-income country, received a tier two ranking, below Nigerias. This ranking means that it does not fully comply with TVPA minimum standards but is making significant efforts to address these issues. The report emphasizes heavily the issue of sex trafficking, both into and out of South Africa. As Secretary Clinton points out in a recent statement, human trafficking disproportionately affects women, which makes combating this global challenge particularly salient in South Africa. ------------------------Senegal: Buildings torched in power cut riots (BBC News Africa) June 28, 2011 Protests have broken out in the Senegalese capital Dakar and in the southern city of Mbour over continuing power shortages. In Dakar, several government buildings were set on fire including the offices of the state electricity firm, Senelec. Security forces in Mbour fired tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators. The trouble over power cuts, which have lasted 48 hours in some areas, come just a week after rioting against the president.

"Hundreds of young people ransacked the Senelec office and burned it," Dakar resident Ismail Diop told Reuters news agency. Broken bottles, scattered debris and burning tyres littered the streets, witnesses said. In Mbour, about 80km (50 miles) south-east of Dakar, electricity company premises were also a target. Witnesses said the Senelec offices there were wrecked and cars outside attacked. Senelec has been unable to satisfy demand for electricity for years. Surprise We are demonstrating because we cannot bear it anymore. We are spending full days without power Just last week there were riots in Dakar, triggered by a proposal from President Abdoulaye Wade to change the constitution. They were the most serious protests of Mr Wade's 11-year rule. He had wanted to reduce the percentage of votes needed to win a presidential election - and avoid a run-off - from more than 50% down to a 25% threshold. Critics said the amendment was designed to ensure that President Wade, 85, would be re-elected next year against a fractured opposition. Mr Wade came to power in democratic elections, but he now faces growing anger at daily power cuts and the rising cost of living. "We are demonstrating because we cannot bear it anymore. We are spending full days without power," a woman demonstrating in Dakar on Monday told the BBC's French Service. "When we demonstrated, the president withdrew his reform - so now we are going to protest for his resignation and that of his government." The BBC's Samba Dialimpa Badji in Dakar says Monday's demonstrations came as a surprise to many people. Unlike last week's protests, which had civil society and opposition backing, the riots on Monday were spontaneous, he says.

They started in one district of the capital after a long power cut, when news of this was broadcast on the radio the trouble spread to other areas of Dakar and to Mbour. The protests started at about 1600 GMT and lasted until about midnight. Young men erected barricades on the many roads, burning tyres, as well as setting alight buildings, our reporter says. The power failures are having a big impact on people's lives, he says. Businesses are also affected and offices without generators often do not open because of the cuts. ------------------------Putting the pieces back together again in Libya (Al Arabiya News) By James M. Dorsey June 29, 2011 No doubt, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi will eventually be forced out of power. But forces loyal to the embattled colonel are likely to be as much part of post-Qaddafi reconstruction as they are part of the problem today. That is the conclusion of government experts on nation building and development from the United Nations, the United States, Europe, Canada and Turkey who are consulting with the NATO-backed Libyan rebels Transitional National Council (TNC). The experts are using the transition in post-invasion Iraq as their model. Preparations for a Libya without Mr. Qaddafi, who has ruled the country with an iron hand for 41 years, come as the United Nations quietly seeks to negotiate an end to the crisis. UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council earlier this week that a nascent negotiation process was underway. Three of Mr. Qaddafis ministers were in Tunisia this week for talks with unidentified foreign parties. A senior TNC official, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, said last week that the rebel leadership had been in indirect contact with Mr. Qaddafi's government about a possible peace deal. The immediate problems Libyans and the international community will have to address once Mr. Qaddafi departs are huge and so are the potential pitfalls. The problems include restoring and maintaining law and order; securing basic services such as food, water and energy; achieving international recognition of a post-Qaddafi government; resuming oil exports to ensure funding for the new government; and kick starting Libyas stagnating economy.

All of this has to happen in a country that lacks institutions as a result of Mr. Qaddafis reliance on traditional tribal structures. The pitfalls are equally challenging. A major conclusion of the experts is to incorporate existing structures and forces. The experts are drawing on the fact that a decision by the than US administration of Iraq to disband former Iraqi president Saddam Husseins military and police forces fuelled the bloody insurgency that savaged Iraq for years. The need to rely on remnants of Mr. Qaddafis regime is reinforced by the fact that the untrained and inexperienced rebel forces are likely to be unable to maintain security on their own. Privately, Libyans in rebel-held territory concede that their most competent force consists of Islamists steeled by years of fighting in the 1990s against Mr. Qaddafis regime. Ensuring the integration of remnants of the old regime into a new Libya may also pay political dividends. It would serve as a reassurance for those in Mr. Qaddafis camp who might still be willing to jump ship or even stage an effective coup against Mr. Qaddafi to remove him from power and pave the way for regime change. That reassurance takes on added importance following this weeks arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Mr. Qaddafi, his son, Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi and Abdullah Senoussi, the head of Libyan intelligence. Anticipating the need to maintain security, avoid violent revenge and retribution and ensure that a post-Qaddafi government gets off to a good start, some US commanders, including Admiral Samuel Locklear, NATOs joint operations chief in Naples, and General Carter Ham, who runs the US militarys Africa Command, have suggested that United Nations or African Union peacekeepers would have to be inserted into Libya once Mr. Qaddafi has been removed from power. Libya is expected to dominate the agenda of an African Union summit scheduled to open in Equatorial Guinea on Thursday. The leaders are likely to call for a democratic transition that excludes Mr. Qaddafi. Like elsewhere in the Arab world, the Libyan police and parts of the military are likely to encounter popular distrust once the Libyan leader is gone because they are widely viewed as Mr. Qaddafis henchmen. In post-revolution Egypt and Tunisia that meant that security forces were reluctant to engage in clashes with protesters and other groups because that would have undermined their efforts to improve their tarnished image and

demonstrate that they are needed to maintain law and order. This weeks clashes on Cairos Tahrir Square between protesters and police are their first major encounter since the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak four months ago. The need for integration of and cooperation with remnants of the Qaddafi regime is evident to the rebels international backers. Among the rebels themselves and within the TNC, the issue is far more controversial and for many a bitter pill to swallow. Convincing the rebels to endorse such cooperation is going to take deft persuasion by the international community as well as by leaders of the TNC. The alternative is a wave of bloody violence that is unlikely to bring Libyans any closer to their goal of greater political freedom and economic opportunity that they are fighting so hard for. ------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website Additional UN troops and helicopters to stay on in Cte dIvoire 29 June The Security Council today extended the deployment of the additional 2,000 troops and the air assets it sent to reinforce the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cte dIvoire in the wake of the violence that erupted following last Novembers elections. UN official appeals for resources to help millions facing hunger in Horn of Africa 29 June The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today voiced concern over the plight of nearly 10 million people facing severe food shortages as a result of a prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa, adding that resources for the relief effort in the region are dwindling at a time when assistance needs to be stepped up. Ban welcomes accord on Sudans Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states 29 June Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the agreement reached between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM-North) on political and security arrangements for Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, two states along the countrys north-south border.