United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 28 October 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa, along with upcoming events of interest for October 28, 2011. Of interest in todays clips: The Associated Press highlights the United States' growing role in conflicts in Africa, specifically regarding the use of advisors and technology as opposed to troops on the ground. Craig Whitlock from the Washington Post is once again drawing attention to drones as he describes the use of these armed weapon systems, based in Arba Minch, Ethiopia, and their missions to target Al-Shabaab. According to Reuters the NATO mission to support the UN Mandate has come to an end while The Telegraph reports that those responsible for Qadhafis execution will be brought to trial. Reuters reports that Moammar Qadhafi's fugitive son, Saif al-Islam, wants an aircraft to take him out of Libya's southern desert so he can turn himself in to The Hague war crimes court. In Kenya: There are reports of a cross border attack on the Kenyan border town of Mandera. The attack by Al-Shabaab appears to be in retribution for Kenyas military movement into Southern Somalia. In Sudan: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says his country gave military support to the Libyan rebels who overthrew Col Moammar Qadhafi. Provided in text format for remote reading. Links work more effectively when this message is viewed as in HTML format. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: africom-pao@africom.mil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa Somalia, Libya, Uganda: US increases Africa focus (Associated Press) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/from-western-to-eastern-africa-us-militaryincreases-focus-on-militant-threats/2011/10/27/gIQA5siYMM_story.html 27 October 2011 By Jason Straziuso While putting few U.S. troops at risk, the United States is playing a growing role in Africa's military battles, using special forces advisers, drones and tens of millions of dollars in military aid to combat a growing and multifaceted security threat. U.S. drone base in Ethiopia is operational (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-drone-base-in-ethiopia-isoperational/2011/10/27/gIQAznKwMM_story.html 27 October 2011 By Craig Whitlock The Air Force has been secretly flying armed Reaper drones on counterterrorism missions from a remote civilian airport in southern Ethiopia as part of a rapidly expanding U.S.-led proxy war against an al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, U.S. military officials said. Libyan Fighters to Receive U.S. Medical Treatment (American Forces Press) http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=65855 28 October 2011 The U.S. government will bring two dozen Libyan rebel fighters to the United States for medical treatment they cannot receive at home, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced this evening. UN to end mandate for NATO military operations in Libya (Reuters) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-to-end-mandate-for-nato-military-operations-inlibya/ 27 October 2011 By Louis Charbonneau The U.N. Security Council plans on Thursday to end its authorization for a 7-month-old NATO military operation in Libya that led to the ouster and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Libya's new rulers vow to prosecute those responsible for Col Gaddafi's death (The Telegraph) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8853894/Libyas -new-rulers-vow-to-prosecute-those-responsible-for-Col-Gaddafis-death.html 27 October 2011 By Ben Farmer Libya's new rulers have said they will prosecute the killers of Col Muammar Gaddafi following an outcry over his apparent execution.
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Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC), said whoever killed the former dictator, who was seized as he tried to break out of his besieged hometown, would be "judged and given a fair trial". Gaddafi son seeks aircraft to surrender: NTC source (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79Q00X20111027 27 October 2011 By Samia Nakhoul Muammar Gaddafi's fugitive son Saif al-Islam wants an aircraft to take him out of Libya's southern desert so he can turn himself in to The Hague war crimes court, a source with Libya's National Transitional Council said on Thursday. Libyan oil suspension pushes down quarterly earnings at Germanys BASF (Associated Press) http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Libyan-oil-suspension-pushes-capress3703334401.html?x=0 27 October 2011 Germanys BASF SE said Thursday the suspension of oil production in Libya pushed down in its third-quarter earnings, although the chemical company reported a healthy overall rise in revenue and said it was able to pass higher costs for raw materials on to customers. Somalia's al Shabaab vows war against Kenya (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79Q0AM20111027 27 October 2011 By Ismail Taxta and Abdi Sheikh Somalia's al Shabaab rebels vowed on Thursday to fight Kenya after its troops entered the Horn of Africa nation and called on sympathisers to carry out major attacks in east Africa's biggest economy. Kenya has right to pursue al Shabaab: Somali PM (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79Q06F20111027 27 October 2011 By Mohamed Ahmed Kenya has every right to pursue al Shabaab rebels in Somalia, but Somali government troops must be in charge of operations against the Islamist rebels, Somalia's prime minister said. Prince William supervisor campaigns spar on issues (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-supervisorcampaigns-spar-on-issues/2011/10/26/gIQAPBG0LM_blog.html 27 October 2011 By Jeremy Borden Prince William County campaigns began to turn up the heat this week.

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Democratic candidate Babur Lateef is planning to spend $25,000 to air a campaign ad against Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart in the countys at-large race. The advertisement, which will air on cable stations countywide, Deaths in attack in Kenya border town (Al Jazeera) http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111027102754587827.html 27 October 2011 Attack is the latest violent incident in the East African nation since it launched offensive against al-Shabab. Four civilians have been killed by unidentified assailants who attacked a vehicle with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns near the Kenya-Somali border, police and officials with Kenya's Red Cross say. West's double standards (Sowetan) http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/world/2011/10/27/west-s-double-standards 27 October 2011 By Hope Mankwana Papo No sooner had news of Muammar Gaddafi's execution spread from Sirte than an outburst of celebration greeted commentary in some circles across the globe. When an aide showed her a picture of Gaddafi's dead body, an excited . Sudan armed Libyan rebels, says President Bashir (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15471734 26 October 2011 By James Copnall Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says his country gave military support to the Libyan rebels who overthrew Col Muammar Gaddafi. ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA Libya: Security Council ends mandate for international military operations 27 October The Security Council today ordered the end to authorized international military action in Libya, more than seven months after allowing United Nations Member States to take all necessary measures to protect civilians during a popular uprising against the countrys former regime. UN encourages Ivorian candidates to register for upcoming legislative polls 27 October The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cte dIvoire today encouraged all candidates who are interested to register for the legislative elections scheduled for 11 December as part of the ongoing efforts to restore peace and stability. UN project seeks to make use of Niles resources to fend off poverty and hunger
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27 October A United Nations report released today on the use and management of water in the Nile River basin calls for new methods to boost agricultural productivity and warns that governments must take action to keep population growth and resource degradation from intensifying poverty. Senegal: UN launches task force to help stem drug trafficking through airport 27 October The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched a task force to boost the capacity of the international airport in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, to intercept narcotics smuggled through the facility, a major air traffic hub in West Africa. (Full Articles on UN Website) ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upcoming Events of Interest: No new events currently listed in DC or New York West Coast WHEN: October 31, 2011, 12:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. WHAT: Seminar on Chinas Financial Circles: Banks, Borrowers and the National Budget WHO: Carl E. Walter, Former CEO at JPMorgan Chase Bank China Co. Ltd. WHERE: Philippines Conf. Room, Encina Hall, Stanford University CONTACT: Irene Hung, 650-724-9632 or e-mail: lrene3@stanford.edu Media contact: http://aparc.stanford.edu/events/chinas_financial_circles_banks WHEN: Thursday, November 3, 2011, 6:00 p.m. WHAT: Panel discussion on We the People: Islam and U.S. Politics WHO: Camille Alick, Muslims on Screen & TV; Joel Brinkley, Stanford U., Michael Wolfe, Unity Productions Foundation and Vincent Barletta, Stanford University WHERE: Cubberley Auditorium School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford University CONTACT: 650-736-8169 or e-mail: abbasiprogram@stanford.edu Media contact: http://events.stanford.edu/events/293/29351/ ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------New on www.africom.mil

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U.S. Army Africa Personnel Describe Challenges, Opportunities of providing Communications and Information Network Support on Two Continents http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7366&lang=0 27 October 2011 By Rich Bartell -U.S. Army Africa VICENZA, Italy, Oct 27, 2011 Near 50 soldiers and civilians of U.S. Army Africa's (USARAF) G-6 have the responsibility of ensuring that Internet and hardware work continually, both at the USARAF headquarters in Vicenza, Italy and on the African continent. ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL TEXT Somalia, Libya, Uganda: US increases Africa focus (Associated Press) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/from-western-to-eastern-africa-us-militaryincreases-focus-on-militant-threats/2011/10/27/gIQA5siYMM_story.html 27 October 2011 By Jason Straziuso NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) While putting few U.S. troops at risk, the United States is playing a growing role in Africa's military battles, using special forces advisers, drones and tens of millions of dollars in military aid to combat a growing and multifaceted security threat. Once again, the focus is Somalia, the lawless nation that was the site of America's last large-scale military intervention in Africa in the early 1990s. By the time U.S. forces departed, 44 Army soldiers, Marines and airmen had been killed and dozens more wounded. This time the United States is playing a less visible role, providing intelligence and training to fight militants across the continent, from Mauritania in the west along the Atlantic coast, to Somalia in the east along the Indian Ocean. The renewed focus on Africa follows a series of recent and dramatic attacks. In August, a hard-line Islamist group in Nigeria known as Boko Haram bombed the U.N. headquarters in the capital, Abuja, killing 24 people. A year earlier, militants from the Somali group al-Shabab unleashed twin bombings in Kampala, Uganda, that killed 76. And a Nigerian man tried to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 during a flight that originated from Lagos, Nigeria. Most worrisome to the United States is al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia that has recruited dozens of Americans, most of Somali descent.

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"If you ask me what keeps me awake at night, it is the thought of an American passportholding person who transits through a training camp in Somalia and gets some skill and then finds their way back into the United States to attack Americans," Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command, said in Washington this month. "That's mission failure for us." U.S. and European officials also worry that AQIM an al-Qaida group that operates in the west and north of Africa is working to establish links with Boko Haram and alShabab, the Somali insurgent group. "I think the security threats emanating from Africa are being taken more seriously than they have been before, and they're more real," said Jennifer Cooke, the director of the Africa program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The U.S. is conducting counterterrorism training and equipping militaries in countries including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia to "preclude terrorists from establishing sanctuaries," according to the U.S. Africa Command. In Somalia, the U.S. helps support 9,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi to fight militants in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. In June, the Pentagon moved to send nearly $45 million in military equipment, including four drones, body armor and night-vision and communications gear, for use in the fight against al-Shabab. The U.S. also announced this month it is sending 100 advisers, most of them special forces, to help direct the fight against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa and efforts to kill or capture its leader, Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court. In Libya, U.S. fighter planes helped rebels defeat former dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In the latest attack against Africa's militants, Kenya deployed troops this month into southern Somalia to fight al-Shabab insurgents. The U.S. says it is not aiding Kenya's incursion, but America has given Kenya $24 million in aid this year "to counter terrorists and participate in peacekeeping operations," the U.S. Embassy said. The U.S. government "has had a burr under its saddle about Somalia" for years, dating to the 1993 downing of two U.S. helicopters over Mogadishu in a battle that became known as Black Hawk Down, said John Pike of the Globalsecurity.org think tank near Washington. Eighteen U.S. troops were killed. At that time, Washington had deployed thousands of troops to combat a famine, but the mission escalated into a hunt for warlords. These days, only a handful of U.S. troops are involved directly in Somalia special forces troops who enter on kill missions. In 2009, Navy SEALs targeted and killed alQaida operative Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in a helicopter raid. The Americans jumped out
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of the helicopters, grabbed Nabhan's body from his bullet-riddled convoy and flew off. The corpse like Osama bin Laden's two years later was buried at sea. Pike, who monitors defense issues, said the Pentagon has ramped up operations in Africa tremendously since the time of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who didn't see Africa as being in America's strategic interest. "The U.S. has really developed an interest in Africa that we just have never seen before," Pike said. "Between all the goings and comings in the Horn of Africa and all this snake-eater (special forces) Sahara stuff ... it's all over the place," Pike said. "Since I think an awful lot of it is being run out of Special Operations Command and out of (the CIA), I think it probably far larger than anyone imagines." U.S. drones launched from the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean also provide intelligence, and the pilotless planes are capable of being armed. Al-Shabab counts 31 American citizens among its ranks, a U.S. official in Washington told The Associated Press. They're mostly American-Somalis who left the U.S. to join the group. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters, said foreign fighters among al-Shabab's ranks want to attack Western targets. Intelligence has revealed sophisticated plans by al-Shabab to attack targets in Europe, the official said, but the operations have been disrupted by the recent stepped-up fighting in Somalia. Ugandan and Burundian troops fighting al-Shabab militants in Mogadishu as part of an African Union force have pushed back the insurgents in recent months and now control most of the capital. The Kenyan incursion has forced al-Shabab to fight on its southern flank as well. Though the Kenyan invasion appears to further the U.S. goal of pressuring al-Shabab, U.S. officials say the American military is not providing assistance. "The United States has supported Kenyan efforts to improve its ability to monitor and control often porous land and maritime borders and territory exploited by terrorists and illicit traffickers, particularly along its border with Somalia," said Katya Thomas, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. But, she added: "The United States did not encourage the Kenyan government to act, nor did Kenya seek our views. We note that Kenya has a right to defend itself against threats to its security and its citizens."

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Some aspects of Kenya's military adventure appear poorly thought out. Troops moved in just as seasonal rains began and are now bogged down in the mud a literal reminder of the potential quagmire for countries that intervene in Somalia, whose last nationwide leader was overthrown in 1991. A paper published by the U.S. Army examining the ill-fated U.S. mission in Somalia in the 1990s concluded that "the chaotic political situation of that unhappy land bogged down U.S. and allied forces in what became, in effect, a poorly organized United Nations nation-building operation." It was a 2006 invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia that gave rise to the militants now known as al-Shabab. "That's the problem with Somalia, there is just no easy answer," said Cooke, the analyst. "The problem is so huge and multi-faceted that tackling one aspect of it, i.e., beating back al-Shabab, just can't fix it. Part of the problem is that the government we have invested in as our key partner in Somalia is a fiction of a government, and so Kenya can try to create some space, but there is nothing to fill that." The chairman of the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, told the House Armed Services Committee this month that the U.S. must remain active in Africa because terrorists are networked globally. "One of the places they sit is Pakistan. One of the places they sit is Afghanistan. One of the places they sit is the African continent," Dempsey said. ### U.S. drone base in Ethiopia is operational (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-drone-base-in-ethiopia-isoperational/2011/10/27/gIQAznKwMM_story.html 27 October 2011 By Craig Whitlock The Air Force has been secretly flying armed Reaper drones on counterterrorism missions from a remote civilian airport in southern Ethi-o-pia as part of a rapidly expanding U.S.-led proxy war against an al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, U.S. military officials said. The Air Force has invested millions of dollars to upgrade an airfield in Arba Minch, Ethi-o-pia, where it has built a small annex to house a fleet of drones that can be equipped with Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs. The Reapers began flying missions earlier this year over neighboring Somalia, where the United States and its allies in the region have been targeting al-Shabab, a militant Islamist group connected to alQaeda.

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Mindful of the 1993 Black Hawk Down debacle in which two U.S. military helicopters were shot down in the Somali capital of Mogadishu and 18 Americans killed, the Obama administration has sought to avoid deploying troops to the country. As a result, the United States has relied on lethal drone attacks, a burgeoning CIA presence in Mogadishu and small-scale missions carried out by U.S. special forces. In addition, the United States has increased its funding for and training of African peacekeeping forces in Somalia that fight al-Shabab. The Washington Post reported last month that the Obama administration is building a constellation of secret drone bases in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, including one site in Ethi-o-pia. The location of the Ethio-pian base and the fact that it became operational this year, however, have not been previously disclosed. Some bases in the region also have been used to carry out operations against the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen. The Air Force confirmed Thursday that drone operations are underway at the Arba Minch airport. Master Sgt. James Fisher, a spokesman for the 17th Air Force, which oversees operations in Africa, said that an unspecified number of Air Force personnel -are working at the Ethiopian airfield to provide operation and technical support for our security assistance programs. The Arba Minch airport expansion is still in progress but the Air Force deployed the Reapers there earlier this year, Fisher said. He said the drone flights will continue as long as the government of Ethi-o-pia welcomes our cooperation on these varied security programs. Last month, the Ethio-pian Foreign Ministry denied the presence of U.S. drones in the country. On Thursday, a spokesman for the Ethio-pian embassy in Washington repeated that assertion. Thats the governments position, said Tesfaye Yilma, the head of public diplomacy for the embassy. We dont entertain foreign military bases in Ethiopia. But U.S. military personnel and contractors have become increasingly visible in recent months in Arba Minch, a city of about 70,000 people in southern Ethi-o-pia. Arba Minch means 40 springs in Amharic, the national language. Travelers who have passed through the Arba Minch airport on the occasional civilian flights that land there said the U.S. military has erected a small compound on the tarmac, next to the terminal. The compound is about half an acre in size and is surrounded by high fences, security screens and lights on extended poles. The U.S. military personnel and contractors eat at a cafe in the passenger terminal, where they are served American-style food, according to travelers who have been there.
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Arba Minch is located about 300 miles south of Addis Ababa and about 600 miles east of the Somali border. Standard models of the Reaper have a range of about 1,150 miles, according to the Air Force. The MQ-9 Reaper, known as a hunter killer, is manufactured by General Atomics and is an advanced version of the Predator, the most common armed drone in the Air Forces fleet. Ethi-o-pia is a longtime U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabab, the militant group that has fomented instability in war-torn Somalia and launched attacks in Kenya, Uganda and elsewhere in the region. The Ethio-pian military invaded Somalia in 2006 in an attempt to wipe out a related Islamist movement that was taking over the country, but withdrew three years later after it was unable to contain an insurgency. The U.S. military clandestinely aided Ethi-o-pia during that invasion by sharing intelligence and carrying out airstrikes with AC-130 gunships, which operated from an Ethio-pian military base in the eastern part of the country. After details of the U.S. involvement became public, however, the Ethio-pian government shut down the U.S. military presence there. In a present-day operation that carries echoes of that campaign, Kenya launched its own invasion of southern Somalia this month to chase after al-Shabab fighters that it blames for kidnapping Western tourists in Kenya and destabilizing the border region. Although U.S. officials denied playing a role in that offensive, a Kenyan military spokesman, Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, said Kenya has received technical assistance from its American allies. He declined to elaborate. The U.S. military deploys drones on attack and surveillance missions over Somalia from a number of bases in the region. The Air Force operates a small fleet of Reapers from the Seychelles, a tropical archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about 800 miles from the Somali coast. The U.S. military also operates drones both armed versions and models used strictly for surveillance from Djibouti, a tiny African nation that abuts northwest Somalia at the junction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. About 3,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, the only permanent U.S. base on the African continent. The U.S. government is known to have used drones to mount lethal attacks in at least six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.

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### Libyan Fighters to Receive U.S. Medical Treatment (American Forces Press) http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=65855 28 October 2011 WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2011 The U.S. government will bring two dozen Libyan rebel fighters to the United States for medical treatment they cannot receive at home, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced this evening. Clinton and Panetta released the statement seven days after Libyans captured, and then killed dictator Moammar Ghadafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years. The statement is in response to a request from the rebels Transitional National Council, the acting interim government of Libya. Here is the statement in its entirety: After months of struggle and sacrifice, the Libyan people have liberated their country with the support of the United States and the international community. The violent dictator and his regime have collapsed. But Libya's new freedom has come at a price in human life and suffering. Just as the United States and the international community stood with the Libyan people during the revolution, we continue to work with Libya to address urgent humanitarian needs. Saturday, in response to a request by the Transitional National Council, the United States is transporting 24 seriously wounded fighters to Spaulding Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. An additional six critical cases will be transferred to Germany for immediate care. All of these patients were injured as a result of recent fighting and suffer from conditions that cannot currently be treated in Libya. The United States offers this humanitarian gesture of emergency medical evacuation assistance as a small token of our support, because we are committed to Libya's future. We will continue to stand by the people of Libya and support them as a partner and friend as they build a new, democratic future. ### UN to end mandate for NATO military operations in Libya (Reuters) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-to-end-mandate-for-nato-military-operations-inlibya/ 27 October 2011 By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council plans on Thursday to end its authorization for a 7-month-old NATO military operation in Libya that led to the ouster and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

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The plan to cancel the mandate comes despite a request from Libya's interim government for the Security Council to wait until the National Transitional Council makes a decision on whether it wants NATO to help it secure its borders. The 15-nation council will meet at 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) to vote on a Britishdrafted resolution, obtained by Reuters, that would terminate the U.N. mandate which set the no-fly zone over Libya and permitted foreign military forces to use "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians. If the resolution is approved, as expected, the U.N. mandate would lapse Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m. Libyan time (2159 GMT). Although the draft resolution does not specifically refer to NATO, the alliance's legal mandate to carry out the air strikes that enabled Libyan rebel forces to defeat Gaddafi's troops was supplied by Security Council resolution 1973, adopted in March. The NTC officially announced Libya's liberation on Oct. 23, days after the capture and swift death of Gaddafi. Libyan Deputy U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi asked the council on Wednesday to wait before terminating the mandate. Dabbashi said the government needed time to assess the security situation in its country and its ability to monitor its borders. [ID:nN1E79P0ZE] Western diplomats, however, said council members planned to go ahead and terminate the U.N. mandate. They said issues the NTC had suggested it would like NATO to help with, including border security, fell outside the U.N. mandate to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly zone. The resolution does not lift the arms embargo or other U.N. sanctions on Libya that have been in place for half a year. The Security Council in March authorized a no-fly zone and foreign military intervention to protect Libyans from security forces Gaddafi had deployed to suppress pro-democracy uprisings across the country. The council is also expected to approve a Russian-drafted resolution this week that voices concern about the proliferation of shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles across Libya and beyond its borders, U.N. diplomats said. (Editing by Jackie Frank) ### Libya's new rulers vow to prosecute those responsible for Col Gaddafi's death (The Telegraph)

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8853894/Libyas -new-rulers-vow-to-prosecute-those-responsible-for-Col-Gaddafis-death.html 27 October 2011 By Ben Farmer Libya's new rulers have said they will prosecute the killers of Col Muammar Gaddafi following an outcry over his apparent execution. Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC), said whoever killed the former dictator, who was seized as he tried to break out of his besieged hometown, would be "judged and given a fair trial". His comments came as the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to end its mandate for international military action in Libya. Nato is now expected to declare an end to the seven-month-long air campaign which played a significant part in toppling Col Gaddafi. Col Gaddafi's apparent execution at the hands of a frenzied mob soon after he was dragged from a drain where he had been cornered has been denounced by the NTC's international backers. Unease was over his death was deepened by the lengthy public exhibition of his body and accusations that dozens of Gaddafi loyalist prisoners had been murdered by rebels in the days before the city of Sirte fell. Philip Hammond, Defence Secretary, has said the death had "stained" the reputation of Libya's fledgling interim government. Mr Ghoga said: "With regards to Gaddafi, we do not wait for anybody to tell us. "We had already launched an investigation. We have issued a code of ethics in handling of prisoners of war. I am sure that was an individual act and not an act of revolutionaries or the national army." Col Gaddafi was taken, bloodied, but alive, from the drain after his failed attempt to flee Sirte and mobile phone footage showed him being beaten and tortured as jubilant rebels surrounded him. He died on his way to hospital of bullet wounds to his head and chest according to a post mortem. Until now, the official NTC account has maintained that the dictator was killed in crossfire in fighting with loyalists after he was captured. However conflicting rebel accounts and mobile phone footage have instead identified several different men as Col Gaddafi's killer.
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One piece of film taken soon after the killing shows an unnamed young fighter, brandishing a handgun, standing next to an ambulance bearing Col Gaddafi's body and being lauded by his comrades. Fighters from the city of Misurata were the first to find Col Gaddafi and few have shown any sympathy for his death. Doctors estimate the city suffered more than 1,500 killed after it rose against the Gaddafi regime. Nasser Zintani, said: "If Gaddafi came back to life, I would kill him again a million times. Gaddafi was sentenced to death long ago and the man who did it was merely carrying out his sentence." Yassin Humaid, commander of the Shuhada Square brigade, said: "I am happy Gaddafi is dead, but if the way he was killed was against human rights and the Geneva Convention, then they should go to court. We are with the law." The UN voted to cancel its authorisation for military action at the end of October 31 despite an NTC request that Nato continue operations until the end of the year to stop the loyalists escaping to neighbouring countries. William Hague, Foreign Secretary, said the decision was "another significant milestone towards a peaceful, democratic future for Libya". He said: "Ending the no-fly zone and the civilian protection provisions demonstrates that Libya has entered a new era." The NTC had "a duty to uphold human rights and must prevent reprisals and revenge attacks" after Col Gaddafi's death, he added. Meanwhile Abdullah al-Senussi, Col Gaddafi's fugitive intelligence chief, had passed from Niger into Mali, security sources from both countries claimed. Mr al-Senussi and Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, are both wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their role in the repression of the uprising. An NTC source claimed Saif al-Islam had requested an aircraft to fly him from Libya's southern desert to the Hague, where he intended to hand himself over to the ICC. ### Gaddafi son seeks aircraft to surrender: NTC source (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79Q00X20111027 27 October 2011 By Samia Nakhoul

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's fugitive son Saif al-Islam wants an aircraft to take him out of Libya's southern desert so he can turn himself in to The Hague war crimes court, a source with Libya's National Transitional Council said on Thursday. A fearful Saif al-Islam, 39, went on the run at about the time his father met a grisly death a week ago, apparently at the hands of vengeful Libyan fighters. He has indicated he is ready to surrender to justice, as has ex-intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, NTC officials have said. Both men are the subject of arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court, where officials have not been able to confirm any approach. They face charges of crimes against humanity for their response to February's uprising. Conflicting reports of Saif al-Islam's whereabouts have circulated since he vanished from the Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid in the north of the country, with some accounts putting him, and Senussi, in Niger. Confirmation from Gaddafi's surviving entourage has not been available. One international lawyer who says he represents a member of the family questioned the reliability of NTC accounts but declined comment on the report of a proposed surrender. The NTC source said Saif al-Islam had not left Libya and was being sheltered by a prominent figure among the nomadic Tuareg people of the desert, whom he had supported financially in the past. The rugged and empty area close to the borders of Niger and Algeria has offered an escape route to others in his family. However, under ICC indictment, Saif al-Islam would find it harder than his relatives to secure a safe haven abroad. He was reported by an aide to be fearing for his life when he fled Bani Walid, and if he has seen the gruesome video footage of his father's capture, he is likely to be under few illusions about how he might be treated if he remains in Libya. "Saif is concerned about his safety," the NTC source said. "He believes handing himself over is the best option for him." "AIRCRAFT" The source said Saif al-Islam wanted the involvement of a third country -- possibly Algeria or Tunisia -- in a deal to get him to The Hague. "He wants to be sent an aircraft," the source said by telephone from Libya. "He wants assurances." Saif al-Islam's whereabouts and intentions had been tracked by monitoring satellite phone calls, the source said, together with information contained in intelligence cables.

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The NTC lacks the logistical capabilities to intercept fugitives deep in the desert. It has asked its NATO allies for further assistance after the Western mission winds up following the death of the ousted leader. NATO officials have made clear, however, that they are keen to cut back their commitment now. Saif al-Islam, often personable, English-speaking and London-educated, had been seen by analysts as his father's heir-apparent and a potential reformer, but his bloodthirsty comments about the rebels this year forced a rethink. Gaddafi loyalist security officials in Bani Walid this week told how the son called his father frequently by satellite phone and became increasingly afraid of being hit by incoming fire. "He was afraid of mortars," al-Senussi Sharif al-Senussi, a lieutenant in Gaddafi's army who was also part of Saif al-Islam's personal security team, told Reuters this week. "He seemed confused." Senussi, who is not related to Gaddafi's former security chief, said that Saif al-Islam's convoy was hit by a NATO air strike as he fled Bani Walid but he escaped alive. ### Libyan oil suspension pushes down quarterly earnings at Germanys BASF (The Washington Post / Associated Press) http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Libyan-oil-suspension-pushes-capress3703334401.html?x=0 27 October 2011 BERLIN Germanys BASF SE said Thursday the suspension of oil production in Libya pushed down in its third-quarter earnings, although the chemical company reported a healthy overall rise in revenue and said it was able to pass higher costs for raw materials on to customers. BASF restarted oil production in the Libyan desert in mid-October after a roughly sixmonth shutdown forced by fighting in the country. It said production is currently being ramped up but it cant say when it will be restored in full. The company reported third-quarter net earnings of 1.19 billion ($1.66 billion). That was down 4.3 percent from last years July-September profit figure of 1.25 billion, but it was better than analysts forecast of 1.17 billion. Earnings before interest and taxes, before special items, dropped 11.3 percent to 1.96 billion from last years 2.21 billion. BASF said the 2010 figure included a contribution of 355 million from oil production in Libya.

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BASF says it now has a production capacity in Libya of 20,000 barrels a day and it isnt yet possible to say when it will reach its maximum daily production capacity of 100,000 barrels. As soon as enough crude oil has been collected in the fuel storage facilities, it will then be transported via ship, the company said. Earnings will only be achieved once this has taken place probably toward the end of the year. BASF has joined companies such as Italys Eni and Frances Total in resuming production after Libyas civil war ended with the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the company makes a wide range of chemical-based products. It said Thursday that its overall quarterly revenue was up 11.6 percent to 17.6 billion from last years 15.8 billion. It said it was able to pass on sharply increased costs for raw materials in its prices. Cognis, a specialty chemicals firm acquired last year, made a strong contribution to sales growth, the company said. BASF said demand remained high although growth slowed further as expected compared with the years first half. Amid global economic uncertainty, it said customers were planning more cautiously, reducing inventories, and to some extent delaying orders in expectation of possible price declines. We remain cautious despite the current good performance as economic growth is likely to slow further, weighed down by debt worries in Europe and the U.S. and by credit restrictions in China, CEO Kurt Bock said. He said BASF remains committed to further reducing costs and increasing efficiency and expanding business in emerging markets. BASFs net earnings for the years first nine months were up 46 percent, rising to 5.06 billion from 3.46 billion. Revenue climbed 16.8 percent to 55.43 billion from 47.45 billion. BASF shares were up 3.5 percent at 52.37 in Frankfurt slightly outpacing the overall rise of the DAX index of blue-chip stocks. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ###
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Somalia's al Shabaab vows war against Kenya (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79Q0AM20111027 27 October 2011 By Ismail Taxta and Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's al Shabaab rebels vowed on Thursday to fight Kenya after its troops entered the Horn of Africa nation and called on sympathisers to carry out major attacks in east Africa's biggest economy. The call to arms came 12 days after Kenya sent soldiers into Somalia to battle the al Qaeda-linked rebels Nairobi blames for a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil and frequent border incursions threatening state security. Unknown militants attacked a vehicle in northeastern Kenya near Somalia on Thursday killing at least four government employees, local officials told Reuters, the third strike in the east African country this week. Two separate grenade blasts in the capital Nairobi on Monday killed one person and wounded nearly 30. A Kenyan man has pleaded guilty to one of the attacks and being a member of al Shabaab. There were also unconfirmed Kenyan media reports that gunmen had ambushed Kenyan soldiers near a town 60 km (40 miles) inside Somalia. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua declined to comment on the reports. "The time to ask Kenya to stop war has passed. The only option is to fight them. Kenya, you have started the war and so you have to face the consequences," Sheikh Muktar Robow Abu Mansoor, a top al Shabaab official, told a demonstration. "The Kenyan Mujahideen who were trained by Osama in Afghanistan, stop throwing grenades at buses. We need a huge blow against Kenya. Hand grenades hurled can harm them but we want huge blasts," he told hundreds of people gathered in Elasha, near the capital Mogadishu. Kenya has long watched its anarchic neighbour warily and its troops have made forays across the porous border with Somalia in the past, but this month's assault marks the first concerted push to drive the rebels away from the frontier. The recent kidnappings of Western tourists and aid workers on Kenyan soil risk denting the country's lucrative tourist industry and hampering humanitarian support for more than 400,000 Somalis at a refugee camp in northern Kenya. Al Shabaab has denied being behind the kidnappings, saying they were being used as a pretext by Kenya to send troops into the country.

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"Now Kenya's planes are bombing us, and their tanks are inside Somalia. Let's fight collectively and defeat them as we defeated the Christian countries who invaded us before," said al Shabaab's Mansoor. ### Kenya has right to pursue al Shabaab: Somali PM (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79Q06F20111027 27 October 2011 By Mohamed Ahmed MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Kenya has every right to pursue al Shabaab rebels in Somalia, but Somali government troops must be in charge of operations against the Islamist rebels, Somalia's prime minister said. Kenya deployed troops inside the anarchic Horn of Africa nation 12-days ago in an offensive against al Shabaab fighters it blames for a series of kidnappings on its soil and frequent cross-border incursions. ID:nL5E7LG0KF] Somalia's president cast doubt on his government's support for the incursion on Monday. On Wednesday, Mogadishu reiterated there was no deal with Kenya to send in its troops, but said the prime minister would now liaise with Nairobi. "We support Kenya's operation inside Somalia because they support, train and provide other military support to our troops to defeat al Shabaab and we are very grateful to Kenya," Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said in an interview. "But we have to understand one thing: Somalia has the lead, our military has the lead in all operations taking place inside Somalia," he said late on Wednesday. The Somali government has so far stopped short of asking Kenyan troops to leave and the prime minister's comments show the authorities appear to accept the incursion, which has the backing of Western allies supporting the Mogadishu government. "My government supports any self defence action Kenya takes against al Shabaab. Al Shabaab has inflicted a negative economic impact on Kenya," the prime minister said. "Kenya has suffered at the hands of al Shabaab who are Somali terrorists crossing from the Somali border to the Kenyan border. So, therefore, Kenya has the right to pursue them inside Somali and defeat them," he said. East Africa's biggest economy has long watched its anarchic neighbour warily and its troops have made forays across the porous border in the past, but this month's assault marks the first concerted push to drive the rebels away from the frontier.

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The recent kidnappings of Western tourists and aid workers from Kenya soil risk denting the country's lucrative tourist industry and hampering humanitarian support for more than 400,000 Somalis at a refugee camp in northern Kenya. Al Shabaab has denied it is behind the kidnappings, saying they are being used as a pretext by Kenya to send its troops across the border. Kenyan troops are advancing on several fronts towards al Shabaab strongholds alongside Somali government soldiers and allied militias in the region. The Kenyan troops have taken several towns but have not yet had a major showdown with al Shabaab fighters, who are regrouping and bolstering defences at strategic points in the south of the Horn of Africa nation. Kenya continued to deploy more troops to Somalia on Wednesday. Trucks laden with weapons, military and police officers from the capital and camps in central and northern Kenya were seen heading towards Somalia. ### Prince William supervisor campaigns spar on issues (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-supervisorcampaigns-spar-on-issues/2011/10/26/gIQAPBG0LM_blog.html 27 October 2011 By Jeremy Borden Prince William County campaigns began to turn up the heat this week. Democratic candidate Babur Lateef is planning to spend $25,000 to air a campaign ad against Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart in the countys at-large race. The advertisement, which will air on cable stations countywide, features baseballs beaning children and seniors not-so-subtle critiques of Stewarts stance on several issues, including turning down federal stimulus money and that he snuck home with campaign cash after the county approved funding to improve the Potomac Nationals minor league stadium, according to the advertisement. The Board did not turn down $17 million, Stewart wrote in an e-mail. We accepted the federal funding but saved the funds until the next fiscal year to avoid one-time funding being used to cover ongoing expenses. Corey Stewart (Dayna Smith - For The Post ) Stewart also said that the Board of Supervisors allocated funds to fix up the Potomac Nationals stadium, the minor league affiliate of the Washington Nationals, to prevent the Washington Nationals from moving the franchise to another jurisdiction.

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Stewart said he plans to release his own ad against Lateef before the election. He said most of his campaign has been positive and his mailings to voters will remain so. Because Lateef has hit me with a negative TV ad, I do think its fair to hit him with a negative ad as well, Stewart said. Hes not yet sure when his advertisement will begin to air. The Woodbridge supervisor race also saw its own tense exchange. Supervisor Frank Principis (D) campaign said that Republican candidate Chris Royse was less than honest when he said he was speaking with AFRICOM, about plans to move the joint military command and the thousands of jobs that would come with it to Woodbridge (captured in this video). Principi filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Defense, and that office found no indications that Royse had reached out to AFRICOM for a potential move, a letter from the FOIA office shows. Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner have advocated for AFRICOM to be moved to the Hampton Roads area to make up for the relocation of thousands of military jobs there. Royse said it would be completely inappropriate for him to reach out to AFRICOM as an unelected official. He has had unofficial conversations with former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis and Martin Briley, Prince Williams former head of economic development, about the possibility of bringing AFRICOM to Prince William, among other counties, he said. If I get elected, and if the other supervisors and the chairman support the initiative, wed have to launch an Olympic bid-type campaign to get AFRICOM to move to Woodbridge, Royse said. ### Deaths in attack in Kenya border town (Al Jazeera) http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111027102754587827.html 27 October 2011 Attack is the latest violent incident in the East African nation since it launched offensive against al-Shabab. Four civilians have been killed by unidentified assailants who attacked a vehicle with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns near the Kenya-Somali border, police and officials with Kenya's Red Cross say. The attack occurred on Thursday in Mandera, in Kenya's sparsely populated northeast, close to the porous borders with Ethiopia and Somalia.

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"The vehicle was carrying eight people but four of them have died," a police officer in the region said on condition of anonymity. The vehicle was reportedly carrying education and security officials ferrying secondary school examination papers. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. "We have just received reports that a grenade was hurled at a government vehicle, which was leaving Lafey and coming here to Mandera," a teacher at a Mandera school, who did not wish to be named, said. Three other Mandera residents told the Reuters news agency they had heard reports of four deaths. Nelly Muluka-Oluoch, a Kenyan Red Cross spokeswoman, said agency personnel who went to the site of the attack confirmed the number of casualties. Al-Shabab attacks Kenyan authorities have tightened security after Somalia's al-Shabab threatened to attack the country in retaliation against its military offensive against them. Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, reporting from Nairobi, said: "The main suspicion is going to fall towards al-Shabab [but] I think we need to be very careful about linking these too quickly." Nairobi was rocked this week by two grenade attacks that killed one person and wounded dozens. Kenyan security officials suspect al-Shabab, who have not claimed responsibility. "Al-Shabab tends to attack much more symbolic targets, with much higher body counts," our correspondent said, "but, clearly, that link is one that the authorities are going to be looking at very closely." A Kenyan suspect arrested after two grenade blasts earlier this week in Nairobi admitted in court that he was involved in one of the attacks, and said he is a member of al-Shabab. Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, 28, also known as Mohammed Seif, pleaded guilty to nine charges, including involvement in Monday's explosion at a busy bus stop which left one person dead and several more injured. An officer with the anti-terror police unit who brought Oliacha to court on Wednesday said authorities would bring more charges against him in court on Friday. The officer, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that Oliacha was expected to plead guilty to all of those charges as well.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

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### West's double standards (Sowetan) http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/world/2011/10/27/west-s-double-standards 27 October 2011 Hope Mankwana Papo NO SOONER had news of Muammar Gaddafi's execution spread from Sirte than an outburst of celebration greeted commentary in some circles across the globe. When an aide showed her a picture of Gaddafi's dead body, an excited US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exclaimed: "Wow!" And in poor taste, she announced: "We came, we saw, he died." Her boss, President Barack Obama, described the occasion as a "momentous day." French President Nicolas Sarkozy described the execution as a "disappearance" and said it was "a major step forward in the battle fought for more than eight months by the Libyan people to liberate themselves from the dictatorial and violent regime imposed on them for more than 40 years". The number one peace tribune and international civil servant, United Nations secretarygeneral Ban Ki-moon said the execution "marks a historic transition for Libya" while at the same time calling for "healing and rebuilding ... generosity of spirit, not for revenge". These comments prompted Russian ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), Dmitry Rogozin, to write on Twitter: "The faces of the leaders of 'world democracies' are so happy, as if they remembered how they hanged stray cats in basements in their childhoods." As happened after the execution and dumping at sea of Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces, the unintelligible narrative of Gaddafi's execution reflects a world that has come to accept double standards and outright distortion as a function of power. Gaddafi "disappeared"; he was not executed. The change of regime in Tripoli was effected by the Libyan people, not Nato. Facts have been twisted. The execution becomes a "momentous day", one that "marks a historic transition for Libya". That the execution is a manifestation of (and will exacerbate) social divisions and the controversial role of some major world powers is glossed over. Similarly overlooked are the troubling ethical and political dimensions relating to international law, global governance and the future of the world itself.
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Nato member states, Libya's National Transitional Council's (NTC) backers (or is it handlers?), claim that their intervention is an altruistic venture driven by lofty values of human rights, democracy, free speech and rule of law - the exact opposite of Gaddafi. But once captured, Gaddafi became a prisoner of war, with legal and moral implications for his captors. Article 13 of the Geneva Convention to which Nato is a signatory states: "Prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." Where then are the values of the rule of law in the execution of a political opponent? Why did they not bring Gaddafi before an impartial court of law? Do the celebratory chants by NTC backers not betray their rhetoric? The crisis could have been resolved without much blood-letting and the destruction of infrastructure if the African Union's (AU) proposals had been heeded. But Nato 's primary consideration was to remove Gaddafi to create a client state, which would make it possible for the West to access its oil , as recent revelations of secret oil deals between the NTC and the West suggest, and to orient Libya into the West's sphere of influence in the region. Nato states pursue AU-type approaches to conflict resolution when it suites them . It adopted this approach in Bahrain, were the monarchy earlier this year responded to popular uprisings in the same fashion as Gaddafi did . In sharp contrast, the US, said Clinton, "made clear that security alone cannot resolve the challenges facing Bahrain. Violence is not the answer, a political process is". The difference in approach is that Bahrain is a US ally, home to its navy's Fifth Fleet and part of Washington's geo-political architecture in the region. Further, in contrast, Gaddafi demanded the US withdrawal in Tripoli in June 1970, denying it a strategic military facility in the Maghreb, the Sahel and the Middle East. So, when US President Ronald Reagan called Gaddafi "This mad dog of the Middle East" in 1986, he was expressing more than outrage at the Libyan leader's alleged involvement in terrorist attacks against the US. Beneath this street-level and un-presidential crudeness was a subterranean ideological grudge, Gaddafi's inconsistencies notwithstanding. In the last 10 years, the US has pressured African governments to establish military bases in Africa under the auspices of the US Africa Command (Africom). With Gaddafi gone, Libya is most likely to be an Africom host nation, alongside Uganda, which recently invited 100 US military advisers to help hunt down Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.
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South Sudan is another potential Africom host. Sixteen days after independence in July, Africom Commander, General Carter Ham met President Salva Kiir Mayardit to discuss "military partnership" (read "military tutelage") . Given (North) Sudan's belief that the US seeks to effect regime change in Khartoum, an Africom presence in South Sudan will further tensions between the two countries. No doubt, the world will be fed familiar Afro-pessimist narratives of a conflict-prone Africa, ignoring the role others play in promoting conflict on the continent. Papo is ANC Member of the Gauteng provincial legislature and SACP Gauteng PEC. This is written in his personal capacity.See Part Two tomorrow ### Sudan armed Libyan rebels, says President Bashir (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15471734 26 October 2011 By James Copnall Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says his country gave military support to the Libyan rebels who overthrew Col Muammar Gaddafi. In a speech broadcast live on state television, Mr Bashir said the move was in response to Col Gaddafi's support for Sudanese rebels three years ago. Sudan and Libya have had a complicated and frequently antagonistic relationship for many years. Libya was declared liberated on Sunday, two days after Col Gaddafi's death. 'Opportunity to reciprocate' President Bashir said the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfuri rebel group, had attacked Khartoum three years ago using Libyan trucks, equipment, arms, ammunition and money. He said God had given Sudan a chance to respond, by sending arms, ammunition and humanitarian support to the Libyan revolutionaries. "Our God, high and exalted, from above the seven skies, gave us the opportunity to reciprocate the visit," he said. "The forces which entered Tripoli, part of their arms and capabilities, were 100% Sudanese," he told the crowd.
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His speech was well received by a large crowd in the eastern Sudanese town of Kassala. JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim lived for some time in southern Libya. Now he is back in Darfur, in western Sudan, where an eight-year-old civil war continues. Mr Bashir's remarks show a desire to forge firm links with Libya's new government. But the easy availability of weapons in Libya, and that country's porous border with Darfur, are also of great concern to the Sudanese authorities. ### END REPORT

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