United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 7 December 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 December 7, 2011. Of interest in todays clips: Suicide attack in Somalia kills police officers, and more attacks in the south kill others. Ugandan officials confirm U.S. troops deploy to fight LRA in south-east CAR. In DRC, election results delayed for 48 hours due to technical difficulties. Tensions remain high as many are bracing for unrest and violence. The U.N. toughens its sanctions against Eritrea. 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) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa Suicide bomber hits Somali capital, dozens killed in South (Reuters) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/suicide-bomber-hits-somali-capital-dozens-killed-insouth/ 6 December 2011 By Mohamed Ahmed and Richard Lough A suicide bomber struck the Somali capital on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks in Mogadishu, and dozens of Islamist rebels and Somali government troops have been killed in fighting in the south. U.S. troops deploy in LRA rebel hunt: Uganda Army (AFP)

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i22DCljw814O0FYw2PKlwUSh e_rQ?docId=CNG.e611ebd178808f855c88ccddb02d23b7.f1 6 December 2011 By Max Delany US troops have begun a region-wide hunt for fighters from the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan-born group that has been killing, raping and looting for years, the Ugandan army said Tuesday. US Commandos venture into Konys killing fields (The Monitor-Uganda) http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1285462/-/bg6kk1z/-/ 7 December 2011 By Tabu Butagira Dozens of US Special Forces have established a frontline base in Obo, southeastern Central African Republic (CAR), to help regional armies in a final push to remove LRA leader Joseph Kony and his commanders from the battlefield. DR Congo election results delayed by 48 hours (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16059154 7 December 2011 Publication of presidential election results in the DR Congo has been delayed by 48 hours because of technical difficulties, officials say. Kinshasa tense ahead of DRC vote result (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/12/2011126709613817.html 6 December 2011 By Azad Essa The winner of last week's presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is due to be named on Tuesday, stirring fears of new unrest in the conflict-prone country. UN toughens Eritrea sanctions over efforts to destabilise neighbors (France 24) http://www.france24.com/en/20111205-un-toughens-sanctions-eritrea-efforts-destabiliseneighbours-somalia-shabaab-islamists 5 December 2011 News Wires The UN Security Council voted Monday for stricter sanctions on Eritrea, including extending travel bans and a freeze on assets, over its support for al Shabaab Islamist militants in Somalia and its "efforts to destabilise" regional states. Horn of Africa crisis may last into summer: EU (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7B50A820111206 6 December 2011 By Emma Bartha

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

The crisis in Horn of Africa which has left more than 13 million people at risk of starvation will continue into the spring, and possibly the summer, the European Union's top aid official said on Tuesday. Well be tough with the big boys (Reporting Development Network Africa) http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201112060697.html 6 December 2011 By Suleiman Mustapha Ghanas Environment and Science Minister, Sherry Ayittey has warned that the 54 African countries at the UN climate change conference in Durban will not be bullied into making concessions to the developed countries at the expense of the African poor. Opinion: Continent lies naked to Euro-American Military Offensive (Zimbabwe Herald) http://allafrica.com/stories/201112060286.html 6 December 2011 By Glen Ford The United States and its allies, principally the French, are positioned to 'take' much of the continent with the collaboration of most of its governments." The US and its allies are engaged in an Asian and African offensive, a multi-pronged assault thinly camouflaged as humanitarian intervention that, in some regions, looks like a blitzkrieg. ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA UN relief fund allocates $6 million to alleviate food crisis in Niger 6 December The United Nations relief chief today announced the allocation of $6 million from the world bodys humanitarian fund to support efforts to alleviate the suffering of millions of people facing severe food shortages in Niger. Dozens killed in latest round of ethnic violence in South Sudan UN mission 6 December The United Nations peacekeeping operation in South Sudan is investigating the causes of another spasm of ethnic violence in the new country that has reportedly killed dozens of villagers and displaced many more. Congolese post-election violence will not be tolerated, ICC prosecutor warns 6 December As the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) await the results of last weeks presidential and legislative elections, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warned today that any outbreak of poll-related violence will be investigated and those found responsible prosecuted.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

(Full Articles on UN Website) ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upcoming Events of Interest: Wednesday, 7 DEC 2011 WHAT: Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Discussion on "Future of America's Expeditionary Force in Readiness." WHEN: 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. Keynote address by General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps; other speakers: Thomas Donnelly, American Enterprise Institute; Andrew Hoehn, RAND Corporation; Lieutenant General Robert Blackman, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret); Lieutenant General James Dubik, U.S. Army (Ret); and Nathan Freier (Moderator), Center for Strategic and International Studies. WHERE: CSIS, 1800 K Street, NW CONTACT: 202-887-0200; web site: www.csis.org SOURCE: CSIS - event announcement at: http://csis.org/event/military-strategy-forumgeneral-joseph-f-dunford-jr WHAT: New America Foundation (NAF) Discussion on Which Way Forward for Egypt? WHEN: 12:15 1:45 p.m. SPEAKERS: Featured Speakers: Randa Fahmy, Vice President, Egyptian American Rule of Law Association; Nathan Brown, Professor, Political Science & International Affairs, George Washington University, Nonresident Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Michael Wahid Hanna, Fellow, The Century Foundation (will have just returned from Egypt); and Moderator, Leila Hilal, Co-Director, Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation. WHERE: NAF, 1899 L Street, NW, Suite 400 CONTACT: 202-986-2700; web site: www.newamerica.net SOURCE: NAF event announcement at: http://newamerica.net/events/2011/which_way_forward_for_egypt WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace Discussion on The United States Efforts to Combat the Lord's Resistance Army. WHEN: 2:00 3:30 p.m. SPEAKERS: Johnnie Carson, Featured Speaker, Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. Bureau for African Affairs; Ambassador William M. Bellamy Director, Africa Center for Strategic Studies; Michael Poffenberger, Co-founder & Executive Director, Resolve; Ambassador George E. Moose, Welcoming Remarks, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of Peace; and Raymond Gilpin, Moderator, Director, Sustainable Economies, U.S. Institute of Peace. WHERE: USIP, 2301 Constitution Avenue, NW
U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

CONTACT: 202-457-1700; web site: www.usip.org SOURCE: USIP event announcement at: http://www.usip.org/events/the-united-statesefforts-combat-the-lords-resistance-army WHAT: Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Johns Hopkins University Discussion on The Arab Awakening: How Should the West Respond? WHEN: 4:00 p.m. SPEAKERS: Jose Maria Aznar, distinguished fellow at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR) and former president of the government of Spain; William A. Taylor, Special Coordinator for Middle East Transitions at the U.S. Department of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine; Marcin Zaborowski, Director of the Polish Institute for International Affairs; and Maurizio Molinari, correspondent for La Stampe. WHERE: SAIS, Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building, 1740 Massachusetts Avenue, NW CONTACT: Felisa Neuringer Klubes at 202-663-5626, fklubes@jhu.edu ; web site: www.sais-jhu.edu SOURCE: SAIS event announcement at: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/calendar/index.htm Thursday, 8 DEC 2011 WHAT: Middle East Institute (MEI) publication launch and discussion on The Arab Spring: Implications for U.S. Policy and Interests. WHEN: 12:00 1:30 p.m. SPEAKERS: Allen Keiswetter, Principal Coordinator and author with Charles Dunne; Ambassador Art Hughes; and Ambassador Molly Williamson. WHERE: SEIU Building, Room 2600, 2nd floor, 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW CONTACT: 202-785-1141 or information@mei.edu; web site: www.mei.edu SOURCE: MEI event announcement at: http://www.mei.edu/Events/Calendar/tabid/504/vw/3/ItemID/371/d/20111208/Default.as px WHAT: Discussion on Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation WHEN: Thursday, December 8, 2011, 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. (RSVP by Dec. 7) WHO: Speakers: David Lobell, Stanford University Professor and Fatima Denton (commentator) Team Leader at Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (ACCA) WHERE: Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall, Stanford University CONTACT: 650-723-4920 or e-mail: Ashley Dean, ashdean@stanford.edu Media contact: http://events.stanford.edu/events/299/29933/ ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------New on www.africom.mil AIDS Prevention and Testing Center Benefits Tunisians
U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

By Toni Metcalfe-El Abed Office of Security Cooperation, Tunisia TUNIS, Tunisia, Dec 2, 2011 On the occasion of World AIDS Day, U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia Gordon Gray inaugurated a new AIDS prevention and testing center built for the benefit of the Tunisian Association for the Prevention of AIDS and Sexually Transmissible Diseases (ATL/MST SIDA). ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL TEXT Suicide bomber hits Somali csapital, dozens killed in South (Reuters) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/suicide-bomber-hits-somali-capital-dozens-killed-insouth/ 6 December 2011 By Mohamed Ahmed and Richard Lough MOGADISHU/NAIROBI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber struck the Somali capital on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks in Mogadishu, and dozens of Islamist rebels and Somali government troops have been killed in fighting in the south. The car bomb exploded 50 metres from the recently reopened Turkish embassy, near to the Kilometre 4 (K4) junction, a busy intersection in Mogadishu's administrative district. A health official said at least three people were killed by the blast. The suicide attack piles yet more pressure on a Western-backed government that relies on African Union troops to prop it up and fight an insurgency by Islamist militants who control virtually all of Somalia outside Mogadishu. Witnesses told Reuters that the security forces stopped the vehicle earlier, before moving the car to a quieter sideroad. "The troops tried to question the driver and take photographs when the suicide bomber detonated his bomb," Abdiweli Elmi, a policeman on patrol at the junction said. Two policemen and one civilian were killed, Elmi said. A Reuters witness said human body parts could be seen around the ripped-apart car and security forces fired into the air to disperse the crowds. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Suspicion is likely to fall on al Shabaab rebels.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

The al Qaeda-linked militants, who have fought the government since 2007, have intensified the frequency of suicide attacks in Mogadishu since withdrawing from most of their bases in the capital in August. A Turkish government official said the target of the attack was unknown. None of Turkey's embassy staff hurt. Turkey was the first state from outside the immediate region to open an embassy in Mogadishu. Its interests have been the target of violent incidents since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited Mogadishu in August. Erdogan was the first leader from outside Africa to visit the capital for nearly two decades. HEAVY FIGHTING, AIR STRIKES The rebels, who control large swathes of Somalia, are also fighting against Somali government and Kenyan troops in the rebel-controlled southern and central parts of the country. Ethiopian forces have also crossed into Somalia. More than 40 militants and 11 Somali government troops were killed in weekend fighting in the town of Hayo, between the Kenyan border and the al Shabaab stronghold of Afmadow in southern Somalia, a Kenyan military spokesman said on Tuesday. Emmanuel Chirchir said Kenyan jets had also launched air strikes on al Shabaab bases on Monday, and that it was too early to give an assessment of damage. Kenya is eight weeks into an offensive inside Somalia to crush rebel networks but the military campaign has become bogged down by heavy rains and lack of clear strategy, diplomats say. "(Kenyan) jets targeted two al Shabaab camps south of Afmadow town, killing a number of al Shabaab fighters, and destroyed technical vehicles," Chirchir said, referring to the machinegun-mounted trucks used by the militants. A lawmaker from Somalia's Lower Juba region that borders Kenya and nearby residents said al Shabaab had only clung on to Hayo for a few hours before government troops regained control. The Kenyan government agreed on Tuesday that its force in southern Somalia should become part of the AU peacekeeping force (AMISOM) in the anarchic country. Earlier this month, Kenya offered to boost AMISOM, which numbers about 9,400 and is made up of troops from Uganda and Burundi. Both the AU and regional bloc IGAD said they supported the idea of integrating the Kenyan soldiers.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

"The cabinet ... approved the re-hatting of the Kenya Defence Forces in Somalia to AMISOM, subject to approval by parliament," the president's office said. "This has been done at the request of the African Union to enhance a combined strategy for the operation against al Shabaab," it said in a statement. However, analysts said it might not be that straightforward for Kenyan soldiers to become part of AMISOM - unless Nairobi is prepared to contribute the cost of its mission in Somalia. If Kenya wants AMISOM to help fund its operation on the ground as part of the African Union force, the U.N. Security Council would need to approve extra funding, analysts said. The AMISOM force is also capped at 12,000 soldiers. Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti have already committed to raising troop numbers to the mandated ceiling by early next year. Raising that limit cap would require a vote at the U.N.'s Security Council. (Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu, Sahra Abdi in Nairobi and Jonathon Burch in Ankara; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Louise Ireland) ### U.S. troops deploy in LRA rebel hunt: Uganda Army (AFP) http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i22DCljw814O0FYw2PKlwUSh e_rQ?docId=CNG.e611ebd178808f855c88ccddb02d23b7.f1 6 December 2011 By Max Delany ENTEBBE, Uganda US troops have begun a region-wide hunt for fighters from the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan-born group that has been killing, raping and looting for years, the Ugandan army said Tuesday. US President Barack Obama in October sent 100 special forces soldiers to help Uganda track down LRA chief and international fugitive Joseph Kony, who has wreaked havoc over four nations for more than two decades. "They (US troops) are there and they are setting up their bases," said Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye. US troops had deployed to Obo in the Central African Republic and Nzara in South Sudan, where Uganda's army has forward bases to battle the rebel group, Kulayigye said, but gave no details of the numbers of troops sent.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Some of the US troops staged a training exercise Tuesday with Ugandan airforce crews in Entebbe, about 35 kilometres (21 miles) west of the capital Kampala, on how to package supplies to be air dropped to frontline troops. Previously Uganda had to rely on supplies being ferried in by helicopter to specified landing sites but will now be able to be resupplied without having to return to base, Kulayigye said. A US official, speaking to AFP here on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press, confirmed that some troops had arrived in affected areas but could not say where exactly the troops were located. The rebels currently number several hundred, a fraction of their strength at their peak but still include a core of hardened fighters infamous for mutilating civilians and abducting children for soldiers and sex-slaves. The majority of US troops will be based in Uganda while a smaller number will be based in jungle areas in neighbouring countries to advise regional armies tracking the rebels, US officials say. The US state department currently gives $17 million each year to cover the cost of transporting Ugandan forces to the conflict zone. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Kony took up arms in the late 1980s, initially against the Ugandan government. The International Criminal Court has a warrant against Kony, one of the continent's most wanted men. Driven out of Uganda, the guerrillas have since scattered across a vast region of the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, recruiting fighters from those nations over the years. The LRA emerged from the frustrations of Uganda's marginalised Acholi ethnic group against the government, but its leaders have since dropped their national political agenda for the narrow objective of pillage and plunder.

US Commandos venture into Konys killing fields (The Monitor-Uganda) http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1285462/-/bg6kk1z/-/ 7 December 2011 By Tabu Butagira

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Dozens of US Special Forces have established a frontline base in Obo, southeastern Central African Republic (CAR), to help regional armies in a final push to remove LRA leader Joseph Kony and his commanders from the battlefield. Revelations about the deployment at the frontier enclave with Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, emerged as a senior Ugandan military officer said Kony is hiding in CAR. The undulating terrain, said UPDF spokesman Felix Kulayigye, made worse by dense forests, shortage of tracking devices and transport infrastructure have slowed efforts to capture the rebel commander, wanted by the International Criminal Court. Col. Kulayigye told journalists yesterday on the sidelines of joint US-UPDF quickpackaging-for-airdrop drills at Entebbe Military Airbase, that Kony keeps oscillating between border areas of the three countries. People we capture (freed captives) tell us in which group he is; and we corroborate the information using our field intelligence, the spokesman said. Midair supplies The airdrop packaging skill, hitherto scarce among Ugandan soldiers, and one now being imparted by US troops, is expected to help UPDF execute mid-air conveyance of food, arms and other logistics to foot soldiers on LRA trail in the vast jungles. This, the military said, will increase operational efficiency and reduce time previously wasted when battlefield troops had to trek long distances to designated assembly points to replenish stock. The ongoing training of UPDF by their American counterparts on logistics management and air raid techniques, marked by simultaneous amplified flight drills in Entebbe and northern Uganda, will have a multiplier effect and enhance the capability for the antiLRA offensive, Col. Kulayigye said. President Obama, under pressure from domestic campaigners and lobbyists, and in line with the Lords Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act 2009, in October this year, ordered deployment of about 100 US Special Forces to capture or kill Kony and his commanders. It is understood Washington got frustrated that the Ugandan military was not using intelligence data passed to it effectively, partly due to inaccurate interpretation and in some cases delays in relaying the information to field commanders. Yet UPDF is the most capable army to hunt the rebels. A US official said the Special Forces, who are available following end of the Iraq war and troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, have deployed to help fix the problem and ensure regional armies end the LRA menace.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

No timeline Staff of the US embassy in Kampala took both local and foreign journalists to Entebbe Airbase to see firsthand UPDFs newly-acquired skills on packaging for airdrop otherwise called Container Delivery Systems. Both Ugandan and American officials declined to give a timeline within which they expect to remove Kony, who, according to UPDF accounts, has on several occasions since 1987, eluded capture and or death, by a whisker. ###

DR Congo election results delayed by 48 hours (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16059154 7 December 2011 Publication of presidential election results in the DR Congo has been delayed by 48 hours because of technical difficulties, officials say. The result had been due before the end of President Joseph Kabila's term at 23:00 GMT and the opposition say they will not recognise his authority now. But a presidential spokeswoman said that a few hours' delay was not a constitutional power vacuum. Mr Kabila is leading the partial vote count, followed by Etienne Tshisekedi. He had 46% of the vote, with MrTshisekedi trailing with 36% with two-thirds of the ballots counted. The opposition has alleged fraud in what are only the second polls since the 1998-2003 war ended in DR Congo. Fraud allegations "As we haven't yet been able to receive the tally sheets from all 60,000 polling stations in the country, we decided to push back the publication by 48 hours," said Matthieu Mpita, the spokesman of the National Independent Electoral Commission. "It was our objective to make the deadline," he said, "but we need all the elements."

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Some four million people lost their lives in the conflict and armed groups continue to operate in eastern parts of the vast country, which is two-thirds the size of Western Europe. The BBC's Thomas Hubert in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, says Mr Tshisekedi's supporters insist he has won and are unlikely to accept defeat in polls marred by allegations of rigging, including pre-marked ballots. DR Congo polls in numbers Our correspondent says that though dozens of helicopters were deployed to collect result sheets from remote polling stations across the country, bags of unprocessed ballot papers and electoral documents were still unprocessed in Kinshasa as the deadline approached. Riot police have been patrolling the city amid fears that the expected announcement could spark violence, our correspondent says. Tear gas has already been used to disperse Mr Tshisekedi's supporters. Many shops in the capital remained closed. Witnesses also reported heavy police and military deployments as well as curfews in several cities across the country. According to Human Rights Watch, election violence has already left at least 18 dead and more than 100 wounded. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor issued a warning to the country, whose election he said the ICC was watching "very closely". "I urge leaders, commanders, and politicians on all sides to calm your supporters. Electoral violence is no longer a ticket to power, I assure you. It is a ticket to The Hague," Luis Moreno-Ocampo said, according to the Associated Press news agency. ### Kinshasa tense ahead of DRC vote result (al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/12/2011126709613817.html 6 December 2011 By Azad Essa

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo - The winner of last week's presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is due to be named on Tuesday, stirring fears of new unrest in the conflict-prone country. The latest result projections, announced early on Tuesday by the country's electoral commission, gave Joseph Kabila, the incumbent president, 46.4 per cent with votes from just over two-thirds of polling centres counted. His main rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, has 36.2 per cent. But opposition candidates, including Tshisekedi, have rejected the results, claiming that the electoral process was a complete sham and calling on supporters to rebuff the results. An official from Tshisekedis UDPS party told Al Jazeera that the electoral commission "must publish the correct results". Meanwhile, doubts remained that the commission would be able to release provisional results as expected, as the central counting centre still had thousands of ballot sheets from Kinshasa's four constituencies. A spokesman for Congo's election commission said that the body was working to release results before midnight on Tuesday, as required by law, but a delay may be inevitable if tally sheets are not compiled in time. Matthieu Mpita told the AP news agency by telephone that helicopters had been dispatched to the remote corners of the country to pick up compilation sheets. He said the numbers have not been transmitted to the central compilation centre in Kinshasa due to a technical glitch with the communications equipment. Mpita said, "It's our objective to release the results before midnight tonight," but it depends on whether the body gets a full count. David Pottie, from the US-based Carter Center monitoring organisation, said that completing the count [by Tuesday] would take a "tremendous amount of work". Pottie told Al Jazeera that the monitoring team had not completed their assessment of the entire electoral process, but had issues with the level of transparency and lack of ready information. Threat of violence Security intensified on Monday in the central business district of Kinshasa, the capital, and residents saw an increase in tanks, army personnel and riot police as fears grew of a possible backlash on the streets if Kabila was re-elected in an election which critics say was dogged by irregularities. At least 18 people have already died in election-related violence in the DRC, according to Human Rights Watch.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

As a precautionary measure against possible clashes in the city, hundreds of Congolese flocked to the port on Monday to make a journey across the Congo River to Brazzaville, in neighbouring Congo Republic. Weekend reports indicated that an estimated 3,000 people had already made the boat trip across the river, in expectation of violence brewing in the city. City insiders, however, said only a handful of passengers were boarding the ferry to escape and if the situation really deteriorated, the port will most likely be closed and people will use any means to cross the river ... but that not happened yet. Rike, 24, a manager of a local nightclub in Kinshasa, told Al Jazeera that she was leaving for four days because Kinshasa was not the place to be right now. Business as usual Despite the tension, Kinshasa remained bustling with activity on Monday. Businesses were open, the local blue and yellow taxi services ran as per normal and informal traders sold their wares, including fruit and clothes on the city streets. By early evening, however, the centre of town saw the parade of traffic emptying, with locals rushing home or buying last minute groceries under the twilight. A manager of a local supermarket in the city centre said that business would open on Tuesday, but would probably close early if there were problems. Nevertheless, heightened security measures in the city were conspicuous in the absence of white UN vehicles on the streets of Kinshasa after dark, a sign that UN agencies and certain embassies have issued security warnings to their staff urging them not to travel around the city at night. But Kinshasa is not the only city reported to be on edge. Officials in Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of Kasai-Oriental province where Tshisekedi enjoys much support, imposed an overnight curfew. In Lubumbashi, in the southeastern Katanga state, the presidential guard has been deployed to deal with security concerns. While the threat of violence was palpable in some parts of the capital, some observers said suggestions that violence was inevitable were unhelpful and premature. It is arrogant to assume that parties are not talking to each other," Anita Vandenveld, Country Director of National Democratic Institute (NDI), told Al Jazeera. No one I have spoken to, from any party has expressed any desire for violence, and the onset of violence would mean that talks have broken down, she said.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

On Monday, the UN stabilisation mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, led a delegation of diplomats, including ambassadors from Russia and Gabon to hold talks with Tshisekedi. On Sunday night, Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, called the incumbent and two of the main opposition leaders, including Tshisekedi and Vital Kamerhe, and impressed on them the need for sound leadership and unity at this time. They assured me of their willingness to co-operate and put the country first," Zuma said in a press statement. ### UN toughens Eritrea sanctions over efforts to destabilise neighbors (France 24) http://www.france24.com/en/20111205-un-toughens-sanctions-eritrea-efforts-destabiliseneighbours-somalia-shabaab-islamists 5 December 2011 Agence France Presse AFP - The UN Security Council on Monday toughened sanctions against Eritrea after East African governments accused the isolated state of plotting terrorist attacks and supporting rebel groups. A resolution, passed with 13 votes in favor, while Russia and China abstained, allows the council to increase the number of individuals and entities that can be hit with a travel ban and assets freeze. The resolution demands that Eritrea "cease all direct or indirect efforts to destabilize states, including through financial, military, intelligence and non-military assistance." Eritrea has backed Shebab Islamist militants in Somalia, according to a UN sanctions monitoring group and neighboring governments. The resolution also "condemns" an alleged Eritrean plot to bomb an African summit in Addis Ababa in January. However demands made by Gabon and Nigeria, which drew up the resolution, to include a ban on investment in Eritrea's key mining industry and a government tax on remittances sent back by Eritrean workers abroad were dropped. The action was passed after several East African leaders called on the 15-member Security Council to clamp down on Eritrea, which was first hit by UN sanctions in 2009.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

"It is a problem of attitude of a certain clique in Asmara that has never grown up from a rebel group," said Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. "It is a problem of lawlessness and reckless disregard for international law." "The regime in Eritrea insists on terrorizing my people," said Somalia's President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Eritrea has strongly denied the claims made about its activities. But no Eritrean officials spoke at the meetings. ### After the vote, US ambssador Susan Rice said: "We have sent a clear message to the government of Eritrea that it must cease all illegal actions threatening international peace and stability." "Our goal is to show Eritrea that it will pay an ever higher price for its actions," the US envoy added. ### Horn of Africa crisis may last into summer: EU (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7B50A820111206 6 December 2011 By Emma Bartha LONDON (Reuters) - The crisis in Horn of Africa which has left more than 13 million people at risk of starvation will continue into the spring, and possibly the summer, the European Union's top aid official said on Tuesday. European Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said the Sahel region faced "very dramatic hunger" next year and feared some countries there were ignoring the problem. The Horn of Africa crisis, triggered by the worst drought in decades, has affected Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. Georgieva said around 250,000 people were at risk of dying from hunger in Somalia, where the country's two-decade war has exacerbated the famine. The situation is critical in central and southern Somalia where al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab rebels banned 16 relief agencies last week from areas they control. "The crisis is going to be there at least through the spring and possibly all the way to the summer," the commissioner told a media briefing in London ahead of talks with British development minister Andrew Mitchell.
U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Georgieva said she was extremely concerned about the famine's long-term repercussions on the region because of the vast numbers of Somalis who had fled to refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen. Instability in Somalia meant they were unlikely to return home once the crisis was over. The commissioner said there were probably 400,000 to 500,000 Somalis in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country which is also plagued by unrest. The figure is twice the official estimate. "The flow of refugees from poor country to poor country has stability and security implications," she added. Georgieva said the famine showed governments and donors must do more to prevent droughts becoming full-blown humanitarian crises. "The Horn of Africa drought ... is a wake-up call on how much more we need to do to anticipate and prevent droughts turning into killers. We cannot stop droughts but we can stop famines," she said. FEARS OVER MALI Turning to the Sahel, she said the looming hunger crisis there was likely to be even worse than that in 2010 because the surrounding region was also expected to suffer food problems and would not act as a buffer. She said there were even concerns that northern Nigeria could be affected. Niger and Mauritania have already issued alerts following erratic rainfall, droughts and insect infestations. Although they are likely to be the worst-hit countries, Georgieva said both were "looking at the problem with open eyes" and taking precautions including stockpiling food. "I'm more worried about Mali, and even Burkino Faso, because there seems to be a bit of a desire there to wish the crisis away," she said. But the commissioner said the crisis in the arid region south of the Sahara desert would not be of the magnitude seen in the Horn of Africa, partly because donors were mobilising now. The Commission has already provided 55 million euros for the region. "Investing now is not only morally the right thing to do, but it will cut costs in the future," she added. She contrasted the 30 euros it cost to feed a family in Niger for a month to the 220 euros it cost to treat just one child with acute malnutrition - a condition which would handicap it for life.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

"It's unfortunate that very often the massive response comes when the crisis is already deep and on the six o'clock news," she added. "We have to be ready to act independently of the news cycle." Georgieva said that in the Horn of Africa the benefits of investing in disaster prevention were clear to see in Moyale in northern Kenya. The district avoided the worst affects of the drought by installing roofs that allow people to store water, setting up mobile clinics to prevent child malnutrition and encouraging pastoralists to shrink their herds proportionate to the available grassland. "The results are very impressive. The question is why we don't do this everywhere," Georgieva said. ### Well be tough with the big boys (Reporting Development Network Africa) http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201112060697.html 6 December 2011 By Suleiman Mustapha Ghana's Environment and Science Minister, Sherry Ayittey has warned that the 54 African countries at the UN climate change conference in Durban will not be bullied into making concessions to the developed countries at the expense of the African poor. "We have come to Durban with very clear and precise objectives; and that is to negotiate for a second commitment for the Kyoto protocol", she said. "It's a tough negotiation and we are going to be tough, we will not be pushovers" Ayittey stressed at a news conference in the South African port city of Durban. African Ministers and other developing countries have been fighting for the survival of the Kyoto Protocol in the form of a second commitment period, as the first period ends next year. The minister who is leading the Ghanaian delegation to the Durban conference said developing countries are demanding an ambitious second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding instrument under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol signed by most developed nations, excluding the United States, had undertaken a legally binding regime to cut emissions, leaving all developing countries out of it. Delegates at the climate change conference in Durban are struggling to find common grounds to extend it. Some developed countries including Canada, Russia, Japan and Australia are resisting African demands to move ahead with a second period of commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

China is currently the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but as a developing country is not yet required to reduce its emissions. As China accounts for around one fifth of the world's population, increases in its emissions could dwarf any cuts made by the industrialised countries. The average Chinese person consumes only 10-15 per cent of the energy of an average US citizen, but with the economy developing at high speed many analysts expect China's per capita emissions to overtake America's by mid-century. There are attempts by some developed countries to lobby the Africa group to soften their stance and back off the Kyoto Protocol, but Ayittey said there is no backing down on the Kyoto Protocol. Securing the necessary climate finance forms a critical part of the official African position. "We've heard great things about the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Now some countries want to step back from it. It's unacceptable. They have to walk the talk - we need the finance to cope." Referring to pledges by developed countries jointly mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020, Ayittey said, "You have to be responsible if you commit to a legally binding instrument. If your country doesn't keep its word, it shouldn't be trusted". The marathon talks entered their second week on Monday, but there has been no clear indication as to what will happen to the Kyoto Protocol. Countries have to sign up for another legally binding emissions reduction period if they want to keep the protocol going after 2012. The African position is that, should a second commitment period be achieved, developed nations should reduce their carbon emissions by at least 40 percent in the period 2013 to 2017 and by at least 95 percent by 2050. She said, "Developed countries have shown us economic leadership, political leadership and sometimes military leadership - and now we want them to show us climate leadership." Call for review of Clean Development Mechanism On adaptation and finance, the Minister Africa wanted Durban to agree on a review of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which she said was currently not effective, with very few states benefiting from it. The CDM allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets. ###

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

Opinion: Continent lies naked to Euro-American Military Offensive http://allafrica.com/stories/201112060286.html 6 December 2011 By Glen Ford The United States and its allies, principally the French, are positioned to 'take' much of the continent with the collaboration of most of its governments." The US and its allies are engaged in an Asian and African offensive, a multi-pronged assault thinly camouflaged as humanitarian intervention that, in some regions, looks like a blitzkrieg. This frenzied aggression, still in its first year, saw NATO transformed into an expeditionary force to crush the unoffending Gaddafi regime in Libya and is now poised to topple the secular order in Syria. Although drawing on longstanding schemes for overt and covert regime change in selected countries, and fully consistent with global capital's historic imperative to bludgeon the planet into one malleable market subordinate to Washington, London and Paris, the current offensive had a particular genesis in time: the nightmare vision of an Arab awakening. The prospect of an Arab Spring at the dawn of 2011 sparked general hysteria in imperial capitals. Suddenly, they stared in the face of geopolitical death at the hands of the Arab "street." Washington understands full well that the emergence of Arab governments that reflect the will of the people would soon result, as Noam Chomsky is fond of saying, in the US being "thrown out" of the region, the final toll of the bell, not just for the oil-hungry West, but for international capital's annexes in the autocratic cesspools of the Persian Gulf. "The prospect of an Arab Spring at the dawn of 2011 sparked a general hysteria in imperial capitals." With centuries of Euro-American domination flashing before their eyes, Washington, London and Paris quickly configured NATO to unleash shock and awe on the victim of choice in North Africa: Muammar Gaddafi. The momentum of that show of force has led an expanding cast of imperial actors to the gates of Damascus. But Africa is the most vulnerable region in America's warpath, a continent ripe for the plucking due to the multitudinous entanglements of Africa's political and military classes with imperialism. The awful truth is, the US and its allies, principally the French, are positioned to "take" much of the continent with the collaboration of most of its governments and, especially, its soldiers.
U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

AFRICOM, established in 2008 by the Bush administration and now fully the creature of President Obama's "humanitarian" interventionist doctrine, claims military responsibility for the entire continent except Egypt. The US military command has assembled a dizzying array of alliances with regional organisations and blocs of countries that, together, encompass all but a few nations on the continent - leaving those holdouts with crosshairs on their backs. As the US bullies its way southward in the wake of the seizure of Libya, its path has been smoothed by the Africans, themselves. The long US war against Somalia, dramatically intensified with American backing for the Ethiopian invasion in late 2006, is now sanctioned by IGAD, the International Authority on Development in East Africa, comprised of Ethiopia; the puppet government in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu; Kenya; Uganda; the de facto French and US military protectorate, Djibouti; and, nominally, Sudan. "As the US bullies its way southward in the wake of the seizure of Libya, its path has been smoothed by the Africans, themselves." This year's French-led, but nominally United Nations operation to oust the regime of Laurent Gbagbo, in Ivory Coast, was vouchsafed by Ecowas, the 16-member Economic Community of West African States, including Benin Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. AFRICOM stages a huge, annual military exercise called African Endeavor, which trains African militaries to use "standard communications practices." African armies are taught US command-and-control procedures, on American-made equipment, that is serviced by American advisors. In 2009, the militaries of 25 African nations took part in the exercise. This year, 40 nations joined Operation African Endeavor, accounting for the vast bulk of the continent's men under arms. More insidiously, through AFRICOM's "soldier-to-soldier" doctrine, US and African military peers are encouraged to forge one-on-one relationship up and down the levels of command: general-to-general, colonel-to-colonel, major-to-major, and even captain-tocaptain. AFRICOM hopes these peer partnerings will forge personal relationships with African armed forces over the long haul, regardless of whatever regime is in power.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

In the Sahel, AFRICOM maintains close relationships with virtually every nation along the vast band of land south of the Sahara desert that stretches from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, all under the heading of "anti-terrorism." These include Mauritania, Mali, Chad, and Niger, plus Nigeria and Senegal. To the north, AFRICOM has similar ties to the Maghreb countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and, until this year, Gaddafi's Libya. "This year, 40 nations joined Operation African Endeavor, accounting for the vast bulk of the continent's men under arms." AFRICOM is often the real power behind nominally African missions. AMISOM, officially the African Uni0n's so-called peace keeping force in Somalia, is in fact comprised of troops from Uganda and Burundi, U.S. client states that act as mercenaries for Washington, and paid for mainly by the Americans. They are soon to be joined by 500 soldiers from Djibouti. For years, AMISOM was all that saved the puppet regime in Mogadishu from instant annihilation in its tiny enclaves at the hands of the Shabab resistance. Today, the reinforced "African Uni0n" fighters are on the offensive, along with Kenyan and Ethiopian invaders, aimed at smashing the Shabab in a pincer movement. US drones based in Ethiopia and Djibouti bring death from overhead. Thus, a force nominally fielded by the African Uni0n is an active belligerent in a US engineered war that has set the Horn of Africa ablaze, a conflict also sanctioned by IGAD, the regional co-operative body. It is only a matter of time before Eritrea, an adversary of Ethiopia and one of the few African nations outside the AFRICOM orbit, is attacked, doubtless by nominally African forces backed by the US and French. Certainly, the thoroughly compromised African Union will be in no position to object. No sooner than the last loyalist stronghold fell in Libya, President Obama extended his "humanitarian" interventionist reach deep into central Africa, sending 100 Special Forces troops to Uganda for later assignment to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the new nation of South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, the French neocolonial outpost where the Americans sent Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide after kidnapping him in 2004. l Glen Ford is BAR executive editor. This article is reproduced from blackagendareport.com Supposedly, the American Green Berets will hunt for the 2,000 or so fighters of the Lord's Liberation Army - a force the Ugandans themselves could snuff out if they were not busy acting as America's mercenaries elsewhere on the continent. (Washington's other loyal hit man in the region, Rwanda, was cited by a United Nations report as bearing responsibility for some the millions slaughtered in Congo.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil

"A force nominally fielded by the African Uni0n is an active belligerent in a U.S. engineered war that has set the Horn of Africa ablaze." NATO's aggression in Libya was made inevitable when Nigeria, South Africa and Gabon dishonored themselves at the United Nations Security Council by voting in favor of the bogus "No Fly Zone." The momentum of the Euro-American offensive flows southward, and will soon set much of the continent afire. The Horn of Africa is already a carnal house of flame and famine, engineered by the Americans but fully joined by Africans and their regional institutions. In the west, ECOWAS legitimizes imperial policies, while in the Sahel, Africans scramble to identify targets for the Americans. Each year, most of the continent's militaries gather round the Americans to learn how to command and control their own troops, thus making their armies useless to resist the real enemy: the U.S. and NATO. Betrayed by a political/military class eager to integrate itself into the imperial system on any terms, Africa lies naked to the Euro-Americans. It will be up to the slums and the bush to reverse this catastrophe. If the Americans and Europeans are to be resisted, Africans will have to fight their own governments, first. ### END OF REPORT

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 AFRICOM-PAO@africom.mil