United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 11 January 2012 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 January 11, 2012. Of interest in todays clips: -- Al Jazeera reports that three people were killed by police as thousands continue to demonstrate against rollback of fuel subsidies in Nigeria -- Africa Review posted Al-Shabaabs video propaganda declaring Jihad against Kenya -- BBC reports that the team investigating the 1994 genocide is due to submit its findings -- One person died after a stampede in South Africa, BBC reports -- CNN reports that former Egyptian presidents prosecution team returns to court and calls for Mubarak to be executed for allegedly killing hundreds of protesters 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 Nigerian fuel protests turn deadly (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2012/01/20121106012819284.html 10 January 2012 Tensions are running high in the northern Nigerian city of Kano after thousands of protesters converged on the state governor's office, prompting police to push them back by firing tear gas and shooting live ammunition into the air. Al-Shabaab propaganda video declares Jihad against Kenya (Africa Review) http://www.africareview.com/News/Al+Shabaab+propaganda+video+declares+Jihad+ag ainst+Kenya+/-/979180/1303006/-/14km8ugz/-/index.html 10 January 2012 Posted by Patrick Mayoyo Al-Shabaab has released a propaganda video declaring holy war against Kenya. The U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

video was released by Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali, the self-proclaimed de facto leader of Kenyan Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. ICC deadline for details of Saif trial looms (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2012/01/20121106012819284.html 10 January 2012 By Imran Khan Libya's new leaders are facing a deadline to clarify the legal status of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Rwanda genocide: Findings into Habyarimana crash due (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16472013 10 January 2012 Experts investigating the 1994 downing of the plane of Rwanda's then-President Juvenal Habyarimana are due to say where the fatal missile was fired from. The team - mandated by a French inquiry - visited the scene of the attack to work out the trajectory of the missile. Johannesburg university stampede kills one (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16482147 10 January 2012 By Andrew Harding One person has died after a stampede broke out among crowds of people trying to enrol at a university in the South African city of Johannesburg. After calls for Mubarak's execution, lawyers return to court (CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/world/africa/egypt-mubarak/index.html?iref=allsearch 10 January 2012 By Mohamed Fadel Fahmy Cairo (CNN) -- Civil rights lawyers will present their case for a second day Tuesday in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The lawyers have joined the prosecution's calls for Mubarak to be executed for allegedly killing hundreds of protesters during the country's uprising last year. Malawi courts shut down as workers stage nationwide strike (Africa Review) http://www.africareview.com/News/Malawi+judiciary+staff+on+strike//979180/1302478/-/ejx97m/-/index.html 9 January 2012 By Rex Chikoko An indefinite strike by Malawi court workers and judges demanding better terms of service has paralysed judicial processes. The striking judiciary members are asking the government to implement terms of service approved by Parliament in 2006. Attack on mosque, Quranic school in Nigeria (Chron.com) http://www.chron.com/news/article/Attack-on-mosque-Quranic-school-in-Nigeria2449070.php U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

10 January 2012 LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) An official with the Nigerian Red Cross says a mosque and a Quranic school have been attacked. The violence took place Tuesday in a city in the oilrich country's southwest amid a nationwide strike over high fuel prices. Mother killed in South African university stampede (The Guardian) http://www.guardian.co.uk/search?q=africa&section=&date=date%2Ftoday 10 January 2012 By David Smith in Johannesburg A woman has been crushed to death in a stampede for places at a South African university, a stark symptom of how the country is struggling to meet demand for education among the poor. Thousands of young South Africans and their parents had camped out for 24 hours at the University of Johannesburg to seek its precious remaining slots. Rwanda genocide: Kagame 'cleared of Habyarimana crash' (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16472013 10 January 2012 A report has appeared to clear Rwanda's President Paul Kagame of orchestrating the 1994 assassination of the country's then-leader Juvenal Habyarimana. The team - mandated by a French inquiry - visited the scene of the attack to work out the trajectory of the missile which shot down his plane. ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA Security Council presses for ethnic reconciliation in troubled area of South Sudan 10 January Security Council members have called on warring ethnic communities in South Sudan's Jonglei state to engage in reconciliation and end the cycle of conflict that has claimed an unknown number of casualties in recent weeks. In a press statement, issued yesterday by Ambassador Baso Sangqu of South Africa, which holds the Council presidency this month, the 15-member panel voiced deep concern at the situation in Jonglei. African States and UN agree to beef up measures against Lords Resistance Army 9 January Central African countries affected by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the United Nations agreed to toughen up measures against the notorious rebel group to stop its deadly activities on the continent. DR Congo: UN mission condemns killing of dozens of civilians in South Kivu 9 January The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today strongly condemned attacks against civilians by members of an U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

armed group in remote villages in South Kivu province last week, during which at least 45 people were killed. Guinea-Bissau: Ban calls for proper transfer of power after leaders death 9 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope today that the leadership of Guinea-Bissau will transfer according to the West African countrys constitution after the death of President Malam Bacai Sanh. Ban calls for South African political party to continue fight against discrimination 9 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commemorated the centenary of South Africas ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), hailing its successes as a key liberation movement in the country but also calling for its continued determination to defend the principles of freedom, justice and non-discrimination. UN official urges more help for South Sudan to cope with crises 9 January The head of the United Nations refugee agency today urged the international community to show greater solidarity with South Sudan as it strives to cope with enormous humanitarian challenges as tensions between communities cause internal displacement amid a refugee influx from Sudan. (Full Articles on UN Website) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upcoming Event of Interest: 12 January 2012 Symposium on Emerging Land Issues in African Agriculture: Impacts on Poverty Reduction and Food Policy WHO: Thom Jayne, Professor of International Development at Michigan State University; and Derek Byerlee (commentator), Independent Scholar and Director, World Development Report, 2009 WHERE: Stanford University Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall, 616 Serra Street CONTACT: Kate Johnston, 650-724-3723 or e-mail: kenjhnsn@stanford.edu -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Whats new on www.africom.mil Ali Sabieh Citizens Celebrate Library Anniversary http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7537&lang=0 9 January 2012 By U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Stephen Linch, CJTF-HOA Public Affairs Locals, dignitaries and Djiboutian and U.S. service members gathered at Camp Harbi, December 29, 2011, to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the Alo Aska Library, which is located near the camp in Ali Sabieh, Djibouti. Socially Rewarding, Making a Difference for Wounded Warriors U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7536&lang=0 9 January 2012 Volunteers from U.S. Africa Command are regularly making a positive difference in the lives of wounded service members recovering at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

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Nigerian fuel protests turn deadly (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2012/01/20121106012819284.html 10 January 2012 Tensions are running high in the northern Nigerian city of Kano after thousands of protesters converged on the state governor's office, prompting police to push them back by firing tear gas and shooting live ammunition into the air. Protesters on Monday also set two vans ablaze and tried to torch the home of the central bank chief, Lamido Sanusi, but police stopped them. The office of the secretary of the state government, its highest administrative officer, was also set on fire, causing serious damage. A Red Cross official said that at least 30 people were injured in the clashes, including 18 with bullet wounds. A hospital source said later that two of those shot had died. The state government imposed a nighttime curfew on the city and it was unclear whether authorities would disperse thousands of protesters who remained at the city's main square. In and around Lagos, the country's largest city, demonstrations mostly remained peaceful except for one reported incident of police gunfire that killed a demonstrator, according to witnesses and hospital sources. Bonfires made of tyres burned along main roads as protesters marched past, with an estimated 10,000 or more converging at a designated location for a rally. Protest leaders in Lagos were keen to avoid provoking police after authorities were accused of using excessive force against demonstrators last week and shooting dead one person. Controversial move The strike comes after the government's controversial move to end fuel subsidies on January 1, which caused petrol prices to more than double in the continent's most populous nation. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

Transport costs have followed suit, sharply increasing the price of commuting in a country where most of the 160 million people live on less than $2 per day despite its oil wealth. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa, reporting from Abuja, the Nigerian capital, said protesters had vowed to continue demonstrating on Tuesday. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister, speaks to Al Jazeera from Abuja "They've gone home and they said they'll return tomorrow morning," she said. "Most of the protesters are saying that they plan to be peaceful - but they are very angry, saying that the price of bread has doubled." "Some people fear that in a few days, if it continues of course, they could see shortages of food." Much of the country has been united in anger against the move despite a strong push from President Goodluck Jonathan and his economic team to make their case for why fuel subsidies had to be abandoned. Protests against the decision to end fuel subsidies last week became increasingly volatile, with police firing tear gas and accused of using excessive force to disperse demonstrators. A union also accused police of shooting dead a demonstrator last week, but authorities denied the charge, saying he was killed by a mob. The country's House of Representatives held an emergency session on Sunday and approved a measure calling on the government to reinstate fuel subsidies to allow for further consultations on the issue. There was, however, no sign the government would back down. President's offer Jonathan sought to win support for the government's move in an address on national television on Saturday night, but unions rejected it. He pledged to reduce salaries for political office holders in the executive branch by 25 per cent as well as to improve public transport, including rail lines, among other areas. "To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices," he said. Economists say removing fuel subsidies is vital for the country to improve its woefully inadequate infrastructure and ease pressure on its foreign reserves. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

The government says it spent more than $8bn on subsidies in 2011. Many Nigerians view the subsidies as their only benefit from the nation's oil wealth, and lack any real trust in government after years of deeply rooted corruption. ### Al-Shabaab propaganda video declares Jihad against Kenya (Africa Review) http://www.africareview.com/News/Al+Shabaab+propaganda+video+declares+Jihad+ag ainst+Kenya+/-/979180/1303006/-/14km8ugz/-/index.html 10 January 2012 Posted by Patrick Mayoyo Al-Shabaab has released a propaganda video declaring holy war against Kenya. The video was released by Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali, the self-proclaimed de facto leader of Kenyan Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. Sheikh Ali in the video recording entitled: 'If they seek your help in religion, it is your duty to help them', says war or Jihad should now be waged in Kenya in response to the military operation in Somalia. Kenya has declared war against Somalia and Jihad should now be waged inside Kenya which is legally a war zone, Sheikh Ali says in the video. The video which was initially posted on YouTube but has since been withdrawn can still be viewed on other social media networks. He says the war Kenya is fighting in Somalia is not against Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab or terrorists but the terms are being used to camouflage the truth. Recruitment The report of the UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group indicates that Sheikh Ali, a former chairman of Muslim Youth Centre (MYC) in Pumwani, Nairobi, was central in the recruitment of non-Somalis in Nairobi to join Al- Shabaab fighters in Somalia. The report says Al-Shabaab has extensive funding, recruiting and training networks within Kenya and has established connections with jihadist groups across the continent. ### ICC deadline for details of Saif trial looms (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2012/01/20121106012819284.html U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

10 January 2012 By Imran Khan Libya's new leaders are facing a deadline to clarify the legal status of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC judges had asked for further information on Libya's request to try the influential son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in his home country, and gave the National Transitional Council until Tuesday to present their intentions. Abdurrahim El-Keib, Libya's new prime minister, promised a fair trial for Saif al-Islam following his capture in the southern desert town of Obari in November. In the first official announcement after Saif's capture, El-Keib said he thought the arrest would "turn the page on the phase of revolution". Saif was arrested by fighters from Zintan, who make up one of Libya's most powerful armed factions. The ICC says it does not know whether Saif was arrested because of its warrant, or whether he has had access to a lawyer. Along with his father and Abdullah Senoussi, Libya's former intelligence chief who remains at large, Saif al-Islam was indicted by the ICC in June on crimes against humanity - charges relating to the Gaddafi regime's efforts to put down the uprising. ### Rwanda genocide: Findings into Habyarimana crash due (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16472013 10 January 2012 Experts investigating the 1994 downing of the plane of Rwanda's then-President Juvenal Habyarimana are due to say where the fatal missile was fired from. The team - mandated by a French inquiry - visited the scene of the attack to work out the trajectory of the missile. This should establish who was behind the attack that sparked the genocide. An earlier French investigation blamed the current President Paul Kagame, but his government says Hutu extremists killed their own leader. The plane crash on 6 April 1994 - in which Mr Habyarimana and Burundi's leader died triggered the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

The killings came to an end when the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriot Front (RPF) rebel movement, headed by Mr Kagame, captured Rwanda's capital, Kigali. In 2006, a French judge accused Mr Kagame and his allies of killing Mr Habyarimana an allegation he dismissed as "ridiculous" and which prompted him to break off relations with Paris in 2006 for three years. Five years later, a former senior ally of the president Theogene Rudasingwa - the RPF's secretary general and a major at the time of the genocide - also accused Mr Kagame. Mr Rudasingwa fell out with the president and now lives in exile in the US. Mr Kagame insists that Hutus hardliners - who considered Mr Habyarimana too moderate - shot down the plane and blamed the RPF to provide a pretext for carrying out the premeditated slaughter. This latest French inquiry, which had the full co-operation of the Rwandan authorities, was launched towards the end of 2010 because the French crew of the plane also died. Rwanda has been beset by ethnic tension, worsening under Belgian colonel rule when the Tutsi minority enjoyed better jobs and better education than the Hutu majority. At independence, following inter-ethnic violence, many thousands of Tutsis went into exile in Uganda from where they eventually launched a civil war in 1990. A 1993 peace agreement was supposed to usher in a power-sharing government - but it did little to stop the continued unrest. ### Johannesburg university stampede kills one (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16482147 10 January 2012 By Andrew Harding One person has died after a stampede broke out among crowds of people trying to enrol at a university in the South African city of Johannesburg. "There was a person that was deceased," University of Johannesburg (UJ) spokesman Herman Esterhuizen said. The victim was said to be the mother of a prospective student. More than 180,000 high school graduates are expected to be turned away from South Africa's nine top universities this year, said the Times newspaper. It said about 74,000 students would fail to win a place at the University of Johannesburg U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

alone. Soaring unemployment has added to the pressure on place numbers, says the BBC's Andrew Harding in South Africa. Tuesday's incident occurred as students queued for last-minute places at the university, registrar Marie Muller told eNews channel. On Monday alone 5,000 registered in person for last minute places, and applicants waited through the night. The stampede apparently happened just after the main gate was opened at 07:30 local time (05:30 GMT), emergency services spokeswoman Nana Radebe was quoted as saying. The dead woman had suffered severe head and chest trauma, reports say. Two people are also said to have been seriously injured. Continue reading the main story At the scene Eyewitness, University of Johannesburg I travelled to Johannesburg with my family to enrol my niece at Johannesburg university - she had been rejected from a course before. We had been queuing there since 03:00 on Monday morning, and we'd travelled five or six hours to get there. The first registration opened on Monday and all the chaos erupted. The queues were ridiculous. People were pushing and there was police was trying to control the crowds - the university had their own security too. But the crowds were overpowering them. At one point on Monday, the gates were opened and people were just flooding in and security couldn't control it. It just went crazy, everyone was running around, people were losing shoes. The stampede started then. We came back today and the exact same thing happened but there were even more people: That's when a student's mother died. This witness asked to remain anonymous 'People fell' U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

Wilson Matiba was present when the stampede occurred. "Things got out of hand," he said, according to the Mail & Guardian Online. "We rushed the gates and people fell. We couldn't stop," said Mr Matiba, who was trying to enrol for a BSc degree in Zoology. Mr Matiba said prospective students were desperate and felt left without any alternative other than storming the entrance. "We need education. We need to register. We needed to get inside," he said. An eyewitness who spoke to BBC News said the numbers queuing were especially high because the queue combined new applicants and students returning for further study. The eyewitness - who did not want to be named - said people had travelled to the university from around the country, many making overnight journeys. She said there had been a similar crush on Monday, and that when it started to happen again on Tuesday "we just ran away because we knew we we were going to get hurt". The University of Johannesburg, which describes itself as "one of the largest, multicampus, residential universities in South Africa", was created when several institutions merged in 2005. It is reported to be one of few which accept last-minute applications in January, after high-school final exams are released and some students realise they are eligible for university. It used an SMS campaign to alert students to the possibility of last-minute places and on Monday, the normally quiet streets around the university's Bunting Road campus entrance were packed with traffic and a kilometre-long line of applicants had formed at the main gate. ### After calls for Mubarak's execution, lawyers return to court (CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/world/africa/egypt-mubarak/index.html?iref=allsearch 10 January 2012 By Mohamed Fadel Fahmy Cairo (CNN) -- Civil rights lawyers will present their case for a second day Tuesday in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The lawyers have joined the prosecution's calls for Mubarak to be executed for allegedly killing hundreds of protesters during the country's uprising last year. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

"We merged our voice with the prosecutor's closing arguments from last week's hearing and demanded the death sentence to Mubarak, his former interior minister Habib El Adly, and four of his aides for killing hundreds of protesters and injuring thousands more," attorney Khalid Abu Bakr told CNN on Monday. "We have proof Mubarak is directly responsible for the killings along with El Adly and his aides." Abu Bakr said Mubarak deserved to die for violating Egypt's criminal law 77. "His negligence and actions led to endangering the national security of the country," he said. The attorney also provided the court with a list of alleged suspects he wants indicted, including police officers he said where caught on camera firing their weapons on protesters. Another lawyer, Sameh Ashour, said he provided the court evidence "of communication between security forces that prove the presence of snipers on rooftop buildings during the revolution." The judge, Ahmed Refaat, set aside two days to hear from at least 10 civil rights lawyers. The defense is expected to make its closing arguments later in the week. "The judge will then decide on a day to announce the final verdict," said Adel Saeed, the official spokesman of the General Prosecutor's office. "If he is fast, we may see a verdict before January 25th" -- the day the Egyptian uprising began last year. Last week, the Russian foreign ministry issued a statement expressing its "deep concern" over the prosecution's request for a Mubarak death sentence and calling on Egypt to consider his old age and poor health. Germany and France also issued statements of "concern." Mubarak, 83, is accused of corruption and ordering protesters killed during the country's uprising last year. He has denied the charges. Two of Mubarak's sons are also on trial on a variety of charges. The sons, Gamal and Alaa, have pleaded not guilty. Lawyers familiar with the case said it is unlikely Mubarak and his fellow defendants will receive the death penalty, in part because of the difficulty in proving the president ordered the killings, the lawyers said. Analysts agreed that while some Egyptians might welcome a death sentence for Mubarak, particularly at a time of heightened tension as the anniversary of the uprising approaches, he is more likely to receive a prison term. Many Egyptians have criticized the court proceedings, and some worry that Mubarak U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

might be acquitted of the murder charges. Five police officers accused of killing protesters already have been acquitted. Amnesty International had estimated more than 840 protesters were killed and 6,000 injured. Saeed, the prosecutor's spokesman, said the prosecution's estimate of 225 deaths and more than 1,300 injured is lower "because there has been a differentiation between those killed outside police stations while attacking the precinct and those shot while protesting." ### Malawi courts shut down as workers stage nationwide strike (Africa Review) http://www.africareview.com/News/Malawi+judiciary+staff+on+strike//979180/1302478/-/ejx97m/-/index.html 9 January 2012 By Rex Chikoko An indefinite strike by Malawi court workers and judges demanding better terms of service has paralysed judicial processes. The striking judiciary members are asking the government to implement terms of service approved by Parliament in 2006. They had last week warned the government of the impending action but the latter has since remained tight-lipped. Spokesperson for the Judiciary Service Support Staff Austin Kamanga said the industrial action was countrywide and no judge or magistrate would preside over any case until their demands are met. No one is working from judges, magistrate to clerks. We have the same grievance so we are united in this," Mr Kamanga said. "When the conditions are approved by Parliament they are not subject for discussion, he added. Mr Kamanga said conditions of service were supposed to be revised after every three years which had not been done so far. He said the workers were determined to continue with the strike until government met their demands. Malawi is currently going through economic challenges. ### U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

Attack on mosque, Quranic school in Nigeria (Chron.com) http://www.chron.com/news/article/Attack-on-mosque-Quranic-school-in-Nigeria2449070.php 10 January 2012 By Jon Gambrell LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) An official with the Nigerian Red Cross says a mosque and a Quranic school have been attacked. The violence took place Tuesday in a city in the oil-rich country's southwest amid a nationwide strike over high fuel prices. Red Cross spokesman Nwakpa O. Nwakpa said the attack occurred in Benin City, where an angry mob tried to burn down a mosque the day before. Nwakpa said there were casualties in the attack Tuesday, but said he had no further details. The nationwide strike started Monday by labor unions upset over high fuel prices in this oil-rich nation. Gas prices have more than doubled since the subsidy on fuel ended Jan. 1 at the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Below the original story. LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) Angry youths erected a burning roadblock outside luxury enclaves in Nigeria's commercial capital Tuesday as a paralyzing national strike over fuel prices and government corruption entered its second day. The flaming tires and debris sent thick, dark smoke over part of Ikoyi Island, home to diplomats and many of the oil-rich nation's wealthy elite. It also signaled the danger of spiraling violence as protests continue in the country of more than 160 million people. Police shot at least three protesters to death on Monday. "This is oligarchy, this is not a democracy!" shouted Danjuma Mohammed, as he stood before the fire holding rocks in his hands. "We are no longer afraid of you! We are ready for war!" The strike started Monday by labor unions upset over high fuel prices in Africa's most populous nation. Gas prices have risen from $1.70 per gallon (45 cents per liter) to at least $3.50 per gallon (94 cents per liter) since the subsidy on fuel ended Jan. 1 at the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration. That spurred a spike in food and transportation prices across a country where most live on less than $2 a day More than 10,000 people attended one rally in Lagos as the strike started Monday, while tens of thousands more marched in streets across the country. Activists also wore shirts bearing symbols for a loose-knit group called "Occupy Nigeria," inspired by those near Wall Street in New York. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

Anger also extended to government corruption in Nigeria, a nation beset by politicians and military rulers who have stolen billions of dollars in oil revenues over the years. Protesters also said they want a stronger government response to ongoing violence in Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect that, according to an Associated Press count, killed at least 510 people last year alone. While most businesses remained closed Monday and Tuesday, some flights continued to leave Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Oil production also apparently continued in Nigeria, which produces about 2.4 million barrels of oil a day and remains a top crude supplier to the U.S. However, the unions representing oil workers have promised to also strike. It is unclear how long the strike will last. The unions have said described it as indefinite, saying they'll stop only if the government restores the fuel subsidies. Jonathan insists that the subsidies be removed to save the country about $8 billion a year, money he says will go toward badly needed road and public projects. Those protesting Tuesday morning on Ikoyi Island said they no longer believe in the government, shouting: "They will kill us and we will kill them!" A convoy of police escorting a member of the country's elite arrived, with officers loudly loading their Kalashnikov rifles in an attempt to drive the protesters away. Officers put out part of the flaming blockade with an extinguisher, but drove off, leaving the protesters behind. Another convoy of unarmed officers arrived. They pleaded with protesters for calm but instead they threw stones as the officers put out the flames. ### Mother killed in South African university stampede (The Guardian) http://www.guardian.co.uk/search?q=africa&section=&date=date%2Ftoday 10 January 2012 By David Smith in Johannesburg A woman has been crushed to death in a stampede for places at a South African university, a stark symptom of how the country is struggling to meet demand for education among the poor. Thousands of young South Africans and their parents had camped out for 24 hours at the University of Johannesburg to seek its precious remaining slots. Most were from poor families who learned they were eligible to apply only after receiving the results of their secondary school exams last week. A melee broke out at about 7.30am. Ihron Rensburg, the university's vice-chancellor, said: "When we opened the gates this morning, we had this unfortunate, this very sad situation, where there was simply an unbearable crush on the front entrance, or front U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

gate." A mother who had accompanied her son to the campus was killed, he said. "The situation was particularly tragic as the young man was inside the registration tent and had no idea that this had happened." Three other people were critically injured and nearly 20 others hurt. Witnesses told how the gate broke and people tried to clamber over the fence. Desmond Mlangu, a prospective student, said he witnessed a "traumatising" scene, with women screaming and people continuing to push. Hours later, shoes, camping chairs and other detritus was strewn across the site. People remained in line still seeking to join the courses, which begin next month. Regular admission to the university closed in June, but some places remain open for late entrants. The application process has been open for weeks but many poor students do not have internet access and were unable to apply online. The university said it had received 7,000 applications in the past 24 hours, of which only 800 would be successful. The gap is indicative of a strain on South Africa's universities and of a national education system that experts say lurches from one crisis to another, representing arguably the biggest blemish on the African National Congress's record in government. "This is an absolutely tragic incident but it also shows the desperate situation of poor families, who see university as a way out of poverty," said Salim Vally, the director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation at the University of Johannesburg. "It's about race and class. These issues have not been resolved, 17 years after apartheid." University offers an escape from the prospect of unemployment, which remains the fate of one in three South Africans. There are too many applicants for too few places. This year more than 180,000 would-be students will be turned away from the country's top nine universities, the Times of South Africa reported on Tuesday, including about 74,000 at the University of Johannesburg alone. Their alternative is further education colleges and other institutions offering vocational skills, but many of these are poorly advertised and of inferior quality. Rhoda Kadalie, an academic and executive director of the Impumelelo Social Innovations Centre, said the applications logjam was the result of universities closing down in December, a failure to computerise the process, and a continued shortage of universities in South Africa. It was also too easy to achieve the pass mark for admission, she added. "Too many U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

students are allowed into university who shouldn't be there. We have this warped notion that everyone in South Africa should be able to go to university, irrespective of their marks." Under apartheid, all but a trickle of the country's black majority was shut out of higher education. When white minority rule ended, in 1994, the gates to universities were opened to all. But Kadalie believes efforts to increase the number of black students have backfired. "Because of affirmative action, a lot of coloured, Indian and white students aren't admitted. In trying to be politically correct, they are holding students back," she said. Similar concerns have been raised by Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State. In a newspaper column last year, he described meeting a school leaver who, despite poor exam marks, was deemed to have fulfilled the minimum requirement for higher education. "Slowly, slowly we are digging our collective graves as we fall into a sinkhole of mediocrity from which we are unlikely to emerge," Jansen wrote. "This young (incidentally black) person did not achieve anything above 50% in her Senior Certificate results for any exam subject, but we tell her she can proceed to higher studies. What are we saying? That black students are somehow less capable and therefore need these pathetic results to access higher education?" Education has been one of the biggest segments of state spending for years, accounting for about 20% of the budget, but it is seen as grossly underperforming, with schools near the bottom in global rankings. The University of Cape Town is South Africa's sole representative, at 103rd, in the Times Higher Education's list of the top 200 universities in the world. Dr Junita Kloppers-Lourens, the shadow minister of higher education and training for the opposition Democratic Alliance, said: "The situation at the University of Johannesburg is absolutely unacceptable. Last year the minister was asked about the flood of applicants and he said: 'I see it as a wonderful problem.' But today the 'wonderful problem' has turned around into a tragedy. "The government has failed dismally in dealing with education. It's absolutely criminal, what has happened under the ANC. It will take years to drag it out of the mud. ### Rwanda genocide: Kagame 'cleared of Habyarimana crash' (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16472013 10 January 2012 A report has appeared to clear Rwanda's President Paul Kagame of orchestrating the 1994 U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

assassination of the country's then-leader Juvenal Habyarimana. The team - mandated by a French inquiry - visited the scene of the attack to work out the trajectory of the missile which shot down his plane. The crash was one of the triggers that sparked the genocide. An earlier French probe blamed Mr Kagame and his allies, but they say Hutu extremists killed Habyarimana. Rwanda's government has welcomed the conclusions of this new report. The plane crash on 6 April 1994 - in which Habyarimana and Burundi's leader died triggered the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. The killings came to an end when the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriot Front (RPF) rebel movement, headed by Mr Kagame, captured Rwanda's capital, Kigali. Elite presidential troops Correspondents say the court on Tuesday concluded that the missile was shot from a distance of up to 1km (more than half a mile) away from the plane, which was about to land at Kigali airport. At the time this area was held by the Rwandan army - a unit of elite presidential troops. The experts say it would be very difficult for forces loyal to Mr Kagame to be in this area and therefore shoot down the plane. They concluded that it would have been much easier for Habyarimana's troops or French troops who were in the area to launch the missile. In 2006, a French judge accused Mr Kagame and his allies of killing Habyarimana - an allegation he dismissed as "ridiculous" and which prompted him to break off relations with Paris for three years. Five years later, in 2011, a former senior ally of the president Theogene Rudasingwa - the RPF's secretary general and a major at the time of the genocide - also accused Mr Kagame. Mr Rudasingwa fell out with the president and now lives in exile in the US. Mr Kagame has always insisted that Hutus hardliners - who considered Habyarimana too moderate - shot down the plane and blamed the RPF to provide a pretext for carrying out the premeditated slaughter. Critics of the 2006 investigation said it failed to visit the area of the attack, or interview the nine high-ranking RPF officers it accused of involvement. It said the missile was shot U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil

from a distance of four kilometres away from the airport. French judge Marc Trevidic headed this latest French inquiry, launched - with the full cooperation of the Rwandan authorities - towards the end of 2010 because the French crew of the plane also died. The team has interviewed six of those accused in the 2006 report and conducted a forensic investigation. Two missiles specialists, two air accident experts, a pilot, two surveyors and a sound expert have reconstructed the sequence of the attack. 'Unhappy' Following this report, Judge Trevidic can either drop the affair or continue his investigations, which could result in a court case. "Today's findings constitute vindication for Rwanda's long-held position on the circumstances surrounding events of April 1994," Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement. The lawyer for the Habyarimana family said they are unhappy about the report's conclusions - questioning the credibility of the experts - and they still want someone to be found guilty. "It does not matter where the shooting took place," Habyarimana's son Jean-Luc told the BBC's Great Lakes service. "What matters is who fired the missile," he said Habyarimana's widow, Agathe, told the BBC that she wanted the French inquiry to find out who had bought the allegedly Russian missile that hit the plane - because that would help to identify those behind the attack. Rwanda has historically been beset by ethnic tension. It worsened under Belgian colonel rule when the Tutsi minority enjoyed better jobs and better education than the Hutu majority. At independence, following inter-ethnic violence, many thousands of Tutsis went into exile in Uganda from where they eventually launched a civil war in 1990. A 1993 peace agreement was supposed to usher in a power-sharing government - but it did little to stop the unrest. ### END REPORT U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  AFRICOMPAO@africom.mil