United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 16 September 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 September 16, 2011. Of interest in today's clips, Al Jazeera reports that Sarkozy and Cameron meet NTC leaders as fighting continues for control of holdout pro-Qadhafi strongholds; and widespread racism and suspicion toward sub-Saharan Africans in post-Qadhafi Libya endangers unarmed migrant workers. In other news, Reuters reports that foreign allies during the war would have priority for future deals with the country; Niger calls on international help to secure its northern border with Libya; and prosecutors at the ICC are failing to bring to trial senior government officials responsible for atrocities. New on www.africom.mil, the commander of U.S. Africa Command told journalists that in his travels through Africa he is guided by two main principles: A safe, stable, and secure Africa is the best interest of Africans as well as the United States; and that Africans are best able to address their own security issues. Also, the people of Negele, Ethiopia celebrated the hard work between the governments of Ethiopia and the United States August 22, 2011, during a ground breaking ceremony signifying the start of construction for a much-needed bridge that will connect two local villages and ultimately improve commerce while saving lives. 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 The New Scramble For Africa Analysis (Eurasia Review) http://www.eurasiareview.com/15092011-the-new-scramble-for-africa-analysis/ By Conn Hallinan 15 September 2011 Is current U.S. foreign policy in Africa following a blueprint drawn up almost eight years ago by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, one of the most conservative think tanks in the world?

Centcom to eliminate at least 1,000 jobs (The Tampa Tribune) http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/sep/14/menewso5-centcom-to-eliminateat-least-1000-jobs-ar-257563/ By Howard Altman 14 September 2011 - By 2014, U.S. Central Command will reduce its personnel in Tampa from 5,100 jobs to somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000, according to Maj. Gen. Karl Horst, the command's chief of staff. French and British leaders in Libya (Al Jazeera) http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/20119155057747962.html By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - French and British leaders have arrived in Libya to congratulate the new rulers they helped install, as NATO-backed fighters continue their battle for control over Bani Walid. Black Africans come under fire in Libya (Al Jazeera) http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/black-africans-come-under-fire-libya By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - As Libyas National Transitional Council establishes itself in Tripoli as the countrys interim government and begins to lead the recovery process, reports have surfaced that NTC-affiliated fighters are targeting black Libyans and migrant workers with violent retribution. Wikileaks cable: Ethiopia reporter Argaw Ashine 'flees' (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14929307 By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - An Ethiopian reporter cited in a US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks has fled his country, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says. Angola: Huambo air force plane crash kills generals (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14920966 By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - A plane crash in Angola has killed 30 people, including three army generals, a military official has said. Libya: Manhunt for Gaddafi's Security Chief in Kaduna (allAfrica.com) http://allafrica.com/stories/201109150005.html By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - Following a report by an international Hausa radio station that Muammar Gaddafi's head of security service, General Youssef Dbiri, had relocated to Kaduna State from Yobe State where he is said to have maternal root, a robust manhunt for Dbiri's whereabouts has begun. Libya's NTC says allies have "priority" for deals (Reuters) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyas-ntc-says-allies-have-priority-for-deals/

By Alexander Dziadosz and Barry Malone 15 September 2011 - Libyas provisional government said on Thursday its foreign allies during the war would have priority for future deals with the country and warned that some existing contracts would be subject to review for corruption. Niger calls for help to secure Libyan border (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E01F20110915?sp=true By Bate Felix 15 September 2011 - Niger called on Wednesday for international help to secure its northern border with Libya, saying the conflict to the north was holding back efforts by its new civilian government to find stability and develop its economy. ICC fails to net top perpetrators of war crimes: HRW (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E06020110915?sp=true By Aaron Gray-Block 15 September 2011 - Prosecutors at the world's top war crimes court are failing to bring to trial senior government officials responsible for atrocities, undermining the credibility of the tribunal, Human Rights Watch said. Horn of Africa: refugees confront trauma and sexual violence (AlertNet) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/horn-of-africa-refugees-confront-trauma-and-sexual-vi olence/ By AlertNet // CARE International 15 September 2011 - In the heartache and confusion that accompany the flight from drought and hunger, refugees from Somalia can now turn to a source of comfort with a familiar face: fellow refugees who have been specially trained to help survivors of trauma, loss, sexual and gender-based violence. Libyan Chemical Materials a Proliferation Threat, U.S. Commander Says (Global Security Newswire) http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110915_6822.php By Martin Matishak 15 September 2011 - Libya's stockpile of chemical warfare materials remains a potential source of proliferation, the U.S. military commander for Africa told reporters on Wednesday. EAC, USAFRICOM joint military exercise opens tomorrow (StarAfrica.com) http://www.starafrica.com/en/news/detail-news/article/eac-usafricom-joint-military-exerc ise-o-189899.html By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - A joint military training exercise between the EAC Partner States' Defence Forces and the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) officially opens tomorrow 16 September at Chukwani Military Centre in Zanzibar. Cattle raiders kill 46 in South Sudan (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E0HY20110915

By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 - At least 46 people were killed and around 5,000 cows stolen in the latest tribal violence in newly independent South Sudan, authorities said on Thursday. S. Africa's Zuma asks for new probe of arms deal (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E0H120110915?sp=true By Jon Herskovitz 15 September 2011 - South African President Jacob Zuma will appoint a commission to investigate a multi-billion dollar arms deal, his office said on Thursday, in a new probe into corruption allegations against several companies and top officials including Zuma himself. Guns, migrants, mercenaries: Qaddafi's loss is the Sahel's gain (The Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2011/0915/Guns-migrants-mercenaries-Qaddafi -s-loss-is-the-Sahel-s-gain By Drew Hinshaw 15 September 2011 - Leaders from the Saharan nation of Niger, yesterday requested international aid to curb the flow of migrants, militants, and guns across their desert border with Libya. African Visitors Focus on Climate, Food Security (Dept. of State) http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2011/09/20110913151747nirak0.690609 2.html#axzz1Y2yIgHji By Karin Rives 15 September 2011 - A group of African government officials and experts on agriculture and climate change recently participated in a professional exchange program in the United States focused on the issue. ### UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA (Full Articles on UN Website) With pledge to continue its work, UN honours those who died in Nigerian terror attack 15 September With calls to persevere through adversity, the United Nations held a memorial ceremony in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, today for the staff members who died when its offices there were attacked by a suicide bomber last month. ### UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST: 20 SEPT 2011 WHEN: September 20, 2011, at noon

WHAT: Pakistan, the U.S. and Public Diplomacy with Consul General Riffat Masood CPD Conversations in Public Diplomacy WHO: Riffat Masood, the Consul General of Pakistan WHERE: USC; SOS B40 CONTACT: cpdevent@usc.edu

### What's New on www.africom.mil TRANSCRIPT: AFRICOM Commander Ham Discusses African Security with Defense Writers http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7203&lang=0 The commander of U.S. Africa Command told journalists that in his travels through Africa he is guided by two main principles: A safe, stable, and secure Africa is the best interest of Africans as well as the United States; and that Africans are best able to address their own security issues. Ground Breaking Ceremony for Bridge in Negele http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7199&lang=0 The people of Negele, Ethiopia, celebrated the hard work between the governments of Ethiopia and the United States August 22, 2011, during a ground breaking ceremony signifying the start of construction for a much-needed bridge that will connect two local villages and ultimately improve commerce while saving lives. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Full Text The New Scramble For Africa Analysis (Eurasia Review) http://www.eurasiareview.com/15092011-the-new-scramble-for-africa-analysis/ By Conn Hallinan 15 September 2011 Is current U.S. foreign policy in Africa following a blueprint drawn up almost eight years ago by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, one of the most conservative think tanks in the world? Although it seems odd that a Democratic administration would have anything in common with the extremists at Heritage, the convergence in policy and practice between the two is disturbing. Heritage, with help from Joseph Coors and the Scaife Foundations, was founded in 1973 by the late Paul Weyrich, one of the most conservative thinkers in the United States and a co-founder of the Moral Majority. Africa

In October 2003, James Carafano and Nile Gardiner, two Heritage Foundation heavyweights, proposed a major shift in U.S. military policy vis--vis the African continent. In a Backgrounder article entitled "U.S. Military Assistance for Africa: A Better Solution," the two called for the creation of a military command for the continent, a focus on fighting terrorism, and direct military intervention using air power and naval forces if vital U.S. interests are at stake. Such interventions, they wrote, should include allies and avoid using ground troops. Almost every element of that proposal has come together over the past year, though some pieces, like the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative, were in place before the Obama administration took office. Libya and Oil The Libya war seems almost straight off Heritages drawing board. Although the United States appeared to take a back seat to its allies, NATO would not have been able to carry out the war without massive amounts of U.S. military help. U.S. Special Forces and CIA teams, along with special units from Britain, France, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, organized the rebels, coordinated air strikes, and eventually pulled off an amphibious operation that sealed Tripolis fate. The Heritage scholars were also clear what they meant by vital U.S. interests: With its vast natural and mineral resources, Africa remains strategically important to the West, as it has been for hundreds of years, and its geostrategic significance is likely to rise in the 21st century. According to the National Intelligence Council, the United States is likely to draw 25 percent of its oil from West Africa by 2015, surpassing the volume imported from the Persian Gulf. It was a sentiment shared by the Bush Administration. West Africas oil has become a national strategic interest, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Walter Kansteiner in 2002. The UN tasked NATO with protecting civilians in Libya, but France, Britain, the United States, and their Gulf allies focused on regime change. Indeed, when leaders of the African Union (AU) pushed for negotiations aimed at a political settlement, NATO and the rebels brusquely dismissed them. The NATO bombing really undermined the AUs initiatives and effort to deal with the matter in Libya, complained South African President Jacob Zuma. More than 200 prominent Africans released a letter on August 24 condemning the misuse of the United Nations Security Council to engage in militarized diplomacy to effect regime change in Libya, as well as the marginalization of the African Union.

The suspicion that the Libya war had more to do with oil and gas than protecting civilians is why the AU has balked at recognizing the rebel Transitional National Council, and there is a growing unease at the Wests militarized diplomacy. Protecting Energy Supplies Through the Defense Departments African Contingency Operation Training and Assistance Program, the United States is actively engaged in training the militaries of Mali, Chad, Niger, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Zambia, Uganda, Senegal, Mozambique, Ghana, Malawi, and Mauritania. In June 2006, NATO troops stormed ashore on Sao Vicente island in the Cape Verde archipelago, an exercise aimed at protecting energy supplies in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea. Major oil producers in the region include Angola, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and Mauritania. Protecting energy supplies from whom? In the case of the Niger Delta, it means protecting oil companies and the Nigerian government from local people fed up with the pollution that is killing them and the corruption that denies them any benefits from their resources. Under the umbrella of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), locals are waging a low-key guerilla war that at one point reduced oil supplies by 20 percent. MEND is certainly suspicious of American motives in the region. Of course, it is evident that oil is the key concern of the United States in establishing its Africa Command, says the organizations spokesman, Jomo Gbomo. The Nigerian government labels a number of restive groups in Nigeria as terrorist and links them to al-Qaeda, including Boko Haram in the countrys north. But labeling opponents terrorists or raising the al-Qaeda specter is an easy way to dismiss what may be real local grievances. For instance, Boko Harams growing penchant for violence is more likely a response to the heavy-handedness of the Nigerian army than an al-Qaeda-inspired campaign. Corporate Interests The protection of civilians may be the public rationale for intervention, but the bottom line looks suspiciously like business. Before the guns have even gone silent in Libya, one British business leader has complained to The Independent that Britain is behind the curve on securing opportunities. Its all politics, no commercial stuff. I think that is a mistake. We need to be getting down there as soon as possible, The Spanish oil company Repsol and the Italian company Eni are already gearing up for production. Eni will play a No.1 role in the future, says Italian Foreign Minister Franco

Frattini. Almost 70 percent of Libyas oil goes to four countries: Spain, Germany, France, and Italy. Qatar, which is already handing oil sales in Eastern Libya, will also be on the ground floor as production ramps up. A major loser in the warand some would argue, not by accidentis China. Beijing, which accounted for about 11 percent of Libyas pre-war exports, had some 75 companies working in Libya and 36,000 personnel. But because China complained that NATO had unilaterally changed the UN resolution from protecting civilians to regime change, Beijing is likely to suffer. Abdeljalil Mayouf, information manager of the rebel oil firm AGOCO told Reuters that China, Brazil, and Russia would be frozen out of contracts. Brazil and Russia also supported negotiations and complained about NATOs interpretation of the UN resolution on Libya. For Heritage, keeping China out of Africa is what it is all about. Peter Brookes, the former principal Republican advisor for East Asia on the House Committee on International Relations, warned that China was hell-bent on challenging the United States and becoming a global power, and key to that is expanding its interests in Africa. In a throwback to the Maoist revolutionary days of the 1960s and 1970s and the Cold War, Beijing has once again identified the African continent as an area of strategic interest, he told a Heritage Foundation audience in a talk entitled Into Africa: Chinas Grab for Influence and Oil. Beijing gets about one third of its oil from AfricaAngola and Sudan are its major suppliersplus important materials like platinum, copper, timber, and iron ore. Africa is rife with problems, but terrorism is not high on that list. A severe drought has blistered much of East Africa, and with food prices rising, malnutrition is spreading continent-wide. The war on terrorism has generated 800,000 refugees from Somalia. African civilians do indeed need help, but not the kind you get from fighter-bombers, drone strikes, or Tomahawk cruise missiles dispatched at the urging of right-wing think tanks or international energy companies. ### Centcom to eliminate at least 1,000 jobs (The Tampa Tribune) http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/sep/14/menewso5-centcom-to-eliminateat-least-1000-jobs-ar-257563/ By Howard Altman 14 September 2011 When Maj. Gen. Karl Horst arrived at MacDill Air Force Base in July to become chief of staff of U.S. Central Command, he was handed one of the military's most complex tasks. Find ways to reduce the budget of one of the military's busiest commands, which oversees operations in one of the world's most dangerous regions, without reducing the ability to respond to events in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and 14 other countries.

By 2014, U.S. Central Command will reduce its personnel in Tampa from 5,100 jobs to somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000, according to Horst, the command's chief of staff. "Intuitively, I would say we will be around the 4,000 mark," Horst said. The jobs will come from a combination of personnel provided by the individual services, as well as the reserves, National Guard and contractors. Horst said he is still working on his budget analysis and it is too early to say what number of jobs will be cut from each area. The positions are temporary in nature, with some personnel here for just a few months while others stay for a year or more. There will be no pink slips, said Horst. "The cuts will come through attrition," he said, adding that the command is well aware of the effect on the local economy. The cuts, said Horst, were requested by his boss, Centcom commander Marine Gen. John Mattis, who said the command will comply with budget reductions requested by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Local officials say they are concerned about the cuts. "The loss of a thousand jobs clearly will have some impact," said Rhea Law, chair of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. The cuts come at a time when U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is winding down. U.S. armed forces are scheduled to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year, at which point the State Department would take over. In Afghanistan, 10,000 troops are due to leave by the end of the year as the military works to withdraw from that nation by 2014. The reductions, Horst said, don't represent a reduction in Centcom's status or the challenges it faces; everyone in the Department of Defense is cutting spending, he said. Iraq is debating whether to ask for a U.S. military presence beyond this year. The withdrawal in Afghanistan is contingent on the situation on the ground. And Horst said Iran has special forces and other units in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain and other countries in the region, training Shia militias. "The cuts can't be so harsh that we cut away our capacity," Horst said. ### French and British leaders in Libya (Al Jazeera) http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/20119155057747962.html By Unattributed Author

15 September 2011 French and British leaders have arrived in Libya to congratulate the new rulers they helped install, as NATO-backed fighters continue their battle for control over Bani Walid. Thursday's joint visit is a victory lap for Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, who defied doubters at home to lead a NATO bombing campaign that succeeded in ushering in a victory by forces who swept away Muanmar Gaddafi's 42-year rule last month. Reporting from Tripoli, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught said that the leaders' visit was "all about building confidence". "Of course, France and Britain took leading roles in the intervention in Libya, but it's much more important now, in this post-Gaddafi period, that France and Britain be also seen to be leading the recover," she said. Both leaders are hugely popular on the streets of Libya, where "Merci Sarkozy" and "Thank you Britain" are common graffiti slogans. Both may hope to earn political dividends back home from what now appears to have been a successful bet. But on the eve of their visit, the leader of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) said heavy battles lie ahead against Gaddafi loyalists who have refused to surrender. Abdel Hafiz Ghogo, the NTC vice-chairman, told the Reuters news agency the two leaders would visit both Tripoli and Benghazi, where the NTC rulers are still based. Anti-Gaddafi fighters seized Tripoli, the Libyan capital, more than three weeks ago. Western countries and neighbours are anxious to welcome Libya into the international community, not least so it can restart lucrative oil production frozen by six months of war. However, McNaught said that Libyans weren't opposed to Western business interests. "One of the most crucial things that the NTC has said again and again is that we will honour existing contracts," she said. "Because, in truth, the pause button was hit: what Libya needs most of all right now is for those countries that had ongoing business here to pick up where they left off." Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, is expected in Libya on Friday. Egypt's foreign minister, Mohammed Kamel Amr, is also due to visit. US envoy to Tripoli A senior US envoy has already visited Tripoli to show support for Libya's new leaders,

saying the NTC was getting the country's many armed groups under control and that the aftermath of Libya's uprising would not be dominated by one faction. Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, met Libya's new interim leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, on Wednesday, becoming the first official of the Obama administration to visit Tripoli since Gaddafi's government fell last month. In a statement delivered after the meeting with Abdel Jalil, Feltman said: "The United States and our international partners have an enduring commitment to supporting the Libyan people as they chart their country's future. "This includes working with NATO and our coalition partners to continue operations to protect Libyan civilians until they are no longer under threat." He also said he expected the new rulers in Tripoli to "share concerns about terrorism" with the US. Tripoli has been relatively stable since NTC forces overran it on August 23, but NATO-backed fighters are still trying to capture at least three towns held by Gaddafi loyalists. Interim government forces are besieging one of those last bastions, Bani Walid, 180km south of the capital, along with Gaddafi's hometown, Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast and Sabha, deep in the southern desert. "The fighters have been steadily, but slowly, inching towards Sirte," said Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from Ajdabiya. "You get the feeling that effectively they're putting Sirte under blockade." After a week of fighting, NTC forces at Bani Walid have been urging people to leave before they try to storm the town. Scores of cars packed with families left Bani Walid on Wednesday as NTC forces broadcast messages telling them to go and handed out free petrol to help them evacuate. Meanwhile, Gaddafi has not been seen in public since June and his current whereabouts are unknown. ### Black Africans come under fire in Libya (Al Jazeera) http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/black-africans-come-under-fire-libya By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 As Libyas National Transitional Council establishes itself in Tripoli as the countrys

interim government and begins to lead the recovery process, reports have surfaced that NTC-affiliated fighters are targeting black Libyans and migrant workers with violent retribution. Earlier reports alleged that ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi had hired mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa to push back rebel fighters, though it remains unclear how many of those soldiers may have remained in the country after the uprising began. Some groups of mercenary fighters have abandoned Gaddafis forces and fled into neighbouring Mali and Niger. As fighting slows down in parts of the country, black Libyans and African labourers face chronic accusations of being Gaddafis hired mercenaries. NTC fighters have reportedly been rounding up and detaining accused mercenaries even if they are found unarmed. By some estimates, more than 5,000 black migrants have been detained in makeshift jails around the country, and others have faced beatings, revenge killings, and even mass execution. Mercenary fighters found armed have been summarily executed, according to reports. Most detainees maintain that they were not involved in fighting and are simply migrant workers detained without evidence. Black women in refugee camps reported night-time kidnappings and rapes by fighters though to be associated with the NTC. Officials with the National Transitional Council deny such reports. Partially in response to reports of race-based violence and detention in Libya, the African Union has refused to recognize the legitimacy of Libyas interim government. It alleges that the persecution of blacks in the country amounts to human rights violations that fully delegitimise the post-Gaddafi leadership. The United Nations has called on fighters and leaders on both sides of the conflict to prevent acts of retribution. Before the Libyan uprising broke out earlier this year, the country hosted about a million black African workers, many of them employed in domestic work, construction, trash collection, and other low-wage jobs. Even before the fighting began, these workers faced widespread racism and discrimination. Many workers are undocumented and therefore have no access to legal recourse. ### Wikileaks cable: Ethiopia reporter Argaw Ashine 'flees' (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14929307 By Unattributed Author

15 September 2011 An Ethiopian reporter cited in a US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks has fled his country, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says. Argaw Ashine told the US-based media watchdog he was interrogated three times by the authorities this month. They wanted him to reveal the identity of his government source referred to in a 2009 cable about press harassment. Wikileaks says Mr Argaw was not cited as a US embassy informant and "no journalistic source is named". But the CPJ says it is the first instance in which a citation in a Wikileaks cables has caused direct repercussions for a journalist. "The threat we sought to avert through redactions of initial Wikileaks cables has now become real," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said in a statement. "A citation in one of these cables can easily provide repressive governments with the perfect opportunity to persecute or punish journalists and activists," he said. "While, it is outrageous for a journalist to feel the need to leave their country for a period, neither is it good for the CPJ to distort the facts for marketing purposes It is not clear where Mr Argaw, who works for Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper and is chairman of the Ethiopian Environment Journalists Association, is now staying. He told the CPJ he fled over the weekend after he was summoned for intensive questioning by officials from the Government Communication Affairs Office (GCAO) with regard to the US cable of 26 October 2009. It was relating attempts to silence the private Amharic language Addis Neger newspaper, which has since closed and its editors have fled the country. "A contact within GCAO told the Addis Ababa-based Daily Nation reporter Argaw Ashene [Ashine] that the GCAO had drawn up a list of the six top Addis Neger officials... who they plan to target in order to silence the newspaper's analysis," the cable says. Wikileaks said the CPJ was being misleading in its statement, Mr Argaw was only mentioned in passing in the cable and was not named "by the CPJ in a list of journalistic related redactions processed by us". "While, it is outrageous for a journalist to feel the need to leave their country for a period, neither is it good for the CPJ to distort the facts for marketing purposes," Wikileaks said in

a statement. ### Angola: Huambo air force plane crash kills generals (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14920966 By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 Government official Luis Caetano, a spokesman for Huambo authorities, told the BBC the military aircraft crashed after leaving Huambo city airport. He said six people had survived, including the pilot and co-pilot. State-run media says 17 people died. Correspondents say the aircraft was a relatively new Embraer jet purchased by the army to transport top officials. It is the third military plane crash in two months - after recent helicopter accidents in Moxico and Malange. Wreckage split Initial reports said that there were 36 passengers on board, but Mr Caetano told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme the number was 32. He said the aeroplane divided when it crashed and 26 bodies - 20 men and six women - had initially been recovered from wreckage. People in the front of the aircraft survived, but those passengers in the back died as that section caught fire, he said. A photograph issued by state-run news agency Angop showed the plane had broken into two pieces upon impact. A hospital official said five of the injured suffered second degree burns and one passenger was in a serious condition with third degree burns, AFP news agency said. The plane's pilot said he did not know what had gone wrong. "I don't know what happened, the plane was fine during taxi and takeoff, and then I really do not know what happened," captain Jose Goncalves said from hospital, AFP reported. Angola state-run Angop news agency named two of the dead as Lt Gen Bernardo Leitao Francisco Diogo, known by his civil war name "Lelo Kizua", and Lt Gen Elias Malungo Bravo da Costa Pedro, known as "Kalias".

Kalias was the director of the rebel leader Jonas Savimbi's office and was apparently captured in 2002 when Savimbi was killed, ending the civil war, it reports. Mr Caetano said the pilot, who had spoken to Angolan TV, seemed confused but insisted that he had complied with all instructions from the control tower. Portugal's Sol newspaper quoted a survivor in hospital as saying that the accident happened so fast it was difficult to know what the problem was, but the pilot seemed to be aware that there was a technical fault. Portuguese news agency Lusa said the accident happened at about midday local time (11:00 GMT). The plane, bound for the capital, Luanda, took off from Huambo's Albano Machado airport, which was only re-opened by the president last month after undergoing renovations. Since 2002, Angola has been striving to tackle the legacy of a 27-year civil war that ravaged the country after independence. It is one of Africa's major oil producers, but two thirds of the people remain in poverty. According to Jane's Intelligence and Analysis, a digest of military information, Angola has the largest standing army in central and southern Africa and one of the largest air forces in sub-Saharan Africa. ### Libya: Manhunt for Gaddafi's Security Chief in Kaduna (allAfrica.com) http://allafrica.com/stories/201109150005.html By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 Following a report by an international Hausa radio station that Muammar Gaddafi's head of security service, General Youssef Dbiri, had relocated to Kaduna State from Yobe State where he is said to have maternal root, a robust manhunt for Dbiri's whereabouts has begun. A top security source who pleaded anonymity told LEADERSHIP last night that although it was yet to be established that Gaddafi's security chief was in the country, security operatives had swung into action to find out the truth. He said, "It was in the reports, but robust manhunt is in progress to know how valid the allegation is, since we cannot leave

anything to chance, as the security agency saddled with the responsibility of national security." On speculations that two of Gaddafi's intelligence officers are also hiding in the north, he said, "Well, we have all that and, like I said, we have begun serious search to get to the root of all the postulations. We need to know if it's true: who are they, and what is their mission? Is it just fleeing Libya and seeking asylum? Even if it is asylum, there must be procedures and absolute documentation of immigration. "You know there are security challenges attached to people coming into your country without clear-cut traces and addresses, and even purposes for their immigration. We will get to the bottom of all the speculations, and we also need the cooperation of people to volunteer information. You don't know what is in their possessions - whether arms, money - and what security threat they may pose. It is also possible for fleeing foreigners in a country to be good citizens but, again, others can be influenced and get involved in inimical acts, and that is why we are not taking chances." Hamada Radio International, a Hausa vernacular radio based in Spain, which was monitored in Kaduna had reported that members of the Gaddafi government had crossed over to some parts of northern Nigeria. According to the report, a convoy of trucks slipped and headed towards the north-west town of Katsina, last Friday night. It linked it to some members of the Libyan military who, it was alleged, have close family ties with General Dbiri who headed Gaddafi's security service. He is said to have his maternal root in Nguru, Yobe State, north-eastern Nigeria. ### Libya's NTC says allies have "priority" for deals (Reuters) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyas-ntc-says-allies-have-priority-for-deals/ By Alexander Dziadosz and Barry Malone 15 September 2011 TRIPOLI Libyas provisional government said on Thursday its foreign allies during the war would have priority for future deals with the country and warned that some existing contracts would be subject to review for corruption. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC), was speaking at a news conference in the capital Tripoli with Britains Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Their joint visit was the first by foreign leaders since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Abdel Jalil said there were no previous agreements with the NTCs "allies and friends".

But as a faithful Muslim people, we will appreciate these efforts and they will have priority within a framework of transparency," he said. The NTC chief also said existing contracts signed with the Gaddafi government would be reviewed for graft. "The previous contracts, we have respected them...all legitimate contracts. This means review of these contracts for whatever financial corruption may have tainted them. As a member of the previous government I know well that these prices were above those used globally," Abdel Jalil said. ### Niger calls for help to secure Libyan border (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E01F20110915?sp=true By Bate Felix 15 September 2011 NIAMEY - Niger called on Wednesday for international help to secure its northern border with Libya, saying the conflict to the north was holding back efforts by its new civilian government to find stability and develop its economy. Justice Minister Marou Amadou said Niger needed help with intelligence-gathering and aerial surveillance of some six million square metres of desert in its north, already a venue for al Qaeda's North African wing and bandits. "The situation in Libya is characterised by a number of uncontrolled arms that are circulating in the region and which could end up in the hands of all kinds of criminals, or al Qaeda members," Amadou said in an interview in the capital Niamey. "The situation is explosive, to say the least." He said efforts by Niger and other countries in the region to secure the area were not enough. Niger's entire 2011 annual budget of just under $2 billion would not be sufficient even if spent on security alone. "We need aerial surveillance, good intelligence and information and all of these cost a lot for a very poor and indebted country such as ours, which perennially suffers from food crises," Amadou said. "The need was expressed at the (regional) foreign affairs ministers meeting in Algiers (earlier this month) and anyway, all the countries of the EU, and the United States, have

committed to supporting our countries," he said. Asked what help Niger had received so far, he said: "I think that will come." The uranium-producing West African nation is emerging from years of instability following an election in April that ended the rule of a military junta, and also rebellion by Tuareg nomads in the north of the country from 2007-2009. Before entering government, Amadou was a prominent rights activist who was repeatedly jailed by the government of former president Mamadou Tandja. Tandja was ousted by soldiers in 2010 for trying to stay in power beyond his term limits. Current President Mahamadou Issoufou has won Western backing for his efforts to get the country back on its feet, but his troubles include the risk of a failed harvest this year. Amadou said Niger was track to meet some of its economic objectives such as plans to start pumping oil for the first time next year, and a new uranium project in the north which if completed, would make it the world's second-biggest producer. But he added that Niger needed the situation in Libya to be stable for such projects not to be jeopardised. "This is a completely unexpected, uncontrollable situation, which runs up against our vision for the future. "For us, the immediate neighbours of Libya, what is at stake is not just the reconstruction of buildings destroyed by war, but peace, stability and the reconciliation of the (Libyan) people," he said. "It is a major challenge and it is a condition for our peace as well." ### ICC fails to net top perpetrators of war crimes: HRW (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E06020110915?sp=true By Aaron Gray-Block 15 September 2011 AMSTERDAM - Prosecutors at the world's top war crimes court are failing to bring to trial senior government officials responsible for atrocities, undermining the credibility of the tribunal, Human Rights Watch said. The International Criminal Court was set up in 2002 to prosecute the world's worst war criminals and has opened investigations into six conflicts, all of them in Africa, and in June issued an arrest warrant for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

But in a 50-page report, New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Thursday the ICC's cases have not gone far enough to deliver justice and called on prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to close gaps in his investigations and start additional cases. "The ICC's first investigations have too often bypassed key perpetrators and crimes," said Elizabeth Evenson, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. The office of the prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ICC is no stranger to criticism with some observers critical of its focus on Africa, while the slow pace of its investigations have also frustrated rights groups and others have argued against its perceived political bias. Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, indicted by the ICC for genocide in Darfur, has dismissed the court as a western conspiracy. In the ICC's first trial, defence lawyers argued that accused Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga was being tried as a political scapegoat. In contrast, the U.N's Yugoslavia tribunal has managed to prosecute crimes committed by all factions in the Balkan wars, a rebuttal against claims it was biased against one particular group, HRW said. The Yugoslavia tribunal's last remaining fugitive, Croatian Serb wartime leader Goran Hadzic, was arrested in July. The ICC, like the Yugoslavia court, has no police force of its own and relies on state co-operation to enforce arrest warrants and many of its indicted suspects remain at large. However, in assessing the first five conflicts the ICC started investigating prior to its Libya probe, HRW noted the court's work has produced 10 cases and three trials, making "an important contribution to tackling impunity for some of the world's worst crimes." But it also said too many victims have been left without justice, undermining perceptions of the court's independence and impartiality and called for additional investigations. In Congo and Uganda, rebel groups have been investigated, but no charges laid against government officials and armed forces widely alleged to have committed serious abuses, it said. HRW said the ICC's investigations in Kenya, however, were "a welcome shift from past practice" as the prosecutor was seeking charges against alleged perpetrators from both sides of the country's 2007-2008 post-election violence.

But, gaps remain in delivering on the ICC's mandate in conflicts where the court was pursuing prosecutions and as funding and resources get stretched thin, the prosecutor needs better strategies for case selection, HRW said. "The ICC prosecutor's tough choices face intense scrutiny, which makes it all the more important that they enhance the court's independence and credibility," said Evenson. ### Horn of Africa: refugees confront trauma and sexual violence (AlertNet) http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/horn-of-africa-refugees-confront-trauma-and-sexual-vi olence/ By AlertNet // CARE International 15 September 2011 In the heartache and confusion that accompany the flight from drought and hunger, refugees from Somalia can now turn to a source of comfort with a familiar face: fellow refugees who have been specially trained to help survivors of trauma, loss, sexual and gender-based violence. Theyre part of a unique CARE program that focuses on strengthening community coping mechanisms. At the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, CARE employs a team of 18 outreach workers and paracounselors, recruited from among the refugees and offered comprehensive training in counseling and community development. They speak the language and share the culture of fellow refugees. More than any outsider, they can understand the terrible trials, including sexual violence, deaths of family members, and loss of homes and livelihoods, that refugees have experienced. The CARE team first ensures that the most vulnerable refugees are made safe, and provides immediate distributions of food and family essentials, orientation on available services, and referrals for medical attention if needed. Survivors of violence or other special cases are fast-tracked for registration and access to a full range of assistance. Women at risk of domestic abuse can take temporary refuge in safe havens hosted by established refugees. CARE strives to support community-based solutions and facilitate refugees to help each other. Whenever people are uprooted from their communities and support networks, theres an increased risk of violence, sexual assault and domestic abuse, said Jasveen Ahluwalia, CARE Emergency Gender Adviser. Our first priority is to prevent further incidents of violence, and the best way to do that is to promote community cohesion and mutual support. One measure CARE and our partners take is to facilitate the settlement of new arrivals whenever possible in groups who were previously neighbors, rather than among strangers.

Those in need of emotional support have access to CAREs trained counselors, who take special care to protect the privacy of sexual violence survivors. All of our services are provided within the context of CAREs larger programming, including community development work, livelihoods, youth and adolescent activities, sports and HIV prevention, said Ahluwallia. That way people coming for help wont be singled out and potentially stigmatized. Nearly 4,700 refugees have come to CARE for counseling and support in just over three months 1,111 in the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3 alone. If we can access the necessary funds, we can hire more outreach workers, especially women, said Ahluwalia. Most refugees are strong, resilient people they just need a hand to help, and an ear to listen, and they will rebuild the bonds that keep a community safe. ### Libyan Chemical Materials a Proliferation Threat, U.S. Commander Says (Global Security Newswire) http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110915_6822.php By Martin Matishak 15 September 2011 WASHINGTON -- Libya's stockpile of chemical warfare materials remains a potential source of proliferation, the U.S. military commander for Africa told reporters on Wednesday. When fighting broke out in February, Tripoli still held a reported 9.5 metric tons of deteriorating blister agent, less than half of the mustard stockpile that was being eliminated under the auspices of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Qadhafi government also possessed in excess of 1,300 tons of chemical-weapon precursor materials. The regime years earlier destroyed thousands of empty aerial munitions that could have been used to disperse the toxic chemicals in an aerial attack. There is "great, great concern about the security of that material," Gen. Carter Ham, head of U.S. Africa Command, said during a Defense Writers Group breakfast. "It's not weaponized, it's not easily weaponized, but nonetheless we want to make sure ... the [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] gets back in there and completes the destruction of the remaining materials." A Pentagon-based spokesman for Africa Command did not respond by deadline to questions submitted yesterday morning about whether the National Transitional Council

had requested its assistance in securing the materials. In addition to chemical materials, Ham said he is concerned about shoulder-fired missiles falling into the hands of al-Shabab, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or Boko Haram, the continent's three major extremist organizations. He also noted that conventional munitions left over by the previous regime could be used in improvised explosive devices. The combatant commander said that representatives from the U.S. State Department had met with officials from Libya's neighbors to beef up efforts to halt any possible proliferation, including greater intelligence sharing and enhanced border security cooperation. "They recognize the risk that this runs," according to Ham. "It's been heartening to see a greater degree of collaboration," he added. Also on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman told reporters that Washington is cooperating with Tripoli's new leaders to stem possible proliferation of both conventional and unconventional weapons, Reuters reported. He said that "to the best of our knowledge" the chemical warfare materials "are containerized in bulk form accountable to the OPCW and we believe from monitoring that they are where they are supposed to be." The blister agent is stored at the Waddan Ammunitions Reservation inside large steel containers within heavy bunkers, a Foggy Bottom spokeswoman said last month. ### EAC, USAFRICOM joint military exercise opens tomorrow (StarAfrica.com) http://www.starafrica.com/en/news/detail-news/article/eac-usafricom-joint-military-exerc ise-o-189899.html By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 ARUSHA, Tanzania -- A joint military training exercise between the EAC Partner States' Defence Forces and the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) officially opens tomorrow 16 September at Chukwani Military Centre in Zanzibar. The exercise codenamed Natural Fire 11 has brought together more than 300 military personnel from the five EAC Partner States and USAFRICOM. The EAC Deputy Secretary General (Political Federation) Hon. Beatrice Kiraso describes the exercise as vital for the consolidation of the gains in regional integration because it emphasizes our need for unity, peace and stability in order to defend our common interests. The exercise, whose theme is to ensure security and foster regional stability, aims to develop the capacity of EAC Defense Forces to respond quickly and efficiently to complex

security challenges, harmonize the working relationship among them and foster cooperation between these Forces and the United States of America. Natural Fire 11 further aims to enhance cooperation between regional Defense Forces, civil authorities and international organizations, and to improve interoperability between the Forces. Our region is faced with a wide range of existing and potential complex emergencies which could easily translate into threats to the social, economic and political wellbeing of the East African people, Hon. Kiraso says, adding that it is important that the EAC develops the capacity to handle such emergencies and threats. The Zanzibar exercise will focus on peace support operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, counter terrorism and counter piracy between 17 and 20 September. Natural Fire 11 follows similar exercises held in the past in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania (Mainland). Thirty five (35) officers from Uganda, 36 from Burundi, 37 from Rwanda, 40 from Kenya and 80 representing Tanzania will take part in the exercise that ends on 21 September 2011. These joint exercises were first held in 1998 as a bilateral exercise between the US and Kenya and reconfigured in 1999 as a multilateral exercise between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Rwanda and Burundi were subsequently enrolled upon joining the East African Community in 2007. Exercises such as Natural Fire 11 are part of EAC efforts to deepen cooperation in defense by the EAC Partner States, guided by the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense which lays down four areas of cooperation namely: military training; joint operations; technical assistance; and visits (including sporting exchanges and range competitions as well as visits by the Chiefs of Defense) and exchange of information. The MoU was signed in 1998 and revised in 2001. ###

Africa Command Learns from Libya Operations (American Forces Press

Service) http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=65344 By Jim Garamone 15 September 2011 WASHINGTON Libya was the first major combat operation for U.S. Africa Command, and its men and women responded well, the units commander said. Still, Africom -- the militarys newest combatant command -- is assessing the lessons learned from Libya and will make necessary changes, said Army Gen. Carter F. Ham. Ham spoke to the Defense Writers Group here yesterday.

In March, Africom participated in Operation Odyssey Dawn -- the American effort to protect Libyan citizens from Moammar Gadhafis regime. Later, the operation was transferred to NATOs Operation Unified Protector. Officials have to examine the Libya operations closely to draw lessons, the general said. It would be wrong in my mind to say this is the template, this is the model we will follow, Ham said. As all military operations are, they are conditions-specific. The U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 called on member states to protect the Libyan people from a massacre at the hands of Gadhafis army, which was then threatening Benghazi. I remain confident that had the U.N. not made the decision, had the U.S. not taken the lead with great support, Im absolutely convinced there are many, many people in Benghazi alive today who would not be [otherwise], Ham said. Africom was able to respond quickly to aid Libya, he said, because of the U.S. militarys flexible air and maritime forces based in Europe. There was great support from NATO nations for basing and overflight and, in many cases, contributions of forces, he said. It was a great international effort, and there is something to be learned from that. Operation Odyssey Dawn was able to build on the NATO framework, and other non-NATO allies also were able to fall in on that framework. How you do that in other parts of the world where you dont have that standing alliance is something we need to think seriously about, Ham said. Officials, he added, also have to look at how to bring together a multinational coalition without NATO standing agreements and interoperability that played such a great role in the Libya campaign. Inside Africom, the general said, the greatest learning curve involved kinetic targeting. It was not something we had practiced; we didnt have great capability honed and refined inside the organization, and Odyssey Dawn really caused us to work in that regard, Ham said. The command had to define what effects it needed, and what specific targets would contribute to achieving those effects a precise endeavor, Ham said. If attacking a communications node, planners must ask themselves what does that particular node do? How does it connect to other nodes? Whats the right munition to use? Whats the likelihood of collateral damage? Whats the right time of day to hit it? Whats the right delivery platform? And finally, how to synchronize attacks. That level of detail and precision was not something the command had practiced to the

degree that we were required to do in Odyssey Dawn, Ham said. The expertise came very quickly, the general added. Its unsurprising to you that most of the intelligence analysts, most of the targeteers across the United States military have done this in previous deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and other places, Ham said. They know how to do it but, collectively, Africa Command had not previously done this. Ways to sustain this expertise is something the command must look at in the future, the general said The same is true, he added, in the maritime environment. Ham said interoperability with non-NATO allies is another aspect that needs to be strengthened. Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the African Union and others participated in the Libyan operation. Going forward, Africom has to stress interoperability with partners on the continent. If we were to launch a humanitarian operation, how do we do so effectively with air traffic control, airfield management, those kind of activities? he said. The United States has to craft those practices with African partners, he added. ### Cattle raiders kill 46 in South Sudan (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E0HY20110915 By Unattributed Author 15 September 2011 KHARTOUM - At least 46 people were killed and around 5,000 cows stolen in the latest tribal violence in newly independent South Sudan, authorities said on Thursday. South Sudan became independent in July after a 2005 peace deal with Khartoum that ended decades of civil war but the oil-producing nation has been struggling to end tribal and rebel violence that has killed around 3,000 people this year. The violence threatens to turn the new nation into a failed state and could upset the stability of its east African neighbours. In the latest incident, youths from Warrap state attacked villages in neighbouring Unity state last weekend, officials said on Thursday. "It's a disastrous issue. A group with fire-arms came to villages in Mayendit. They came to raid cattle but also killed women and children," Unity state minister of information Gideon Gatpan said, adding that another 40 people were still missing. Analysts say cattle theft is on the rise, driven by inflation of bride prices, which are

traditionally paid in cows. At least seven rebel militias are fighting the new government's forces in remote parts of South Sudan, a country roughly the size of France. South Sudan has accused Khartoum of supporting militias but the north denies this, and many rebels say they are fighting against what they see as corruption and ethnic discrimination in the south's government, charges it denies. ### S. Africa's Zuma asks for new probe of arms deal (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78E0H120110915?sp=true By Jon Herskovitz 15 September 2011 JOHANNESBURG - South African President Jacob Zuma will appoint a commission to investigate a multi-billion dollar arms deal, his office said on Thursday, in a new probe into corruption allegations against several companies and top officials including Zuma himself. The 30 billion rand deal to buy European military equipment from about a decade ago has clouded South Africa's politics for years. It has led to a few convictions of officials who took bribes to help land contracts but critics said probes did not go far enough, letting several others off the hook. Zuma -- then deputy president -- was linked to the deal through his former financial adviser, who was jailed for corruption. This almost torpedoed Zuma's bid for high office but all charges against Zuma were dropped in 2009. "The president will soon announce the terms of reference and the composition of the commission including the time frames," Zuma's office said in a statement. The presidency did not say what impact its investigative commission would have on a probe into the same charges announced earlier by South Africa's special police unit known as the Hawks. But analysts said Zuma might by trying to deflect attention from the other investigation. "It might well be an attempt to head off some other investigation. There doesn't seem to be any other rational explanation given the lateness of the hour," said Gary van Staden, a political analyst with NKC Independent Economists. Any investigation is likely pile pressure on Zuma who is facing a leadership crisis in his ruling African National Congress that may deter his chances at a second term. But a panel appointed by his office could help Zuma dictate the terms of the probe. "The timing of the announcement is interesting," said Helen Zille, leader of the main

opposition Democratic Alliance. "After all these years, the South African public deserve to finally know the whole truth behind the arms deal. The cancer of corruption is destroying the body politic of South Africa with the arms deal at its core," she said. Despite calls to crush corruption from labour federation COSATU and South Africa's Communist Party -- in a governing alliance with the ruling African National Congress -Zuma has done little to address a problem that has eroded confidence in the government ruling the continent's top economy. South Africa spent about billions in the late 1990s to modernise its military, with investigators probing several of the contracts on suspicion of bribes being paid to land the deals. Zuma's former financial adviser Schabir Shaik was convicted in 2005 of trying to solicit a 500,000 rand a year bribe from French arms company Thint in return for protecting it from an investigation. Hawks officials said in a letter obtained by Reuters last month they planned to send a delegation to Europe to probe whether Swedish defence group Saab and former partner BAE Systems made payments worth millions of rand to a South African "consultant" to secure a contract. Saab said in a statement in late July: "Our review revealed that approximately 24 million rand was paid from BAE Systems ... These payments were transferred to the South African consultant shortly thereafter". The companies said they had paid for a consultant in South Africa but denied any wrongdoing. ### Guns, migrants, mercenaries: Qaddafi's loss is the Sahel's gain (The Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2011/0915/Guns-migrants-mercenaries-Qaddafi -s-loss-is-the-Sahel-s-gain By Drew Hinshaw 15 September 2011 Dakar, Senegal - Leaders from the Saharan nation of Niger, yesterday requested international aid to curb the flow of migrants, militants, and guns across their desert border with Libya. Turmoil in post-Qaddafi Libya, say Nigerien officials, residents, and analysts, could augur an explosion in violence and unemployment across Libya's sub-Saharan flank. The

neighborhood is occupied by some of Africa's least peaceful, most impoverished countries. Africa's Sahel, a drought belt that stretches from Senegal to Somalia, has long had a wild west quality to it, writes former US Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn in an e-mail to the Monitor. It is the stage on which semi-nomadic Tuareg combatants have fought sporadically for independence over decades; failing that, many have linked up with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a terrorist sect that kidnaps foreigners. The Mali-based Al Qaeda, reports claim, begun collaborating as recently as last month with Boko Haram, the Nigerian pro-Sharia law rebellion that took credit for an August 26 bombing on a United Nations headquarters. Further east, the militia Al Shabab has seized large swaths of the Somalia's south. In Ethiopia, rebels and state troops continue gun battles in Ethiopia's gas-rich Ogaden region. On Sunday in Darfur, the site of Sudan's mass killings, the separatist region's top rebel leader returned from nearly two years in exile, in Libya. The region can't get more unstable than it already is, says London's School of Oriental and African Studies Professor Jeremy Keenan, who performs hostage negotiation for conflicts in the region. And yet, it might, he and other analysts agree. A southward wave of people and weapons Aside from sparking a mass movement of one million people plus sub-Saharan Africans who sought migrant work in oil-rich Libya the end of the country's conflict could send a southward wave of thousands of dejected Libyan fighters, including Nigerien Tuaregs, and sub-Saharan mercenaries hired by Libyas ex-leader Muammar Qaddafi, says J. Peter Pham, Director of the Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. The consequences are enormous, editor David Yacouba for newspaper Ar Info in the Nigerien desert town of Agadez writes in an e-mail to the Monitor. What we fear is that, after this conflict, the arms used in Libya will come into Niger. Libyan weaponry, however, has likely already entered black markets throughout the Sahel, Pham said, citing direct knowledge of RPG 29s for sale as far east as Somalia. RPG 29s are the shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades deployed by the Soviets in the final days of their Afghan war, powerful enough to stop a tank. "If those are cropping up in Somalia I can just imagine what's available if you happen to be slightly closer to the source," Mr. Pham says. Aside from arms, Keenan adds, there's Mr. Qaddafi's army. A Sept. 5 convoy that drove southward into Niger was reported to contain anywhere from a

handful of vehicles to 250 trucks, loaded with pro-Qaddafi combatants fleeing Libya. The arrival of thousands of armed fighters into such a poorly-policed region, Pham says, could be a boom to the local Al Qaeda group. "All of a sudden, right on their door step, and in a buyer's market, here comes a whole flood of trained fighters," Pham says. Unemployment also raises concerns For Niger, the more persistent problem, Pham adds, may be unemployment. Migrant workers comprised as much as a fifth of Libya's resident population, according to estimates from the Nigerien and Malian governments. As fighting eases and roads become safe for travel, hundreds of thousands of these migrants may return home, fleeing both Libya's shaken economy, and the random arrests of black Africans accused of being mercenaries documented by Human Rights Watch. These people will be confronted by unemployment, Yacouba writes. Formal, salaried work is almost non-existent in Niger, whose 15 million people largely live off farming or herding on the increasingly dry land. These people coming back into regions whether theres no employment, no likelihood of employment, famine, and some of them are coming back with arms, Keenan says. An invitation for Qaddafi On Saturday, Guinea-Bissau a former Portuguese colony that enjoyed lavish Libyan aid, and receives most of its income from the cocaine trade invited Qaddafi to take up residence. Burkina Faso also extended Qaddafi protection, only to retract the offer later. "His presence would be a major cause for continued chaos and instability," Keenan says, citing Qaddafi's connections to rebels in the region, and his capacity to bankroll them. The more likely outcome, he adds, is that Qaddafi remains in Libya, in its south beyond the reach of Libya's National Transition Council, beyond the reach of NATO, and far beyond the reach of Niger. "You could have a situation where Libya divides, not into an East-West division, but where the south never falls under the control of the NTC," he says. "The NTC doesn't have forces down there. Niger's army is lightweight. NATO can't get down there in any hurry." "There could still be another chapter," he adds. ### African Visitors Focus on Climate, Food Security (Dept. of State) http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2011/09/20110913151747nirak0.690609

2.html#axzz1Y2yIgHji By Karin Rives 15 September 2011 Washington Rising global temperatures are already affecting food supplies in many parts of the world. A group of African government officials and experts on agriculture and climate change recently participated in a professional exchange program in the United States focused on the issue. Fourteen people from 11 African nations traveled to six U.S. cities during a two-week period to learn how American communities and research organizations are handling food security and working to sustain agricultural production in a changing environment. Their July 2011 visit was sponsored by the U.S. State Departments International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), which seeks to build international friendships and collaboration between Americans and people in other nations. In the southeastern state of North Carolina, the group visited Goat Lady Dairy, a family-run farm specializing in goat dairy products and organic vegetables that are sold fresh at local farmers markets and to restaurants. While in North Carolina, some of the visitors also spent time bagging groceries at Food Assistance Inc., a food bank assisting poor families. This, for me, was a very enriching experience and strengthened my desire to care for others, said Joaquim Duarte Gomes, an agronomist with Angolas Ministry of Agriculture who was amazed to see so many Americans volunteer their time at the food bank. It was quite remarkable. ORGANIC FARMS INSPIRE The idea of using locally grown food to help sustain the poor and keep communities healthy also made an impression on Abdulkadir Iman Mohamoud. At the time of his visit to the United States, he headed the Somali Regional State Livestock, Crop and Rural Development Bureau in Jijiga, Ethiopia. Hes since switched jobs to head the regions Education Bureau. Inspired by what he saw in North Carolina, Mohamoud said he wants to encourage school gardening and environmental studies in school curricula with the ultimate goal of helping Ethiopia sustain farmlands that are now challenged by drought and changing growth conditions. Steve Tate, owner of Goat Lady Dairy, gives African visitors a tour of his farm. I noticed that organic agriculture is profitable and a booming business in the U.S., Mohamoud said. I also learned about the strong linkages between universities, farmers markets and consumers there and about technology generation for crop production in a

stressed environment. Another memorable field trip, he said, was the visit the group paid to the University of CaliforniaDavis, where researchers showed them emissions-free food processing technologies. Seynabou Tour Laye, executive secretary of Senegals National Council on Food Security, said the IVLP activities reinforced the need to share ideas and technology across borders, as well as the need to help communities adapt to climate change. We must promote simple technologies that are accessible to small food producers and support local knowledge of climate change adaption, she said. NEW CROP TYPES BRING PROMISE Laye also emphasized the role public-private partnerships will play in developing new biotechnology, such as drought- and saline-resistant crops. While in California, the IVLP group visited Monsanto, one of the worlds largest biotechnology and agricultural seed companies, which is now working on drought-tolerant maize seed for Africa, among other things. They also visited university biotechnology labs. Gomes noted that innovative ways to genetically modify crops can solve past problems that hampered successful agricultural production in Angola and beyond. I retained many ideas, he said of his first trip to the United States, some of which Ill try to implement as opportunities come up. ### END OF REPORT