Please note: The following news items are presented here for informational purposes. The views expressed within them are those of the authors and/or individuals quoted, not those of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the National Defense University, or the Department of Defense.
US Navy Rescues 282 Migrants in Mediterranean
Lamido Sanusi named as new emir of Kano in Nigeria
Nigerian Television Becomes Front for U.S. in Terrorism Fight
Nigerian army raids newspaper depots
Why Are Africa’s Militaries So Disappointingly Bad?
Egypt’s new President vows to ‘correct the mistakes of the past’
US backing of el-Sissi reminiscent of Mubarak era
Wary US unlikely to restore full Egypt aid soon
Hillary Clinton: Obama administration divided over 2011 Arab uprisings
Dozens killed in DRC over ’stolen cattle’
As the Democratic Republic of Congo suffers another day of bloodshed, its soldiers talk with astonishing candour of their own brutality
Somalia: National Army clashes over clan loyalty, 8 killed
Crew kidnapped by Somali pirates in 2010 free
Senior Shabaab commander surrenders
Hijacked Greek tanker in Togolese waters: Ghana military
French FM in Algeria to discuss security cooperation amid Libya, Mali crises
Army officer arrested for suspected plot against Mali’s president
After Israel, African kids start afresh in Uganda
Central African Republic: Diamonds and Civil War
Clinton Aides Weighed Fallout Of Calling Rwanda Killing ‘Genocide’
Syria fallout looms for Maghreb
New book reveals truth behind Angola’s forgotten massacre
Has pan-Africanism undermined nation building?
How to Beat Malaria, Once and for All
Today’s News
US Navy Rescues 282 Migrants in Mediterranean
U.S. Navy warships have rescued 282 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea after receiving a distress call about a vessel sinking. The assault ship USS Bataan and the frigate USS Elrod launched rescue operations after receiving a report from an Italian military patrol plane that had spotted six small vessels, one of which was sinking. Navy officials announced Saturday the two ships rescued people from the sea, tahen gave assistance, including food, medical attention and shelter. The Bataan turned over 277 people to Maltese military vessels on Friday. Another five were medically evacuated to Malta on Saturday. VOA
Lamido Sanusi named as new emir of Kano in Nigeria
he ousted central bank governor and prominent government critic, Lamido Sanusi, has been named as the new emir of Kano in Nigeria. The new emir becomes one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the country’s largely Muslim north. As bank governor, Mr Sanusi had levelled accusations of high-level fraud and was suspended in February. The previous emir, al-Haji Ado Bayero, died after a long illness at the age of 83 on Friday. BBC
Nigerian Television Becomes Front for U.S. in Terrorism Fight
The State Department is financing a new 24-hour satellite television channel in the turbulent northern region of Nigeria that American officials say is crucial to countering the extremism of radical groups such as Boko Haram. The move signals a ramping up of American counterinsurgency efforts to directly challenge the terrorist group, which abducted nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls in April. State Department officials acknowledged that setting up an American-supported channel could prove challenging in a region where massacres, bombings and shootings by Boko Haram are common, and where the American government and Western educational programs are far from popular. The group has been known to attack media organizations in Nigeria. The new television channel, to be called Arewa24 — arewa means north in the Hausa language — is financed by the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, and it is expected to cost about $6 million. State Department officials would discuss the program only on the condition of anonymity, and offered sparse information about it. But details have emerged in publicly available contracting documents and in interviews with people familiar with the effort. The New York Times
Nigerian army raids newspaper depots
The Nigerian army has carried out raids on distribution centres handling several of leading national newspapers. The newspapers said their delivery vans had been searched and vendors questioned across the country, and copies of the papers destroyed. The move has been condemned as censorship by the newspapers and international media groups. But defence officials said it had been a routine security operation and denied confiscating copies. The Nigerian government and President Goodluck Jonathan are facing public pressure to do more to tackle a bloody insurgency by Islamist Boko Haram militants in the north. BBC
Why Are Africa’s Militaries So Disappointingly Bad?
The optimistic “Africa Rising” slogan has been looking a little tired of late, as its critics point out that higher growth rates do not necessarily deliver either jobs or poverty alleviation. There’s been less focus on another area where the “Africa Rising” narrative also seems to be failing to deliver: improved security for the continent’s 1.1 billion inhabitants. The last year has seen a spate of high-profile, hugely embarrassing domestic-security lapses in two of sub-Saharan Africa’s key economies, each regarded in the West as trusted partners and regional anchor states. The notion that the continent was growing increasingly capable of policing itself took a knock during the Westgate siege in Kenya last September, in which 67 people died. More recently, Nigeria’s armed forces have been publicly humiliated by the failure to free more than 200 schoolgirls taken hostage by Boko Haram militants and a series of escalating attacks in that seizure’s wake. Foreign Policy
Egypt’s new President vows to ‘correct the mistakes of the past’
Egypt’s former military chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was sworn in Sunday as President, vowing to lead the country through important changes. In its next phase, Egypt “will witness a total rise on both internal and external fronts, to compensate what we have missed and correct the mistakes of the past,” he said. Despite the political upheaval Egypt has faced in recent years, el-Sisi celebrated the transition from interim President Adly Mansour. “In the long history that goes back thousands of years, our homeland did not witness democratic transfer of power. Now, for the first time, the President-elect shakes hands with the outgoing President, and together they sign a power transfer document in an unprecedented occasion,” he said in an address in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court’s General Assembly in Cairo. CNN
US backing of el-Sissi reminiscent of Mubarak era
With ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sworn in as Egypt’s president, Washington has promised that it will cooperate with his government. Are US-Egyptian ties returning to the Mubarak-era status quo of military rule? More than three years ago, US President Barack Obama withdrew Washington’s long-standing support for Hosni Mubarak, accelerating the former air force marshal’s overthrow by mass demonstrations. Today, the White House is cooperating with Egypt’s latest military-commander-turned-president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in what some analysts say is a return to the old status quo of US support for military rule. “The United States looks forward to working with [Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi], the winner of Egypt’s presidential election, to advance our strategic partnership and the many interests shared by the United States and Egypt,” the White House said in a news release. Deutsce Welle
Wary US unlikely to restore full Egypt aid soon
As Egypt prepares to swear in its fourth leader since 2011, a huge slice of $1.5bn in US aid remains in deep-freeze amid fears the nation is sliding back into authoritarianism. Former general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be crowned as the next president on Sunday after three years of political turmoil since the ousting of long-time iron-fisted leader Hosni Mubarak. But far from welcoming Sisi as a step toward stability, some analysts are urging Washington to re-think its decades-old, military-based aid programme amid concerns over human rights abuses and a crackdown on civil liberties. In a sign of Washington’s unease, no senior US cabinet members will be attending the inauguration, with the state department’s Thomas Shannon asked to lead the delegation. News 24
Hillary Clinton: Obama administration divided over 2011 Arab uprisings
Distancing herself from some of the Obama administration’s handling of the Arab uprisings, Hillary Rodham Clinton says in her upcoming book that she pushed for Hosni Mubarak to transition power to his successor but was overruled by President Barack Obama. In her book Hard Choices, due for publication on Tuesday and a copy of which was purchased by the Associated Press, Clinton describes an administration split during the frantic days of Arab protests in 2011. She includes herself among an old guard of cautious realists such as vice-president Joe Biden, national security adviser Tom Donilon and defense secretary Robert Gates who were at odds with a younger generation of White House aides “swept up in the drama and idealism of the moment”. Clinton says she didn’t want the US to be seen as pushing a longtime partner out without a clear picture of the future for regional allies such as Israel and Jordan. The Guardian
Dozens killed in DRC over ’stolen cattle’
At least 33 people have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in what appeared to be part of an ongoing ethnic conflict over land and cattle. Sources told Al Jazeera that gunmen surrounded a church in the village of Mutarule late on Friday and started firing indiscriminately. “We’re hearing that most of the dead were women who were in the church,” Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from the eastern city of Goma, said. “Some other people were killed in their homes.” Eighteen women and eight children were reportedly among those killed. Some of the victims were stabbed or burned. Al Jazeera
As the Democratic Republic of Congo suffers another day of bloodshed, its soldiers talk with astonishing candour of their own brutality
The Congolese soldiers march through the night, but not towards battle. In the dark, they are hunting for women who have fled their homes in Minova to hide in the bushes. The women know that if they are seen, they will be raped and maybe killed. The army has been ordered to retreat to the town, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its young soldiers, 2,000 of them, fire gunshots in the air. The commander gives an order. “Go and rape women,” he says. The soldiers obey. “It’s true that we raped here. We found women because they can’t escape. You see her, you catch her, you take her away and you have your way with her,” says one soldier later. “Sometimes you kill her. When you finish raping then you kill her child. When we rape, we feel free.” The Independent
Somalia: National Army clashes over clan loyalty, 8 killed
Heavy fighting has raged between two groups within the Somali Federal Government troops in Lower Shabelle region of Southern Somalia, leaving at least eight fighters dead on Saturday according to officials, Garowe Online reports. The Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle region Abdullahi Musse Abukar said on VOA Somali Service that the infighting occurred in eight areas including Sagaarley and Busley:”Eight persons from the battling sides died in the fighting and many others wounded. The clash is ongoing”. Residents reported that government troops fought each other along clan loyalties in El Waregow and Bufow, escalating another cycle of deadly confrontations among Mogadishu-based Federal Government soldiers. Areas near Lower Shabelle regional capital of Marka saw the heaviest fighting, with local reports unveiling that soldiers belonging to Habar Gidir and Biyomal clans clashed in the battle. Garowe Online
Crew kidnapped by Somali pirates in 2010 free
Eleven sailors held hostage by Somali pirates for more than three years have arrived safely in Kenya, mediators who helped secure their freedom said. The 11 men – from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran – were crew of the Malaysian-owned cargo vessel MV Albedo, which was hijacked 1,500km off the coast of Somalia in November 2010, while sailing from the United Arab Emirates to Kenya. Abdi Yusuf Hassan, the interior minister of Somalia’s Galmudug region, said on Saturday that the sailors were released with no ransom paid. However, John Steed, a former British army colonel who has spent years helping negotiate their release, said the men had “sneaked out a window” to escape their captors. Al Jazeera
Senior Shabaab commander surrenders
A senior Al-Shabaab militant commander, Sheik Mohamed Said Atom, on Saturday gave himself up to Somali government authorities after he announced his renouncing of violence in Somalia. The militant commander has been active in the northeastern state of Puntland where his militias operated in the mountain region of Galgala for the past several years. In a statement the defecting Islamist commander says that he left the group because he could not “tolerate the misleading of Al- Shabaab and its leader.” “I have been tolerating the misleading of Ahmed Abdi Godane (Al- Shabaab Emir) and his group towards the Sharia (Islamic law) and Muslims. I have today decided to leave Al-Shabaab,” Sheik Atom said. Daily Nation
Hijacked Greek tanker in Togolese waters: Ghana military
A Greek oil tanker that vanished in the pirate-infested Gulf of Guinea is likely to have moved from Ghanaian to Togolese waters, a Ghanaian military spokesman said Sunday. “The vessel is not in our waters,” Eric Aggrey-Quashie told AFP. “It’s gone off and they suspect it’s moving towards Togo.
(The navy) is trying to get confirmation from the Togolese if they have identified any vessel in the waters.” Greek shipping firm Fairdeal S.A. reported losing contact with the Liberia-flagged MT Fair Artemis on Thursday, when it was sailing in waters off the coast of Ghana. The ship has 24 crew members on board and has a cargo of fuel oil, Fairdeal’s statement said. New Age
French FM in Algeria to discuss security cooperation amid Libya, Mali crises
France’s Foreign Minister Affairs Laurent Fabius began on Sunday a two-day official visit to Algeria to boost bilateral relations and discuss security cooperation. Fabius was greeted by his Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, after he arrived at Houari-Boumediene Airport in Algiers. “I am constantly working with my Algerian counterpart, and this friendly visit will further the excellent bilateral relations between Algeria and France,” Fabius said. The top French diplomat told reporters that his visit is the result of a joint committee between the two governments, which concluded last December. This committee paved the way for the establishment of a regular political dialogue between Algeria and its former colonizer. Globalpost
Army officer arrested for suspected plot against Mali’s president
Authorities in Mali have arrested an army officer and a number of associates suspected of plotting against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, military and intelligence sources said on Friday. The West African nation was plunged into chaos by a March 2012 military coup that allowed al Qaeda-linked fighters to seize its desert north. A French-led military intervention defeated the Islamists, paving the way for elections that swept Keita to power in August, but the arrests highlight the instability that persists in the coup-prone country despite the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping mission. Lieutenant Mohamed Ouattara, a member of the elite red beret army unit considered close to deposed President Amadou Toumani Toure, was arrested late on Wednesday, sources said. DefenceWeb
After Israel, African kids start afresh in Uganda
That’s what Ugandan teachers repeatedly tell the South Sudanese teenagers transplanted here from Israel. But Hebrew is what they speak when they are not being watched; it’s the language they grew up with as migrants. Some 70 South Sudanese teenagers now call Kampala their home after they were deported from – or voluntarily left – Israel, which is trying to rid itself of tens of thousands of African migrants. In recent years Africans have poured into Israel, causing friction with locals and alarming some authorities who say Israel’s Jewish character is threatened by the presence of the Africans. After leaving Israel the teenagers spent a few months in their home country, South Sudan, where they struggled because of the threat of hunger, tropical diseases and the country’s political tensions. They later were relocated to Uganda thanks mainly to the work of an Israeli activist who has criticized his country’s policy toward African migrants as Israel’s “moment of shame.” Times Live
Central African Republic: Diamonds and Civil War
The conflict in Central African Republic could paralyse one of the country’s main industries: diamond mining. Officially, the international agreement known as the Kimberley process has been put in place, meaning that no diamonds can be bought from a country at war. But unofficially, there are reports that fighters are still managing to smuggle out small precious stones to trade them and fund their fighting. France 24’s Tatiana Mossot takes us from the heart of the mining industry in the East of Central African Republic, to the sparkling jewelry stores of Europe. France 24
Clinton Aides Weighed Fallout Of Calling Rwanda Killing ‘Genocide’
President Bill Clinton’s administration wondered what the legal consequences would be if the White House acknowledged that genocide was occurring in Rwanda in 1994, according to newly public documents. In a May 26, 1994, email to Donald Steinberg, who handled the Africa portfolio in Clinton’s National Security Council, legal adviser Alan Kreczko wrote : “Concluding that genocide has occurred/is occurring in Rwanda does not create a legal obligation to take particular action to stop it.” NPR
Syria fallout looms for Maghreb
Hatem Ben Salem, a former Tunisian education minister and ambassador, is a much-sought speaker at security conferences in the region. Magharebia met with the government official turned security analyst on the sidelines of a recent Tangier forum to learn more about Maghreb jihadists, what they are doing in Syria and Libya, and what to expect when they come back home. [...] Due to the unnatural alliance of jihadists with organised crime and drug traffickers, European countries bordering the Mediterranean will also suffer the consequences… Never in the modern history of the region have so many weapons circulated. So it is with great concern that I assess the security situation in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Magharebia
New book reveals truth behind Angola’s forgotten massacre
When the journalist Lara Pawson asked me if RAS would host the launch of her book about an incident in Angola in 1977, I was in a dilemma. Loyalty to an old friend contended with the certainty that almost no one would want to waste an evening discussing an obscure massacre 37 years ago in Angola, a country we talk about infrequently. How wrong was I? When we held the launch it was standing room only. We had a fascinating evening as Lara and other Angola-watchers peeled away decades of lies, buried by Angola’s rulers, plastered over by partisan journalists and sealed with Marxist jargon. The incident was finally opened up and discussed bluntly at SOAS. The story is simple: on May 27 1977 several demonstrators in Luanda were shot in what was officially described by the ruling MPLA as a coup attempt. In the next few weeks thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of Angolans were arrested and executed. The incident has been wiped from the official Angolan memory. Africa Argument
Has pan-Africanism undermined nation building?
‘We want Africans to colonise Africa,’ Ethiopian academic Mammo Muchie declared at the recent African Unity for Renaissance Conference in Pretoria organised by the Africa Institute, other NGOs and the South African government. Muchie said Tanzania’s founding president, Julius Nyerere, had dismissed his own country – and most others on the continent – as a colonial creation, and insisted: ‘Don’t call me a Tanzanian, call me an African.’ ‘If we all do that, we will colonise Africa,’ the enthusiastic Muchie concluded, saying that pan-Africanism was the only way to erase the national borders drawn by the colonial powers. He lamented that Africans were still dying defending these artificial borders. Muchie was making what might be regarded as the limiting case for pan-Africanism. ISS
How to Beat Malaria, Once and for All
MALARIA is a seasonal disease; with tropical rains come the fevers. In the news media, malaria is also seasonal. Every spring around World Malaria Day we hear about its devastating effects, including deaths in the hundreds of thousands. This year the reports were encouraging: Infections have been reduced and many lives saved. In May, researchers reported in Science that yet another potential malaria vaccine may be around the corner. Malaria seems to be on the retreat. But is it really? Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite, transported by a particular type of mosquito from person to person. Preventing mosquito bites by using insect repellents or nets and clothing treated with insecticides can reduce malaria in some areas. And if people are infected, drugs can be used to kill the parasites in their blood. But the mosquitoes are constantly adapting and becoming resistant to the chemicals, while at the same time the parasites are adapting and becoming resistant to the drugs. So the fight against malaria is really a race against time in which we try to develop new treatments before they become ineffective, causing millions to die. The New York Times