United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 18 January 2012

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa for January 18, 2012, along with upcoming events of interest and UN News Service briefs. Of interest in todays clips: -Somalia is the new hotspot on the 'jihadi tourism' trail -U.S pilots tell harrowing story of their crash during Libya campaign -Terror, cyber crime new EAC security threat -Nigeria News: Boko Haram violence has many causes -Algeria troops in Mali to fight Qaeda This message is best viewed in HTML format. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: publicaffairs@usafricom.mil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) -------------------------------------------Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa Five Foreign Tourists Killed in Ethiopia (VOA) http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/17/five-foreign-tourists-killed-inethiopia/ 17 January 2012 Gunmen have attacked a group of foreign tourists in Ethiopia, killing at least five people and wounding two more. Somalia is the new hotspot on the 'jihadi tourism' trail (France 24) http://www.france24.com/en/20120117-somalia-al-shabaab-attracts-seekers-jihaditourism-trail-foreign-islamists 17 January 2012 By Leela Jacinto Somalia is hardly an attractive destination, but a former US soldier has just joined the ranks of foreigners trying to join the al Shabaab Islamist group. Why is Somalia gathering so many of the world's wannabe jihadists?

Liberian despot Charles Taylor worked with US intelligence (The Telegraph) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/liberia/9021153/Liber ian-despot-Charles-Taylor-worked-with-US-intelligence.html January 17, 2012 By Nick Allen LOS ANGELES -- Charles Taylor, the former Liberian despot charged with war crimes, worked with American intelligence agencies during his rise to power, the US government has confirmed. U.S pilots tell harrowing story of their crash during Libya campaign (CNN) http://www.local10.com/news/U-S-pilots-tell-harrowing-story-of-their-crash-duringLibya-campaign/-/1717324/8265930/-/yehx6j/-/ January 17, 2012 By Barbara Starr CNN Pentagon Correspondent (CNN) - The U.S. aerial bombing campaign over Libya was just two days old last March when F-15 pilot Maj. Kenneth Harney and Capt. Tyler Stark got their mission -- conduct airstrikes against Moammar Gadhafi's forces near Benghazi. Clinton urges Ivory Coast dialogue (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/17/world/africa/ivory-coast-clinton/index.html January 17, 2012 By the CNN wire staff ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the leader of Ivory Coast for progress made toward peace Tuesday but urged greater dialogue with the opposition to heal the wounds of a deadly political crisis. Russia Claims U.S. Interest in Country Motivated By Oil (All Africa) http://allafrica.com/stories/201201170235.html January 17, 2012 By Toby Collins Sudan Tribune/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX News Network) -- Russian state media claim that the US backed the secession of South Sudan and offers it military support because it wants the nascent state's oil. Terror, cyber crime new EAC security threat- Kiraso (Daily Nation) http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1308642/-/8rlw2x/-/index.html January 17, 2012 By Lucas Barasa Terrorism, kidnappings and cyber-crime are the new forms of insecurity threatening the five East African Community member states. Nigeria News: Boko Haram violence has many causes (Global Post) http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/120112/nigeria-bokoharam-and-counterterrorism-west-africa

January 17, 2012 By Vanda Felbab-Brown and James J.F. Forest Opinion: Nigeria should respond to Boko Haram's violence with better governance Nigeria is confronted with two major crises: the angry anti-government protests sparked by fuel price hikes and the Islamic extremist terror attacks by Boko Haram. Together the problems threaten to pull the country apart. President Goodluck Jonathan warns of civil war. Yet many say the cause of the problems is bad government. A look at the root causes of Nigeria's troubles and the way forward for Africa's most populous country. Al Qaeda kidnaps Algerian governor hostage - sources (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE80G0PG20120117?feedType=RSS&fe edName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Fee d%3A+reuters%2FAFRICAWorldNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+World+New s%29 January 17, 2012 By Christian Lowe and Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - A kidnapped Algerian regional governor has been freed after his captors were intercepted inside Libya, officials said on Tuesday, an incident that will raise new concerns about instability spilling over from Libya to its neighbours. Algeria troops in Mali to fight Qaeda (News24) http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Algeria-troops-in-Mali-to-fight-Qaeda-20111220 January 17, 2012 By SAPA BAMAKO -- Algerian troops have crossed into Mali to help government forces combat groups affiliated to al-Qaeda, officials and witnesses said on Tuesday. Mali army 'bombs Tuareg rebels, four arrested' (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/mali-army-tuareg-rebels-clash-over-northern-town101730523.html January 17, 2012 By Serge Daniel Malian army helicopters on Tuesday bombed a rebel Tuareg position, forcing them to withdraw after an attempt to seize control of the northeastern town of Menaka, military officials said Tuesday. ### UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA (Full Articles on UN Website) Ban calls for more cross-border cooperation in Central Africa to target new threats 16 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an increase in cross-border cooperation among Central African States to deal with new threats in the region, which

include piracy, human trafficking and the proliferation of light weapons along major roadways linking countries. Cte dIvoire: UN relief official reviews situation nine months after poll violence 16 January A senior United Nations relief official is in Cte dIvoire to assess the humanitarian situation after the bloody post-electoral crisis that rocked the country early last year and draw international attention to remaining challenges. UN official reports greater stability in West Africa, but progress remains tenuous 16 January Political stability is taking root in West Africa, a senior United Nations envoy told the Security Council today, cautioning, however, that progress remains tenuous and could be undermined by developments such the presence of an extremist group in Nigeria or the recent disturbances in Guinea-Bissau where soldiers reportedly tried to seize weapons. ### Upcoming Events of Interest: JANUARY 18, 2011 WHEN: 7:30 9:00 a.m. WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace Discussion on A Year of Turmoil: The Arab Awakening and the Path Ahead. Speakers: Stephen Hadley, Discussant, Senior Adviser for International Affairs, U.S. Institute of Peace; Marwan Muasher, Discussant, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Steven Heydemann, Moderator, Senior Adviser for Middle East Initiatives, U.S. Institute of Peace WHERE: Reserve Officers Association, One Constitution Avenue, NE CONTACT: 202-457-1700; web site: www.usip.org SOURCE: USIP event announcement at: http://www.usip.org/events/year-turmoil WHEN: 8:30 9:30 a.m. WHAT: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Discussion on What to Worry About in 2012. At this meeting, experts will discuss their respective organization's assessments of the risks and possible crises for the 2012. Read the survey: http://www.cfr.org/conflict-prevention/preventive-priorities-survey2012/p26686. Speakers: David F. Gordon, Head of Research and Director of Global Macro Analysis, Eurasia Group; Mark L. Schneider, Senior Vice President, International Crisis Group; Paul B. Stares, General John W. Vessey, Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action, Council on Foreign Relations; Presider: James M. Lindsay, Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations WHERE: CFR, 1777 F St, NW CONTACT: Lucy Dunderdale at DCPressRSVP@cfr.org or 202-509-8525; web site: www.cfr.org

SOURCE: CFR WHEN: 8:30 9:45 a.m. WHAT: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) Discussion on Egypt's Military Custodianship. Speakers: Yezid Sayigh and Marina Ottaway. WHERE: CEIP, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW CONTACT: 202-483-7600; web site: www.carnegieendowment.org SOURCE: CEIP event announcement at: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/2012/01/18/egypt-s-military-custodianship/8ypb

JANUARY 19, 2011 WHEN: 10:00 11:30 a.m. WHAT: Brookings Institution Discussion on U.S. Aid and Transparency for Global Development. Speakers: Introduction and Moderator: Noam Unger, Fellow, Global Economy and Development; Keynote Address by Rajiv Shah, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; Panelists: Karin Christiansen, Director, Publish What You Fund; George Ingram, Co-Chair, Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network; and Daniel Kaufmann, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Development Assistance and Governance Initiative. WHERE: Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW CONTACT: 202-797-6105; web site: www.brookings.edu SOURCE: Brookings Institution event announcement at: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2012/0119_aid_transparency.aspx ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULLTEXT

Five Foreign Tourists Killed in Ethiopia (VOA) http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/17/five-foreign-tourists-killed-inethiopia/ 17 January 2012 Gunmen have attacked a group of foreign tourists in Ethiopia, killing at least five people and wounding two more. Ethiopian state television says at least one tourist survived the attack unharmed. It took place Monday in the northeastern Afar region, near the border with Eritrea. The broadcast

cited the defense ministry as the source of the report and suggested the attackers were rebels with ties to Eritrea. Although the nationalities of the tourists were not confirmed, there are reports they were European, and that some of those killed were German. The German foreign ministry says it is working with its embassy in Ethiopia to investigate the report. Ethiopia often accuses its neighbor of supporting militant groups inside its borders. Eritrea, once a part of Ethiopia, gained its independence in 1991 after a 30-year battle. The two Horn of Africa countries later fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, and tensions remain high. The Afar region has ancient salt mines, hot springs and volcanoes that entice many sightseers. In 2007, a group of European tourists was kidnapped there, but they were later released. ### Somalia is the new hotspot on the 'jihadi tourism' trail (France 24) http://www.france24.com/en/20120117-somalia-al-shabaab-attracts-seekers-jihaditourism-trail-foreign-islamists 17 January 2012 By Leela Jacinto Somalia is hardly an attractive destination, but a former US soldier has just joined the ranks of foreigners trying to join the al Shabaab Islamist group. Why is Somalia gathering so many of the world's wannabe jihadists? As international destinations go, Somalia has been off-the-charts for more than two decades. With no effective central government and a mindboggling array of clans, militias, Islamists and pirates, this Horn of Africa nation has turned into the farthest thing from paradise on earth. Except if you're on the jihadi tourism trail, scouting for the perfect terrorism training spot. The term jihadi tourism first appeared in news reports in late 2010, when US diplomatic cables, revealed by WikiLeaks, quoted a US diplomat in East Africa worrying about a certain amount of so-called jihadi tourism' to southern Somalia. In a January 2010 cable on a classified meeting, then UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah warned that Somalia was turning into an incubator for terrorists, including those holding US, United Kingdom and European passports.

But when it comes to Somalia, it's easier to overlook the latest threat from a country that has turned into a byword for a failed state than to actually do something about it. In another leaked cable, for instance, senior British officials dismissed a request for peacekeeping troops with a terse, there is not enough peace to keep in Somalia". Making the journey to an Islamic land' Peace has not come to this East African nation, but right now, there are plenty of African troops fighting in the al Shabaab strongholds of southern and central Somalia. The Islamist group ceded territory to African Union troops in the Somali capital of Mogadishu last year. In mid-October, Kenya launched a military operation in southern Somalia, which was followed by an Ethiopian incursion in November. Despite the onslaught, al Shabaab is by no means a spent force. In the face of superior firepower, the Islamist group has been employing hit-and-run tactics, slowing down the Kenyan military advance. As for the jihadi tourism trail, it shows no sign of drying up. If anything, a recent slew of reports suggest that US and European nationals are still responding to al Shabaab's recruitment drives. Shortly before Christmas, Jermaine Grant, a British national, was apprehended in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa and charged with possessing explosive materials and plotting to explode a bomb. Grant's arrest came as Kenyan authorities issued an arrest warrant for another British national, Natalie Faye Webb, who is believed to have links to al Shabaab. Meanwhile in the US, prosecutors in Maryland charged a former US soldier last week with attempting to join and provide material support to al Shabaab. In a nine-page criminal affidavit, US prosecutors alleged that Craig Baxam, a 24-year-old convert to Islam, had traveled to Kenya, from where he intended to reach al Shabaab territory in neighbouring Somalia. Baxam was arrested in Kenya before being put on a plane back to the US, where he's currently facing trial. According to the affidavit, the Maryland native had no real religious affiliation until he discovered Islam on a religious Web site. He quit the US army in July 2011, shortly after converting to Islam. The affidavit notes that Baxam wanted to make his hijra [or migration to an Islamic land] to Somalia to defend Sharia law under Al-Shabaab. [sic] Somalia competes with Pakistan as a jihadi destination

Until fairly recently, Somalia was an easy destination on the jihadi tourism trail, according to Katherine Zimmerman of the Washington DC-based American Enterprise Institute. Unlike Afghanistan and Pakistan, there wasn't much of a foreign military presence there. Travel to Somalia was easy, the borders are porous and the flights from Kenya were largely unmonitored, said Zimmerman in a phone interview with FRANCE 24. Once the top destination for disaffected youth seeking jihad, Pakistan's tribal areas these days are difficult for wannabe Western mujahideen to penetrate. Testimonies by Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and David Headley, a Pakistani-American accused of conspiring in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, show that militant groups in the tribal areas are increasingly suspicious of western intelligence infiltration following successful US drone strikes in the region. Somalia, in contrast, is high on the jihadi propaganda list. Al Qaeda repeatedly names Somalia as one of the regions where Muslims are encouraged to fight jihad, said Zimmerman. Americans in Shabaab's top ranks Another encouraging factor is the perception that al Shabaab is an upwardly mobile group with a number of its foreign fighters notably Americans climbing up the organisational hierarchy. In October 2011, al Shabaab released high quality photographs of its militants distributing food aid to famine victims, according to IntelCenter, a US-based organisation that monitors jihadi propaganda. The publicity shots, snapped at a refugee camp south of Mogadishu, featured Ali Mahmud Rage, Shabaab's top spokesman. Standing besides Rage in one of the photographs is a noticeably light-skinned man who used the occasion to address a gathering of local journalists. Known as Abu Abdullah al Muhajir in Shabaab circles, he has been identified by US intelligence officials as Jehad Mostafa, a California native with no ancestral ties to Somalia. Mostafa's nom de guerre is a dead giveaway. Muhajir is the Arabic word for immigrant. In a 2009 report titled Somalia's Divided Islamists, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group noted that al Shabaab ranks were divided into local Somali militants (called ansars) and foreign fighters, known as muhajirin, the plural for muhajir. The report states that the muhajirin is a small, but well-resourced and powerful faction which is the driving force behind al Shabaab's ideological drift to the far extreme.

Unlike the local ansars, who have extensive links within Somalia's clan-based society, the muhajirin pursue a more global al Qaeda style agenda. A rap song for Obama One of al Shabaab's most powerful muhajirin is the US-born Omar Hammami, also called Abu Mansoor al Amriki (the American) who was profiled by The New York Times in 2010. Al Amriki is believed to come up with Shabaab's battle plans and he is one of the group's most prolific figures on jihadist media circles with videos featuring the Alabama native rapping messages such as How dare you to US President Barack Obama. Like a number of al Qaeda militants, al Amriki's current status has been a matter of much dispute in the past. In July 2011, a Somali news site reported that he had been killed in a Predator attack in the Jubba region of southern Somalia. But al Amriki has been declared dead before and he once even released a song mocking the reports of his death. A war of words on Twitter Experts note that al Shabaab's media output is among the most sophisticated among al Qaeda affiliates. Following the Kenyan military operation, the group took its message on Twitter, barraging the microblogging site with minute-by-minute updates. The group's Twitter handle, @HSMPress (short for the group's official title, Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen) has been putting out feeds in English that are invariably grammatically perfect, sometimes witty and often taunting. In recent months, security experts have been unwittingly amused by a war of words on Twitter between al Shabaab militants and Kenya's army spokesman, Major Emmanuel Chirchir [@MajorEChirchir] refuting and deriding each other's military updates. @MajorEChirchir Your boys are a grotesque parody of an army! They can outpace ur world-class runners by far. Indeed, they Run like a Kenyan,' tweeted @HSMPress recently. While much of Shabaab's messages feature jihadist bluster and exaggerated battle claims, the idioms and turn of phrase certainly sound like the messenger is an American. But like many experts, Zimmerman refuses to be drawn into a guessing game of who is behind al Shabaab's recent tweets. I don't know who is managing al Shabaab's Twitter account, but I can say that it's someone with a good command of the language and the feed is extremely prolific and interactive.

While it's still too early to say if the current Kenyan and Ethiopian military operations in Somalia have weakened Shabaab as an organisation, many experts believe the latest onslaughts can be used as an effective propaganda tool to recruit more foreign jihadists. The fighting in Somalia is being labeled as a true jihad' and it certainly feeds into the al Shabaab rhetoric of resistance and protecting Somalia from a Christian invasion, said Zimmerman, noting that Shabaab views Ethiopia and Kenya as Christian nations. It's the sort of discourse that has aided al Shabaab's foreign recruitment drives in the past and chances are it will continue to attract seekers on the jihadi tourism trail. ### Liberian despot Charles Taylor worked with US intelligence (The Telegraph) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/liberia/9021153/Liber ian-despot-Charles-Taylor-worked-with-US-intelligence.html January 17, 2012 By Nick Allen LOS ANGELES -- Charles Taylor, the former Liberian despot charged with war crimes, worked with American intelligence agencies during his rise to power, the US government has confirmed. Taylor, the first ever African head of state to face an international tribunal, has been indicted for fomenting a bloody civil war in the neighbouring West African country of Sierra Leone which claimed some 120,000 lives in the 10 years to 2001. He has been accused of terrorising civilians, recruitment of child soldiers, accepting "mayonnaise jars" stuffed with diamonds, and even cannibalism. Rumours of CIA involvement in his brutal career were fuelled in July 2009 when Taylor himself told his trial, at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, that US agents helped him escape from a jail in Boston in 1985 and provided arms for a planned coup in Liberia. That suggestion was initially denied by the CIA as "completely absurd." But the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's spy arm, has now disclosed that its agents, and those of the CIA, did work with Taylor from the early 1980s. The confirmation came in a response to a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Boston Globe newspaper. Pentagon officials disclosed that US connections with Taylor were contained in at least 48 secret documents compiled over several decades, but declined to give any further details about the exact length or nature of the relationship.

According to former intelligence officials Taylor could have been considered useful in the 1980s for collecting information on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and attempts by the Soviet Union to gain influence in Africa during the Cold War. Before becoming one of the world's most notorious and brutal rulers Taylor had been a student at Bentley College, just outside Boston, from 1972 to 1977. He earned a degree in economics. He first came to the attention of authorities in the US when he was arrested during a protest outside the Liberian Mission in New York in 1979. Taylor, who was born in Liberia, supported a coup in his home country by Samuel Doe the following year and joined the new government. He then fled back to the US after being accused of embezzling almost $1 million, and began fighting extradition to Liberia from a maximum security jail in Plymouth, Massachusetts. According to Taylor himself, he then received help from the CIA. He told the Special Court for Sierra Leone that a plan was hatched for him to join another planned coup in Liberia, headed by military leader Thomas Quiwonkpa. Taylor claimed he was "100 per cent positive" the CIA was providing the weapons. He claimed a guard at the jail came to his cell late at night, opened the door and took him to a window where sheets were tied to the bars allowing him to climb down. According to his version a "Government car" then drove him to New York, before he made his way to Mexico on his own passport. News reports suggested he had escaped from the jail. The Quiwonkpa coup failed and, according to Taylor, the would-be leader's "flesh was eaten by the military leaders at the time." After undergoing training in Libya under Gaddafi, Taylor founded the National Patriotic Front of Liberia and after engaging in civil war became president in 1996. During the Sierra Leone civil war that followed Revolutionary United Front rebels, described as Taylor's "surrogate army", mutilated thousands of civilians. Taylor is accused of funding atrocities there in return for "blood diamonds." The former leader, who has compared himself to Jesus, denies the charges. ### U.S pilots tell harrowing story of their crash during Libya campaign (CNN) http://www.local10.com/news/U-S-pilots-tell-harrowing-story-of-their-crash-duringLibya-campaign/-/1717324/8265930/-/yehx6j/-/ January 17, 2012

By Barbara Starr CNN Pentagon Correspondent (CNN) - The U.S. aerial bombing campaign over Libya was just two days old last March when F-15 pilot Maj. Kenneth Harney and Capt. Tyler Stark got their mission -- conduct airstrikes against Moammar Gadhafi's forces near Benghazi. Harney would pilot the F-15 in the front seat. Stark, a weapons system officer on his first combat mission, was in the back. In exclusive interviews with CNN, for the first time both men told their harrowing story of what happened that night when their plane crashed. They had not been permitted by the Air Force to talk until a months-long investigation was recently completed. The two sat down with CNN at their home base in Lakenheath, England. Harney says when he woke up on the morning of March 21, he quickly got over a few anxious feelings about the mission that night. "There's obviously a little bit of nerves in the back of the stomach -- it's kind of like you're going out for that big football or basketball game and you're like, wow, this is it. This is the big leagues and I'm going to be flying in combat tonight." But once they starting flying from their takeoff base in Aviano, Italy, they quickly got down to business. After dropping their 500 pound bomb, they turned back for Italy. Suddenly the aircraft spun out of control. It was about to become the most tense hours of the entire U.S. mission over Libya. Harney described what its like to pilot an F-15 out of control. "Very much like if you were driving you're car down the road and you hit a patch of ice and your car starts spinning. That's exactly what our aircraft at that point was doing." Stark said his first thought was "This is really happening?" As the plane kept falling, Harney made the call: "Mayday, mayday, mayday," and both men knew they were about to conduct one of the most risky moves in the U.S. military -ejecting from an out-of-control fighter jet over enemy territory. Harney remembered reaching for the handle on the ejection seat. "You were scared to death when you're reaching down and pulling the handles, but at that point you are facing a life-or-death situation, and you're going to do what you need to do to survive. So you reach down, you pull the handles."

As they fell to Earth in their parachutes, the men were separated and landed in different places -- both hoping they hadn't landed in the middle of Gadhafi's forces. "I was scared. There's no doubt in my mind that I was terrified," Harney says. On the ground, he spent the next three hours on the run, trying to hide and radio his position to U.S. planes overhead. The Marines flew in a rescue team. Harney wanted no mistakes. "As the Osprey (helicopter) starts to put down, I kind of slow my sprint but I'm running towards it. And I see the Marines jump out off the back. My next instinct is, I don't want them to shoot me. I want to look as non-threatening. So I put my hands up in the air, hoping they don't come at me very hostile at this point. "At that point I don't care if they put me in cuffs. I don't care if they throw a bag over my head. I know I just want to be on that helicopter, because that is U.S. forces, and I know I'm going to be going home." Stark wound up in the field, possibly in big trouble. Two vehicles approached his hiding place, shining their lights. He heard a voice speaking in English:"American come out -we are here to help." Stark had no choice. "I get up and put my hands up and start walking to the voice," he said. "Once I get there, my impression is, OK you have to assume that they are the bad guys." Stark was driven to a nearby building, still very much on his guard, not knowing if he had been captured, or if those were friendly rebel forces. But when he was taken into a room, "There is a half circle of locals and I'm thinking this is going to go one of two ways. Either this is where the beatings are going to start or this is where I am going to get a lot of help. Fortunately I walked into the room and got a round of applause" There was one last problem, With the stress Stark can't remember the number to call in the UK for rescue, so, he calls his father, from Libya. "In the age of cell phones, whose number do you know off the top of your head? Well, your parents. So I called him up, spoke with my dad and said, 'Hey, I need you to make a call for me.'" ### Clinton urges Ivory Coast dialogue (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/17/world/africa/ivory-coast-clinton/index.html

January 17, 2012 By the CNN wire staff ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the leader of Ivory Coast for progress made toward peace Tuesday but urged greater dialogue with the opposition to heal the wounds of a deadly political crisis. It's a "historic moment" for the Ivory Coast, Clinton said during a press conference with President Alassane Ouattara, who welcomed her to the presidential palace in the nation's commercial capital, Abidjan. Clinton's visit -- the first by a U.S. secretary of state to the west African nation in a quarter of a century -- comes just over a year after contested presidential polls, which led to widespread violence. The former French colony was gripped by a post-election crisis from December 2010 to April 2011 after former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after his defeat in the presidential election of November 2010. The United States was, along with France and the United Nations, a key ally of Ouattara in his conflict with Gbagbo. Gbagbo is now in The Hague, Netherlands, where he is accused of four counts of crimes against humanity for his role in attacks by forces loyal to him on those believed to be supporters of Ouattara, who was recognized internationally as the winner of the 2010 election. Prosecutors say more than 3,000 people died in the post-election violence. Parliamentary elections held in Ivory Coast in December were calm, but Gbagbo's Front Populaire Ivoirien boycotted the vote, saying Ouattara's government was fostering a climate of terror. Speaking alongside Ouattara, Clinton expressed her "admiration for the progress achieved and gradual return to normality, which is a bearer of hope for peace and security." But she also struck a warning note, saying reconciliation is needed. "Securing these gains for democracy, prosperity and security -- for people around here and for your neighbors -- will require much work," she said. "It will be particularly important to include all voices, including those that are discordant, for the purpose of the political dialogue."

"We trust, President (Barack) Obama and myself, that the Ivory Coast may be again the engine of economic growth for Ivorian people, but also for the entire region," the secretary of state added. Rights group Amnesty International has said that crimes were committed by forces loyal to both sides in the post-election conflict, and has urged Ouattara's government not to allow a culture of impunity. "Amnesty International has repeatedly called upon the Ivorian authorities and the (International Criminal Court) prosecutor to investigate all crimes under international law committed by all parties," the right group said in a statement in November. "The organization has documented crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearances, torture and crimes of sexual violence committed in the country, in particular between 2002 and May 2011." In Abidjan Tuesday, Ouattara spoke of his government's "firm determination to build a rule of law, impartial justice with respect for human rights." Ouattara said Ivory Coast would carry out reforms to the cocoa producing sector, in which the United States has a big stake, by the end of the month. Ivory Coast is the world's leading cocoa producer. Ouattara said he and Clinton had held a "full discussion" on international diplomatic issues, as well as the position of the African continent on the world stage. Addressing Clinton, he said, "You, and we, believe that peace is essential for the Ivory Coast to the African continent and the world." While the Ivory Coast now enjoys peace, he said, building a strong relationship with the United States would help it meet the many challenges still ahead. Ouattara was welcomed by Obama at the White House in July 2011, along with the presidents of Niger, Guinea and Benin, in recognition of democratic processes in those countries. Clinton was in Liberia on Monday, where she attended the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She left the Ivory Coast early Tuesday afternoon to conclude her mini-tour in Togo and Cape Verde. The first U.S. secretary of state to visit Togo, Clinton met with President Faure Gnassingbe in Lome "to demonstrate U.S. support for Togo's democratic progress and economic reforms," the State Department said.

Togo was elected a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations last year. ### Russia Claims U.S. Interest in Country Motivated By Oil (All Africa) http://allafrica.com/stories/201201170235.html January 17, 2012 By Toby Collins Sudan Tribune/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX News Network) -- Russian state media claim that the US backed the secession of South Sudan and offers it military support because it wants the nascent state's oil. Mouthpiece for the Russian Ministry of Defence, Krasnaya Zvezda (KZ), published an article on 12 January claiming the US administration has sent five senior military advisers to Juba for "information gathering, strategic planning and development of military operations" [translation] and has approved the sale of military equipment to South Sudan. The US has been a vocal proponent of South Sudan, a oil-rich state which gained its independence on 9 July 2011. KZ claim that US president, Barack Obama, wrote to secretary of state, Hilary Clinton stating that the sale of arms to South Sudan is in the security interests of the US. KZ's suggestion that "Western companies have almost absolute control over the oil resources of the country" [translation] is less plausible as the dominance of the Sudanese and South Sudanese oil sectors by Eastern companies is well documented. However, it is probable that Western companies intend to stake a claim in the South Sudanese oil sector. KZ cite the deployment of 7,000 UN peacekeepers in South Sudan and the 100 US Special Forces troops assisting the Ugandan army in the fight against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) as indicative of the US intention to stake a claim in the state. The US pays the lion's share of the UN's budget and is one of the organisations most significant players. The LRA is a militia hailing from northern Ugandan. Their demands and agenda have become amorphous; which has impeded negotiations. They have been the scourge of the region, including South Sudan, for a decade and previous attempts to kill or capture the LRA leader, who has an International Criminal Court warrant against his name, have failed.

The Russian article was picked up by state media, Sudanese Media Centre, keen to highlight instances of anti-South Sudanese and American sentiment in the international press. Relations between Sudan and Russia are cordial. Russia officially backed that April 2010 elections which received widespread international support and there are allegations that it has broken international trade embargoes by supplying Sudan with arms. Reports of a secret meeting between the Russian envoy to Sudan and a South Sudanese delegation in Israel, ahead of the country's secession, did not allude to its content. ### Terror, cyber crime new EAC security threat- Kiraso (Daily Nation) http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1308642/-/8rlw2x/-/index.html January 17, 2012 By Lucas Barasa Terrorism, kidnappings and cyber-crime are the new forms of insecurity threatening the five East African Community member states. Addressing the joint meeting of the region's councils on Cooperation in Defence, InterState Security and Foreign Policy Coordination at the Arusha International Conference Centre in Tanzania Monday, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation Beatrice Kiraso said such threats undermine the proposed regional integration as well as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Instability at our borders have negative spill effects on our people and economic integration as we face new set of menaces including money laundering, human trafficking, illicit drugs as well as fire-arms trafficking, said Ms Kiraso. She was responding to concerns raised by most of the delegates regarding the insecurity in Somalia and how it is likely to jeopardise the stability of EAC member states of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. Representatives from Kenya were mostly concerned with the instability and lack of functioning government in Somalia, pointing out that their country which directly borders the Horn of Africa state is at risk. The meeting is expected to sign a final draft of the EAC Protocol on Peace and Security on Friday.

According to Ms Kiraso, the draft Protocol was adopted by the EAC Council of Ministers and referred to the meeting for conclusion of policy guidelines on counter terrorism, piracy as well as detention, custody and rehabilitation of offenders. The meeting is also considering the drafting of EAC Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (CPMR) framework and progress on the development of the EAC early warning mechanism. The CPMR framework includes initiatives on conflict prevention, making early warning an integral part. It also provides for mechanisms of managing and resolving conflicts, when they occur and establishes a panel of eminent persons, who will serve as peace envoys or mediators. On the CPMR, Ms Kiraso says: "It is high time we, as Africans, develop our own home grown solutions instead of relying upon international agencies." The four-day meeting is also expected to adopt the Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Maritime Security Strategy and Action Plan designed to help combat piracy in the Indian Ocean ### Nigeria News: Boko Haram violence has many causes (Global Post) http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/120112/nigeria-bokoharam-and-counterterrorism-west-africa January 17, 2012 By Vanda Felbab-Brown and James J.F. Forest Opinion: Nigeria should respond to Boko Haram's violence with better governance Nigeria is confronted with two major crises: the angry anti-government protests sparked by fuel price hikes and the Islamic extremist terror attacks by Boko Haram. Together the problems threaten to pull the country apart. President Goodluck Jonathan warns of civil war. Yet many say the cause of the problems is bad government. A look at the root causes of Nigeria's troubles and the way forward for Africa's most populous country. WASHINGTON The recent spate of brutal attacks in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the local terrorist group professing allegiance to Al Qaeda, has drawn attention to West Africa as the next battleground against violent global jihad. Senior US officials have expressed concern over connections between Boko Haram and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al Shabaab in Somalia.

But in Nigeria, no less than in Pakistan, a fanatical ideology often cloaks far more local economic and tribal rivalries. This deep rooting in very local political contexts and economic ambitions also hampers the terrorists' efforts at forging pan-African jihad. Although most visible and vicious, Boko Haram is not the only militant group in Nigeria. In the oil-rich south, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) roams the swamps and links up with politicians in the crumbling cities. Nor is Boko Haram Nigeria's only jihadi group. Hisba, a collection of Islamist vigilante gangs, also operates in the north. Both tap into decades of tribal violence among Nigeria's communities, often manipulated by politicians for political gain and profit. The local adoption of Shariah law in 1999 has neither quelled Islamist mobilization in Nigeria's north nor redressed the deep dissatisfaction with socioeconomic conditions and poor governance. Instead, vociferous religious ideology periodically obscures violence driven more by economic factors. For example, migration by the ethnic Hausa Fulani into Yoruba lands has produced conflict. The fact that the Yoruba are predominantly Christians and the Hausa Fulani Muslims matters only secondarily. Rather, the Hausa-Fulani Boko Haram is infusing religion into a long-churning brew of grievances about wealth and power distribution, corruption, and injustice. The Nigerian government has responded poorly not only to the long-standing communal tensions, but also to the specific case of Boko Haram, often ignoring or instigating the former while brutally and indiscriminately overreacting toward the latter. Although Nigeria's police are more capacious than most in West Africa, they overwhelmingly lack intelligence capacity and the ability to either disrupt attacks before they happen or track down real culprits who are at times connected to key local politicians. As in much of West Africa, governance in Nigeria was for decades characterized by predatory rapaciousness of governing elites and incomplete institutional development plaguing everything from rule of law to social services. Political contestation often centered on getting access to the state to control commodity rents, including oil. Governance has been based around tribal, clan, or family loyalties. More than 10 years after the end of the Sani Abacha dictatorship, the attitude that government positions are means to the enrichment of oneself and one's patronage network rather than a service to the overall Nigerian polity has been only slowly changing in Abuja and Nigeria's state capitals. But such parochial interests and loyalties also dominate pan-jihadi cooperation in the region. Although AQIM, Al Shabaab and Boko Haram may communicate over the same jihadi webpages and copy each others' tactics, their global proclamations often clash with their very local interests and necessities.

How successfully outside terrorist groups navigate new territories depends on their understanding of local culture and the complex relationships between politicians, unofficial powerbrokers, and (il)legal economic networks. Crucially, it also depends on their sensitivities to the social constraints and entanglements of their local affiliates. For example, until the emergence of Al Shabaab in Somalia, Al Qaeda struggled to establish a base there and found the Somali clan rivalries to be maddeningly confounding and not conducive to global jihad. Al Shabaab's recent troubles have come precisely from its military and social overreach. Instead of reflexively portraying Boko Haram as a new Al Qaeda affiliate of a monolithic global jihad, US counterterrorism policy needs a more nuanced approach. It should exploit the natural rivalries and misunderstandings among the various terrorist groups and avoid inadvertently driving the often competing and fractious actors together. The United States must be cautious when considering training security forces in West Africa. Some governments there can view counterterrorism and counternarcotics aid as yet another form of rent to be exploited for power and profit maximization, just like they had often seen anti-Communism aid. At worst, such funds can be used for repression of domestic political opposition. Instead of effectively countering terrorism, they may undermine institutional development and accountable governance. Nigeria must move beyond the blunt use of lethal force by improving intelligencegathering and building healthier civil-military relations. Sending tanks to the streets and declaring a state of emergency, as President Jonathan Goodluck did a few days ago, may appease the angry public, but it is not an effective counterterrorism policy. The United States must encourage the Nigerian government to address the political, economic, and religious insecurities that give resonance to Boko Haram's ideology. Finally, the Nigerian government must also empower and protect the many moderate Islamic leaders in the north that have stood up against Boko Haram even while facing assassinations. Ultimately, the real solutions to the Boko Haram menace are local. Vanda Felbab-Brown is a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and James J.F. Forest is Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. ### Al Qaeda kidnaps Algerian governor hostage - sources (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE80G0PG20120117?feedType=RSS&fe edName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Fee d%3A+reuters%2FAFRICAWorldNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+World+New s%29 January 17, 2012 By Christian Lowe and Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS (Reuters) - A kidnapped Algerian regional governor has been freed after his captors were intercepted inside Libya, officials said on Tuesday, an incident that will raise new concerns about instability spilling over from Libya to its neighbours. Two Algerian security sources earlier told Reuters the governor was being held by al Qaeda. Security experts have warned the group is exploiting turmoil in Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi to carve out a safe haven. Algeria's state news agency, citing a source close to the Interior Ministry, said the governor, Mohamed Laid Khelfi, was freed by the Libyan authorities when they stopped his kidnappers about 150 km inside Libyan territory. The agency said the governor would soon be handed over to the Algerian authorities at a nearby border crossing. An Algerian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: "The governor is safe and well. He was freed. That is all I can say for now." The kidnapping, deep in the Sahara desert, was the most audacious attack on a senior official for years in Algeria, which has been fighting a two-decade battle against Islamist insurgents. There was no immediate comment from officials in Libya's interim government on the incident. Khelfi, governor of the Illizi region about 1,700 km (1,000 miles) southeast of the Algerian capital, was driving away from a meeting on the Libyan border on Monday afternoon when three armed men stopped his convoy, the Interior Ministry said. The attackers released his driver and an aide, but took the governor in the direction of the Libyan border, a ministry statement said. He later made telephone contact with his family. The ministry did not identify the kidnappers, saying only they were young Algerian men who were known to the authorities. Two Algerian security officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the governor had been held by al Qaeda's north African branch, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group carries out kidnappings, ambushes and suicide bombings, mainly in Algeria but also in neighbouring states which straddle the Sahara desert.

With backing from Western states, which are concerned the group could spread its activities further afield, Algerian security forces have been able to reduce the insurgency to a small rump of fighters hiding out in remote areas. "DANGEROUS ESCALATION" But the instability in Libya could give AQIM a new lease of life by providing the insurgents with a source of weapons and a safe haven in vast desert tracts which the new Libyan authorities lack the capacity to police. "This (kidnapping) is a very dangerous escalation which shows that the group is feeling secure and strong because of the chaos in Libya," said Samer Riad, a security expert who runs Algeria's numidianews.com news portal. Western diplomats say Algeria is under serious threat from al Qaeda and is an important ally in helping fight the spread of the insurgency. Some security experts say the al Qaeda threat also helps Algeria garner international support. The kidnapping was unusual because in Algeria, governors and all other senior government officials almost always travel with heavy security details, making them a "hard" target, which the insurgents tend to avoid. One of the security officials who spoke to Reuters said the governor had on Monday been at Debdeb, a border crossing with Libya, trying to calm down local protesters angry at unemployment and poor living conditions. Among the protesters were relatives of Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, one of AQIM's leading field commanders in the Sahara desert, the official said. Abu Zeid is believed by many security experts to have ordered the killings of two foreigners kidnapped by his group, Frenchman Michel Germaneau and Briton Edwin Dyer. The security official said that the Illizi governor was kidnapped by local people who had been involved in the protest, and was subsequently handed over to insurgents under the command of Abu Zeid. (Additional reporting by Mahmoud Habboush in Tripoli) ### Algeria troops in Mali to fight Qaeda (News24) http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Algeria-troops-in-Mali-to-fight-Qaeda-20111220 January 17, 2012 By SAPA

BAMAKO -- Algerian troops have crossed into Mali to help government forces combat groups affiliated to al-Qaeda, officials and witnesses said on Tuesday. "Algerian troops are currently stationed in northern Mali to assist the Malian army in the fight against terrorism," a high-ranking military official said. He would not divulge the number of Algerian troops now based in Mali nor the expected length of their stay. "We know there is a team of instructors of at least 15, including officers," a diplomatic source said, also on condition of anonymity. Customs officials said they saw a convoy carrying Algerian military between the northern towns of Kidal and Tessalit, near the Algerian border. Weak link Al-Qaeda-linked groups have been active in Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania for a decade, but their activity has picked up since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi scattered the slain Libyan strongman's arsenal across the region. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a splinter group that surfaced earlier this month - the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa - currently hold 12 European hostages. In April 2010, the four countries formed a Committee of Joint Chiefs (Cemoc), based in the Algerian town of Tamanrasset, to co-ordinate their military efforts against AQIM. Cemoc army chiefs meet every six months but had never yet organised joint patrols, with the smaller countries criticising the group's powerhouse Algeria for failing to send more help. Algiers for its part has complained that Mali was the committee's weak link, blaming Bamako for allowing AQIM to set up bases on its territory and releasing jailed militants in exchange for hostages. A source close to the Malian defence ministry said a meeting between Malian and Algerian top brass was due to take place in Bamako on Wednesday. World security analysts have voiced concern that while "al-Qaeda central" has been weakened in 2011, the group's franchise in Africa could become a new terror hub posing a threat far beyond the four countries currently most affected. ###

Mali army 'bombs Tuareg rebels, four arrested' (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/mali-army-tuareg-rebels-clash-over-northern-town101730523.html January 17, 2012 By Serge Daniel Malian army helicopters on Tuesday bombed a rebel Tuareg position, forcing them to withdraw after an attempt to seize control of the northeastern town of Menaka, military officials said Tuesday. However the rebels said they had seized two military camps and had only withdrawn temporarily to avoid civilian deaths. "We arrested four armed bandits during our counter-attack. Some are lightly wounded," said Lieutenant Habib Togola of the Malian army. "We are in control of the town and reinforcements are making their way to the town." Several sources reported the rebels had withdrawn to a forested area some two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the town. "An army helicopter bombed the armed bandits' position in Menaka. Two of their vehicles have been destroyed by fire," said a military source based in Gao, a town to the west of Menaka which hosts the regional military headquarters. "They (the rebels) fled. Reinforcements are being sent in." He denied statements by the rebels that they had captured two military camps in the town, saying they had been evacuated as a precaution before the arrival of the rebels. A rebel spokesman, Moussa Salam, told AFP: "We are currently in the Menaka military camp, there is no more fighting" Salam said they had withdrawn "to avoid killing civilians" but had returned. He said the attack on the town was led by a Tuareg soldier who had recently deserted from the Malian army. In October three Tuareg officers deserted the army: Colonel Assalath Ag Khabi, advisor to the energy minister, Lieutenant-Colonel Mbarek Ag Akly, who was stationed in western Mali and Commander Hassan Habre, stationed in the north. The Malian army last week boosted its presence in the north, stationing hundreds of men in Tinzawaten, a town near the Algerian border.

The troops passed through the mountainous region of Zackac where rebel Tuareg forces were living, prompting them to abandon their positions and split into three groups. "It is one of these groups which attacked Menaka. We cannot rule out that other groups will attack other towns," the local official warned. Hundreds of armed Malian Tuareg recently returned from Libya where they fought alongside troops of ousted leader Moamer Kadhafi. Their return to the region has raised fears over greater instability in the troubled desert region. Some returnees have accepted a process of integration offered by President Amadou Toumani Toure, but others have retreated into the desert mountains, their intentions unknown. A nomadic community of some 1.5 million people, Tuareg of various tribes are scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Niger and Mali. Mali and Niger experienced uprisings as the Tuareg fought for recognition of their identity and an independent state in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000 with a resurgence between 2006 and 2009. After these rebellions many fighters left for Libya where they were integrated into Kadhafi's security forces. After his fall they returned to northern Mali, particularly the Azawad region between Timbuktu and Kidal. The political wing of the rebel Tuareg is represented by the Azawad National Liberation Movement. However no particular figure speaks for the fighters on the ground. The return of the rebels has added to northern Mali's woes as the region battles Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which has carried out many attacks on troops, kidnappings of Westerners and various trafficking operations, including drugs. Twelve Europeans are being held hostage in the Sahel strip of northwest African nations on the southern edge of the Sahara by AQIM and a new splinter group calling itself the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. ### END REPORT