United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 3 May 2012 USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please see below today's news review for May 3, 2012. Of interest in today's clips: -Army Will Reshape Training, With Lessons From Special Forces -UN Security Council Threatens Sudans with Sanctions -Mali Uprising Proves No Threat to Junta Leader's Vision of Authority -Lt Gen Gutti takes command of AU forces in Somalia U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: publicaffairs@usafricom.mil DSN (314) 421-2687 or commercial +49-(0)711-729-2687 Headline Date Outlet New York Times

Army Will Reshape Training, With Lessons From Special 05/02/2012 Forces

WASHINGTON -- The Army is reshaping the way many soldiers are trained and deployed, with some conventional units to be placed officially under Special Operations commanders and others assigned to regions of the world viewed as emerging security risks, part...

UN Security Council Threatens Sudans with Sanctions

05/02/2012

Voice of America

The U.N. Security Council has threatened Sudan and South Sudan with sanctions if they do not stop fighting and return to the negotiating table to resolve their differences. Significantly, Wednesday's resolution had the support of China and Russia.

Lt Gen Gutti takes command 05/02/2012 of AU forces in Somalia

AMISOM

MOGADISHU - Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, has today taken command of the military component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) following a handover ceremony presided over by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Unio...

Mali Uprising Proves No Threat to Junta Leader's Vision of Authority

05/02/2012

New York Times

BAMAKO, Mali -- This onetime model of African stability remained in a precarious state on Tuesday as the new military junta fought back an attempted countercoup by loyalist troops and asserted victory by day's end.

USS Simpson Concludes Participation in Saharan Express 2012

05/02/2012

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa

USS SIMPSON, Atlantic Ocean -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) concluded their participation in exercise Saharan Express 2012 while underway off the coast of West Africa, April 30, 2012.

US: We're Concerned About 05/02/2012 Attacks on Media, Churches

THISDAY

United States Tuesday said it was concerned about attacks on churches, media and government installations across northern Nigeria which, it said, increasingly target innocent Nigerians.

Libya moves to stop Hague ICC trials for Kadhafi era 05/02/2012 killings

Africa Online

TRIPOLI - Libya has applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) challenging the pending trial of Saif Islam Kadhafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, the son and former spy chief under slain leader Mouammar Kadhafi's regime respectively.

Charles Taylor trial 'a threat 05/02/2012 to Africa'

AFP

MONROVIA - Former Liberian president Charles Taylor's conviction for aiding war crimes in Sierra Leone is a trap for all African leaders, a spokesperson for the Taylor family said on Tuesday.

Coming face to face with Somalia's al-Shabab

05/02/2012

BBC News

Freelance journalist Hamza Mohamed recounts the day he was able to put a human face to the Somali Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, in this article published in the latest issue of the BBC's Focus on Africa magazine.

Indian sailors recount Somali pirate attack

05/02/2012

Washington Post

MUMBAI, India -- The alarm sounded at 6:40 a.m. It could have been a fire or a man overboard. But in the waters off the coast of Oman near the Gulf of Aden, the sound meant one thing to the crew of the Enrica Ievoli: pirates.

UN News Service-Africa Briefs

05/02/2012

UN News Centre

-Somalia: UN expert on human rights urges restoration of justice system -UN trade official encourages expansion of organic farming in Africa -One million children at risk of dying from malnutrition in the Sahel UNICEF

News Headline: Army Will Reshape Training, With Lessons From Special Forces | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: New York Times News Text: By Thom Shanker WASHINGTON The Army is reshaping the way many soldiers are trained and deployed, with some conventional units to be placed officially under Special Operations commanders and others assigned to regions of the world viewed as emerging security risks, particularly in Africa. The pending changes reflect an effort to institutionalize many of the successful tactics adopted ad hoc in Afghanistan and Iraq. And as the Army shrinks by 80,000 troops over the next five years, its top officer, Gen. Ray Odierno, also is seeking ways to assure that the land force is prepared for a broader set of missions and in hot spots around the globe where few soldiers have deployed in the past. General Odierno's initiatives are a recognition that the role and clout of Special Operations forces is certain to grow over coming years, and senior Pentagon policy makers briefed on the plans say they are fully in keeping with the new military strategy announced early this year by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With cuts ordered in the Pentagon budget and cognizant of public exhaustion with large overseas deployments the military will focus on working with partner nations to increase their capabilities to deal with security threats within their borders. The goal would be to limit the

footprint of most new overseas deployments. Those scenarios would reflect a shift from conventional forces to Special Operations forces, and General Odierno's plans would increase the support of Army general-purpose units to those types of missions. Creating new sets of formal relationships between Army general-purpose units and the Special Operations Command would be a significant change in Army culture. For more than a generation, the large, conventional Army and the small, secretive commando community viewed each other from a distance, and with distrust. Armor and infantry units trained and operated separately from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency teams. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, changed that. The demands of combining high-end conventional combat and counterinsurgency missions for complementary and overlapping missions in Afghanistan and Iraq pushed conventional and Special Operations forces together. General Odierno, who now serves as Army chief of staff, oversaw many of those tactical initiatives firsthand. He was a division commander in northern Iraq when Saddam Hussein was captured there in a mission that combined armored units and the elite counterterrorism force. And during his tours as the No. 2 and then the top commander in Iraq, he integrated conventional and Special Operations missions on a daily basis. Under the emerging plans, conventional Army units would train alongside Special Operations units, and would deploy with them, under their command, on overseas missions. Other units would remain in the conventional force, but would be told in advance that their deployments would focus on parts of the world, like Africa, that do not currently have Army units assigned to them. This would allow officers and soldiers to develop regional expertise. General Odierno foreshadowed his planning in an essay published last week in Foreign Affairs, in which he wrote that the Army will need to preserve and enhance its relationship with joint Special Operations forces. The evolution of this partnership over the past decade has been extraordinary, and the ties can become even stronger as we continue to develop new operational concepts, enhance our training and invest in new capabilities, he wrote. On the effort to prepare Army units with a regional focus, General Odierno wrote, We must align our forces, both active and reserve, with regional commands to the greatest extent possible. The military's global combatant commanders would guide whether the units focused on highend combat skills, disaster relief or training missions to improve the capability of militaries within partner nations. Regional alignment will also help inform the language training, cultural training and even the equipment that units receive, General Odierno wrote. The first unit to be designated for this new regional orientation will be a full brigade that will train for missions under the command of the military's Africa Command, Army and Pentagon officials said. Formalizing what had been impromptu ties between conventional units and Special Operations forces was a focus of official Warfighter Talks held last February by General Odierno and Adm. William H. McRaven, who leads the Special Operations Command. The Army has held similar, chief-to-chief talks with the other armed services, but it was not the norm with the commando community's top officer. General Odierno and Admiral McRaven have pledged to make the formal dialogue an annual event, according to Army officials.

The Army contributes more than half of all personnel to Special Operations Command. But even as the Army shrinks, its Special Operations personnel roster is slated to grow to 35,000 from 32,000, Army officials said. The conventional force can vastly increase the capability of Special Operations units by providing logistical support to those teams in the field. Transportation, security, medical evacuation, food, fuel and other logistics needs are routinely provided to Special Operations units by the conventional force. More specifically, in Afghanistan today, for example, two conventional Army battalions are assigned in support of Special Operations units carrying out a program called Village Stability Operations, which trains and partners with local security forces. Formal training linking a conventional unit to a Special Operations unit will begin in June at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., Army officials said. The units will join for a training mission that begins at Phase Zero, the time when the military hopes to shape the battlefield in advance of combat, and through completion of the training mission. That style of training will be expanded to the larger desert facility, the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Ca., in the autumn. The training will focus on what the military calls hybrid scenarios, in which a single battle space may require the entire continuum of military activity from support to civil authorities to training local security forces to counterinsurgency to counterterrorism raids to heavy combat.
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News Headline: UN Security Council Threatens Sudans with Sanctions | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: Voice of America News Text: By Margaret Besheer The U.N. Security Council has threatened Sudan and South Sudan with sanctions if they do not stop fighting and return to the negotiating table to resolve their differences. Significantly, Wednesday's resolution had the support of China and Russia. The measure was adopted unanimously, something that was not certain until just before the vote. China, which has extensive oil interests in the two Sudans, and Russia had expressed reservations about threatening sanctions if the two parties did not comply with the resolution's demands. Those demands echo and support an African Union decision from last week. The two sides were given 48 hours to cease all hostilities, including aerial bombardments, and return to the talks within two weeks under African Union guidance to resolve all issues remaining from their separation last July. China's U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong said Wednesday that Beijing is deeply worried about the recent deterioration of relations between Juba and Khartoum and urged both parties to return to talks. China supported the threat of future sanctions in the resolution, but requested that the qualifier as necessary be added to the text. We are always very cautious about the use or threat of sanctions," he said. "In the meantime, China has all along maintained that African issues should be settled by the Africans in African ways. We commend and support the unremitting efforts made by the African Union to promote the settlement of the issues between Sudan and South Sudan and welcome the roadmap

adopted by the African Union in this regard. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin echoed China's concern about sanctions, saying that diplomatic and political avenues have not been exhausted and sanctions are an extreme measure, but he too supported the resolution. The United States, which drafted the resolution, reflected the stance of several Western members of the council, saying the resolution underscores the 15-nation council's strong support for the African Union's roadmap for peace. Ambassador Susan Rice cautioned that the two Sudans have come close to the brink of war and risk turning the clock back to the horrors of their past conflict, in which some two million people died. The United States calls upon both parties to implement fully and without delay all elements of the African Union Peace and Security Council communiqu, starting with an immediate and unconditional cease-fire," she said. "If either or both parties fail to do so, this council stands ready to act and to impose consequences. She added that the goal is not to impose sanctions, but to resolve the conflict. The international community has expressed concern that the two Sudans risk slipping back into war after South Sudan briefly seized and occupied the oil town of Heglig. Juba pulled its forces back after 10 days amid international demands that it do so. Khartoum said it chased the enemy from the town, but only after there had been significant damage to the infrastructure. At Wednesday's meeting, South Sudan Minister of Cabinet Affairs Deng Alor said Juba would comply with the council's resolution. He also appealed to the United Nations to urgently mobilize humanitarian assistance for southern populations affected by the recent clashes and bombings. Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman expressed confidence that AU mediation will resolve the outstanding matters between the two Sudans and said settlement of the conflict needs to remain in African hands.
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News Headline: Lt Gen Gutti takes command of AU forces in Somalia | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: AMISOM News Text: MOGADISHU - Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, has today taken command of the military component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) following a handover ceremony presided over by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra. Ambassador Diarra who was accompanied by the Head of the AU Peace Support Operations Division, Mr. Sivuyile Bam and the AU Focal Point on Somalia, Ambassador Rodney Kiwa commended Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti on his new appointment, saying that his experience and knowledge would be of great benefit to the international effort to restore peace and stability in Somalia. Lieutenant General Gutti, will lead AMISOM troops in the ongoing battle to bring peace and prosperity to the Somali people. With the support of the international community, AMISOM will continue to work towards the restoration of peace and freedom of movement for Somalia in the

near future, which is critical for the progress in the global fight against terrorism and aspirations for regional stability. He said. The new AMISOM Force Commander who has served in the Ugandan military for over 26 years will oversee an expanded AMISOM force, which will include Kenyan, Ugandan, Djiboutian, Burundian and Sierra Leonean forces.He takes over from Major General Fred Mugisha during whose tenure, AMISOM forces helped drive the Al Qaedaaffiliated terror group, AlShabaab, from fixed positions in Mogadishu, ushering in the longest sustained period of relative peace that the Somali capital has had since the collapse of central government in 1991. His appointment comes at a time when AMISOM is expanding across the country having secured the capital. In February, the UN Security Council raised AMISOM's authorized strength to 17,731 troops. Once the process of integrating Kenyan and Sierra Leonean units in south Somalia is complete, the force will have a presence in the regions of Bay, Gedo and Lower Juba in addition to Banadir and Middle and Lower Shabelle. Currently 14,400 AMISOM troops are deployed in Somalia with the recent arrival of an advance party of 100 troops in Baidoa to be soon joined by a further 2,400. AlShabaab is becoming marginalized in Southern Somalia as they have lost ground and the support of the Somali population. Lieutenant General Gutti, commented that the military success of AMISOM has been acknowledged by the current expansion of the mission. He said: AMISOM's military progress is critical to the future of peace in Somalia. Security and stability will enable a wide crosssection of Somali's to engage in the national political dialogue. We will continue working with the Somali Army and affiliated groups to train its soldiers and advance the National Security and Stabilization Plan, an ongoing process parallel to the approval of a draft constitution.
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News Headline: Mali Uprising Proves No Threat to Junta Leader's Vision of Authority | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: New York Times News Text: By Adam Nossiter BAMAKO, Mali This onetime model of African stability remained in a precarious state on Tuesday as the new military junta fought back an attempted countercoup by loyalist troops and asserted victory by day's end. Hours before the revolt broke out Monday, the junta's leader, a youthful American-trained captain named Amadou Haya Sanogo confidently declared a leading role in Mali's future in an interview at his barracks outside Bamako, the capital. There was no hint that his authority would be challenged later in the day, but soldiers were busy building a substantial protective wall in front of the dilapidated two-story military building that is his headquarters. There were sporadic bursts of gunfire on a rainy May Day holiday, but soldiers on the street, diplomats and a high-ranking member of the junta said control had been re-established in Bamako, at least temporarily, after a night of shelling and tracer fire. Key positions the state television station, the airport and the loyalist Djicoroni barracks were under their command, said the soldiers, who appeared calm for the most part. Still, gunfire crackled over the Djicoroni barracks late into the afternoon.

The apparent triumph of Mali's military bosses, less than six weeks after they chased the elected president from his palace overlooking the capital, seemed a further step in the consolidation of their control, despite pledges to restore civilian rule and democracy. It was a show of firepower, capped by the overrunning of the short-lived uprising's center in the Djicoroni barracks. The high-ranking member of the junta, who asked not to be quoted by name, said there had been deaths on both sides, but could not say how many. Captain Sanogo's coup on March 22 caused the immediate collapse of the Malian Army's resistance to nomadic rebel and Islamist forces sweeping across the vast northern half of the country. That area, now outside government control, has been the scene of serious human rights abuses, including rapes, public floggings and amputations, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Monday. The swift breakdown of the armed forces has led, in turn, to questions about the effectiveness of a United States-led regional counterterrorism program that had taken the Malian Army under its wing. Across Bamako, somber black billboards have sprung up, depicting the map of Mali as a giant face shedding tears from its northern half, and with a big question mark planted in its southern section. Refugee accounts gathered by Human Rights Watch and clandestine footage aired on France 2 television depict a vast region of West Africa, including the historic city of Timbuktu, now under the repressive sway of militant Islamist factions like Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Under strong diplomatic pressure, Captain Sanogo was forced to install a president, a prime minister and various ministers in the southern half still under his control last month. And early in April, he made a solemn promise to the regional grouping of West African states, Ecowas, to restore constitutional order. But with the arrests and detentions of 22 leading opposition figures two weeks ago, critics of the junta here have taken to referring to the civilian government as a facade. Ecowas, embarrassed by an old-fashioned African coup d'tat, is eager to push the junta aside, saying it will send troops to assist Mali an offer Captain Sanogo firmly rejected last weekend. Indeed, the captain, leaning forward on a sofa in his office, put his junta he referred to it as the committee front and center in what is to unfold next, proclaiming that without it Mali would find itself in turmoil. He acknowledged that there was no military check on the northern rebellion that has severed the country. And he accused the president he overthrew, Amadou Toumani Tour, who is in exile in Dakar, Senegal, of making common cause with the rebellion, which he likened to treason. Broadly confident and assertive, the captain, a 2010 alumnus of the United States Army's infantry officer basic training course at Fort Benning, Ga., spoke of the service the committee had accomplished in toppling what he called a corrupt, worn-out regime. If this committee disappears, it will create a crisis, Captain Sanogo said. That there is a government at all, it's because of the committee. Unlike other recent West African coup leaders in neighboring Guinea, for instance he did not speak of himself grandiosely in the third person, instead referring often to the collective of the committee. That was a reflection of what diplomats and some opposition figures here say is pressure from troops and junior officers who aided in the coup not to give too much ground to Ecowas and other outside forces. Still, a pro-Sanogo public demonstration was unfolding on the encampment grounds as he

spoke, clearly encouraged by the soldiers. Supporters wore T-shirts bearing the captain's picture, held up signs praising him and shouted derogatory slogans against Ecowas. The crowd made clear that it backed the captain and his men but not the interim government they set up. Asked about the potential role of the junta, Captain Sanogo said, We must just find a little agency, to head things up. He denied he was behind the roundups two weeks ago, saying the arrests were connected to an investigation of secret arms caches. But the political opposition here considered them intimidation, and a clear signal that the junta remained in control. Before he was deposed, Mr. Tour was set to give up power a rarity in West Africa after elections that would have been held this past Sunday. Captain Sanogo was dismissive about what the elections might have brought it would have been the same elements in power and vague about when they might be held. Yet he insisted that it is not political power that interests me. The coup was necessary because now, at least, we have a fresh start, he said. The committee will continue to figure in public life, the captain said, if it is found necessary that we will play a role. And he appeared to have no doubt that such a role would be found.
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News Headline: USS Simpson Concludes Participation in Saharan Express 2012 | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa News Text: By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brian T. Glunt USS SIMPSON, Atlantic Ocean Sailors aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) concluded their participation in exercise Saharan Express 2012 while underway off the coast of West Africa, April 30, 2012. Saharan Express, one of four express series exercises, focused on improving communications and building relationships of West African countries to counter common maritime threats, began in Dakar, Senegal, Aprril 23, where 12 countries' navies, coast guards and army paramedic teams gathered to kick off the maritime training and exercises with a press conference and pre-sail conference, introducing the 10 ship commanders and participants. "The main role of Simpson was to work with the other countries to provide a platform for them to train on, evaluate how they progressed during training and submit feedback," said Ensign Kevin Mullin, Simpson's boarding officer. "It was a really good learning experience to work with the other nations. I think they definitely got something out of it too. The 12 nations that participated in the second Saharan Express are Cape Verde, represented by CV Guardiao; France, represented by FS Tonnere; The Gambia, represented by GNS Taipai; Cote d'Ivoire; Liberia; Mauritania, represented by Limam Elhadrami; Morocco, represented by RMN Bir Anzarane; Senegal, represented by SN Popnguine, SN Ex Conejera and SN Baye Sogul; Sierra Leone; Spain, represented by ESPS Vencedorea; the United Kingdom represented by HMS Dauntless, and the United States, represented by USS Simpson.

During this year's Saharan Express, Simpson acted as a target ship while crewmembers set up different scenarios of illegal fishing, illicit drug trafficking and first aid medical response for the other nation's visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams to board and treat the exercise as they would in an actual situation. "Back in Dakar, the idea of the training was to cross train with our African partners on medical topics that VBSS teams may have to put in effect during a boarding," said Petty Officer 1st Class (FMF) Christopher Tilley, Simpson's Saharan Express medical training mentor. "We had the Senegalese Army paramedics actually instructing the training. They did a very good job. They were concise. They were clear with their instruction and the African nations really walked out of it with the point of the training." While medical and boarding training was conducted in Dakar, Senegal, the underway portion was controlled by the Counternarcotics and Maritime Security (COSMAR) interagency operations center in Praia, Cape Verde. Saharan Express is one of four regional maritime exercises in Africa, an international security cooperation initiative facilitated by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities to improve maritime safety and security in Africa. Simpson, previous to Saharan Express 2012, also participated in a community relations (COMREL) project in Praia, Cape Verde where crewmembers volunteered to paint two classrooms and visit students at the elementary school Escola Lavadoura. "We got out there to show that we are doing more than just helping with maritime enforcement. The kids at the school got to see us go in and help them out," said Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Williford, a volunteer at the COMREL. "We all got to hang out with the kids and play soccer. It was great. Without that participation at the school, the children really wouldn't have known why we were there." Simpson, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate homeported out of Mayport, Fla., continues to conduct theater security cooperation and maritime security operations in the U.S. Naval Forces Africa area of responsibility.
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News Headline: US: We're Concerned About Attacks on Media, Churches | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: THISDAY News Text: By Tokunbo Adedoja The United States Tuesday said it was concerned about attacks on churches, media and government installations across northern Nigeria which, it said, increasingly target innocent Nigerians. Expressing its concerns in a statement issued by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, US also described as disgraceful assault, the attack on church services at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) where two professors and several students were gruesomely killed. Condemning attempts to inflame Christian-Muslim tensions, US expressed support for those who recognise Nigeria's ethnic and religious diversity as one of the country's greatest strengths.

While strongly condemning attacks on innocent civilians in Nigeria, US said, Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who were killed and injured. Also speaking with THISDAY in New York, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, agreed that the Boko Haram challenges had assumed a dangerous trend with the attacks on media offices and places of religious congregation. Campbell, reacting to the attack on THISDAY offices in Abuja and Kaduna, and the attack at church service in BUK said: One is an attack on the freedom of the press, the other is an attack on the freedom of religion. Both must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Noting the dangerous twist in the upsurge of Boko Haram attacks, the former US envoy said, Why THISDAY was attacked, I don't know. THISDAY, of course, is a major Nigerian newspaper with circulation all over the country. Campbell, who had consistently maintained his opposition to calls to designate Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organisation, said the increasing wave of attacks by the sect hadn't changed his position. He said Boko Haram appeared to him as a highly defused organisation, and does not appear to be a tightly organised entity. He suggested that the Boko Haram challenge should be tackled politically, arguing that Nigeria should adopt, a political approach to northern isolation, northern alienation which are the oxygen that Boko Haram is breathing. On recent reports showing a nexus between Boko Haram and Al Qaeda, and whether Nigeria should tackle the Boko Haram challenge the way US had been confronting Al Qaeda, Campbell said: No, I don't think so. I think that any kind of connection that Boko Haram has with groups outside of Nigeria is not transformative. He said he did not believe that such connections, where they exist, shape what Boko Haram is doing. Campbell said, Boko Haram seems to me to be essentially focused on domestic and internal developments in Nigeria.
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News Headline: Libya moves to stop Hague ICC trials for Kadhafi era killings | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: Africa Online News Text: TRIPOLI - Libya has applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) challenging the pending trial of Saif Islam Kadhafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, the son and former spy chief under slain leader Mouammar Kadhafi's regime respectively. Lawyers Professor Philippe Sands, Professor Payam Akhavan and Michelle Butler, have moved to the ICC on behalf of the Libyan government to challenge the admissibility of the case against the two nationals. The lawyers argue that the Transitional National Council (NTC) was responsible for the indictments of the three, including Mouammar Kadhafi, who was killed at the height of the Libyan uprising, which was pronounced a full-scale conflict.

In their challenge to the admissibility of the cases facing the two, the lawyers said Tripoli deserved a chance to show that it was committed to the delivery of justice. This application is brought under Article 19(2)(b) of the Rome Statute, to challenge the admissibility before the ICC of the case concerning Saif Al-Islam and Abdullah Al-Senussi, in accordance with the principle of complementarity, the ICC said. Libyan officials insist the case should not be admitted for trial at the Hague-based Court because the authorities are investigating the two for multiple acts of murder and persecution in pursuit of a state policy, amounting to crimes against humanity. These acts, allegedly committed as part of widespread systematic attack against civilians, include but not limited to crimes committed in Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata, during the period commencing 15 February 2011 until the liberation of Libya. Lawyers in their application challenging the trial of the two at the Hague Court, said the new authorities were committed to post-conflict transitional justice and national reconciliation. It reflects a genuine willingness and ability to bring the persons concerned to justice in furtherance of building a new and democratic Libya governed by the rule of law. The lawyers argued that the Libyans deserved the first chance to try the two for the crimes committed in the country. To deny the Libyan people this historic opportunity to eradicate the long-standing culture of impunity would be manifestly inconsistent with the object and purpose of the Rome Statute, which accords primacy to national judicial systems. They argued that trial of the case in Libya would allow the authorities there to go back into the 42-year period, marked by the abuse of human rights, forced disappearances and an environment where the search for the truth was criminalized. Citing the example of the 1996 killing of 1,200 people at the Abu Salim prison and their secret burial, the state's lawyers said several people were arrested for questioning the whereabouts of those arrested.
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News Headline: Charles Taylor trial 'a threat to Africa' | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: AFP News Text: MONROVIA - Former Liberian president Charles Taylor's conviction for aiding war crimes in Sierra Leone is a trap for all African leaders, a spokesperson for the Taylor family said on Tuesday. "We believe that the trial and subsequent conviction of Mr Taylor is a trap that has been set up for African leaders by Western leaders," Sando Johnson, a Liberian senator, told AFP in Monrovia. Taylor, 64, was found guilty by a special court in the Netherlands on 26 April of war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting Sierra Leonean rebels in exchange for diamonds during their 10-year war.

A sentence is expected on 30 May. The Liberian politician, regarded as the Taylor family's spokesperson, argued that African leaders needed to close ranks and warned that those of them tempted to reach out to Western powers would be made to regret it. Johnson then recounted a rambling parable told by Taylor when he agreed to resign as president in August 2003 before going into exile. The parable centred on three cows - a black, a red and a white cow - who befriend a lion. Having eaten up all the antelopes around, the hungry lion tells the white and red cows that they will be spared if they let him eat the black one. He repeats his trick until the white cow is left alone and gets eaten up too. "You must be careful. Today is Charles Taylor. The black cow is going. The red cow is waiting out there," Taylor said in 2003. The sentence Johnson argued that history had vindicated Taylor's prediction, citing the demise of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and the downfall of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, who is awaiting trial in The Hague. "Who knows, now these three cows have gone maybe another three cows will come. Once African leaders are not firm... the black race is going to suffer because of subjecting ourselves to the whites for little or nothing," he said. Johnson also predicted that the sentence due to be handed out to Taylor at the end of the month would not be heavy. "Mr Taylor is not going to be given a life or death sentence and if he is sentenced, it's not going to be for long years," he said, adding that Taylor's camp was willing to offer redress to Sierra Leone's war victims. "If the people of Sierra Leone decide to demand for compensation from Liberia, I will be one of the leaders to stand up and ensure that Liberia pay that money to the Sierra Leoneans," Johnson said.
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News Headline: Coming face to face with Somalia's al-Shabab | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: BBC News News Text: Freelance journalist Hamza Mohamed recounts the day he was able to put a human face to the Somali Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, in this article published in the latest issue of the BBC's Focus on Africa magazine. There is shelling not far from the hotel where I am staying. At the break of dawn I will be making my way out of Mogadishu and into al-Shabab-controlled Elasha Biyaha, to meet the group's media coordinator. There I will request access to report from areas under al-Shabab's control.

Earlier in the day I made a call to see if the coordinator could meet me the next day. Surprisingly, he agreed to a 09:00 meeting. Al-Shabab are notorious for denying access to foreign media - let alone granting a meeting at such short notice. It is just after 06:00 when Nur, my driver, turns up at the hotel, but there is no sight of Awiil, my fixer. Nur tells me that Awiil, who has a young family, did not want to risk being caught in Somalia's ever-changing front lines. After about 15 minutes of driving at break-neck speed and negotiating two chaotic government checkpoints manned by nervous-looking skinny soldiers, we reach Elasha Biyaha. This is a "pop-up" town that came into being when Mogadishu's residents left the anarchy of the city for the relative calm of its outskirts. Checkpoints and tinted windows In the distance we see a black flag hanging from a dried tree branch. Unlike the previous two checkpoints, there is no heavy presence of soldiers manning this one. It quickly becomes clear that this is one of the frontiers of the conflict: On one side the transitional government and African Union troops and on the other al-Shabab fighters. From the shade of an acacia tree two seemingly teenage boys - the younger-looking one with a shiny AK47 rifle hanging from his left shoulder - wave our 4x4 to the side of the road. What seems to be the elder of the two has a headscarf wrapped around his face. He stands back, letting the younger one approach our car. The tint on our car windows has attracted their attention. In Somalia, most 4x4s are tinted to keep the occupants' profile as low as possible. He is not impressed. Nur acknowledges our "fault" and explains that we have our camera kit on the backseat and leaving expensive gear in a car with non-tinted window in Mogadishu is calling for it to be stolen. In a soft and polite voice, the teenager explains to us that tinting is not allowed and walks towards a house 500 metres away, telling us he is going to seek advice from what we think are his superiors. Nur and I turn to each other asking what other rules we might be breaking. I notice Nur still has his shirt firmly tucked. He quickly untucks it. Out of anxiety, I ask whether the al-Shabab youth might also take exception to my Nike trainers and we both break into nervous laughter. All this time the elder of the two boys is standing not far from our car - listening but not responding to our small talk. After waiting for about five minutes, while replays of press reports of al-Shabab's notoriously harsh justice system run through my head, he comes back and tells us we are free to continue our journey but must wind down the tinted windows.

Beehive of commerce We are at the frontline, but there is no sight of men in trenches. There is also no sight of pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. It is hard to imagine how this very lightly armed checkpoint was stopping the heavily armed government and African Union troops. Perhaps there were more fighters with superior weapons waiting in the nearby bushes. After a short drive we reach the centre of Elasha Biyaha, a beehive of commerce and trade. Unlike the battle-scarred buildings of Mogadishu all the buildings here are new, with their tin roofs glowing in the mid-morning sun. On both sides of the only tarmac road in the town, stores sell goods from matchsticks to sacks of rice. Also noticeably different from Mogadishu is the absence of men with guns in the streets of the town - even though this is a "front line". People stop and stare at us, only for them to smile and resume their activities when I greet them in Somali. We head to the hotel where our meeting is scheduled to take place. We get there in time but there is no sign of our contact. A quick call and we find out to our surprise he is in fact in Mogadishu, a city controlled by government and AU soldiers, attending a funeral for two religious elders who died in the shelling the night before. After two hours' wait a tall, slim figure with a goatee and a broad smile comes walking towards us. With arms outstretched, he says my name and gives me a hug as if I am an old friend. I ask how he picked me out of the crowd in the hotel. He says: "You look like the picture on your Facebook profile." My heart goes into overdrive. How much more could he possibly know about me? What about my Twitter account? Does he read my tweets? After a few seconds of nervous silence, he gives a broad smile and soft pat on my shoulder saying: "Don't worry you look better in real life." Over freshly made mango smoothies, he apologises for not being on time. Probably in his late 20s, he looks nothing like you may imagine a typical Islamist insurgent to be. There are no robes or heavy beards. He is wearing a crisply ironed shirt and trousers with the Islamic scarf loosely resting upon his head, protecting it from the intense morning sun. As the main man of al-Shabab's media campaign you would think he would be escorted by heavily-armed and masked bodyguards - but there are no signs of security or even a pistol for protection.

'No stealing' As we are having drinks he notices I do not wear a wedding ring. The conversation changes to what kind of women I prefer, and why I have not married. He offers to assist me in finding a potential wife and he adds that if I cannot afford the dowry he will happily contribute. I had expected to be asked whether I pray five times a day, not about my taste in women. We talk until the midday call for prayers goes out, and I suggest we go to the mosque. Somalia brings out the fear of God in everyone. Nur and I are used to carrying our kit with us wherever we go, but he suggests we leave it in the car. Remembering that we were told to keep the tinted windows down, I say we are happy carrying the kit with us. He insists, assuring us if anything happened he would personally pay for our kit. After prayers we go to a restaurant for a lunch of boiled camel meat, rice and stew. Between chewing the tough camel meat and the soft basmati rice he gives me the news I have been hoping for - the freedom to report from al-Shabab-controlled areas. We return to our car after lunch; our kit is still there, albeit dusty from the strong wind and in full display to all the locals. "This is an al-Shabab area, nobody touches what's not theirs," the man tells me. As we begin our drive back to Mogadishu he reassures us of our safety. Feeling a bit more confident, I retort with a smile that while this may be true, we cannot be safe from drone strikes.
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News Headline: Indian sailors recount Somali pirate attack | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: Washington Post News Text: MUMBAI, India The alarm sounded at 6:40 a.m. It could have been a fire or a man overboard. But in the waters off the coast of Oman near the Gulf of Aden, the sound meant one thing to the crew of the Enrica Ievoli: pirates. The ship was carrying 15,000 tons of caustic soda from Iran to Turkey when it was hijacked by Somali pirates, who held the 18-man crew hostage for four long months. The seven Indian crew members on board the Italian ship landed in Mumbai on Tuesday. This account of their capture and release is based on interviews with five crew members and two shipping company officials. __ Roopendran Parrakat, 51, had been watching the unidentified boat since he came on duty

shortly before 6 a.m. on Dec. 27. He and two other crew members took turns peering through binoculars at the vessel, which showed up on the Enrica Ievoli's radar as an ominous blip moving far too fast toward their ship. Normally, you get GPS data, Parrakat said. This vessel had no details, no name, nothing. Forty minutes later the captain sounded the alarm, jolting Shantilal Harji Solanki awake. I had a feeling pirates were around, said Solanki, 52, who worked as a mechanic on the ship. He stashed his gold prayer beads in an air conditioning duct before heading up to the ship's bridge, the designated meeting point in case of emergency. The captain told the assembled crew that pirates were approaching. The next hour unfolded in slow motion. A skiff set out from the pirate's mother ship. The crew watched from the bridge as four men in shorts and T-shirts hoisted a ladder and climbed on board. Two carried AK-47s. They fired shots in the air and called themselves pirates. They said they were from Somalia. The pirates came up to the bridge and trained their guns on the captain. They said this boat is hijacked, recalled Solanki. One of the gunmen was shaking. Another man was bleeding, cut on the hand and shoulder by the barbed wire the crew had wrapped around the ship to stave off pirates before entering the dangerous waters. Five more Somalis soon climbed on board. The youngest was 14, the oldest in his fifties. The leader carried a pistol. He was perhaps 55, thin, with a gentle way of talking. He didn't seem dangerous. The men called him Maya. Maya told the crew he didn't want to harm them, that there would be no killing if they got money. The leader told us we are hijacking this vessel for money, said Parrakat. We need this money for our country. We are doing this for our country. Maybe if they'd cut the power, darkened the boat and locked themselves in some hidden room they could have escaped, one member of the crew said. If they'd only had an armed guard on board, none of this would have happened, others said. A helicopter flown in by the Turkish navy in response to the captain's distress call arrived 20 minutes too late. The pirates held the crew in the ship's bridge, a vast room encased in glass at the top of the ship which offered 360 degree views of the surrounding ocean. Half the men got mattresses, the rest slept on blankets. They had to ask permission to go to the bathroom or take a shower. Pirates always escorted them, one man at a time. Photographs were forbidden. The pirates led the crew seven Indians, six Italians and five Ukrainians one by one to their cabins and took anything that could be sold. They stole Solanki's two laptop computers, one of which he'd just bought for his daughter, two cellphones, his watch, his leather shoes and all his money. After a few days, the ship reached Somali waters and the men were allowed to call home.

Solanki called his wife in Diu, an island north of Mumbai, India's financial capital. I told my wife, I am hijacked. Don't worry, we are OK,' he recalled. His two daughters were sobbing too hard to speak clearly. Papa come soon, they said. The crew did not become friends with their captors over the long months of captivity. They barely learned each other's names. The pirates slept separately and ate their own meals. The Somalis brought sheep on board, slaughtering one each day for food. The ship sat in Somali waters day after day. The crew played cards, mostly gin rummy, to fill the empty hours. Some prayed. Solanki, a Hindu, kept Hanuman, the monkey god, and Vishnu, the god of gods, in his mind. You help us, he pleaded. Far away, the crew's fate was being hammered out in intense negotiations between the governments of Italy and Somalia and the owners of the Marnavi shipping company. No one thought of escape. Everyone was afraid for his life, said Parrakat. I can't be faster than a bullet, said Solanki. The Somalis were well organized, operating in concert with other pirates in the region. Once the Enrica Ievoli reached Somali waters, Maya's group handed the vessel over to anther crew of pirates led by a man named Loyan. The pirates communicated with each other by cellphone, or when they fell out of the network, through the ship's satellite phone. Twice the Enrica Ievoli was pressed into pirate service. In January, the ship sailed two and a half days to rescue nine pirates from a failed hijacking. Five of the nine were injured and one had been shot dead by the U.S. Navy, said Solanki. The pirates put the dead body in the freezer and sailed back to Somalia. In March, Loyan ordered the ship to chase a hijacked Spanish vessel whose captain was not following pirate orders. They never found the ship. On April 22, more than 30 pirates, all armed, were aboard the Enrica Ievoli. They wrapped their faces in kerchiefs and cloths, hiding everything but their eyes. They lined the crew up on the deck so they could be seen, alive, from a small white plane that approached around 2:30 p.m. The pirates kept their guns pointed at the backs of the crew as the plane circled above and then dropped three plastic containers, each fitted with a small parachute, into the sea. The pirates scurried off the boat to collect their treasure. A new kind of fear settled on the crew. No one knew how much money was in those containers, but it was clear that the pirates had gotten what they asked for. Until that day, they had reason to keep us alive, Parrakat said. After they got what they wanted, they can do anything. He stayed awake the whole night, listening as the pirates left the ship in small groups.

Around 5 a.m., the last few pirates fired three farewell shots in the air. It was like coming out of jail, Parrakat said, a big smile spreading on his face. The captain called an Italian navy ship patrolling nearby. A helicopter circled as six Italian commandoes boarded the Enrica Ievoli and scoured the ship for any trace of pirates. When the Italian commandoes came, we felt OK, fine, we are going home, Solanki said. He took his prayer beads out of the air conditioning duct. The plane that brought Solanki and six other Indian crew home touched down in Mumbai as the sun rose Tuesday. The men were greeted with garlands of flowers. Solanki called his wife. I told her, I'm back in India. She said, OK, OK,' he said. Solanki bowed his head with great dignity, trying to hide his tears. He plans to have some jewelry made for her before he flies home, he said.
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News Headline: UN News Service-Africa Briefs | News Date: 05/02/2012 Outlet Full Name: UN News Centre News Text: Somalia: UN expert on human rights urges restoration of justice system An independent United Nations expert today urged Somalia's authorities to restore a legitimate justice system in the capital, Mogadishu, and in the country's southern and central regions, with assistance from the international community. UN trade official encourages expansion of organic farming in Africa Expanding Africa's shift towards organic farming will have beneficial effects on the continent's nutritional needs, the environment, farmers' incomes, markets and employment, the deputy head of the United Nations trade and development body said today. One million children at risk of dying from malnutrition in the Sahel UNICEF At least one million children are at risk of dying of malnutrition in the central-western part of Africa's Sahel region due to a drought crisis, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today, adding that more resources are urgently needed to help those in need.
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