United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

25 May 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

Congolese battalion trained with purpose, but armed mostly with promises (Stars
and Stripes)
(Congo) The oppressive afternoon sun was still hours away, but by mid-morning the
men in this American-trained battalion of Congolese soldiers were already exhausted.

Reid: Senate not to vote on Libya resolution this month (CNN)

(Libya) The exact timing of a Senate vote on a resolution to back U.S. military action in
Libya is not decided, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday, adding the vote
would not come this month.

NATO Bombs Libyan Capital in Heaviest Strikes Yet (NYT)

(Libya) In the heaviest attack yet on the capital since the start of the two-month-old
NATO bombing campaign, alliance aircraft struck at least 15 targets in central Tripoli
early Tuesday, with most of the airstrikes concentrated on an area around Col.
Muammar el-Qaddafi’s command compound.

Exclusive: Libya's Ghanem may be on secret government mission (Reuters)

(Libya) Top Libyan oil official Shokri Ghanem has not defected, contrary to widespread
reports, and is secretly working for Muammar Gaddafi to maintain ties with big oil
companies, sources at western firms said.

Tunisian army fires tear gas at Libya border (AP)

(Tunisia/Libya) Tunisian troops fired tear gas and warning shots on Tuesday to stop
fighting between local residents and refugees at a camp on the border with Libya.

West Africa Rising: Ivory Coast recovering from season of violence (Christian Science
Monitor)
(Ivory Coast) It’s now been six weeks since Laurent Gbagbo, the erstwhile president of
Ivory Coast, emerged in his undershirt from a bunker beneath the presidential palace in
Abidjan, ending a four-month standoff that claimed 3,000 lives and ground the
country’s economy to a halt.

South Sudan Accuses Khartoum of Depopulation Campaign in Abyei (VOA)

(South Sudan) South Sudan is accusing the Khartoum government of waging a
campaign to depopulate southerners from the contested Abyei region and replace them
with nomads loyal to the north. Control of the oil-producing area is at the heart of a
bitter argument as Africa’s largest country prepares to divide into two in early July

Sixth and seventh Somalis enter guilty pleas in piracy trial (CNN)
(Somalia) After cruising the high seas for nine days, a young crew of Somali and
Yemeni pirates spotted a U.S.-flagged yacht and boarded the vessel unbeknownst to its
sleeping passengers in the hopes of cashing in on a big ransom, according to a court
statement of facts.

Aid Groups: US Must Do More to Stop LRA in Central Africa (VOA)

(Central Africa) A coalition of human rights groups says the United States should do
more to stop the rebel Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa.

Museveni Sacks Bukenya As VP (The Monitor)

(Uganda) President Museveni yesterday asked Vice President Gilbert Bukenya to resign
from Cabinet, exactly eight years after he was first appointed to the job.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 UN-managed irrigation project in Sudan boosts community’s crop production
 Clashes in south-western Côte d’Ivoire hamper UN humanitarian efforts
 UN human rights chief urges immediate end to violence in Abyei
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, May 25; 10:00 a.m.; CSIS - 1800 K Street NW, B-1
Conference Level, Washington, D.C
WHAT: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) discussion on "African
Futures 2050," a study released by the Institute for Security Studies and the Pardee
Center for International Futures at the University of Denver.
WHO:Jakkie Cilliers, executive director of the Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria,
South Africa; and Jennifer Cooke, director of CSIS Africa Program
Info: Andrew Schwartz, 202-775-3242, aschwartz@csis.org; web site: www.csis.org
RSVP: africa@csis.org

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, May 25; 10:30 a.m.; 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
WHAT: House Foreign Affairs full committee hearing on "War Powers, United States
Operations in Libya, and Related Legislation."
WHO: Members of Congress testify
Info: 202-225-5021; web site: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, May 25; 12:30 p.m.; American Bar Association, 740 15th
Street NW, John Marshall Conference Room, Washington, D.C.
WHAT: American Bar Association book discussion on "Darfur: When the Stars Fall to
the Earth."
WHO: Author Rebecca Tinsley, former BBC reporter
CONTACT: Rabiah Burks, 202-662-1002, rabiah.burks@americanbar.org
RSVP: Rabiah Burks at rabiah.burks@americanbar.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT
Congolese battalion trained with purpose, but armed mostly with promises (Stars
and Stripes)
By John Vandiver
Published: May 24, 2011
KISANGANI, Congo — The oppressive afternoon sun was still hours away, but by
mid-morning the men in this American-trained battalion of Congolese soldiers were
already exhausted.

“Where is your weapon?” asked an American trainer after observing a young soldier
saunter by without his AK-47.

“I don’t have,” the soldier answered with a shrug.

“Infantry with no weapon?” the American muttered to himself, shaking his head.

While the Congolese troops battled through a day of physical fitness tests, squeezing
out as many pushups and sit-ups as they could, they were fighting the sluggishness that
comes from training on an empty stomach.

“Train, train, train — No eat!” shouted a Congolese enlisted soldier when asked about
conditions at Camp Base, where meals arrive only once a day.

For the U.S. Africa Command, here to build a new rapid reaction battalion, the inability
of the Congolese government to adequately pay, equip and feed its troops is deeply
worrying. Without a reliable food source, troops in the field have often resorted to
stealing from vulnerable civilians — to say nothing of the negative performance impacts
of inadequate nutrition.

“When they hit the bush, you can tell the difference between three meals a day and
one,” said Ken Spueil, a former U.S. soldier who works with reconnaissance troops at
the Kisangani camp. “You’re limited with what you can do with these guys.”
“By noon, they’ve reached their training threshold,” said Lt. Drew Giacomucci, a U.S.
sailor based in Rota, Spain, who is helping train Congolese troops in de-mining
techniques.

The difficulty for the U.S. now lies in deciding how far to go with its military
partnership, and whether the training can have far-ranging effects.

Since last year, the U.S. has poured $35 million into its efforts at the camp in Kisangani,
but without continued assistance in the form of money and trainers, it is unclear
whether the Congolese will be able to sustain what the Americans have helped them
start.

For example, in September, when the U.S. stopped providing food for the battalion at
the camp, transferring that responsibility to the Congolese government, meals abruptly
dropped from three a day to just one.

Lt. Col. John Pierre Molengo, the commander of the Kisangani camp, downplayed the
significance of the food and salary problems, instead blaming U.S. troops who
introduced a standard that is difficult to match.

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“We were spoiled by eating like Americans,” he said. “The soldiers’ normal way of
eating changed.”

Now, as the battalion prepares to embark on military operations against the rebel
Lord’s Resistance Army on a far-flung battlefield in the country’s north, it is unclear
how a steady supply of food and equipment will reach the soldiers.

The U.S., which isn’t providing such operational support, is gambling that Congolese
officials will make good on their promises to feed and equip their men — and thus
discourage them from preying on the very civilians they are supposed to protect.

But even before deploying, frustrations were mounting among the troops, who
complained that their $45 monthly salary is not enough to feed their families.

The stakes

Here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — soon to become second-largest

country in Africa once Sudan splits, bordering nine other nations in a tough and
unfriendly neighborhood — there’s hardly been a time when large-scale humanitarian
calamities didn’t loom as an everyday threat.

Between 1998 and 2003, more than 5 million people died as a result of war in the Congo,
which drew in eight countries and dozens of armed groups. Many of the tensions
continue today between rebels and military forces in the eastern part of the country,
where the conflict is fueled by a competition for territory and valuable minerals.

James Entwistle, the U.S. ambassador to the DRC, said U.S. involvement is intended to
“make sure what happened here in the late ‘90s, early 2000 doesn’t happen again.”

“The needs here are overwhelming,” he said.

U.S. officials say the Congolese battalion America has trained represents a small step
toward building a more professional force capable of securing Congo’s porous borders.

“If you want stability in central Africa, you need to be involved here,” said a U.S.
military official speaking on background about the mission in Congo.

Greater security also could open the door to more economic development in a country
that possesses some of the world’s largest reserves of rare-earth minerals essential for
producing everything from nuclear bombs to cell phones.

Congo also encompasses half of Africa’s forests and a river system that could provide
hydro-electric power to the entire continent, according to a United Nations report on
the country’s strategic significance.

“This should be one of the richest countries on earth,” said Entwistle. “They potential
here is phenomenal.”

The treacherous security climate has deterred many Western corporations from
investing here. But China has not hesitated to fill the void, investing billions of dollars
to support its mining interests and feed the Chinese appetite for resources.

“They focus on development projects, rather than worry about good government,”
Entwistle said. Still, “they have some of the same frustrations that other foreign
investors have here.”

The strategy

The government’s military, known as the FARDC, or Forces Armées de la République

Démocratique du Congo, is largely an army in name only. The soldiers at Camp Base
reflect the country’s fragmented military past: an amalgamation of some 55 rebel
groups integrated over the past 10 years with virtually no training.

The troops have come from all over the country. Some speak French, others Lingala or
Swahili. The ranks are filled with the very young and the very old.
Against this backdrop, Special Forces troops from U.S. Africa Command launched a six-
month program in early 2010 to build the new rapid-reaction battalion. In September,
those soldiers handed the mission off to U.S. contractors.

The U.S. has spent $15 million refurbishing facilities at the base, which could serve as an
instructional hub for soldiers across the country. Construction crews are building
hardcover barracks to replace the tents soldiers currently call home.

Since 2009, AFRICOM also has trained about 100 Congolese personnel as part of a
humanitarian de-mining program.

“The focus now is on getting these guys to lead the training themselves,” said Jack
Holly, the chief of AFRICOM’s humanitarian mine action branch.

Already, a cadre of Congolese soldiers who have been singled out for their skill are
leading a similar effort to serve as trainers for the infantry.

During a recent training day, the hand-picked Congolese mentors were busy working
on their room-clearing skills with American instructors. Unlike many of the soldiers on
the base, who have little formal training, these men had many years of experience, and
the difference quickly showed as they swiftly moved through the drill with their rifles
fixed on the target.

“We’re trying to reform our army, and we’re doing what we can to enforce army
doctrine here,” said 2nd Lt. Konga Muhgbohgi, a 65-year-old soldier who attended
military schools in France and Belgium during the early days of a military career that
started in 1968.

Though Muhgbohgi is outranked by men half his age in today’s Congolese army, the
soldier said he was pleased to have a job.

“I have no money and there is no retirement system in this country,” he said.

While many of the men being trained come from undisciplined rebel groups, the older
Congolese trainers are a remnant of a once-formidable force that operated under
regimes with reputations for brutality. The soldiers know about tactics, and they
contend that their younger counterparts are learning.

“These guys want to go out and defend their county,” said Capt. Josef Ngbale, who also
received training from foreign armies in the 1970s. “If we can continue with this
training, we will build a strong army.”

Off to the fight

Among the rank-and-file soldiers, Spueil said he’s seen a slow transformation. After
months of training, the battalion has begun to develop the kind of esprit de corps
essential for unit cohesion.

Still, he harbors concerns. There’s a history of violence among the men and many have
witnessed searing atrocities. Will the lessons about rule of law and discipline hold up
under the strain of combat? Or will the men fall back on old ways when they disappear
into the bush?

Pvt. Kasereka-Kasivire Heritier, a baby-faced but boastful 21-year-old, said civilians

have nothing to fear when he deploys.

“I’m fit for war,” said Heritier, who was first tested in battle as a 13-year-old child
soldier fighting as a rebel in Congo’s violent northeast. “Our job is to protect.”
------------------
Reid: Senate not to vote on Libya resolution this month (CNN)
By Unattributed Author
May 24, 2011
Washington - The exact timing of a Senate vote on a resolution to back U.S. military
action in Libya is not decided, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday, adding
the vote would not come this month.

Specifically, he said the vote would not happen before the Memorial Day recess, which
begins when senators leave this week and is scheduled to run through June 5.

Veteran U.S. Sens. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and John McCain, R-Arizona, formally
introduced a bipartisan resolution Monday expressing Congress' support for U.S.
military action in Libya, laying the groundwork for what could be the first
congressional action on the mission since it began more than two months ago.

The resolution falls short of explicitly giving the president congressional authorization
for U.S. military involvement in Libya.

Friday marked a 60-day deadline that, under the War Powers Act, required President
Barack Obama to get congressional authorization for the war in Libya or begin to
withdraw troops.

The president never met that deadline, but late Friday, he sent a letter to congressional
leaders endorsing the Libya resolution Kerry and McCain had been working on as
something he would welcome.

"It has always been my view that it is better to take military action, even in limited
actions such as this, with congressional engagement, consultation, and support," Obama
wrote in the letter.
The resolution by Kerry and McCain, which they had been working on for some time
but until Monday had not made public, is not a formal authorization of military action
in Libya. The resolution makes no mention of the War Powers Act.

It "supports the limited use of military force by the United States in Libya as part of the
NATO mission to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011), as
requested by the Transitional National Council, the Arab League, and the Gulf
Cooperation Council."

It also calls on the president to:

-- Submit to Congress a description of U.S. policy objectives in Libya, both during and
after the rule of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and a detailed plan to achieve those
objectives

-- Consult regularly with Congress regarding U.S. efforts in Libya.

As for House action, Kevin Smith, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, told
CNN Monday, "No decisions have been made about how to proceed and we'll discuss it
with our members."

Earlier, House Majority Whip Eric Cantor suggested Libya may be addressed in an
amendment as part of a broader House debate this week on a defense bill, but it's
unclear what the language would be, if included.

In a statement announcing the resolution, senators said they sought strong bipartisan
backing for the Libya mission.

"The country is on the strongest footing when the president and Congress speak with
one voice on foreign policy matters," Kerry said in the statement. "I'm pleased to have
worked on this resolution with a strong bipartisan coalition and I welcome debate and
congressional action on this important issue."
--------------------------
NATO Bombs Libyan Capital in Heaviest Strikes Yet (NYT)
By John F. Burns
May 24, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya — In the heaviest attack yet on the capital since the start of the two-
month-old NATO bombing campaign, alliance aircraft struck at least 15 targets in
central Tripoli early Tuesday, with most of the airstrikes concentrated on an area
around Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s command compound.
The strikes, within a 30-minute period around 1 a.m., caused thunderous explosions
and fireballs that leapt high into the night sky, causing people in neighborhoods a mile
or more away to cry out in alarm.

Just as one strike ended, the sound of jet engines from low-flying aircraft in the stormy
skies above the capital signaled the imminence of another. Huge plumes of black smoke
rose and converged over the darkened cityscape.

“We thought it was the day of judgment,” one enraged Libyan said.

The intensity of the attacks, and their focus on the area of the Bab al-Aziziya command
compound in central Tripoli, appeared to reflect a NATO decision to step up the tempo
of the air war over the Libyan capital, perhaps with a view to breaking the stalemate
that has threatened to settle over the three-month-old Libyan conflict.

As NATO intensified its airstrikes, the American State Department’s highest-ranking

Middle East official, Jeffrey D. Feltman, was in Benghazi on Tuesday on a visit aimed at
providing fresh impetus to the rebel cause. Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Feltman
said that the Obama administration had invited the Libyan opposition to open an office
in Washington, but stopped short of offering the formal recognition the rebels have
been seeking.

“This step marks an important milestone in our relationship with the Transitional
Council,” Mr. Feltman said, referring to the rebel governing body, who he said had
accepted the American invitation.

Several countries, including France and Gambia, have recognized the rebel council, but
the United States and Britain have not, instead sending diplomatic envoys.

In answering a question about what the rebels would have to do to earn formal
recognition, Mr. Feltman cited concerns about “historic, legal” precedents, but said the
questions about recognition “frankly miss the point.”

“The point is Qaddafi and Tripoli are increasingly isolated diplomatically,” he said. He
did not announce any funding for movement, which has sought billions of dollars in
aid and weapons. “We’re looking at what else we can do,” Mr. Feltman said. “I
certainly got some strong messages yesterday from council members.”

On Monday, Mr. Feltman toured the rebel headquarters, a visit that coincided with an
announcement by France’s defense minister, Gérard Longuet, that Britain and France
would add attack helicopters to the NATO force as soon as possible. The move
appeared to go at least some way toward meeting rebel appeals for stronger attacks on
Qaddafi loyalist fighters. British officials, however, said on Tuesday that London had
not made a final decision on the deployment of attack helicopters, news agencies
reported.

As the rebels pushed for helicopter attacks, Tuesday’s airstrikes shook the center of the
capital near Colonel Qaddafi’s compound. Libyan officials have accused NATO of
repeatedly trying to assassinate Colonel Qaddafi with airstrikes on and near the
compound, and Colonel Qaddafi himself has mocked the attacks, saying NATO cannot
reach him as he “lives in the hearts of millions.”

In a familiar pattern, the accounts of the latest attacks given by NATO and the Qaddafi
government varied widely. A government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, said the strikes
had hit a compound housing units of an auxiliary army force known as the Popular
Guard. He said military commanders had largely cleared the compound in anticipation
that it would be hit, and that casualties — which he gave as 3 dead and 150 wounded —
were civilians from a nearby neighborhood.

NATO’S account, issued from the alliance’s southern European headquarters in Naples,
Italy, said the target was a government vehicle storage facility adjacent to the Qaddafi
compound. It said the facility had been used by the Qaddafi forces since the revolt
against the government began in February, “and has remained so ever since,
resupplying the regime forces that have been conducting attacks against innocent
civilians.”

Reporters taken to the Tripoli Central Hospital were shown three dirt-strewn male
bodies in civilian clothes with gaping shrapnel wounds to their heads, and half a dozen
other men being treated for what appeared to be light wounds. Mr. Ibrahim said that
the other wounded had been treated and released before reporters arrived, or had been
treated at another hospital.

It was one of the few instances in recent weeks when reporters who have been told of
civilian casualties from a NATO attack have seen any casualties, a pattern that has led
to persistent uncertainties about official accounts. Most NATO attacks are launched late
at night, and many of the buildings struck appeared to have been empty.

NATO has called the targets military, and often designates them as “command-and-
control” centers; Qaddafi government spokesmen say the bombs and missiles have hit
civilian structures.

Despite more than 2,500 NATO airstrikes, and an increasing focus in the past two
weeks on targets in Tripoli, there have been few signs of an imminent collapse of the
Qaddafi government, and rebel forces in the east, despite recent gains around the city of
Misurata, have shown no sign of a broader breakthrough to the west.
Low-flying helicopters, including Britain’s fleet of American-built Apaches and France’s
Tigre gunships, would give allied air commanders more flexibility to strike at
government targets than the fast combat jets used until now.
-------------------------
Exclusive: Libya's Ghanem may be on secret government mission (Reuters)
By Tom Bergin and Bill Maclean
May 24, 2011 11:34am EDT
LONDON - Top Libyan oil official Shokri Ghanem has not defected, contrary to
widespread reports, and is secretly working for Muammar Gaddafi to maintain ties
with big oil companies, sources at western firms said.

A Libyan opposition source and a source at a major international oil company said
Ghanem, one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi's government, had invited
representatives of oil companies to meet him last week in Tunisia, to discuss oil
contracts.

"There were some invitations or advances but we did not accept," said the source at a
western oil company. "He was holding court in some form."

A third source, at another western oil company, with operations in Libya, said the
reports that Ghanem had deserted were incorrect.

"It is completely false that Shokri Ghanem is no longer working for Gaddafi's
government," the source said.

Ghanem himself could not be contacted to comment.

A Libyan official representing Gaddafi's government is attending a meeting of the

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' governing board in Vienna this
week, an OPEC delegate said on Tuesday.

The official has told other OPEC governors Ghanem will represent Libya at the June 8
OPEC ministers' meeting, the delegate said. OPEC officials had said they did not know
who would attend from Libya after reports of Ghanem's defection.

Companies have been unable to conduct operations in Libya due to the uprising against
the regime and military strikes by western powers, which means they are not in
compliance with the obligations in their contracts.

Ghanem wanted to reassure the groups that contracts would not be voided because of
this, and would be respected in future, the opposition source said.

This waiver could allow companies to return quickly to Libya, which is reliant on oil
revenues, should Gaddafi re-establish control and have international sanctions lifted.
Were the western oil companies to stay away from Libya for a protracted period, the
country would struggle to rebuild production, which has been cut to a trickle by the
violence.

Libya's government said last Thursday that Ghanem had not defected and was instead
on an official visit to Tunisia and some European countries to " continue his work."

However, Tunisian Foreign Minister Mouldi Kefi said on Monday he believed Ghanem
was no longer working for Gaddafi's government and was staying in a hotel on the
small southern island of Djerba off Tunisia. Big investors in Libya include Royal Dutch
Shell Plc, France's Total, BP Plc, Norway's Statoil and Austria's OMV.

Sources at those companies said their representatives had not recently met Ghanem.
-----------------------
Tunisian army fires tear gas at Libya border (AP)
By Unattributed Author
May 24, 2011
RAS AJDIR, Tunisia — Tunisian troops fired tear gas and warning shots on Tuesday to
stop fighting between local residents and refugees at a camp on the border with Libya.

The U.N. refugee agency withdrew its staff from the camp because of the unrest, said
spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes in Geneva and spokesman Firas Kayal in Tunisia.

At one point, an angry crowd of about 100 Tunisians fighting with the refugees at the
Choucha refugee camp in Ras Ajdir used iron bars and clubs to attack a car carrying
journalists covering the unrest. Ahmed Bahadou, a freelance video journalist on
assignment for The Associated Press, said the attackers tried to pull him and the
Tunisian driver from the vehicle.

The journalists, including American freelance photographer Gaia Anderson and French
radio producer Marine Olivesi, eventually sped away, but not before equipment such as
a satellite telephone was stolen, Bahadou said in an interview.

No casualties were immediately reported at the camp of 3,500 refugees on Tuesday, but
violence earlier this week has killed people.

Wilkes said tensions escalated Sunday when some of the refugees staged a protest
because they believed they were going to be sent back to their home countries. Four
Eritrean refugees died when a fire spread through the Choucha camp, raising tension
among its residents, she said.

In response, UNHCR, the Red Cross Federation and the Emirati Red Crescent withdrew
their staff from the camp, fearing for their safety.
On Monday the protesters blocked a highway near the camp, angering locals and
sparking clashes during which at least two people died, Wilkes in an interview. That
prompted the UNHCR to call in Tunisian authorities to restore order.

"We understand there is a general atmosphere of lawlessness in the camp," Wilkes said.
"We are obviously very worried about the refugees."

Refugees blocked the main cross-border highway again on Tuesday, prompting more
fighting between refugees and local residents.

Tunisian troops moved in and fired tear gas and warning shots to restore order, a
witness said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The refugees — mostly foreigners from Eritrea, Somalia and Ivory Coast who had
moved to Libya to work, then fled its unrest — are frustrated at being kept in the camps
so long.

In all, tens of thousands of refugees have fled Libya's fighting to Tunisia, which is
struggling to rebuild its economy after a popular uprising forced out its longtime
president.

That uprising unleashed a wave of pro-democracy protests now taking place in the
Arab world.
------------------------
West Africa Rising: Ivory Coast recovering from season of violence (Christian Science
Monitor)
By Paige McClanahan
May 24, 2011
It’s now been six weeks since Laurent Gbagbo, the erstwhile president of Ivory Coast,
emerged in his undershirt from a bunker beneath the presidential palace in Abidjan,
ending a four-month standoff that claimed 3,000 lives and ground the country’s
economy to a halt.

With its ports reopened and a new leader in place, Ivory Coast – once West Africa’s
most vibrant economy – has begun to get back on its feet. But the country has been
deeply wounded by its season of violence, and the effects of the turmoil are lingering.

In a key political display on Saturday, Mr. Gbagbo’s successor, Alassane Ouattara, was
formally sworn in as the country’s fifth president. Twenty heads of state attended the
inauguration, as did United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“This ceremony today is not about the victory of one side over another, but about
rediscovered brotherhood and new beginnings,” Mr. Ouattara told the gathered
dignitaries in the capital Yamoussoukro, AP reported.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 miles away in the remote northern city of Korhogo, Gbagbo
remained under house arrest in a villa guarded by UN peacekeepers and soldiers loyal
to Ouattara. The former leader, who refused to relinquish his decade-long hold on the
presidency after losing an election late last year, is being held for questioning over his
role in the violence that gripped the country during the ensuing power struggle.

Think you know Africa? Take our geography quiz.

It’s not yet clear whether Gbagbo will face any sort of trial in his home country, but it
seems increasingly likely that he could face prosecution by the International Criminal
Court. Earlier this month, Ouattara invited the ICC to look into the country’s post-
election violence, saying that conducting such an investigation within Ivory Coast
“would risk running into all kinds of difficulties.”

As the political dust begins to settle, life is slowly getting back to normal in Ivory Coast.
Banks have reopened, schools are back in session, government salaries are being paid,
and the ports are functioning again.

Critically, exports of cocoa – Ivory Coast’s most important cash crop – resumed earlier
this month. About 400,000 tons of cocoa beans had accumulated in warehouses since
January, when Ouattara announced a ban on all exports in an attempt to cut off funds to
Gbagbo, who still controlled the ports. The resulting drop in supply caused cocoa to hit
its highest price since 1979.

The first post-election shipment of cocoa sailed on May 8, Reuters reported, and prices
on the international market have eased. But in many of the rural areas where cocoa
beans are picked, life hasn’t yet returned to normal.

Aid groups say that many of the roughly one million Ivorians who fled their homes
during the crisis are too scared to return. An estimated 160,000 refugees are still living
in Liberia, according the UN refugee agency.

“I can't go back to my field,” one refugee in western Ivory Coast told Reuters last week.
“I think someone has occupied it. The cocoa's just sitting there.”

“They killed a lot of people,” the farmer added. “I saw my neighbor shot dead with a
Kalashnikov in front of me, but I ran away.”
-------------------------
South Sudan Accuses Khartoum of Depopulation Campaign in Abyei (VOA)
By Peter Heinlein
May 24, 2011
Juba, Southern Sudan - South Sudan is accusing the Khartoum government of waging a
campaign to depopulate southerners from the contested Abyei region and replace them
with nomads loyal to the north. Control of the oil-producing area is at the heart of a
bitter argument as Africa’s largest country prepares to divide into two in early July.

Abyei remains under siege four days after Sudanese government troops and allied
militias bombed and shelled the town, forcing a mass exodus. United Nations
peacekeepers holed up in a compound reported the deserted town was being looted
and burned.

The south's dominant party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), has
charged Khartoum with deliberately driving out southerners from Abyei to make way
for nomadic Misseriya tribes that fought for the north during Sudan’s civil war. SPLM
official Antipas Nyok told reporters the government is moving in Misseriya families to
serve as a bargaining chip in future talks on whether Abyei goes north or south.

"Now they are transporting people from over 1,000 miles [1,600 kilometers],
transporting them to Abyei, the Arab Misseriya, under pretext that these people will
come and occupy the houses which they have chased people of Abyei away, so later on
these people will claim the ownership of Abyei area," said Nyok.

Word that Misseriya are moving into the deserted town comes as the U.N. Security
Council wraps up a three-day visit to Sudan to look at restructuring U.N. peacekeeping
missions after partition. The fighting forced cancellation of the Council’s scheduled
visit to Abyei.

British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the northern government’s seizure of
the town must not be allowed to stand.

"There are looting and burning now of the town, particularly by some of the Misseriya
and other militias, and we have made it very clear that it is the responsibility of the
Sudanese government to get their forces and their militias under control and to
withdraw from Abyei town to allow some sort of independent security presence to be
re-established there," Grant said.

Ambassador Lyall Grant said decisions on how to design a successor to the U.N.
Mission in Sudan, UNMIS will depend on how events play out in the next few weeks.

"Part of the reason for coming at this time is that we want to be in a position before 9
July to decide what the U.N. presence should be," added Grant. "There is an UNMIS,
which is a north-south presence. The question is, do you continue that for several
months while the north-south issues are resolved, or do you split it into to two, and
have a border force, and then you have a new U.N. mission purely for the south."
Sudanese officials this week suggested they might not accept the continued presence of
U.N. peacekeepers after the UNMIS mandate expires July 9. But Ambassador Lyall
Grant expressed confidence that skilled diplomacy would be able to bridge what he
called “the very wide differences” between Khartoum and Juba on Abyei and other
outstanding issues.

The mediation is being led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, head of the
African Union High Level Panel on Sudan, along with U.N. Special Representative
Haile Menkerios.

The Khartoum government suffered a setback Tuesday with word that a minister has
resigned, saying war crimes had been committed in the Abyei region. Minister Luka
Biong Deng, a southerner from Abyei, said in a resignation statement that he could no
longer work in a national unity government with President Omar al-Bashir’s ruling
National Congress Party.

Pressure on Khartoum is also mounting from Washington. U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan
Princeton Lyman said Monday the seizure of Abyei could jeopardize plans to normalize
U.S.-Sudan relations, and for billions of dollars in debt relief.
-----------------------
Sixth and seventh Somalis enter guilty pleas in piracy trial (CNN)
By David Ariosto
May 24, 2011
After cruising the high seas for nine days, a young crew of Somali and Yemeni pirates
spotted a U.S.-flagged yacht and boarded the vessel unbeknownst to its sleeping
passengers in the hopes of cashing in on a big ransom, according to a court statement of
facts.

But the February hijacking went awry when the men allegedly opened fire on the
yacht's four American passengers amid a standoff with U.S. Navy ships more than 400
miles off the coast of Oman.

On Tuesday, two men involved in the incident pleaded guilty to acts of piracy in a
Norfolk, Virginia, federal court.

A 22-year-old man named Said Abdi Fooley said he had been looking for a job and
joined the group, carrying a semiautomatic assault rifle during the hijacking, according
to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Norfolk.

The other man, Abdi Jama Aqid, said he had hoped to net between $70,000 and $80,000
-- a fortune in Somalia, a poverty-stricken east African country -- for a job that involved
spotting potential targets for his pirate crew.
According to court documents, the group's financier was expected to receive 35% of any
bounty paid, while the rest of the money would go to the alleged pirates and their
interpreter.

Both men are set for sentencing on September 9 and could face life behind bars.

Their plea comes after two other alleged pirates -- Burhan Abdirahman Yusuf and Jilani
Abdiali -- pleaded guilty to similar charges Monday.

A total of seven men have pleaded guilty to piracy and hostage-taking in the deadly
February 22 incident, though all have denied pulling the trigger or triggers that resulted
in the deaths of their American hostages.

The men are among 14 alleged pirates from Somalia and one from Yemen who face
charges related to the hijacking and subsequent killing.

In a plea agreement, Yusuf said a person named Ibrahim -- the supposed leader of the
group who was killed in the ensuing firefight -- told the pursing U.S. Navy ships, "We
are not going to stop; you try to stop us if you can."

Yusuf said that some of the men had discussed killing the captured crew in an effort to
compel the U.S. boats to retreat.

He later identified the alleged killers as co-defendants Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar
Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar. Two other gunmen were killed by the
Navy during the ensuing fight, according to court documents.

When U.S. forces engaged the hijackers and clambered aboard the vessel, they
discovered the bodies of ship owners Jean and Scott Adam and Phyllis Macay and Bob
Riggle.

Vice Adm. Mark Fox said the Navy responded after a rocket-propelled grenade was
fired at a U.S. Navy ship from about 600 yards away -- and missed -- and the sound of
gunfire could be heard on board the yacht.

The incident took place as negotiations involving the FBI were under way for the
hostages' release, Fox said.

Two of the alleged pirates were found dead on board the vessel, he said. In the process
of clearing the vessel, U.S. forces also killed two others, one with a knife, Fox added.

The incident marks one of the deadliest pirate hijackings involving U.S. citizens in
recent memory and comes at a time that the International Maritime Bureau describes as
an "all-time high" for pirate attacks.
------------------------
Aid Groups: US Must Do More to Stop LRA in Central Africa (VOA)
By Unattributed Author
May 24, 2011
A coalition of human rights groups says the United States should do more to stop the
rebel Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa.

In a joint statement, the 39 groups urge the Obama administration to increase efforts to
arrest leaders of the LRA, which continues to terrorize communities in three African
countries.

The groups also ask the White House to appoint a special envoy for the affected region
and support stronger U.N. peacekeeping efforts there.

The coalition says in the first four months of 2011, the LRA carried out at least 120
attacks, killing 81 civilians and kidnapping 193 others, many of them children.

It says the governments of Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic
Republic of Congo have not shown the capability or resolve to protect civilians from the
LRA abuses.

The coalition said a U.S. law adopted a year ago gave the Obama administration an
"unprecedented mandate to end LRA atrocities and help affected communities recover."

The human rights groups said while the United States has made improvements in some
areas, it has failed to strengthen efforts to protect civilians and arrest top LRA leaders.

Three LRA leaders - Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen - are wanted
by the International Criminal court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The LRA, once based in northern Uganda, is accused of killing, kidnapping, and
mutilating tens of thousands of people across central Africa over the last two decades.

The rebels have split into small groups in recent years, attacking and looting villages
across the region.
--------------------
Museveni Sacks Bukenya As VP (The Monitor)
By Richard Wanambwa
24 May 2011
Kampala — President Museveni yesterday asked Vice President Gilbert Bukenya to
resign from Cabinet, exactly eight years after he was first appointed to the job.

Prof. Bukenya confirmed the development in a telephone interview with this

newspaper last night. "This is a relief," the out-going Vice President said. "Now I can
live my private life and make decisions that I would want to make. I will continue
openly to fight and remove poverty in the country."

Prof. Bukenya's resignation is expected to be confirmed today when President

Museveni meets the NRM Parliamentary Caucus to discuss his new Cabinet. A renown
academic and scholar, Prof. Bukenya had a meteoric rise to the top of the political tree
but his stint as the longest-serving VP under Museveni has been marred by allegations
of corruption - which he denies - and colourful revelations about his private life.

Prof. Bukenya, whose re-election as MP for Busiro North is being contested in court,
said he would remain a faithful member of the ruling NRM party. "I will remain strong
in NRM and I will continue supporting government's strong and positive programmes
but I will not hesitate to criticise wrong programmes," he told Daily Monitor last night.
"I thank those Ugandans who have been supporting me and look forward to more
advancement of Uganda."

Prof. Bukenya's sacking comes after Parliament yesterday ordered ministers who were
recently re-appointed by President Museveni without parliamentary approval to vacate
offices as MPs voiced concern over the delay to constitute a new government.

While State House did not have an explanation on the delays to appoint a new
government, sources told Daily Monitor last evening that the President had summoned
the NRM Caucus for an impromptu meeting today at 7:30am, among others, to approve
key Cabinet appointments.

Although the 8th Parliament on May 11, a day before President's swearing-in, had
rejected Mr Museveni's request to re-appoint ministers to their positions in acting
capacity, it emerged yesterday that the "Acting" Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi,
writing on behalf of the President on May 16, asked the ministers to stay in office.

Kasilo MP Elijah Okupa and Bugweri MP Abdu Katuntu raised the concerns in
Parliament-describing ministers as 'masqueraders' and accused the President of
disrespecting Parliament. "We have illegal people in public offices masquerading as
ministers," Mr Okupa said. "Parliament has not approved any minister to serve in the
new government yet these people continue to serve illegally. They must leave public
offices immediately."

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga told the House that the President wrote to her in the last week
of the 8th Parliament, re-appointing ministers, a move MPs insisted was illegal. "I have
a letter from the President, he communicated to me. If you want the letter I can bring it."
But when she brought the letter at 3pm, she only waved it and promised to share the
details with the members after the session. She later adjourned the House at about
6:40pm without showing them the alleged letter from the President.
New yet old letter

A copy Daily Monitor obtained shows that the same letter Prof. Nsibambi referred to in
the House on May 11 when Parliament rejected President's request was the same letter
Ms Kadaga brought. However, the date on the "new" letter was changed to read May 16
instead of April 8.

MPs were concerned that in a letter tagged as "Most Urgent" from the Prime Minister
communicating President Museveni's decision, a specific Article of the Constitution
empowering the President to re-appoint ministers in acting capacity in a new
government and without the parliamentary approval was not indicated.

Mr Ladislaus Rwakafuzi, a city lawyer, said: "The law is clear; this is a new government
with fresh mandate from the people. All ministers must be vetted afresh by Parliament
because their term of office expired on May 11 before midnight. It's unconstitutional, it's
illegal and they need fresh mandate to serve as acting ministers."

The deputy Principal Private Secretary to the President, Mr Kintu Nyago said: "It's
within his (President Museveni's) right. He is the one with the mandate to appoint
ministers. Those people (complaining) can sue him. He received advice from the
minister for Constitutional Affairs." Meanwhile FDC Leader Dr. Kizza Besigye will
today name the leader of opposition in parliament.
--------------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

UN-managed irrigation project in Sudan boosts community’s crop production

24 May – Irrigation equipment provided through an initiative managed by the United
Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has enabled more than 1,000 farmers in
north-eastern Sudan to increase harvests and boost incomes from the sale of their
produce.

Clashes in south-western Côte d’Ivoire hamper UN humanitarian efforts

24 May – Armed clashes in south-western Côte d’Ivoire have displaced thousands of
women and children, halted a vital polio immunization campaign, and are threatening
other forms of life-saving assistance, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
reported today.

UN human rights chief urges immediate end to violence in Abyei

24 May – The United Nations human rights chief today condemned the recent attacks in
the disputed Sudanese region of Abyei and called on the governments of both the north
and the south to peacefully resolve the crisis.