United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 16 November 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa, along with upcoming events of interest for November 16, 2011. Of interest in todays clips: A veteran human rights activist was selected as Tunisia's new interim president on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post. Al Jazeera interviews parents of Kenyan youths who were recruited by Al-Shabaab to fight in Somalia. According to the BBC, there has been a cholera outbreak in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp. Sixty cases have been confirmed. Six men have gone on trial in Paris over an attack on a yacht in September 2008, in the first French prosecution of suspected Somali pirates. Thousands of women are refusing to work on farms in northwest Cameroon's Wum district after a spate of rapes and assaults blamed on cattle herders. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: africom-pao@africom.mil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa Al-Shabab recruit Kenyan youths to fight (Aljazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/11/2011111514535374673.html 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author In an exclusive interview, Al Jazeera talks to parents of youths recruited by the Islamist group to fight in Somalia. East Africa drought: Cholera outbreak in Kenya camp (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15742664 By Non-Attributed Author
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15 November 2011 There has been an outbreak of cholera in the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya, home to Somalis fleeing famine and conflict, the UN has said. Tunisian parties choose veteran human rights activist as countrys new interim president (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tunisian-parties-choose-veteran-humanrights-activist-as-countrys-new-interim-president/2011/11/15/gIQA3cIBPN_story.html 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author A Tunisian party official says a veteran human rights activist has been selected as the countrys new interim president. France holds first trial of suspected Somali pirates (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15740344 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Six men have gone on trial in Paris over an attack on a yacht in September 2008, in the first French prosecution of suspected Somali pirates. France tries six Somali 'pirates' in landmark case (France 24) http://www.france24.com/en/20111115-somalia-pirates-court-trial-france 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Six Somali men appeared in a Paris court Tuesday in France's first prosecution of alleged Somali pirates. The men face life imprisonment over charges of hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery of a French couple's yacht in 2008. Cameroonian farmers in anti-rape protest (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15737141 15 November 2011 By a Non Attributed Author Thousands of women are refusing to work on farms in north-west Cameroon's Wum district after a spate of rapes and assaults blamed on cattle herders. Bomb destroys Kenya police car in refugee camp (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AE0H920111115 15 November 2011 By Daud Yussuf and Noor Ali A remote-controlled bomb blew up a police vehicle escorting a U.N. convoy in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp near the border with Somalia on Tuesday, the second such incident in the camp this month. Poor states have less wiggle room as risks rise: IMF (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AE01N20111115 15 November 2011
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By Lesley Wroughton A sharp slowdown in world growth would increase the risk of recession in poorer countries, whose budgets have barely recovered from the last economic slump just two years ago, the IMF said on Monday. Where does South Africa fit in with Congo's elections? (Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/1115/Where-does-SouthAfrica-fit-in-with-Congo-s-elections 15 November 2011 By Jason Stearns Before arriving in Kisangani on Thursday evening, opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi spent much of the first two weeks of the election campaign in South Africa. What was he up to? Compromised election may tie Liberian presidents hands, could force her to make concessions (The Washington post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/compromised-election-may-tie-liberianpresidents-hands-could-force-her-to-makeconcessions/2011/11/15/gIQA1pinON_story.html 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appeared at her final campaign rally last week with the man named No. 1 on the governments list of most notorious perpetrators of violence during the countrys civil war. Swaziland raises cash to pay 35,000 workers (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15744555 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Swaziland has taken out an emergency loan to pay the wages of 35,000 public sector workers, spokesman Percy Simelane has told the BBC. Thousands Cut Off By Impending Conflict, Rain (All Africa.com) http://allafrica.com/stories/201111160039.html 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Hundreds of families have fled Afmadow in southern Somalia as Kenyan and Somali government forces close in on it to oust the Al-Shabab militia group - even as ongoing rains render roads impassable, residents told IRIN. ### UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA (Full Articles on UN Website)
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Cholera outbreak hits Kenyas largest refugee complex UN agency 15 November Heavy rains and an outbreak of cholera in Kenyas Dadaab complex is exacerbating the situation in the overcrowded refugee camp, where aid efforts were already hampered by insecurity, the United Nations reported today. UN finds child labour, underage marriage among displaced Central Africans 15 November Displaced civilians in northern Central African Republic (CAR) are facing acute hardship, including a high incidence of child or teenage marriage and widespread use of children as labour, the United Nations refugee agency reported today. Millions of South Sudanese children receive polio vaccine in UN-backed campaign 14 November Up to 3.2 million South Sudanese children have received vaccinations against polio in a United Nations-backed campaign to ensure the new country remains free of the deadly disease, more than two years after the last case was reported. Security Council demands end to attacks by rebel Lords Resistance Army 14 November The Security Council today strongly condemned ongoing attacks carried out by the rebel Lords Resistance Army (LRA) across Central Africa and demanded an immediate end to the atrocities. Ban voices deep concern over worsening rhetoric between Sudan and South Sudan 14 November Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed deep concern about the escalating tensions between neighbouring Sudan and South Sudan, especially recent incursions into each others territory and cross-border support of rebel groups. ### UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST 16 NOV 2011 WHAT: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Discussion on "Tunisians and Their Hopes for Democracy: Islam and Democracy." Speaker: Radwan A. Masmoudi, Founder and President of the Center of the Study of Islam and Democracy. WHERE: SAIS, Room 500, Bernstein-Offit Building, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW CONTACT: Felisa Neuringer Klubes at 202-663-5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu; web site: www.jhu.edu SOURCE: SAIS - event announcement at: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/calendar/index.htm 18 NOV 2011 WHAT: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Discussion on "The Middle East, North Africa, and U.S. Policy." Speaker: Adam Smith (D-WA), Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee. WHERE: CFR, 1777 F St, NW
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CONTACT: Lucy Dunderdale at 202-509-8525 or DCPressRSVP@cfr.org ; web site: www.cfr.org NOTE: RSVP by: 12:00 p.m., Thursday, November 17, 2011 RSVP to: DCPressRSVP@cfr.org SOURCE: CFR Communications office - www.cfr.org ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL TEXT Al-Shabab recruit Kenyan youths to fight (Aljazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/11/2011111514535374673.html 15 November 2011 By Peter Greste Al Jazeera has spoken to the parents of Kenyan youth recruited by the Islamist group alShabab to fight in Somalia. Nobody is sure how many Kenyans al-Shabab have recruited, many coming from slums in the capital Nairobi. But people who have been watching the process believe it runs into the hundreds, with only a handful of them are from ethnic Somali communities. The vast majority of the recruits are from other tribes across Kenya, and that makes it much harder for the authorities to spot. Kenya's military has been battling the fighters inside Somalia, and now the families of those recruited by al-Shabab say they fear retaliation. ### East Africa drought: Cholera outbreak in Kenya camp (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15742664 By Non-Attributed Author 15 November 2011 There has been an outbreak of cholera in the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya, home to Somalis fleeing famine and conflict, the UN has said. It may have started among new arrivals at the camp where one person has died and there are now 60 cases, it says. The aid operation at Dadaab camp was scaled back last month after the abduction of two aid workers.
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Kenya blames Somali Islamist militants for the kidnappings and has sent troops into Somalia in pursuit of them. But the al-Shabab group, which controls most of central and southern Somalia, denies it is behind the abductions. Nearly half a million people have fled Somalia to seek assistance in Dadaab over the last two decades. The UNHCR refugee agency says insecurity is still hampering aid efforts in the area, despite the deployment of 100 Kenyan policemen in the last month. It says the situation has been exacerbated by the outbreak of the waterborne disease. The UNHCR and other aid agencies have set up cholera treatment centres in the camp for severe cases. "Rains and flooding had affected the trucking of water to parts of the camps, and we fear some refugees resorted to using unsafe water from flooded areas," the UNHCR said in a statement. The drought in East Africa is the worst in 60 years, with Somalia worst affected. Some areas have been declared famine zones, and many thousands have fleeing their homes to seek assistance over the borders. Kenya's incursion has contributed to a slowing in flow of Somalis to Dadaab, but many are still arriving in Ethiopia. A fifth refugee camp is being set up in Ethiopia and more than 7,600 recent arrivals from Somalia are now encamped at the transit centre, the UN said Two Spanish women working for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Dadaab were kidnapped in October. Other abductions include a Kenyan driver also seized from Dadaab, a British woman taken from a coastal resort and a French woman who suffered from cancer. French authorities say she has since died in Somalia. Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years and has been wracked by fighting between various militias. Al-Shabab has not previously seized foreigners from its own territory, but armed gangs on land and pirates on the sea are known for kidnappings - demanding huge ransoms for
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the release of their captives. The group has vowed to retaliate against Kenya for sending troops into Somalia. It has accused the Kenyan army of killing civilians. ### Tunisian parties choose veteran human rights activist as countrys new interim president (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tunisian-parties-choose-veteran-humanrights-activist-as-countrys-new-interim-president/2011/11/15/gIQA3cIBPN_story.html 15 November 2011 Non-Attributed Author TUNIS, Tunisia A Tunisian party official says a veteran human rights activist has been selected as the countrys new interim president. The head of the Congress for the Republic, Moncef Marzouki, will take on the role for the next year while a new constitution is being written, according to an official close to the party. The agreement was reached between Ennahda, the Islamist Party that won 40 percent of the votes in the recent election and the CPR, which came second, the official added. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations. The left of center Ettakatol, the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties, which finished third had been pushing for leader Mustapha Ben Jaafar to become president, but negotiations had ended in a deadlock. ### France holds first trial of suspected Somali pirates (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15740344 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Six men have gone on trial in Paris over an attack on a yacht in September 2008, in the first French prosecution of suspected Somali pirates. They are charged with hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery after allegedly seizing the boat and its crew, a married couple both aged 60. French special forces stormed the yacht off Somalia, freeing the couple. A seventh suspected pirate was killed. Defence lawyers say the suspects were forced to take part in the attack.
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Pirates have seized scores of vessels, mainly cargo ships, off Somalia. The defendants in Paris, aged between 21 and 35, face life in prison if convicted. They are accused of attacking the Carre d'As on 2 September 2008 and demanding a ransom of $2m (1.3m; 1.5m euros) for the release of French couple Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne. The yacht and its owners were freed by the French military two weeks later. A lawyer for one of the defendants said the unnamed accused man was a fisherman who had been forced to take part in the attack because he was a seaman. Another lawyer said the organisers of the attack were still at large. Somali suspects in three other French piracy cases are currently awaiting trial. The International Maritime Bureau has said that better policing and improved security have reduced successful hijackings by Somali pirates this year. Nevertheless, attacks linked to Somalia made up more than half the piracy incidents reported worldwide. A US study found that maritime piracy costs the global economy $7bn-12bn a year. ### France tries six Somali 'pirates' in landmark case (France 24) http://www.france24.com/en/20111115-somalia-pirates-court-trial-france 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Six Somali men appeared in a Paris court Tuesday in France's first prosecution of alleged Somali pirates. The men face life imprisonment over charges of hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery of a French couple's yacht in 2008. They are facing charges of hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery after they allegedly seized the yacht and its crew, Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife Bernadette, both aged 60, off the coast of Somalia in 2008. They face life in prison if convicted. The six, aged between 21 and 35, were captured and flown to France after French special forces stormed the yacht, the Carre d'As IV, and rescued the couple. A seventh suspect was killed in the raid.
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Journalists were allowed into the court for the start of the trial but judges are expected to later close the hearings to the public because one of the suspects was a minor at the time of the crime. The suspects had reportedly demanded a ransom of $2 million (1.5 million) for the couple's release. Their case marks the first time France has put alleged Somali pirates on trial. Somali suspects in three other cases are currently awaiting trial. Dozens of ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized by gangs off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline in recent years. The pirates travel in high-powered speedboats and are armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. They sometimes hold ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners. ### Cameroonian farmers in anti-rape protest (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15737141 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Thousands of women are refusing to work on farms in north-west Cameroon's Wum district after a spate of rapes and assaults blamed on cattle herders. The women say young girls are among the victims and one woman died of her wounds on Monday night, the BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in Wum reports. A group of women have protested outside the palace of a traditional ruler to demand protection, he says. The area is affected by land disputes between rival communities. Government officials in Wum called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the problem between the women from the Aghem ethnic group and leaders of the Akuh group, to which the herdsmen belong. However, some of the women walked out of the meeting, saying no clear solution had been found to end the attacks, our reporter says. Earlier, an 11-year-old girl from the Aghem ethnic group told our reporter she narrowly escaped being raped by two herdsmen from the Akuh group.
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"They first of all beat me and threatened to cut me into pieces with a machete if I shouted again. Then, one of them ripped off my underpants and tore my dress," she said. "Then they pinned me to the ground and tried to force themselves on me." The girl said she was lucky not to be raped, as two other herdsmen came to her rescue. Her four-year-old sister told our reporter she managed to run away before being caught by the suspected rapists. "I went with my sister to carry potatoes. I noticed two herdsmen. I alerted my sister and she told me to run away. She threw her load down but she was caught. I ran to the house and told my mother that my sister had been caught by the herdsmen," she said. Our reporter says angry men hunted down four suspects and beat them up so badly that they they are being treated at a hospital in Wum for their wounds. He says he met one of the suspects, chained to a hospital bed by the police. "They [a group of men] accused me of raping a girl but I did not. I was sleeping at the time," the suspect told our reporter. "I was picked up by a mob of youth who beat me to pulp. Then, I was handed to the gendarme." A large group of women have protested outside the palace of the paramount chief of Aghem, Bah-ambi III, for a fourth day to vent their anger over the rapes and to demand greater protection, our reporter says. The two communities tend to co-exist peacefully, but conflict erupts sometimes over grazing rights, he says. ### Bomb destroys Kenya police car in refugee camp (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AE0H920111115 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author GARISSA, Kenya (Reuters) - A remote-controlled bomb blew up a police vehicle escorting a U.N. convoy in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp near the border with Somalia on Tuesday, the second such incident in the camp this month. A U.N. driver said the blast ripped through the back of the police jeep moments after the column of ten vehicles had left Hagadera, one of three camps in the sprawling complex, wounding two private security guards and two police officers.
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Two refugees from the camp were arrested in connection with the attack, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in a statement. Kenya has been plagued by a wave of attacks since it sent hundreds of soldiers into neighbouring Somalia last month to crush the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group. "The police car was at the front of the convoy. As we drove out of Hagadera we saw an explosion at the rear end of the landcruiser," said the driver who declined to be named. "My car was third in the convoy," he said. Abukar Mohamed, a local bus driver, said the blast took place a few hundred metres from the bus park where he was at the time, and sent people scrambling for shelter. "I then ran to the site of the blast. The two G4S security guards were seriously wounded, they were bleeding all over. The two policemen had minor injuries," he said. Witnesses said the attack left a two-metre crater in the sand track. Dadaab, located about 100 km (60 miles) from the Somali border, was set up in 1991 to house Somalis fleeing violence in their country. The camp's population has swollen to more than 460,000 people this year because of famine in the lawless country. Two Spanish aid workers were kidnapped from Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, and taken into Somalia last month, victims of a rash of abductions of Westerners in Kenya that spurred the country to deploy forces across the border. Banditry is common around the camp but targeted bomb attacks are rare. Tuesday's attack underscored the mounting threats facing aid workers and refugees in the camp. The U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, has already cut back its aid operations to essential services, namely distribution of food, water and health care in the camps where cholera has broken out. "This kind of act will not deter the police force from performing its duty, of offering security and ensuring our country is protected against any evil characters, bandits or militias from Somalia," Leo Nyongesa, the police commander of North Eastern province, told Reuters.

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Kenya, the region's biggest economy, is the latest country in a string of foreign powers to try and stabilise the Horn of Africa country that has been mired in violence for two decades. Analysts warn Kenya's incursion risks dragging it into a broader regional conflict. Somalia's al Shabaab militants have vowed to bring the "flames of war" across the frontier in retaliation. Security experts have also voiced concerns the rebels would increasingly turn to softer targets, such as tourists and aid workers. Another Kenyan police truck escorting U.N. vehicles hit a landmine in the same area earlier this month, but the explosive failed to detonate. ### Poor states have less wiggle room as risks rise: IMF (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AE01N20111115 15 November 2011 By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A sharp slowdown in world growth would increase the risk of recession in poorer countries, whose budgets have barely recovered from the last economic slump just two years ago, the IMF said on Monday. A report by the International Monetary Fund said there are "severe downside risks" to the global economic outlook and that the impact of another global slowdown on the poor could be even larger should world food prices rise again. Just last week, the Fund warned that advanced economies could tip back into recession unless their policymakers acted with greater urgency to agree on policies to boost growth. The predicament for poor countries is that their national budgets have not yet fully recovered from the 2009 global financial and food-price crises, and governments have little space for maneuvering. Aid has also fallen because of belt-tightening in the United States and Europe. In 2009, poor countries were hard hit by a drop in global trade, and revenue sank as demand for their goods fell. The IMF estimated that poor countries would need $27 billion in additional funds in 2012 in the event of a sharp global downturn. A small number of large economies in Africa and Asia would need the bulk of these funds, the IMF said. The IMF also warned an estimated 23 million more people could be pushed into poverty by a severe downturn.
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The World Bank and regional development banks said they could provide more than $200 billion in financing to help developing economies. While more countries in Africa are looking toward China and other emerging economies for investment, the IMF said advanced economies remain large trading partners for poor countries. The IMF said a 1.5-percentage-point decline in global growth would shave an estimated 1 percent from the growth of poorer countries in 2011-12 and have a large, negative impact on poverty. A little more than one-quarter of poor countries would experience a slowdown in growth of more than 2 percentage points relative to the baseline, though overall growth is expected to remain positive in most countries, the IMF added. The IMF report said poor countries that can afford to should maintain spending levels so as not to aggravate the situation. In countries where inflation is climbing but not yet a problem, authorities should use monetary and exchange rate policies to soften the blow of an economic shock. While global commodity prices have weakened since peaking in early May as global demand slowed, they are expected to remain high in the near term, the IMF said. IMF simulation exercises suggest that inflation could reach 14 percent in poor countries in 2012, although they may vary across regions should commodity prices increase. It said efforts by countries to rebuild their fiscal strengths after 2009 began in 2010 as revenue rebounded but have since stalled with fiscal deficit of net oil importers remaining at around 3 percent of gross domestic product. Public debt has remained broadly stable, and at manageable levels, for most poor countries, although it has been stubbornly high in small island economies, the IMF said. The report said current account deficits -- net of foreign direct investment -- have widened since 2009, especially for oil importers. ### Where does South Africa fit in with Congo's elections? (Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/1115/Where-does-SouthAfrica-fit-in-with-Congo-s-elections 15 November 2011 By Jason Stearns

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Before arriving in Kisangani on Thursday evening, opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi spent much of the first two weeks of the election campaign in South Africa. What was he up to? According to the man himself, he was seeking political and financial support from the ruling African National Congress and businessmen. He reportedly met at least once with Gwede Mantashe, the Secretary-General of the ANC, and by Thursday could boast that he had been able to rent a DC-3, a small passenger jet and a helicopter. These assets are key, given the dearth of commercial jets in the Congo (the UDPS says the government is hogging commercial air assets, others say there this is just due to the lack of aircraft since Hewa Bora's license was suspended in July this year, leaving only CAA flying domestically. This has set off speculation in domestic and diplomatic circles that Tshisekedi has received support from President Jacob Zuma's government. Some also point to the fact that the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is fielding more election observers than the EU, the AU and Carter Center, and the head of this mission is Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, wife of Charles Nqakula, who is a close adviser to President Zuma and his envoy to Sudan and Zimbabwe and previously Burundi. But it's not so simple. After all, the same day Tshisekedi flew to Kisangani, South African authorities announced that a new deal would be signed today (Nov. 12) on the Grand Inga hydroelectric dam between their national electricity provider Eskom and the Congolese electricity company, which could provide up to 40,000 MW of electricity, the largest such dam in the world. But this is merely an MoU, which may lead to a formal agreement in six months, and negotiations have been ongoing since 2004 on similar projects. Despite the tentative nature of the agreement, President Zuma will be in Lubumbashi today to officially sign the MoU. Was it merely a coincidence that Tshisekedi was in South Africa just before the deal was signed with Kabila? If Zuma did provide support to the opposition, how can this be squared with a trip that will be interpreted as an endorsement of Kabila's candidacy? Some analysts I spoke with suggested that the South Africans were using Tshisekedi as leverage to squeeze a deal out of the Congolese (even though the Congolese could always renege, as they have in the past). Others say that Tshisekedi was really in South Africa for medical treatment (speculation about his health never abates), and his aircraft were not provided by Pretoria after all. Relations between Presidents Zuma and Kabila have been through many twists and turns. Some of the powerbrokers around Kabila, in particular Katumba Mwanke, were reportedly closer to the Thabo Mbeki wing of the ANC during his leadership struggle against Jacob Zuma in 2009, and were viewed with some suspicion when Zuma won this struggle.

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Shortly afterwards, however, news broke that two hitherto unknown companies in the British Virgin Islands, Caprikat and Foxwhelp, had obtained oil blocks in the Congo previously held by Irish company Tullow. Who was listed as the representatives of the two companies? None other than Khulubuse Zuma, the president's nephew, and Michael Hulley, the president's lawyer (who was promoted this week to be his official legal counsel). Possibly also involved albeit indirectly was Tokyo Sekwale, a prominent ANC businessman and minister. Were these oil blocks peace offerings by Kabila to the South Africans? It isn't clear, but one of the other companies that lost out in this deal was Divine Inspiration, which allegedly had links to the Mbeki-faction of the ANC. South Africa is a key partner for the Congolese government. It is the largest economy in the region and the base for many of the mining companies operating in the Congo. So who are they backing? I couldn't say, and obviously some of this is speculation. But it wouldn't be too bizarre if they were backing more than one horse. Angola (Pretoria biggest competitor in the region) allegedly made a similar move earlier this year, when they provided some support to Vital Kamerhe (or strategically leaked information in this regard). Shortly afterwards, the Congolese government announced that they would hold off on pursuing their claims to offshore oil blocks that are currently being managed by Angola until 2014. ### Compromised election may tie Liberian presidents hands, could force her to make concessions (The Washington post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/compromised-election-may-tie-liberianpresidents-hands-could-force-her-to-makeconcessions/2011/11/15/gIQA1pinON_story.html 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author MONROVIA, Liberia Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appeared at her final campaign rally last week with the man named No. 1 on the governments list of most notorious perpetrators of violence during the countrys civil war. Ex-warlord Prince Johnson and Sirleaf, who a month earlier had won the Nobel Peace Prize, stepped out of the campaign bus together and remained side by side until they waved goodbye to the crowd. Two days later, Sirleaf won re-election in the presidential runoff. Some are now wondering, at what price? The 73-year-old Sirleaf helped stabilize Liberia after a vicious civil war but faces questions about whether she will make concessions to the very people that dragged the country into war.
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Among them is Johnson, who gained notoriety for being videotaped as his men tortured Liberias deposed ruler Samuel K. Doe in 1990. The image of Johnson drinking Budweiser as his men cut off the ex-presidents ears is emblematic of the hell from which Liberia is still attempting to emerge. Currently a senator, Johnson was one of Sirleafs rivals in the October election and endorsed her before the Nov. 8 runoff between Sirleaf and former United Nations diplomat Winston Tubman. Sirleaf has pledged to reach out to her opponents, including all 15 opposition parties that ran against her in the first round of the vote last month. That sounds good over the airwaves, but it could cause Sirleaf to make deals with those directly responsible for the nations ills. Local newspapers reported that in return for his support for Sirleaf in the second round vote, the ex-warlord asked for 30 percent of the positions in her government, financial packages for his home county and immunity from prosecution for alleged war crimes. Though shes denied making any concessions to him, Johnson told reporters last month that he would not put his support into someones hands blindly. Political scientist Robert Blair, a researcher at Yale University and the author of several studies on Liberia, noted that Sirleaf often refers to reconciliation. Thats a big word in Liberia, Blair said. Theres a risk now that reconciliation will just turn out to mean backroom deals. Sirleafs spokesman says she has made no deals with Johnson, who has tried to bury his past as a warlord and draws strong support in his native Nimba County. No, she did not make any concessions to Prince Johnson. It was Prince Johnson who declared his support, and she did not seek out his support, presidential spokesman Cyrus Badio told The Associated Press by telephone last week. If Prince Johnson came to the president and said, The people of Nimba County asked me to support you, should the president say no? However, the image of the Nobel Peace laureate and ex-warlord waving in unison as supporters rushed to greet them communicated a different message. They arrived on the same bus, then toured a dirt field together. She was wearing the traditional green color of the ruling Unity Party. He was waving a mini-Unity Party flag. ### Swaziland raises cash to pay 35,000 workers (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15744555 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author
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Swaziland has taken out an emergency loan to pay the wages of 35,000 public sector workers, spokesman Percy Simelane has told the BBC. The privately owned Times of Swaziland newspaper reports that the government needs to raise more than $42m (26m) within two days to pay its bills. Swaziland - ruled by King Mswati III - has been in a deep financial crisis this year. It has not yet accepted a $355m bailout from neighbouring South Africa. Pretoria had demanded a series of reforms - including dialogue between the government and the opposition - as a condition for the loan. Mr Simelane told the BBC the government had raised a loan from Swazi banks and other companies to pay wages this month. "I don't expect it to happen again," he said. Finance Minister Majozi Sithole told the Times of Swaziland that the government had only about $22m in its salary account, while its monthly obligations amounted to $64m. There was panic among public sector workers last week after a leaked government memo said salary payments due to civil servants later this month would be delayed to next month because of a shortage of money. The government says its financial problems have been caused by the global economic crisis and a sharp decline in the landlocked kingdom's income from the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), following a new tariff deal. But critics say profligate spending by King Mswati and his 13 wives is the main cause of the crisis. At the weekend, Swaziland's top Anglican cleric, Bishop Meshack Mabuza, called on King Mswati - sub-Saharan Africa's only absolute monarch - to give up political power in favour of a democratic government. Bishop Mabuza told the BBC that Swaziland's "archaic" system of government was responsible for the financial crisis. There have also been fears that state hospitals could run out of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) because of a lack of money to buy them. Swaziland, with a population of 1.2 million, has one of the highest HIV/Aids rates in the world. About 230,000 people are HIV-positive, of whom 65,000 depend on state hospitals to give them free ARVs.
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Political parties are banned in Swaziland, where King Mswati has been in power since 1986. He cancelled his silver jubilee celebrations this year following protests against the worsening economic situation. ### Thousands Cut Off By Impending Conflict, Rain (All Africa.com) http://allafrica.com/stories/201111160039.html 15 November 2011 By Non-Attributed Author Nairobi Hundreds of families have fled Afmadow in southern Somalia as Kenyan and Somali government forces close in on it to oust the Al-Shabab militia group - even as ongoing rains render roads impassable, residents told IRIN. "The allied forces are less than 30km away from us and there is a great deal of fear and apprehension as to what will happen," a resident, who requested anonymity, said. He added that some 40 percent of the town's population of about 30,000 had fled to the surrounding areas. "Most are about 10-15km away. They put up makeshift shelters for protection from the rain." He said the displaced were afraid to put up permanent structures for fear that Al-Shabab would tear them down. Al-Shabab has been in control of Afmadow, 620km south of the capital, Mogadishu, since the end of 2009. "They [Al-Shabab] are not allowing people to take food or anything else out of the town to the displaced." The resident said those remaining inside Afmadow were running out of essential goods. "We have had no goods coming in the last month; at this rate we will run out of food." According to the UN, 750,000 people in Somalia are at risk of dying if they do not receive urgent intervention. The Afmadow resident said fear of the impending showdown between the Kenyan troops and Al-Shabab had aggravated the town's situation. "Those who can afford [food] are hoarding whatever they can lay their hands on; this is a small town, it won't take much to clean out the markets, especially since nothing is coming in," the resident said.
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Residents expect the fighting to begin at any time. "I am sure that as soon as there is a break in the rains they will start shooting and we are the ones caught in the crossfire." Haji Yolah, a resident of Bilis Qoqani, which is under the control of combined Kenyan and Somali forces, said even areas that were no longer held by Al-Shabab were suffering from food shortages. "They [TFG and Kenyan forces] have been here with us for almost a month now and we have not seen a single aid agency," Yolah said. "We have people who are still living in open areas with little to shelter them from rains and the cold." Yolah said pushing Al-Shabab out was fine "but we need something to eat and somewhere to sleep". He said just because it had rained did not mean the population had food. "We lost most of our livestock and help from outside has been next to nothing; we are desperate." He urged the Somali government and aid agencies to "not forget the people who are caught up in the fighting". Mohamed Kaskey, a local journalist, told IRIN there had been movement of people but that this has been slowed down by the heavy rains in the area. "I am certain you would have seen more people on the move if the roads were open." Kaskey said the reason Afmadow was not empty was because Al-Shabab "has it shut down. They are not allowing anyone to move." He said those who had left were heading north instead of south [towards Kenya] "because of the military activities and because of reports that Kenya was stopping people from entering [the country]". ### END REPORT

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