AFRICOM Related News Clips July 22, 2010

8/9/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips July 22, 2010

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office22 July 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

There are ways in which Africa can defeat the murderous al Shabaab (Daily Nation)

When Internal Security minister George Saitoti visited Israel early this year, heexpressed concern over increasing threat to Kenya and other African countries fromradical Islamists.

U.S. financial reform bill also targets 'conflict minerals' from Congo (WashingtonPost)(Congo) The financial regulation bill that President Obama will sign into law onWednesday is supposed to clean up Wall Street. But an obscure passage buried deep inthe 2,300-page legislation aims to transform a very different place -- eastern Congo,labeled the "rape capital of the world."

Somalia: Washingtons Response to the Kampala Bombings - Continued

Procrastination(Garowe Online)

(Somalia) Analysis of Washingtons statements following the July 11 World Cupbombings in Kampala leads to the conclusion that the United States is determined topersist in its interminable procrastination over what to do about Somalia.

Somalia's Spreading Cancer (The Atlantic)(Somalia) Despite the U.S. military's establishment of AFRICOM, Americans shouldnot look for engagement in the bloody and heartbreaking struggle of the Somali peoplefor freedom from throat-crushing Islamic rule.

Western Sahara conflict a source of disturbance, Sanderson (El Khabar)

(Maghreb) Algeria and the Sahel countries prefer fighting Al-Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb together without foreign assistance, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State forNear Eastern and North African Affairs, Janet Sanderson, said, Tuesday.

Moscow accuses US of kidnapping pilot (Associated Press)(Liberia) The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. on Wednesday of"kidnapping" a Russian pilot in the West African country of Liberia several weeks agofor alleged drug smuggling.


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AU Military Chiefs Draw Somalia War Plan (Daily Monitor)(Somalia) A key Somalia strategy meeting is underway in the Ethiopian capital, AddisAbaba, with military chiefs from across Africa expected to hammer out a plan of actionto confront the crisis in the war-torn country.

Nigeria to support ECOWAS fund on transportation, energy (Xinhua)(Nigeria) Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has said the establishment of a specialfund for transportation and energy infrastructure in the West African sub-region willreceive his support.

The Truth About Africom(Foreign Policy)I feel fortunate that I can say that I was present at the inception of U.S. Africa Command(Africom), the U.S. military headquarters that oversees and coordinates U.S. militaryactivities in Africa. Starting with just a handful of people sitting around a table nearly

four years ago, we built an organization dedicated to the idea that U.S. security interestsin Africa are best served by building long-term partnerships with African nations,regional organizations, and the African Union. At the same time, however, there hasbeen a great deal of speculation and concern about Africom. We believe our work andaccomplishments will continue to speak for themselves.

AFRICOM Chief Gen. Ward: 'What We Do Must Continue'(National DefenseMagazine)The budget wars inside the Pentagon tend to have rippling effects around the world.

Security stepped up after GSU man shot (Daily Nation)Surveillance against snipers has been intensified on the Somalia-Kenya border

following the shooting of a GSU officer on Tuesday.

US seeks ways to assist African forces in Somalia(Mail&GuardianOnline)

The United States military is prepared to step up assistance to African Union forces inSomalia, where violence has escalated since al-Shabaab Islamist rebels carried outbombings in Uganda earlier this month, a top US general said on Tuesday.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey UNICEF signs child protection pact with key rebel group in Darfury Joint UN-African Union mediator reports progress in Darfur peace talksy Burkina Faso and Niger refer border dispute to UN World Courty UN sounds the alarm as dire humanitarian situation continues to grip Somalia

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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, July 29, 8:15 a.m., Woodrow Wilson International Centerfor ScholarsWHAT: African Growth and Opportunity Act Civil Society Forum 2010 A Decade of

Progress in Bridging the U.S.-Africa Trade GapWHO: Keynote Speakers include Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Senate ForeignRelations Committee; Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, African Union*Info:http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event_summary&event_id=629709

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

There are ways in which Africa can defeat the murderous al Shabaab (Daily Nation)

When Internal Security minister George Saitoti visited Israel early this year, he

expressed concern over increasing threat to Kenya and other African countries fromradical Islamists.

His Israeli counterpart, Mr Yitzhak Aharonovich, told him that one effective way Israel

has applied to contain Hamas is through erecting a security wall along the Gaza border.

A hi-tech security fence along the 682-km long Kenyan-Somalia border would do much

to stem the entry of terrorists, explosives and contraband. Going by conservative Israeli

estimates, the cost would be $2 million per kilometre.

The total cost to the Kenyan taxpayer would therefore be way over the projectedAfrican Union mission to Somalias budget of $1 billion.

Away from the glare of the cameras, Prof Saitoti might have learnt of less expensive

alternatives. At the time the minister was in Israel, the world was learning of the

assassination of a Hamas high commander in Dubai.

That extremist factions in Gaza now openly question the wisdom of Hamas leadership

attests to what a blow the terrorist group was dealt.

Such a method could have been very effective in neutralising Fazul Abdul Mohammed

in Runda, Mombasa or Madagascar places the local press reported he had been

sighted. He slipped through, and it is now believed he is the chief of operations for al

Shabaab.

The bulwark of defence against terrorism in Israel lies, however, not just within the

docket of the Ministry of Internal Security but also of the Ministry of Defence.


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The Gaza naval blockade has severely crippled the capacity of extremists, for without

rockets, Hamas youths can only hurl stones that bounce off Israeli tanks. A military

blockade of Somalia would enhance the security of Kenya and the rest of East Africa.

If Kenya is unable to do it alone, it is time the USA Africa Command, currently in

Germany, transferred to the Kenyan coast and lent a hand. The USA is unlikely toobject to this as they have been angling since the Bush tenure to find an African base for

their operations.

A foothold in Kenya would enable the US army to more effectively launch drone strikes

against an Al Qaeda leadership who are our common enemies. Furthermore the piracy

menace would be more efficiently countered, as would illicit waste-dumping and

fishing in the Indian Ocean.

To return to the Israeli counter-terrorism approach, their most effective and devastating

military manoeuvre is one that did not attract much commentary in the East Africanpress.

Operation Cast Lead was a 22-day manoeuvre that ended on January 18, 2009.

According to the comments attributed to the Israeli Defence Force and reproduced in

Wikipedia, within 220 seconds of the opening wave of the operation, 100 targets

comprising militant headquarters, training bases, and weapon depots were destroyed.

The rest of the days were used for mopping up operations and disabling the flow of

weapons, ominously from African conduits. There were minimal casualties on the

Israeli side, but regrettably a high number of innocents were killed as militants usedhuman shields and stored arms in mosques and schools.

This week, it has been reported that Uganda will ask the African Union to send 20,000

troops to dismantle al Shabaab in Somalia. This number may not be sufficient as al

Shabaab contains Afghanistan veterans experienced in warfare.

A military surge modelled on the size and resourcefulness planned by Nato for

Afghanistan and of the surgical finesse of Operation Cast Lead is what East Africa, as a

whole, with the unambiguous support of the African Union, the Arab League and the

United Nations, should prepare. Uganda, going it alone, as President Yoweri Museveni

has vowed to do, does not fully satisfy the benchmark for success.

To avoid the proxy wars that accompanied the Ethiopian invasion, Museveni should

use the African Union summit to bring African countries on board and lobby France

and UK to follow through with UN Resolution 1863.


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Ultimately, the time may have come to find out if Fazul Abdul Mohammed and his

murderous al Shabaab are, indeed, stronger than our collective might.

--------------------U.S. financial reform bill also targets 'conflict minerals' from Congo (Washington

Post)

The financial regulation bill that President Obama will sign into law on Wednesday issupposed to clean up Wall Street. But an obscure passage buried deep in the 2,300-pagelegislation aims to transform a very different place -- eastern Congo, labeled the "rapecapital of the world."

The passage, tucked into the bill's "Miscellaneous Provisions," will require thousands ofU.S. companies to disclose what steps they are taking to ensure that their products,including laptops, cellphones and medical devices, don't contain "conflict minerals"

from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The sale of such minerals has fueled anearly 15-year war that has been marked by a horrific epidemic of sexual violence.

The issue of "conflict minerals" was barely mentioned during congressional debate onthe Wall Street bill. But it has attracted growing concern from an unlikely alliance ofconservatives and liberals -- from Sen. Sam Brownback ((R-Kan.) to feminist Eve Ensler,author of "The Vagina Monologues." Activists hope to ultimately see an internationalsystem for curbing the trade, such as the one that has slowed the sale of "blooddiamonds" from West Africa.

"This is one of those issues that is below the radar for about 99.9 percent of Americans. .. . Everyone has their cellphone up against their ear, nobody is thinking of Congo orconflict minerals. But everybody's got some, potentially, right next to their ear," saidRep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), speaking recently at the Center for American Progress.

Although little noticed by the public, the provision in the regulatory bill could have abroad impact. It applies not only to electronics companies, which are major users ofCongolese tantalum, but also to all publicly traded U.S. firms that use tin and gold.

"This is a law that is going to affect virtually the entire U.S. manufacturing sector," saidRick Goss, vice president of environment at the Information Technology Industry

Council.

Charting new territory

Congo "conflict minerals" law is the first of its kind in the world, Goss said. Europeangovernments are pondering similar steps, even as U.S. officials and industry expertscaution that the murky nature of the conflict makes it difficult to trace the minerals.


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The war in Congo began after the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, which sentstreams of militiamen across the border. An estimated 5 million people have died sincein mineral-rich eastern Congo, in one of the bloodiest conflicts since World War II.Hundreds of thousands of women have been sexually assaulted in what U.N. envoy

Margot Wallstrom referred to in April as the world's "rape capital."

Congolese activists, U.N. experts and nongovernmental groups have becomeincreasingly concerned that armed Congolese groups are financing themselves withminerals such as gold and the "three T's" -- tin, tungsten and tantalum. The minerals areextracted from remote Congolese mines and smuggled to neighboring countries.

Congo is the source for an estimated one-fifth of the world's tantalum, as well assmaller percentages of the other three minerals.

During her trip to Congo last year, in which she held an emotional meeting with rapevictims, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for greater internationalaction to stem the flow of the minerals.

The issue got tied to the financial reform bill largely because of Brownback, who hadpreviously introduced legislation on "conflict minerals." He sought to attach anamendment to the bill, and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn), chairman of the bankingcommittee, supported it, congressional staff said. In the end, Brownback voted againstthe overall bill, but his amendment survived.

The new law requires American companies to submit an annual report to the Securitiesand Exchange Commission disclosing whether their products contain gold, tin,tungsten or tantalum from Congo or adjacent countries. If so, they have to describewhat measures they are taking to trace the minerals' origin.

The law does not impose any penalty on companies who report taking no action. Butthe disclosures must be made publicly on firms' Web sites.

"The consequence is a market-driven one. Consumers can make their choices. Do theywant their electronic products to be funding gang rape in central Africa? I don't thinkmost Americans would want that," said Rory Anderson of the World Visionhumanitarian group, which has been pushing for the legislation.

'We need to toughen up'

U.S. executives say it can be exceedingly difficult to figure out whether there are"conflict minerals" in their products. Such minerals may, for example, be smuggledfrom Congo through Rwanda, mixed with ore from other countries in a smelter in


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Kazakhstan and then sold to a company in Southeast Asia that supplies a partsmanufacturer in China.

Many firms in the high-tech sector have been trying to ensure their suppliers don't use"conflict minerals," jointly running a pilot program at smelters to identify where

minerals come from.

Robert Hormats, the undersecretary of state for economic affairs, said in an interviewthat tracing the source of minerals is much more complicated than tracing the source ofdiamonds. For one thing, he said, diamonds "aren't melted down." In addition, therebels sometimes gain or lose control over mines.

Still, the State and Treasury departments are examining possible sanctions against U.S.companies that use "conflict minerals."

"We need to toughen up. Sanctions is one way," said Hormats, who has been workingwith industry to improve accountability.

Some companies said they welcomed the law. Michael Holston, the general counsel ofHP, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer maker, applauded the measure, saying itwould "help reduce some of the factors that have contributed to the civil war" in Congo.

Both industry experts and advocates said the law is one step in solving a much largerconflict.

"What really needs to happen is the international community needs to redouble itsefforts to bring an overall diplomatic [solution] to what's going on in Congo," Goss said.--------------------Somalia: Washingtons Response to the Kampala Bombings - Continued

Procrastination (Garowe Online)

Analysis of Washingtons statements following the July 11 World Cup bombings inKampala leads to the conclusion that the United States is determined to persist in itsinterminable procrastination over what to do about Somalia.

Washingtons inability to form a coherent policy towards Somalia has undermined itsinterests in the Horn of Africa, allowing a civil war to deepen in Somalia to the point atwhich Washingtons adversary, the revolutionary Islamist Harakat al-ShabaabMujahideen (H.S.M.), calculated that it was in its interest to strike directly at Uganda,one of the contributors to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu(AMISOM). For Washington, the Kampala bombings were an embarrassment, not thecrisis and shock that they were in East Africa. The bombings simply showed moreslippage in Somalia; Washington had no intentions of getting decisively involved in


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Somalia it faced a public relations problem of how to appear to be playing whileremaining on the sidelines conducting its permanent policy review that never seems toend.

The Development of Washingtons Response

Washingtons first response to the bombings came from Under-Secretary of State forAfrica Johnnie Carson, who is the point man for Somalia policy. Carson denouncedH.S.M., which he likened to a localized cancer that had metastasized into a regionalcrisis that has bled across borders and is now infecting the internationalcommunity. Let us note that Carson is demonizing H.S.M. here and depersonalizingthem by calling them a disease. This is not the language of the diplomat but of therabble rouser. It was simply politically necessary for Washington to express outrage.

Nonetheless, at the same time that Carson was throwing raw meat to the crowd, State

Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters that he could not talk about anyplans that Washington might have for responding to the bombings, adding that H.S.M.is an outgrowth of other issues refugees, the illegal arms trade and piracy.

The most comprehensive statements on Washingtons Somalia policy came on July 14 ina briefing for reporters on Al Shabaab Terrorist Group conducted by seniorofficials and posted in full by Washington. A close reading of the briefing follows.In the introductory remarks, a senior official (Johnnie Carson?) took a nuanced view ofH.S.M., saying that it had a dual persona; most members of H.S.M. are nationalist anda minority is transnationalist with ties to Al-Qaeda. So much for the metastasizing

cancer metaphor.

In responding to the question of what the United States is doing, a senior official citedhaving listed an H.S.M. commander as a terrorist and having frozen the assets of anH.S.M. financier under Executive Order 13536. More generally, the official said thatWashington would use the tools available to support international efforts to weakenthis group [H.S.M.]. In particular, Washington would continue to support AMISOMwith training and supplies, and assist internally displaced persons. How to cope withthe spillover of H.S.M. would be something that we are going to work with veryclosely with regional governments to counter. To put it simply, Washington was notgoing to assume a leadership role.

When asked whether there had been a policy shift in light of the bombings, an officialsaid that Washington would take a look and see what it is that we need to do as aresult of those attacks. As to whether the bombing showed a trend in H.S.M.sbehavior, the official said that this is something that our government is going to belooking very closely at and working with governments in the region on. The officialsremarks not only indicate that Washington remains committed to procrastination, but


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that it had not formulated a contingency plan for responding to a major H.S.M. attack inthe region.

Despite warnings by H.S.M. that it would attack AMISOM contributors at home, anddespite Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangulas claim that Nairobi had shared

intelligence with Washington on H.S.M.s plans to strike East Africa, and had asked forWashingtons help, the official said that there was no forewarning or reports that theseattacks were going to be taking place in Kampala. Perhaps there were no forewarningsof the specific attacks what fighter tells their opponent about their specific plans? and no reporting (H.SM. had succeeded in keeping its plans secret). Yet the warnings ofattacks were loud and clear; they apparently were not taken seriously and, as aconsequence, the bombings caught Washington flatfooted. That the attacks supposedlycame out of the blue also shows intelligence failure. The official admitted that H.S.M.was making good on its threats to carry out attacks.

As for the goals of U.S. policy in Somalia, an official said that they were to build up thecapacities of AMISOM as well as the T.F.G. [Somalias Transitional FederalGovernment], which is exactly what Washington has been doing half heartedlythroughout its exercise in procrastination. Any grander aim is going to take years toaddress because the problems that affect the country are systemic, structural. That isan admission that Washington has no policy, that is, no mediation between vision andtactics, no plan of action.

On the ground, an official said, Washington was working with the T.F.G. and AMISOMto broaden the area of Mogadishu controlled by the T.F.G. with the essential

protection of AMISOM. That is also current U.S. tactics and marks no change.

At its end, the briefing circled back to its beginning, with an official opining thatH.S.M.s power has been overrated its just operating in a place where normalstructures are so very broken. The official expressed concern about H.S.M. in the sensethat Washington would be concerned about any group that had Al Qaeda elementssprinkled within it. Is H.S.M. a metastasizing cancer or an ice-cream sundae sprinkledwith al-Qaeda chips? The officials rhetoric diminishes H.S.M.s stature and threat,which makes it possible for Washington to justify its procrastination.

With Washingtons own dual persona in place, it was time for U.S. President BarackObama to weigh in. In his interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporationon July 15, Obama would somehow have to reconcile the duality, speak from one of thepoles, or speak from both; he chose the latter. Beginning with the raw meat, Obama saidthat Washington would redouble its efforts in Somalia, adding that what we know isthat if al-Shabaab takes more and more control within Somalia, that it is going to beexporting violence the way it just did in Somalia a declaration of a trend. Then hedrew back and entered the caveat that fighting H.S.M. was not something that


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Washington should do alone; rather, Washington would cooperate with the AfricanUnion through AMISOM on working the T.F.G. to try to stabilize the situation.Obama had wedged together Johnnie Carsons initial statement and the officialbackground briefing much bark and little bite.

The same day, State Department spokesman Crowley emphasized the continuation ofsupport for AMISOM and said that Washington would extend it if Uganda deployed, asits president, Yowaheri Museveni, said that it would, two thousand more troops to themission. Musevenis pledge, however, was premised on an expansion of AMISOMsmandate by the United Nations Security Council from peacekeeping to peace enforcing.

Also on July 15, Washington posted on America.gov an official interview with the StateDepartments Counterterrorism Coordinator Daniel Benjamin who continued theObama administrations effort to downplay H.S.M. Benjamin said that Washingtonwould have to consider if H.S.M. had reached a new level of capability. As for

H.S.M.s links to al-Qaeda, Benjamin urged caution. Although H.S.M. has someindirect links to the transnational terrorist group al Quaida, those ties have to beexamined with great care: some of H.S.M.s leaders have pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda,and al-Qaeda has been in touch with al-Shabaab from time to time, and its operativeshave trained some H.S.M. individuals. Benjamin concluded, however, that wecertainly do not see these groups as having merged or being unitary in any way. Thereis no firm link just yet. That would be one more reason for keeping theprocrastination going and tempering any response.

On July 19, the development of Washingtons position reached an intelligible

conclusion (probably provisional) in a press briefing by a U.S. official in London whounveiled a new strategy of trying to divide the insurgents, thereby splitting their dualpersona. In the Reuters report of the briefing, the official quickly backtracked, admittingthat we know nothing that galvanizes Somalis like an outside influence. Indeed, ifWashington were to do something in an imprudent manner, it would unite theinsurgents. Rather than being a new strategy, dividing H.S.M is a gesture of impotence.The official added that there was vigorous discussion going on among SomaliasAfrican allies about expanding AMISOMs mandate to peace enforcement, leaving acrack in the door open for a more vigorous response, depending upon what the regionalstates and organizations come up with. Again, Washington would not take a leadershiprole.

On July 19, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command (Africom), Gen. William Ward,addressed the Center for Strategic and International Studies, saying that militaryassistance to AMISOM could include additional equipment, training, logistical supportand information-sharing. Ward insisted that the promised boost in support forAMISOM was not a result of the Kampala bombings: We were already looking at howcan we be more robust in helping [AMISOM contributors]. Ward ruled out U.S.


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employment of drone aircraft to support AMISOM for the present. Reuters reportedthat a U.S. counterterrorism official had not ruled out U.S. military operations againstH.S.M. and had added that connections between H.S.M. and al-Qaeda were close: Itshard to figure out in some cases where one group ends and the other beginsThatswhy its critical that we take aggressive action to thwart them. The official insisted:

Our efforts are aggressive and have intensified. Did the counterterrorism officialsstatements indicate a shift in U.S. policy, a dispute over policy between the StateDepartment and the Defense Department and /or other security agencies, or inflatedrhetoric? Did they indicate that Washington was no longer interested in dividingH.S.M.? They are at least an indication of confusion in Washington.

Conclusion

The preceding analysis of Washingtons strategic response to the Kampala bombingsindicates that the attacks were not, at least for Washington, a game shifter, as

Chatham House analyst Sally Healy thought they would be when she spoke to the U.S.military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Richard Downie of the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies came closer to the truth when he told the same publication: Idont really see what the United States can do. There arent any attractive options.

What would make Washington assume leadership or, as analyst Bronwyn Brutonpersuasively argues, constructively disengage? That is a question for readers toanswer.--------------------Somalia's Spreading Cancer (The Atlantic)

As it turns out, those three pirates snuffed by SEALs last year are not only bad guys inSomalia. Though it's made few headlines of late, life in the post-apocalyptic Africanstate has gone from bad to worse.

A decade into the bloody civil war, which began in 1991 (the second phase of whichinvolved U.S. ground forces as depicted in Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down), a groupcalled the Islamic Courts Union seized power in southern Somalia and promptlydeclared Sharia Law (sound familiar?). A Transition Federal Government regroupedand pushed back, unseating the ICU, which promptly splintered into a handful ofnastier militant Islamic sects. Al-Shabaab, an Al Qaeda connected faction with ideas thatmake the Taliban seem Jeffersonian, waged a brutal and effective war against the TFGand international forces. Last year, the TFG relented and formed a coalition with"moderate" elements of the ICU (sound familiar?) and promptly reimposed Sharia law.Fighting continues.

Last week, Somalia's problems became everyone's problem when al-Shabaab carriedout suicide missions that killed 76 Ugandan civilians.


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According to a DPA wire report:

Somalia's Minister of National Security and Regional Development, Ahmed AbdisalamXaji Adan, believes al-Shabaab, which claims links with al-Qaeda, has proven just how

dangerous it is to the wider world.

"A year ago no-one believed they would come to Kampala or Kenya or anywhere else,"he told journalists in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. "The threat is there, it is real."

Sound familiar?

Meanwhile, Shabelle Media Network reports that fighting has flared in Mogadishu,killing 10 and wounding 22. This has led Somalia's president to criticize theinternational community for doing little to stem the violence and restore order in the

terrorist haven.

Despite the U.S. military's establishment of AFRICOM, Americans should not look forengagement in the bloody and heartbreaking struggle of the Somali people for freedomfrom throat-crushing Islamic rule. The First Battle of Mogadishu was 17 years ago --though Americans will long remember the images of dismembered Delta operativesand Rangers dragged through the street, knifed to pieces by a celebratory crowd andmounted for public display. And frankly, America has no business in Somalia and nocompelling interest in a far-off land's civil war.

But I recall many years ago learning from an NPR report of the tragic demolition of theBuddhas of Bamyan by a barbaric government in some far-off wasteland.

And not long after, Afghanistan's problem became our problem.

Somalia today sounds a little too familiar.--------------------Western Sahara conflict a source of disturbance, Sanderson (El Khabar)

Algeria and the Sahel countries prefer fighting Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebtogether without foreign assistance, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for NearEastern and North African Affairs, Janet Sanderson, said, Tuesday.At the sidelines of her meeting with British Foreign Affairs officials, in London, Mrs.Janet Sanderson was quoted by Al-Hayat newspaper as saying: The United States isalways ready to provide assistance to Algeria and the Sahel region countries in terms ofcounterterrorism efforts. Yet they still insist on leading the fight by themselves, whichdoes not, in fact, bother my Government.


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The US official had further praised the progress that Algeria has made in terms ofcounterterrorism: After years of painful sacrifices, it seems that the Algerians havesucceeded to make remarkable progress in the fight against terrorism.As far as the kind of assistance that the US intends to provide to Algeria and Sahelcountries, Mrs. Sanderson underlined: We have established the Trans Saharan

Counterterrorism Initiative and the Africom command which tend to anticipate AlQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb terror acts.But, Sahel countries still prefer fighting terrorism alone, and I think these countries, onthe top of them Algeria, are doing a remarkable job that the US supports, she insisted.As for the Western Sahara issue, the US official said her country supports efforts of theUN Secretary General Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, adding that the currentsituation does by no way serve any countrys interest in the region.--------------------Moscow accuses US of kidnapping pilot (Associated Press)

MOSCOW The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. on Wednesday of"kidnapping" a Russian pilot in the West African country of Liberia several weeks agofor alleged drug smuggling.

Konstantin Yaroshenko, 41, was arrested in Monrovia, Liberia's capital, in late May by U.S. agents, Russian officials said and then extradited to New York.

He was charged with smuggling "thousand-kilogram quantities of cocaine" throughoutSouth America, Africa and Europe, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in astatement Wednesday.

DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said Yaroshenko was apprehended May 28 byLiberian authorities, who turned him over to the DEA two days later under an arrestwarrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"While he was in DEA custody, the DEA followed the rules of law and the GenevaConvention regulations regarding treatment of a defendant," the DEA's statement said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry sharply condemned Yaroshenko's arrest and extradition.

"We're talking about a kidnapping of a Russian national from a third country," Russia'sForeign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement on its website. "The actions of U.S.special services in the forcible and secret relocation of our national from Monrovia toNew York could only been seen as open lawlessness."

Asked about the case at a news briefing, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowleysaid that, with regard to specifics, he would defer to the Justice Department or the DEA.


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Crowley said that, upon his arrival in New York, Yaroshenko was given access to aRussian consulate official.

Yaroshenko's lawyer, Alexander Bozhenko, was quoted Wednesday by RIA newsagency as saying that the way Yaroshenko was arrested violated the law, and that

Yaroshenko was kept tied up in a hotel room, naked and without water, for two daysbefore his extradition.

Yaroshenko's U.S. lawyer, Sam Schmidt, said Wednesday that it was his "understandingwas he was not treated well" in Liberia after his arrest. His client is "doing OK"physically now that he is in the U.S. prison system, he added.

He said Yaroshenko was not extradited but instead was expelled by the Liberiangovernment just before he was taken into custody by Liberian authorities and the U.S.Drug Enforcement Administration and brought to New York.

"Somehow from this existing expulsion order, the DEA took custody of him withoutnotifying the Russian embassy or consulate or anyone else," Schmidt said.

Charges filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan allege Yaroshenko was "anaircraft pilot and aviation transport expert" who transported thousands of kilograms ofcocaine throughout South America, Africa and Europe. Prosecutors declined commentWednesday.

Schmidt said, "Obviously, nothing was actually done by my client."

RIA quoted Yaroshenko's wife, Viktoria, as saying that her husband had been workingas a pilot in various African countries for 10 years. She said he visited Liberia in May fortalks with potential employers, RIA said.

A Russian diplomat accused U.S. agents of "framing" Yaroshenko.

"They needed any pilot, any airline to frame," Russia's general consul in New York,Andrey Yushmanov, said in televised remarks.

Russia's NTV played a telephone interview with a man who identified himself asYaroshenko and claimed that he had been was arrested illegally and tortured.

In recent years, drug cartels have used West Africa as a major transit point for shipmentof vast quantities of cocaine to Europe and the U.S.--------------------AU Military Chiefs Draw Somalia War Plan (Daily Monitor)


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A key Somalia strategy meeting is underway in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa,with military chiefs from across Africa expected to hammer out a plan of action toconfront the crisis in the war-torn country.

It was announced yesterday on the sidelines of the ongoing AU Summit in Kampala

that the African Union and regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development(IGAD) expect their military representatives to assess the resources that will be requiredto rid Somalia of the terrorist-affiliated al Shabaab militants.

Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Erastus Mwencha told journalists inMunyonyo that Somalia is high on the Summit agenda. He said resolutions from theAddis meeting would be presented to the AU Executive Council sitting in Kampala inthree days.

Our military people are having a meeting in Addis Ababa to discuss the strategy and

the logistics needed to deal with this Somali situation, he said. He blamed the delay byother African countries to reinforce Burundian and Ugandan peacekeepers in Somaliaon lack of capacity.

It takes courage, commitment and resources to deploy troops for peacekeepingespecially when you hear that those who are there are being killed. The problem hasbeen lack of capacity. Commitment from the member countries exists but they lackresources, nothing else, he said.

Wake up call

Uganda has about 3,400 troops, whereas Burundi has so far sent 1,600 troops.

Nigeria, Malawi and Ghana had pledged forces to make up the initial envisaged 8,000peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) but have not honoured their pledges. AMISOM hasrecently been upgraded to an expected 20,000-strong force. Mr Mwencha said the July11 terrorist attacks in Kampala were a wake-up call to African countries to unite andput in place measures to end the 19-year Somalia civil war that threatens regionalsecurity.

Piracy and terrorism

The Somali militant group, al- Shabaab, have claimed responsibility for the bomb blaststhat left 76 people dead in Kampala. Giving a hint of a possible shift in continentalopinion that will likely see Amisoms peacekeeping mandate changed, Mr Mwenchaasked: What peace is there to keep in the troubled country? That is why we aresaying we need at least 20,000 troops in Somalia to ensure peace.


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We are calling upon the international community to come and help us. If we goteverything we need in place today, troops will be dispatched to Somalia tomorrow.The international community is too far to feel the pinch of the Somalia situation, butwe now have piracy and terrorism that are affecting everybody. These are not Africanproblems alone, said the official.

Following the blasts in Kampala, President Museveni announced that he was ready tocommit more troops to deal with the terrorists in Somalia, once cleared by IGAD andother AU member states.--------------------Nigeria to support ECOWAS fund on transportation, energy (Xinhua)

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has said the establishment of aspecial fund for transportation and energy infrastructure in the West African sub-regionwill receive his support.

The Nigerian leader said this in Abuja on Tuesday while receiving Marie DelesseSchwisenberg, an envoy of President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire, who has beenmandated by ECOWAS to oversee the establishment of the fund.

"Nigeria will do all it can to accelerate the setting up of the fund because of thecentrality of energy and transportation issues to development in Africa," Jonathan said.

The president also said it was the responsibility of all leaders of ECOWAS members tosupport the regional organization's decision to establish the fund.

He pledged to hold further consultations with Gbagbo soon on what needed to be doneto ensure that it became operational in the shortest possible time.

"This is a regional project. President Gbagbo is only helping to move it forward and it isthe responsibility of other leaders to help and support him," he added.--------------------The Truth About Africom (Foreign Policy)I feel fortunate that I can say that I was present at the inception of U.S. Africa Command(Africom), the U.S. military headquarters that oversees and coordinates U.S. militaryactivities in Africa. Starting with just a handful of people sitting around a table nearlyfour years ago, we built an organization dedicated to the idea that U.S. security interestsin Africa are best served by building long-term partnerships with African nations,regional organizations, and the African Union. At the same time, however, there hasbeen a great deal of speculation and concern about Africom. We believe our work andaccomplishments will continue to speak for themselves.


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Still, many of these concerns raise important issues, and it is important to continue toaddress and clarify Africom's position on these issues. There is great work being doneby and for Africa nations with Africom's assistance, and the success of the missionsbetween these partner nations inevitably affects the security of the United States and theworld as a whole. During our work in designing Africom and helping guide it through

the early years of its existence, a number of lessons have helped inform our decisionsand ensure we performed our job responsibly and effectively.

Lesson 1: Africom does not create policy.One of the most serious criticisms leveled at Africom is that the organization representsa U.S. military takeover of the foreign-policy process. This is certainly not true, though Isuspect some of our more outspoken critics have been so vocal about this that it is quitechallenging for them to change course.

Let there be no mistake. Africom's job is to protect American lives and promote

American interests. That is what nations and militaries do. But we also have found thatour own national interest in a stable and prosperous Africa is shared strongly by ourAfrican partners. By working together, we can pursue our shared interests moreeffectively.

Africa's security challenges are well known. They include piracy and illegal trafficking,ethnic tensions, irregular militaries and violent extremist groups, undergovernedregions, and pilferage of resources. This last challenge includes oil theft, as well aswidespread illegal fishing that robs the African people of an estimated $1 billion a yearbecause their coastal patrols lack the capacity to find and interdict suspicious vessels

within their territorial waters and economic exclusion zones.

As a military organization, most of our work consists of supporting security andstability programs in Africa and its island nations. Our focus is on building capacity,both with African national militaries and, increasingly, with Africa's regionalorganizations. One of our biggest success stories is the Africa Partnership Station, aNavy program that partners Africom with African and international sailors to puttogether a multinational staff aboard a U.S. or international vessel. This creates whatsome have called a "floating schoolhouse," where the staff share a host of ideas, rangingfrom basic search-and-rescue techniques to advanced concepts of maritime domainawareness.

Across the continent, we work closely within the framework of the overall U.S.government effort. As a military organization, we do not create policy. Rather, wesupport those policy decisions and coordinate our actions closely with the StateDepartment, U.S. embassies in the region, the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID), and other U.S. government agencies that have been trustedpartners in Africa for decades.


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Lesson 2: Africom must work hand in hand with the diplomatic corps.It's no secret that Africom's early rollout was met by concern within some quarters ofthe foreign-policy community. We've worked hard to allay those concerns. Despite thewarnings of skeptics, the past three years have not seen any dramatic increase in

numbers of U.S. personnel or military funding directed at Africa. Depending on howyou count the figures, the U.S. military represents between 5 and 10 percent of all U.S.government spending in Africa, and we do not anticipate significant future shifts. Webelieve diplomacy, development, and defense should work hand in hand -- and inbalance -- to achieve long-term security. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has spokeneloquently about the need to increase funding for diplomacy and development and haswarned of what he calls "excessive militarization."

The U.S. military has been working with African militaries for decades, but the workwas not sustained and integrated as effectively as it probably could have been to

complement and better support the activities of other agencies of the U.S. government.In many ways, Africom was devised as a test platform for helping the military as aninstitution to better understand its role in supporting diplomacy and development.State Department and USAID officials serve in senior billets on the staff, advising themilitary on the best way to support their agencies. And yes, they frequently sendmessage traffic back to their home offices to help ensure the military understands itssubordinate role in Africa.

All the U.S. military's work in Africa is done with the approval of U.S. ambassadors. Wetake that seriously. I have seen anecdotal stories of military personnel showing up in an

African nation unaware that they ultimately report to the U.S. ambassador of the hostnation in question. If you run across one of those stories, take a look at the date. There'sa strong chance that incident took place before or not long after October 2008, whenAfricom formally became responsible for everything the U.S. military does in Africa.One of the reasons Africom was created was to help put an end to that kind ofconfusion.

Lesson 3: Keep our footprint in Africa limited.We have also been accused of looking to establish military bases across the Africancontinent. This was false when the rumors arose at the time of Africom's creation andremains false today. Africom's headquarters is in Stuttgart, Germany, and we are not

looking for any other location. Misconceptions arose when, in the early months of 2007,some people in the U.S. Defense Department community considered the idea ofpositioning small teams regionally to better coordinate the command's day-to-daypartnerships. However, there was never a formal search, and as soon as the commandopened its doors in October 2007, we made it clear that we intended to stay in Stuttgartfor the foreseeable future.


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Our footprint in Africa remains purposefully limited. We have only one forwardoperating base, at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, established in 2002 under the U.S.Central Command. In 2008, Africom inherited the base, which is an ideal site forsupporting our military-to-military programs across eastern Africa and also serves as akey node in the Defense Department's global transportation infrastructure. We are not

seeking any additional bases.

We also have a few dozen program officers and liaisons working across the continent,mainly in U.S. embassies. This hardly means, however, that we are building "mini-Africom headquarters" in U.S. embassies, as some have suggested. What we've done issend one or two staff officers to join embassy teams so that our diplomats do not haveto spend their time coordinating military programs. It is common practice worldwidefor a small number of military personnel to play a supporting role in a larger diplomaticmission. Our ambassadors continue to be the president's personal representativeswithin each nation.

Lesson 4: Africom is most effective when it listens to the concerns of its Africanpartners.We have spent the last three years meeting with African leaders, African media, andAfrican people. Mostly, we have been listening. And what we have heard is that manypeople across Africa have an interest in long-term stability.

The consistent message we hear from the leadership and the people of Africa is thatthey want to provide for their own security. Despite sometimes difficult histories, manyAfrican nations today are working to develop professional security forces that follow

the rule of law and protect all their peoples. African nations today make up more than40 percent of all international peacekeepers deployed throughout Africa with theUnited Nations and African Union. Their goal is for Africans to make up 100 percent ofthe peacekeeping forces within Africa. By building a regionally focused AfricanStandby Force, the African Union seeks to play an ever-greater role in bringing peaceand security to turbulent regions on the continent.

Rather than deploying large numbers of U.S. military forces, we accomplish our goalsby conducting hundreds of what we refer to as "capacity-building" events each year.Africom sends small teams of specialists to dozens of countries to offer our perspectiveon military topics such as leadership, the importance of civilian control of the military,

the importance of an inspector general program, the finer points of air-traffic controland port security, aircraft maintenance, military law, and squad tactics for a unitpreparing for peacekeeping deployment or patrols against violent extremist groups --the list goes on.Even though we are showing and explaining how we do business, weare not imposing U.S. methods upon our partners. After all, our practices might not beright for them -- that is a question they must answer, based on the information theyreceive not only from us, but from their many international partners.


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We also take part in military exercises that promote cross-border cooperation andcoordination. We participated in Exercise Flintlock this May, which was designed tohelp nations in West and North Africa cooperate more effectively on cross-borderthreats from illegal traffickers and violent extremist groups. Another exercise, Africa

Endeavor, brought together 25 African nations in Gabon to coordinate theircommunications technology. This is a surprisingly challenging task, due to the fact thatthis diverse array of nations uses a hodgepodge of computers and radios made indifferent countries throughout the world. Not only do these exercises solve practicalproblems -- they provide former adversaries or strangers with opportunities to developa shared history of working together to solve problems. This year's Africa Endeavorexercise is scheduled to take place in Ghana, and we are expecting 30 nations to beinvolved.

Lesson 5: Don't expect instant results.

Our partners in Africa warn us that we must adopt an "African time" perspective. Weshould not expect quick results or approach the continent with a "make it happen now"mindset. At the same time, we do see slow, steady progress. Coups are decreasinglytolerated as a means of acceptable regime change, and in some cases, such asMauritania, we have seen militaries take stock of the international community andmake steady progress in restoring civil authority. Much of our work is aimed atreinforcing African success stories so that we can work together as capable partners toaddress regional and global concerns. Tensions in Sudan as next year's referendum onsouthern independence approaches can be reduced if regional neighbors buildcooperative relationships with all parties in Sudan.

Somalia remains a country in daily conflict, with a people so fiercely proud of theirindependence that any lasting security solution must be African-led. As I write this, theUgandan People's Defense Force is operating deep inside neighboring nations, with anunprecedented level of intergovernmental cooperation, to end the decades-long reign ofterror by the Lord's Resistance Army, an extremist group that has killed tens ofthousands and displaced millions.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the U.S. military is one small player in a muchlarger international effort to help that nation reform its security sector. We haveprovided some funding to renovate medical facilities that provide support to survivorsof sexual and gender-based violence, and we are currently conducting a six-month pilotproject to train a model military unit in the Congolese Army. Although this programincludes basic military skills training, it also emphasizes respect for human rights, therule of law, and an understanding of the military's role in a civil society.

As we conduct our daily and weekly activities across Africa we believe we share a long-term vision with our African partners: Sustained security programs can, over time, help


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support the conditions for economic development, social development, andimprovements in health -- so that people will continue to see progress in their lives andgrowing prosperity in their communities.

That is how we support U.S. foreign policy in Africa, while also promoting the long-

term aspirations of the African people. It has indeed been a personal honor and aprivilege to be a part of the creation of Africom.--------------------

AFRICOM Chief Gen. Ward: 'What We Do Must Continue' (National DefenseMagazine)The budget wars inside the Pentagon tend to have rippling effects around the world.Following Defense Secretary Robert Gates call for fiscal responsibility, military andcivilian agencies are scrambling to come up with $100 billion in savings over the nextfive years. Building insiders already smell blood as it becomes clear that unless major

programs and activities are cut, it will be hard to hit Gates bogey.

Against this backdrop, it was an opportune time for the commander of U.S. AfricaCommand, Army Gen. William Kip Ward, to come to Washington this week andremind movers and shakers why AFRICOM must hold on to its already scarceresources.

Speaking to a crowd of industry executives, military officials and think tankers at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies, Ward cautioned that his three-year-oldcommand is just now gaining traction and it would be a mistake to slow down the

momentum, even in these times of tightening budgets.

CSIS President John Hamre prefaced Wards remarks reminding the audience that thegeneral needs our help because new organizations such as AFRICOM are particularlyfragile in the Washington budget environment.

In the world of zero-sum budgeting, he said, commanders such as Ward are instantlyin a fist fight for everything.

AFRICOM, with headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, was launched with great fanfarein 2007 as the first and only military regional command that would focus primarily onsoft power and include a heavy mix of civilians in its ranks. It is responsible formilitary-to-military relationships with Africas 53 nations.

It has endured growing pains but now is finally beginning to prove its value, saidHamre. We cant afford to lose the progress thats been made, he said.

The command has suffered its share of PR problems, which is one reason why it is still


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based in Europe and has yet to find a home in Africa. The Government AccountabilityOffice contended in a 2009 report that the mission of AFRICOM raised troublingquestions about where the line should be drawn between military and civiliandiplomatic duties.

In his speech, Ward outlined a case for why AFRICOM serves an essential role inpursuit of U.S. national security interests.

Africa is strategically important to the United States, he said. What we do has tocontinue, it makes sense.

The initial chilly reception that AFRICOM received within the continent has evolvedinto warmer ties with many countries, Ward said. Partners are now asking, Whatmore can AFRICOM do to help? as opposed to Why do we have AFRICOM? he said.We have turned the corner after a lot of hard work.

Washingtons short-term thinking clearly frustrates Ward. AFRICOM is aboutestablishing long-term ties in the region, not just dealing with the crisis of the day, hesaid. Im often asked What are you going to do about Somalia, Sudan, the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Liberia? he said. We do pay attention to these issues but its alsoimportant to look at Africas opportunities in development, governance and security.Ultimately the work that AFRICOM does promotes an environment where Americanlives are more secure, and American interests are promoted, he said. Being able tokeep an eye on the burgeoning networks of violent extremist groups in Africa couldhelp prevent attacks against the United States, he said. Africas stability and growth is

in the best interest of the United States.

Ward cited the defense secretarys January 2009 article in Foreign Affairs, whereGates endorsed the notion that the Defense Department should shift resources fromconventional war planning to helping train the militaries of foreign allies in unstableareas of the world, so they can take care of their own security, as opposed to relying onthe United States.

AFRICOM is doing that, Ward said, although he acknowledged that some militaries inAfrica are destabilizing because they undermine civilian authorities. Our involvementis based on our foreign policy objectives, he said. Those are national policy decisions,not Kip Ward decisions where we are going to conduct military-to-military activity.

The good news, he said, is that more African nations are boosting their capacity to copewith natural disasters, conduct peacekeeping operations and protect coastal areas fromnarco-traffickers and pirates. Civil wars, instability and pandemic disease are hugechallenges for AFRICOM, and more time is needed to address them, he said. Malariaremains the greatest killer of African children.


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If AFRICOMs existence were to be questioned, he said, the same logic would beapplicable to any of the other five geographic commands. Its how we in the UnitedStates exercise our military-to-military cooperation with our partner nations, we do itthrough our geographic commands, said Ward.

Then there is the issue of Africas natural resources. The continent is rich in energysources and minerals, which often stirs conspiracy theories about outsiders land grabsand quests to tap the regions wealth.

Ward said promoting development of manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure inAfrica would allow countries to be able to exploit and benefit economically from thosenatural resources.

Some U.S. officials have voiced concerns that China may outmaneuver the United States

in Africa in the pursuit of energy sources. In 2005, Marine Gen. James Jones, who wasthen military chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and currently is PresidentObamas national security advisor, said he worried about growing Chinese influence inAfrica. Its beyond question that China is the most aggressive country economically inAfrica, he told reporters. China is seeking closer ties with nations in the oil-richcontinent, especially Sudan, to sate its rapidly increasing appetite for energy, he said.The United States needs to do more in the region, Jones said. He quoted one Africandiplomat as saying: We love the United States. Youre always telling us what weshould do. Now, China is giving us the things that you say we need. Beijing, Jonessaid, is flooding the region with free scholarships in China and aid both in the economic

and military sectors. Its something we have to worry about.

Asked whether AFRICOM would consider working with China on common interests,Ward said it cannot be ruled out, but added so far that has not happened.

China is pursuing its own national interests on the continent of Africa, he said. Mostof the evidence of Chinas presence is in the form of infrastructure and buildings thatpop up around the continent, Ward said. Im not privy to the arrangements that Chinamakes with African nations but clearly China is involved.

Right now, Ward has more pressing priorities than partnering with China. Near the topof the list is ensuring that AFRICOM is spared from the Defense budget ax. --------------------Security stepped up after GSU man shot (Daily Nation)

Surveillance against snipers has been intensified on the Somalia-Kenya border

following the shooting of a GSU officer on Tuesday.


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The attack at Liboi border point was a departure from past attacks in which Somalia

insurgents confronted Kenyan security officers.

The officer is admitted to the Garissa Provincial General Hospital with a bullet wound

to the thigh. The victim and his colleague, who survived unscathed, did not even see

the direction the shooter fired from.

Al Shabaab militiamen are suspected to be to have stationed snipers at the border. Asenior security officer who spoke to the Nation said the shooting would not cause

further deployments to be made immediately adding surveillance is more appropriate.

Last week, 76 Fifa World Cup football fans were killed in Kampala, Uganda, in an

attack that al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for.

In April, a joint police and military force was sent to Liboi in Garissa District following

an incursion by members of the Somali Islamist group.

The militia are said to have thrown a grenade into the GSU camp, injuring some

officers. Al Shabaab, which has links with the al Qaeda terror network, has besieged the

transitional government in Somalia and has threatened to attack Kenya over its

stationing of soldiers on the border.

The US has expressed its willingness to expand support to African Union peacekeepers

in Somalia. US Africa Commands top officer William Kip Ward said the Pentagon

planned to expand its aid in the form of training, equipment, transport and logistics tothe AU mission.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Ward

stressed the need to take immediate action against violent extremists or else it could

attack US personnel and their interests across the globe.

US newspaper Gant Daily, said the USs commitment came in the wake of suicide

bombings in Kampala, in which 76 people died and hundreds others were injured.

A day later, al Shabaab rebels from Somalia claimed responsibility for the attacks and

warned future attacks on all African nations, which continue to provide support to UN

peacekeeping forces in Somalia.--------------------US seeks ways to assist African forces in Somalia (Mail&GuardianOnline)

The United States military is prepared to step up assistance to African Union forces inSomalia, where violence has escalated since al-Shabaab Islamist rebels carried outbombings in Uganda earlier this month, a top US general said on Tuesday.


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US intelligence agencies have warned of a growing threat from militants aligned withal-Qaeda in lawless Somalia and nearby Yemen, and the Obama administration hasmade it a priority to track and target wanted militants in the region.

The expanded US military assistance to AU forces could include additional equipment,

training, logistical support and information-sharing, General William Ward,commander of US Africa Command, and other officials said.

Fighting between al-Shabaab rebels and government forces in the north of Somalia'scapital has killed at least 52 civilians and wounded scores over the past week, accordingto a local rights group.

The violence in Mogadishu has intensified since al-Shabaab suicide bombers killedmore than 70 people watching the Soccer World Cup final in Uganda's capital on July11.

Troops from Uganda and Burundi make up the roughly 6 300-strong AU forceprotecting key sites in Mogadishu and there have been calls for their mandate to bewidened so they can go on the offensive against the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents.

"The nations that are contributing forces to ... the AU mission in Somalia -- we areworking very closely with their logistics, their training, their transportation,information that they would use to be effective in what they do, and we continuelooking to ways, based on what they ask us, to enhance these efforts," Ward told theCentre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank.

Key momentsHe said the envisaged expansion in US assistance was not triggered by the Ugandabombings: "We were already looking at how can we be more robust in helping thesenations."

Asked by reporters later if unmanned US military drone aircraft could be used tosupport AU contingents on the ground, Ward said: "That's not a part of it at this pointin time."--------------------UN News Service Africa BriefsFull Articles on UN Website

UNICEF signs child protection pact with key rebel group in Darfur

21 July The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) today signed a child protectionagreement, which includes ending the recruitment of child soldiers, with a major rebelgroup in the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur.


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Joint UN-African Union mediator reports progress in Darfur peace talks21 July The negotiations taking place in Doha aimed at bringing an end to the conflictin the Darfur region of Sudan are making good progress, according to the joint UnitedNations-African Union mediator.

Burkina Faso and Niger refer border dispute to UN World Court21 July The West African countries of Burkina Faso and Niger have submitted adispute over their common border to the United Nations International Court of Justice(ICJ) as part of a wider agreement by the two States to resolve the situation peacefully.

UN sounds the alarm as dire humanitarian situation continues to grip Somalia21 July As Somalia remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, it is vital to ensureadequate funding to assist the 3.2 million people or more than 40 per cent of thepopulation who rely on international aid, a senior United Nations aid official stressedtoday.

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