United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

26 March 2010

USAFRICOM -related news stories

From and About Africa

Kenya Terror suspects arrested

Nairobi - Officials say Kenyan police have arrested an American of Somali origin who is
on a terror watch list as he and two associates attempted to fly to Somalia. Another
Kenyan police official identified the American as Suleman Essa.The official says Essa,
Canadian Ahmed Ali Hassan and Kenyan Muhammed Hussein Hash were about to
board a plane ferrying aid to Somalia when they were arrested.

Togo 30 injured in Togo scuffles

Lome - At least 30 people were injured in clashes with police during an opposition
candlelight vigil against the government, sources close to the opposition said on
Thursday. The vigil late on Wednesday was called to "bury the regime" of President
Faure Gnassingbe, whose March 4 re-election triggered opposition charges of voter
fraud, the opposition said.

Niger exiled ex-speaker returns

Niamey - The former speaker of Niger's parliament, Mahamane Ousmane, has returned
to Niamey after eight months of exile in Nigeria, a source close to him said on
Thursday. "He arrived discreetly on Wednesday evening on a commercial flight from
Abudja (the Nigerian capital)," Ali Souley told AFP.

Nigeria Jos still wracked by killings

Kano - Despite tightened security in the restive Nigerian city of Jos following recent
sectarian massacres, a wave of revenge killings has claimed the lives of both Muslims
and Christians. Donald Maiyaki, a Jos resident, said: "Everybody lives in fear in Jos due
to these silent killings going on. "I know of two Christian teenage students separately
kidnapped in the past week. They are still missing". Information commissioner of
Plateau State, Gregory Yenlong, confirmed the problem.

Nigeria Niger Delta Militants - We Are Frustrated

Ahead of today's scheduled meeting between Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and
stakeholders from the restive Niger Delta region, leaders of the militant groups said
they are gradually losing patience over unkept amnesty promises, placing the deal at
risk of coming off track.They promised a lot... employment, good living," Gospel
Tamouno aka JP, a former commander of a unit of the Movement for the Emancipation
of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most outspoken of all armed groups, told AFP.
"Nobody is happy, but the youths are still waiting and hoping".
Nigeria Islamic court «bans Twitter feed»
Baku – An Islamic court in Nigeria has banned a rights group from hosting debates on
the Twitter and Facebook websites on the use of amputations as a punishment, APA
reports quoting BBC. The court, in the northern city of Kaduna, backed a case brought
by a pro-Sharia group arguing that the forums would mock the Sharia system.

Bin Laden threatens US over alleged 9/11 plotter

Osama bin Laden threatened in a new message released Thursday to kill any Americans
al-Qaida captures if the U.S. executes the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11
attacks or other al-Qaida suspects. In the 74-second audiotape aired on Al-Jazeera
television, the al-Qaida leader explicitly mentions Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who was
captured in Pakistan in 2003.

Spain tries Algerian terror cell suspects

Spain's National Court on Tuesday (March 23rd) opened the trial of five Algerians
charged with plotting to attack a Madrid department store in 2005, CNN reported.
Alleged cell leader Said Bouchema, 41, is accused of sending forged documents, along
with money made by fencing stolen goods at his Alicante restaurant, to terrorist groups
in Algeria. The defendants face prison sentences of up to sixteen years.

Algeria Israeli Spanish passport feared abducted by al-Qaida

Algiers - The family of the Israeli man missing in North Africa notified the Foreign
Ministry on Friday that he contacted them, an Israeli source reported. The news comes
after the man was missing for several days, and a report in the London-based pan Arab
daily ASharq al-Awsat said the Israeli was abducted by al-Qaida. ASharq al-Awsat
reported earlier Friday that the Algerian government suspects that an Israeli citizen was
abducted by Al-Qaida after he entered the country using a Spanish passport.

Algeria empties slums on security worries

Algiers - The Algerian government moved to evacuate thousands of dwellers from slum
areas to new apartments in an effort to thwart rising terrorist sentiments. Security forces
in Algeria say shanty towns and other slum areas are potential breeding grounds for
suicide bombers and terrorists. Terrorism analysts said poverty and unemployment
create a level of frustration that extremist recruiters can exploit.

Somalia insurgents take over radio stations

Baku – APA. Somalia’s al Shabaab rebels have taken over radio stations in the cities
under their control and often detain the few independent journalists who have not fled
the country, reporters and rights groups say, APA reports quoting “Reuters”.

Sudan U.S. mulls options for South Sudan secession vote

WASHINGTON - The United States hopes next month's presidential election in Sudan
will set the stage for a "civil divorce, not a civil war" over moves by the oil-rich south to
secede, the Obama administration's special envoy said on Thursday.