United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

5 April 2010

USAFRICOM -related news stories

From and About Africa

3 blasts heard near US consulate in NW Pakistan

Police and witnesses say three large explosions have taken place close to the U.S. consulate in
the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. Police officer Aziz Khan says gunfire is also being
heard close to the heavily guarded and fortified building in Peshawar. The attack came hours
after a suspected suicide bomber hit a political rally elsewhere in the troubled region.

PEPFAR A Success Fighting HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Millions of Africans who had been dying of AIDS are now living with AIDS, thanks to President
Bush's program. The U.S. is providing pills to more than two million people with HIV/AIDS,
people who could never afford them and who were condemned to die. The medicine not only
saves their lives, it permits them to live full lives. "We thank, sincerely, the American people.
They are the people who are saving lives. They are the people who can be proud that lives are
being saved on this continent," Dr. Mugyenyi said.

Ghana Ghanaian soldier killed in DRC

KINSHASA — A UN soldier from Ghana was killed Sunday at the airport in Mbandaka in
northwest Democratic Republic of Congo where government forces exchanged fire with tribal
insurgents, officials said.

UN Mr. Youssef Mahmoud of Tunisia Appointed as New Head of MINURCAT

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, appointed Mr. Youssef
Mahmoud as his Acting Special Representative of the United Nations Mission in the Central
African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) to replace Mr. Victor Angelo, who retired at the end
of March. Mr. Mahmoud arrived in Chad on 21 March to lead a delegation sent by the UN
Headquarters to conduct discussions with Chadian authorities on the future of MINURCAT.

SAfrican white supremacists: Slaying was 'war'

Ventorsdorp - Followers of one of South Africa's most notorious white
supremacists cast his death as a rallying point for their cause Sunday, with
one top member claiming his brutal death was "a declaration of war" by
blacks against whites.Terreblanche, a bearded, charismatic 69-year-old, co-
founded and led the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging movement, better
known as the AWB, which seeks an all-white republic within mostly black South Africa. Its red,
white and black insignia resembles a Nazi swastika, but with three prongs instead of four. Police
Minister Nathi Mthetwa said Terreblanche was attacked by a 28-year-old man and a 15-year-old
boy, both black. Mthetwa said they were arrested and would appear in court Tuesday on murder
charges.
Mali soldiers wounded in mine explosion
Bamako - A Mali army vehicle struck a mine near the border with Algeria, seriously wounding
several soldiers who were evacuated to an Algerian hospital, security sources said on Sunday.
"Five were seriously wounded in the case of the army vehicle that hit a mine on Saturday in the
north of Mali," a Mali security official told reporters on condition of anonymity."There were
several seriously wounded who were evacuated to Algeria," another said.
An Algerian security official confirmed that Algerian forces had come to the aid of the Mali
troops. "They are now in a hospital on Algerian territory," he said

Algeria Russia signs $1.2 bln contract for jet fighter delivery to Algeria, Uganda
Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport has signed two contracts
worth $1.2 billion on the deliveries of 16 jet fighters to Algeria and
another six fighters to Uganda, the Russian Vedomosti daily reported on
Monday. The two African nations will receive different models of the
Su-30 Flanker fighters. Algiers will receive 16 Su-30-MKI(A)s and
Kampala will receive six Su-30MK2s, the paper said. In 2008, Algiers
cancelled the delivery of 34 MiG-29 Fulcrum multi-role fighters because of flaws in design. The
Russian military bought the rejects for its own use.

Kenya US hails Kenya constitution move

Washington - The White House Friday welcomed the Kenyan parliament's approval of a new
draft constitution, hoping for a "promising new chapter" for a country in which US President
Barack Obama has family roots. "We are encouraged by the strong statements made by President
(Mwai) Kibaki and Prime Minister (Raila) Odinga in support of the draft," said White House
press secretary Robert Gibbs in a statement.

DRC Kabila proposes amendment to the constitution to allow him to stay in power
Kinshasa - Changing the constitution to allow for the president to serve another term or for life is
business as usual in some African nations like Algeria, Cameroun, Chad, Tunisia, Burkina
Faso...and in Gabon and Togo the succession of power from father to son resembling a monarchy
is common practice as it is the case in DRC's Joseph Kabila. President Kabila has proposed a
change to his country's constitution to increase the president term in office from 5 to 7 years and
to eliminate the term limit currently two.

Djibouti president seeks a third term but the constitution limit is two
Djibouti president Ismail Omar Guelleh has hinted his interest to run for a third term in next
year’s election. Mr Guelleh yesterday told a state-run television station that if the people
allowed him to run for a third term he would not hesitate to do so. According to Djibouti‘s
Constitution the president can only be elected for two terms of six years each.

DRC rebel enters major city of Equateur province

Kinshasa- Enyele rebels entered the capital of Equateur province in the northwest of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) on Sunday, according to provincial government
sources. The insurgents of the Enyele tribe entered the city of Mbandaka by force and took the
local airport, the sources reported. The Radio Okapi run by the UN Mission in DR Congo known
as MONUC quoted the sources as reporting that about 100 assailants landed at the River Congo
port of Banika on Sunday morning, fighting their way into the city.
Somalia Hizbul Islam invites UBL to Somalia and seeks foreign fighters reinforcement
Mogadishu- A Somali extremist group is ordering radio stations to stop broadcasting music and
has invited foreign fighters to the Horn of Africa nation.Hizbul Islam's Moalim Hashi Mohamed
Farah says the group will file an Islamic lawsuit against radio stations that do not comply within
10 days. He said late Saturday the order affects all stations in the capital, including the state-run
station. The group believes the airing of music is religiously forbidden.

Somalia al-Shabab planning attack

Mogadishu - Hardline Islamist insurgents have plans to attack the Somali capital's seaport with
vessels packed full of explosives, African Union peacekeepers and moderate Islamists said on
Friday. "We have information that al Shabaab want to use a boat laden with explosives to attack
the seaport," Major Barigye Ba-hoku, spokesperson for the African Union peacekeeping mission
in Somalia (AMISOM), told Reuters.

Somalia TFG says top Islamist rebel commanders killed

Mogadishu. The Somali government said on Saturday that its forces had killed 12 Islamist rebel
fighters including three senior commanders in brief clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu late
on Friday. The fighting erupted in the south of Mogadishu after Islamist fighters from the two
rebel insurgent movements, Hezbul Islam and al Shabaab, attacked the Somali government
checkpoint, causing the death of the three rebel commanders, senior government official said.
"Six (fighters) from the Hezbul Islam were killed including two commanders while six more also
died from Al Shabaab group including a middle rank commander," Sheikh Yusuf Siyad Indha
Adde, the minister of state for defense told reporters in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Algeria AQIM kill seven

Algiers - Islamist rebels ambushed and killed at least seven Algerian security guards
working for a Turkish company in the worst such attack in months, newspapers
reported on Sunday.

Piracy Nine North Koreans Wounded During Pirate Attack

London - Heavily armed Somali pirates shot and wounded nine seafarers during a
bloody attempt to hijack a North Korean cargo ship off Kenya on Wednesday, a
maritime watchdog said. “There was a very violent attack against a North Korean
vessel by Somali pirates who used automatic rifles and RPGs (rocket-propelled
grenades),” Pottengal Mukundan, director of the London based International Maritime
Bureau (IMB) told AFP.

Piracy SKorean navy pursuing hijacked tanker off Somalia

SEOUL - A South Korean navy destroyer is pursuing a South Korean-owned oil
supertanker believed to have been hijacked by pirates off Somalia's coast, officials said.
The navy received a call from the Samho Dream supertanker saying three pirates had
boarded early Sunday, and then there was no more contact.

Nigeria Two killed in Nigerian riot

Lagos - At least two people were killed when police fired live rounds to disperse a
group of protesting youths in a suburb of Nigeria's commercial hub Lagos, a witness
and local media said on Sunday. "The incident happened on Saturday at Ajegunle
during a riot by some youths against the killing of a young man on Thursday by the
police," witness Ebun Oyegunle told AFP.

Nigeria Family stuffs drugs in underwear

Lagos - Nigerian police have arrested a couple after finding cocaine stuffed down the
underwear of the mother and two six-year old twins as they tried to board a plane for
London, an official said Saturday.The woman was carrying more than 3Kg of cocaine
while her children carried a total of around 700 grams, he said.

Senegal Wade calls for United States of Africa

Dakar - "The time has arrived for Africa to take off," he said in a speech at the foot of the
bronze statue, built by North Korea and higher than the Statue of Liberty. Addressing a
large crowd and 19 African heads of state, President Wade called for "the exploration of
new horizons" and the formation of a "United States of Africa" modelled on "large
unions" such as the US and European Union. United States activist Jesse Jackson,
praising the symbolism of the monument said: "I wish so much Martin Luther King
could be here tonight."

Senegal army 'cleans out' rebels

Dakar - The Senegalese army says it has achieved its objective of "cleaning out"
separatist rebel bases from part of the restive Casamance region, local media reported
on Saturday. Regional commander Colonel Nguirane Ndiaye told journalists the army
had "achieved its objective" to "clean out" rebel positions south of Ziguinchor, the
biggest city in the Casamance, the Senegalese Press Agency reported.

Guinea Ex-junta chief's allies held

Conakry - Soldiers close to Guinea's former junta chief Moussa Dadis
Camara have been arrested following a mutiny in their army barracks, a
military source said on Saturday. Dadis Camara's nephew Lieutenant Marcel
Guilavogui, former deputy commander in the presidential guard, was
among those arrested on Thursday along with three other officers and an unknown
number of sub-officers.

East African passports suspended

The issuing of East African passports, which have been unpopular even among officials
from some partner states, has been suspended. The suspension would remain in force
until the passports have undergone an IT-upgrade, to make them internationally
acceptable travel documents. Ambassador Juma Mwapachu, the East African
Community (EAC) secretary general, confirmed the suspension during a press
conference but did not say when the production of the documents would resume. He
told journalists that the EA passports have been “internally accepted though not used
internationally”.
‘The LRA cannot be wished away or denied as a problem’
Do you know the whereabouts of Joseph Kony and his commanders Dominic Ongwen
and Okot Odhiambo?
I do not know for sure where they are. Based on research I conducted in the Central
African Republic (CAR) at the beginning of March, I believe Kony crossed into DR
Congo on March 7 with about 150 fighters. He is very likely to be in Bas Uele District in
north-eastern DR Congo. Ongwen has been „in charge‟ of DR Congo for the last 14
months. He has been stationed in Haut Uele, northwest of Dungu, not too far from
Garamba National Park, where the LRA used to be based before Operation Lightning
Thunder of December 14, 2008. Odhiambo might still be in CAR. Together with Okot
Odek, he was believed to have tried to connect with Sudanese army officers near South
Darfur in January 2010.
Last year, Kony directed all fighters to follow him to Darfur. But we have again heard
reports that he has crossed back to Central African Republic. What is his motive?
Kony‟s motive is to find guns, ammunition and supplies and move as much as possible
to evade the UPDF hunt. I believe that DR Congo is of strategic importance to him as
the country is closest to Uganda, but being in CAR is also important, as it stretches the
UPDF supply lines to their limits. Kony hopes to tire out the UPDF to the point where
the army would give up.
Do you have an estimate of how many fighters Kony has?
I believe he has about 400 fighters, with at least 200 in DR Congo and the rest in CAR.
This was the case by last December. The numbers and their location have certainly
changed. The LRA have also abducted many children aged between 10 and 14 who they
train to fight. In the last 14 months, the LRA have used children from CAR to fight in
DR Congo and Congolese children to fight in CAR. So the number of fighters might be
bigger than 400.
Why have MONUC and Congolese forces failed to protect the civilian population in DR
Congo?
MONUC forces on the ground are too few. A thousand peacekeepers are covering a
vast area with little or no infrastructure. MONUC can certainly do more when it comes
to civilian protection, but they need more troops and presence in LRA-affected areas.
The Congolese army has a 6,000 strong presence, but they lack the willingness and
discipline to fight the LRA and protect the population. Part of the problem with the
Congolese army is that many of the soldiers are former rebels themselves from the
Kivus in southeastern DR Congo, who never underwent any training. As part of their
peace deals with the Congolese government, these former rebels were given Congolese
army uniforms and were sent to fight the LRA.