United States Africa Command

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12 April 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo Captured at Presidential Compound (VOA)

(Côte d’Ivoire) Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo has been captured by
fighters backing the country's internationally recognized president.

Ivory Coast’s Ouattara to Start Proceedings Against Gbagbo (Bloomberg)

(Côte d’Ivoire) Ivory Coast President-elect Alassane Ouattara, plans to start judicial
proceedings against rival Laurent Gbagbo, who was captured today after French and
UN forces laid siege to the presidential residence.

Detained Gbagbo Calls for End to Ivory Coast Fighting (VOA)

(Côte d’Ivoire) Ivory Coast's former president is calling for an end to fighting after he
was captured on Monday by forces backing the country's president-elect.

Libyan rebels reject cease-fire plan (LA Times)

(Libya) Libyan rebels delivered an emphatic "no" to an African Union proposal for an
end to fighting in their country, insisting that Moammar Kadafi must step down from
power as part of any diplomatic solution.

Koussa says Libya could become "new Somalia": BBC (Reuters)

(Libya) The most prominent Libyan defector said on Monday his country could become
"a new Somalia" unless all sides involved in the conflict stopped it from descending into
civil war.

Gaddafi hunkers down under sanctions; rebel economy struggles (Washington Post)
(Libya) Forced on the defensive on the battlefield, Libya’s rebels are also struggling in
the economic war of attrition with Moammar Gaddafi, despite the backing of the West.

Africa’s defective Libyan peace plan (Financial Times)

(Libya) The most desirable outcome of the Libyan conflict would be a negotiated
settlement that halted the fighting, removed Muammer Gaddafi from power and from
the country, and permitted the Libyan people to make a free choice about their political
future. By this yardstick, the prospects for the African Union’s “roadmap” for an
immediate ceasefire and a peace deal look distinctly bleak.
SUDAN: North-South on the brink of all out war (Somalilandpress)
(Sudan) Reports have revealed that tensions are running at an all time high in the
disputed region of South Kordofan as locals gear up for the much delayed legislative
and executive elections to choose a governor and council of ministers for the fertile oil-
producing state.

Sudan sending delegation to Washington for talks on debt relief (Sudan Tribune)
(Sudan) The Sudanese government is dispatching a delegation to Washington in mid-
April for talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World bank on
ways to obtain relief from the country’s crippling debt.

UN Council backs new courts and prisons for pirates (AFP)

(Somalia) The UN Security Council on Monday called for the establishment of
specialized international courts and prisons and new laws to combat Somali pirates.

Progress in Africa? (Chicago Tribune)

(Pan Africa) After a dispute over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore
and George W. Bush spent five weeks battling in court over the vote count in Florida,
which was the balance of victory. The outcome of Ivory Coast's presidential election last
November was also disputed, but in this case, it produced a bloody shooting war
between the two candidates and their supporters.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Security Council to consider plans for specialized Somali courts to try pirates
 Ex-leader of Côte d'Ivoire surrenders as UN pledges to help restore rule of law
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, April 12, 2011; 10:00 a.m.; MCC, 875 15th Street NW,
Washington, DC.
WHAT: Investment Opportunities in Southern Africa: Previewing AGOA and Zambia's
Proposed MCC Compact
WHO: Discussion between the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Corporate
Council on Africa
Info: https://www.mcc.gov/pages/press/event/outreach-041211-agoa_zambia

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, April 13, 2011; 9:00 a.m.; Room 2172 Rayburn Building
WHAT: House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on Cote D’Ivoire.
WHO: Witness: William Fitzgerald, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of
African Affairs.
Info: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 15, 2011; 9:30 a.m.; Brookings Institution, 1775
Massachusetts Avenue NW
WHAT: The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Opening Doors for U.S.-
Africa Economic Relations
WHO: Mwangi Kimenyi, Director of the Africa Growth Initiative; Stephen Hayes,
President of the Corporate Council on Africa; Florizelle Liser, assistant U.S. trade
representative for Africa; Zambian Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix
Mutati; John Page, senior fellow of Global Economy and Development at Brookings;
Katrin Kuhlman, senior fellow and director of TransFarm Africa Policy at the Aspen
Institute; Witney Schneidman, president of Schneidman and Associates International;
and Rosa Whitaker, president and CEO of the Whitaker Group
Info: www.brookings.edu
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo Captured at Presidential Compound (VOA)

By Scott Stearns
April 11, 2011
Abidjan - Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo has been captured by fighters
backing the country's internationally recognized president.

He was captured at the presidential residence after U.N. and French attack helicopters
fired rockets into the compound Monday morning.

"Mr. Gbagbo and his wife have been arrested and they are in custody," said Hamadoun
Toure," said Hamadoun Toure, the spokesman for the U.N. mission in Ivory Coast.

Toure says no U.N. troops were involved in Mr. Gbagbo's capture which he says was
carried out by fighters supporting internationally-recognized president Alassane
Ouattara.

Those fighters were backed by French special forces who used a convoy of more than 30
tanks and armored personnel carriers to advance on the compound, where Mr. Gbagbo
was holding out in an underground complex, refusing to recognize that he lost
November's presidential vote.

Mr. Gbagbo's capture ends the four-month political standoff between the presidential
rivals. Gbagbo troops slowly deserted their leader as French, U.N. and Ouattara forces
increased the pressure on the incumbent president. More than 300 members of his
Republican Guard surrendered Monday less than two hours before he was captured.

Still at large are many members of the youth wing of Mr. Gbagbo's political party, who
human rights groups say have been attacking Ouattara supporters. With Mr. Gbagbo's
capture, Toure says restoring law and order in Abidjan is now the top priority.
"During the fighting we witnessed an increase in banditry activities," said Toure.
"Young armed people were roaming around breaking into houses, carjacking, snatching
people's mobile phones and valuables. That has to stop of course. It is a challenge."

Ouattara forces swept across Ivory Coast when international mediators failed to
convince Mr. Gbagbo to give up power. They reached Abidjan 12 days ago but were
unable to capture the presidential compound where hundreds of Gbagbo loyalists held
them off with heavy weapons.

U.N. and French helicopters attacked the compound one week ago, but still Ouattara
forces could not fight their way in. U.S. and U.N. officials say Gbagbo troops used a
brief ceasefire to regroup and rearm and late last week were regaining ground in
Abidjan.

That momentum appears to have collapsed when U.N. and French attack helicopters
again bombed the presidential compound Sunday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-
moon said the attacks were carried out because Gbagbo forces were using heavy
artillery and mortars to attack the U.N. base in Abidjan as well as Mr. Ouattara's
headquarters.

Mr. Gbagbo and his wife Simone are now being detained at Mr. Ouattara's hotel
headquarters where Ouattara officials say the former leader will be brought to justice
for crimes against the Ivorian people.
----------------------------------
Ivory Coast’s Ouattara to Start Proceedings Against Gbagbo (Bloomberg)
By Olivier Monnier and Pauline Bax
April 11, 2011; 6:26 PM EDT
Ivory Coast President-elect Alassane Ouattara, plans to start judicial proceedings
against rival Laurent Gbagbo, who was captured today after French and UN forces laid
siege to the presidential residence.

In a televised speech, Ouattara said Gbagbo and his wife “will be treated with dignity
and their rights will be respected.” A truth and reconciliation commission to investigate
human rights violations may be established, he said.

Ouattara’s Republican Forces are guarding Gbagbo and his wife at the Golf Hotel,
which Ouattara used as a base after the disputed Nov. 28 elections. The capture may
signal an end to the violent four month impasse that left Ouattara, the internationally
recognized winner of the election, unable to take office.

Ouattara also called on pro-Gbagbo youth militias to lay down weapons and urged
Ivorians to refrain from vengeance.
“To the youth turned into militias, they must understand that their struggle no longer
has sense,” he said. “In these historical moments for our country, I invite you to exercise
calm and restraint. I ask all my fellow citizens to do everything so as peace resumes for
good in our country.”
-------------------
Detained Gbagbo Calls for End to Ivory Coast Fighting (VOA)
By Scott Stearns
April 11, 2011
Abidjan - Ivory Coast's former president is calling for an end to fighting after he was
captured on Monday by forces backing the country's president-elect.

Former president Laurent Gbagbo is calling on his supporters to lay down their
weapons so the country's political crisis can come to a swift end and life can return to
normal.

Mr. Gbagbo says "the fighting is over," so that is why he asked his chief of staff to "go
out with a white handkerchief." Mr. Gbagbo spoke on a television station run by
President-elect Alasssane Ouattara, hours after he was arrested by Mr. Ouattara's
fighters.

French forces surrounded Mr. Gbagbo's compound, but they say they did not enter the
underground bunker where Mr. Ouattara's fighters captured the former president, gave
him a bullet-proof jacket and helmet, and then took him, his wife, and his son into
custody.

Mr. Gbagbo is being held at Mr. Ouattara's hotel headquarters from where Mr. Ouattara
addressed the nation on what he called "a historic day."

Mr. Ouattara said that "a white page opened before the people of Ivory Coast, white like
the white in the national flag that symbolizes hope and peace." "Together," he said,
"Ivorians can write a story of reconciliation and forgiveness."

Mr. Ouattara guaranteed Mr. Gbagbo's safety and assured the people of Ivory Coast
that the former president will stand trial.

Human Rights Watch says Mr. Gbagbo should not be allowed exile in a country that
would shield him from prosecution. At the same time, the group says Mr. Ouattara's
forces have an obligation to treat him and others in their custody humanely, in
accordance with international law.

Mr. Gbagbo's capture ends a four-month political standoff between the presidential
rivals as Gbagbo troops slowly deserted their leader. Hundreds of members of his
Republican Guard surrendered to U.N. peacekeepers on Monday. Mr. Ouattara met
late in the day with several former generals from the Gbagbo army.
With Mr. Gbago's capture, the spokesman for the U.N. mission here, Hamadoun Toure,
said that restoring law and order in Abidjan is now the top priority, especially as many
members of Mr. Gbagbo's militant youth wing are still at large.

"During the fighting we witnessed an increase in banditry activities," said Toure.

"Young armed people were roaming around breaking into houses, carjacking, snatching
people's mobile phones and valuables. That has to stop of course. It is a challenge."

Ouattara officials say that they are searching for key Gbagbo supporters, including
militant youth leader Charles Ble Goude.

Ouattara forces swept across Ivory Coast when international mediators failed to
convince Mr. Gbagbo to give up power. They reached Abidjan 12 days ago, but they
were unable to capture the presidential compound where hundreds of Gbagbo loyalists
held them off with heavy weapons.

U.N. and French helicopters attacked the compound one week ago, but Ouattara forces
could not fight their way in. U.S. and U.N. officials say Gbagbo troops used a brief
ceasefire to regroup and rearm, and late last week they were regaining ground in
Abidjan.

That momentum appears to have collapsed when U.N. and French attack helicopters
again bombed the presidential compound on Sunday because U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon said Gbagbo forces were using heavy artillery and mortars to attack the
U.N. base in Abidjan as well as Mr. Ouattara's headquarters.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Mr. Gbagbo's arrest "sends a strong signal to
dictators" in West Africa and beyond, and that they cannot disregard the voice of their
own people in free and fair elections.
---------------------------
Libyan rebels reject cease-fire plan (LA Times)
By Ned Parker and Borzou Daragahi
April 11, 2011, 3:46 p.m.
Benghazi, Libya, and Houmt Souk— Libyan rebels delivered an emphatic "no" to an
African Union proposal for an end to fighting in their country, insisting that Moammar
Kadafi must step down from power as part of any diplomatic solution.

The opposition council's announcement after closed-door talks with an African Union
delegation in Benghazi quashed hopes for an early end to the nearly 2-month-old
conflict between Kadafi's forces and opposition fighters based in eastern Libya.

South African President Jacob Zuma said late Sunday after meeting with Kadafi in
Tripoli, the capital, that the Libyan leader had endorsed the African Union's road map
for peace. The proposal includes a cease-fire, the establishment of safe corridors for
delivering humanitarian aid, and a dialogue on reforming Libya's political system, over
which Kadafi has ruled for more than four decades.

Zuma's comments hinted at a possible diplomatic opening for ending Libya's stalemate,
but the head of the opposition's political council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, summarily
dismissed the proposal after the talks.

"The African Union initiative does not include the departure of Kadafi and his sons
from the Libyan political scene, therefore it is outdated," Abdul Jalil said in Benghazi,
the rebels' de facto capital. "We will not negotiate on the blood of our martyrs. We will
die with them or be victorious."

Abdul Jalil said the proposal had been around for more than a month. Rebels also said
it was unacceptable because it did not call for Kadafi to withdraw his forces from
besieged cities and did not allow protests, which is a key opposition demand.

Kadafi lost control of eastern Libya in February when anti-government demonstrations,

inspired by the ouster of the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia, sparked a full-fledged
revolt against the autocratic leader.

The eastern rebels were skeptical of the African Union even before the delegation
arrived Monday morning. A crowd of more than 2,000 demonstrators greeted the party
as it pulled up to the Tibesty Hotel, a dark, pyramid-shaped building in central
Benghazi.

Members of the crowd waving rebel flags shouted slogans against Kadafi and made
clear their distrust of the delegation, which included the leaders of Mali, Mauritania
and the republic of Congo, along with representatives from South Africa, Uganda and
Algeria.

Kadafi has long wooed neighboring African states with public-works projects and has
hired Africans for his militias, which are now fighting the rebels.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also greeted news of Kadafi's openness to a
cease-fire with suspicion. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a Brussels
news briefing that Kadafi's forces had demonstrated that they "did not keep their
promises," Reuters news service reported.

A key Western ally agreed with the rebels. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told
French radio Monday that no deal to end the crisis in Libya could include a future
political role for Kadafi or his sons. "Kadafi's children, family cannot take part in the
political future of Libya," Frattini said.
As Libya's former colonial ruler, Italy maintains strong economic connections to the
country.

Zuma did not travel to Benghazi with the African Union negotiators. As the meeting
ended, members of the delegation walked through the hotel hallways with grim faces.
Rebel spokesman Abdelhafed Ghoga said the opposition had told the African Union
representative that they had evidence of Arab and African fighters working for Kadafi,
including some Algerian nationals.

Despite three weeks of Western airstrikes against Kadafi's forces, carried out with the
stated goal of protecting civilians, there is no sign that the Libyan leader might fold any
time soon. The bombing campaign has stopped his troops from marching on Benghazi
but has not helped the opposition advance into western Libya.

Meanwhile, Kadafi's fighters continued to attack the rebel-held western coastal city of
Misurata. On Monday, a doctor in the enclave said government fighters had been
shelling the city continuously since the early morning.

Among the seven people killed in fighting Monday was a 3-year-old girl, Sakina
Mostafa, whose parents brought her body to one of the makeshift field hospitals in the
city. Many more were wounded, said the doctor, who asked that his name not be
published for security reasons.

"Nobody is supporting civilians but everybody is saying they are supporting civilians,"
said the doctor. "We don't know how the people promising to help us are helping us."
--------------------
Koussa says Libya could become "new Somalia": BBC (Reuters)
by Karolina Tagaris and Maria Golovnina
April 11, 2011 8:14pm EDT
LONDON - The most prominent Libyan defector said on Monday his country could
become "a new Somalia" unless all sides involved in the conflict stopped it from
descending into civil war.

"The unity of Libya is essential to any solution and settlement in Libya," former foreign
minister Moussa Koussa Koussa said in a prepared statement to the BBC, which
broadcast his comments with an English translation.

"I ask everybody, all the parties to work to avoid taking Libya into a civil war," Koussa
said. "This will lead to bloodshed and make Libya a new Somalia."

Koussa, speaking publicly for the first time since defecting to Britain last month, said he
was no longer in contact with the Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi.
Libyan Social Affairs Minister Ibrahim Zarouk al-Sharif told reporters in Tripoli he
would not comment on the interview.

"I will not comment on anything he says while he is captured and (being held) hostage
in a hostile country."

"How do you know he went there (to Britain)? Maybe he was kidnapped."

Scottish police interviewed Koussa last week over the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight
103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, hoping he would provide intelligence over the attack.

A former spy chief, Koussa was a close adviser to Gaddafi since the 1970s and is
believed to have played a key role in the release of the only person convicted for the
bombing.

He told the BBC he decided to resign "when the Libyans started to lose security and
stability."

Koussa is the highest profile of a number of Libyan ministers and ambassadors who
have resigned, some of them joining the opposition to Gaddafi.

"The solution in Libya will come from the Libyans themselves, through discussion and
democratic dialogue," he said.
------------------
Gaddafi hunkers down under sanctions; rebel economy struggles (Washington Post)
By Simon Denyer
April 11, 7:01 PM
TRIPOLI, Libya — Forced on the defensive on the battlefield, Libya’s rebels are also
struggling in the economic war of attrition with Moammar Gaddafi, despite the backing
of the West.

Global efforts to isolate Gaddafi and cut off his economic lifeline have put significant
pressure on his government. But President Obama and other NATO leaders may find
that sanctions do not bring Gaddafi to his knees as quickly as they would hope, if at all.

The panic that gripped the Libyan economy at the height of the crisis has substantially
abated, and the government has implemented a series of measures to cope with the
sanctions and the loss of hundreds of thousands of foreign workers.

The economic situation appears more chaotic in the rebel-held east, with the collapse of
much of the public sector and the shuttering of oil production.
“In the long run, sanctions will be quite devastating,” said Mustafa Fetouri, MBA
program director at the Academy of Graduate Studies in Tripoli. “But we have had this
situation before, and we have the experience to deal with it.”

Keeping the economy afloat amid tight international sanctions is costly, and Finance
Minister Abdulhafid Zlitni said in an interview that the government’s money might run
out “in a few months.”

Nevertheless, the British-educated economist was optimistic that this would buy
Gaddafi’s government enough time — to probe for gaps in the international
community’s resolve, to find a compromise that keeps Gaddafi in power or just to
persuade old friends to help.

“Just go back to history,” Zlitni said. “When sanctions were imposed in the 1990s,
Africans just broke them. They came over here with their planes and their presents.”

The current sanctions are considerably tougher than those imposed by the United
Nations in 1992 and 1993 because of Libya’s alleged role in the bombing of a Pan Am
airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Nevertheless, cracks are appearing in the global coalition to isolate Gaddafi, after the
African Union proposed a peace plan this week that called for a cease-fire and dialogue
but would seem to leave Gaddafi firmly in power. Gaddafi backed the plan, but the
rebels rejected it.

“In the international arena, we are seeing a lot of interventions to find an end to this,
and this is what makes me optimistic this is going to end soon,” Zlitni said.

The bite of sanctions

In the meantime, sanctions are clearly having an effect in the areas under Gaddafi’s
control, though his government appears to have found a way to manage.

In Tripoli, fuel is being rationed to a tank a week, while cash withdrawals from banks
have been capped at the equivalent of $400 a month. Interest rates will be doubled this
week to attract money, much of which is traditionally kept at home, back into the
banking system.

The government has increased public-sector salaries by 50 percent to encourage Libyans

back to work to fill the gaps left by the exodus of a substantial proportion of the
workforce.

That exodus left fuel pumps unmanned and bakeries, normally run by Egyptians,
shuttered. But Libyans are gradually stepping in. The huge lines of a week ago at gas
stations have all but disappeared, and bread shortages have eased after young women
were enlisted to help. On the black market, the Libyan dinar shot up to 3 against the
dollar, from 1.3 before the crisis, before pulling back to less than 2.

Hospitals are functioning, but many factories and shops remain closed, construction
work has stalled, and imported foods are beginning to disappear from the shelves. The
price of cooking oil has risen more than fourfold, as has the cost of a packet of spaghetti.

But Libya has more than a decade of experience living with, and subverting, sanctions.
And the harder they bite ordinary people, the easier it will be for Gaddafi to blame the
West, as he is doing with some success, Fetouri said.

Growing concern in east

In the east, the fighting and the temporary partition of the country have all but
destroyed the economy. Most of the country’s oil comes from the east, but Gaddafi’s
forces have worked hard to disrupt production, which has halted. Rebels shipped out a
tanker of crude last week, with Qatar acting as middleman, but just two tankers worth
of oil remain in stock.

The vast majority of Libyans in the east work in the public sector and were paid out of
Tripoli before the fighting began. Rebels have managed to keep salaries coming, but
money is running out. Electricity is cut off for two hours a day, and unless oil
production resumes, the diesel needed to power the generators will run out within two
to three months, officials say.

Across the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, city engineers, doctors, lawyers and
businessmen sit at home and wait for the violence to end. Lines for bread and gas are
lengthening.

Gaddafi loyalists retain control of Ras Lanuf, home to the country’s largest refinery, and
there is continued fighting over the oil town of Brega. Rebels still believe they have the
stronger hand economically as long as they control the border with Egypt and receive
international support.

But for now, securing the oil fields “is our biggest source of concern,” said Ali Tarhouni,
finance minister in the Transitional National Council, the self-appointed rebel
government.

In Tripoli, Zlitni is trying to make a virtue out of a necessity, arguing that western Libya
will just have to live without oil.

“Oil is not always a good thing. It is a depleting asset; one day it will stop,” he said. “If
people don’t realize this and pull up their socks, there is going to be a disaster.”
Oil revenue has made many Libyans lazy, he said. “If you have children, sometimes
you have to smack them to make them behave themselves. You don’t like to do it, but
you have to.”
------------------------
Africa’s defective Libyan peace plan (Financial Times)
By Unattributed Author
April 11 2011 21:40
The most desirable outcome of the Libyan conflict would be a negotiated settlement
that halted the fighting, removed Muammer Gaddafi from power and from the country,
and permitted the Libyan people to make a free choice about their political future. By
this yardstick, the prospects for the African Union’s “roadmap” for an immediate
ceasefire and a peace deal look distinctly bleak.

Hours after the African Union’s announcement that Colonel Gaddafi had accepted the
plan – a statement not publicly confirmed by the dictator himself – his forces were
shelling the rebel-held town of Misrata in western Libya. The Nato-led coalition that is
operating under a UN mandate to protect civilians is fully within its rights to continue
air strikes on Col Gaddafi’s tanks and artillery.

Equally important is the failure of the African Union’s plan even to mention the
possibility that Col Gaddafi should step down and go into exile. This is the opposition’s
central demand, and one that is entirely understandable, given Col Gaddafi’s blood-
soaked treatment of his political opponents during his 42 years in power.

Of course, certain African leaders are privately considering how to persuade Col
Gaddafi to give up the fight and go quietly. But others, such as Teodoro Obiang
Nguema, Equatorial Guinea’s vicious autocrat and the African Union’s present
chairman, regard Libya’s unrest as an internal affair and have condemned foreign
intervention in the civil war. The African Union maintained a deafening silence in the
early phase of Col Gaddafi’s ruthless campaign to crush the Libyan opposition. Overall,
the union has shown much less courage than the Arab League and the Organisation of
the Islamic Conference in confronting the truth about Col Gaddafi.

There are other, more unsavoury reasons to doubt that the African Union can act as a
useful arbiter in the conflict. Since its creation in 2002, Col Gaddafi has used Libya’s oil
riches to bankroll the union. He has bought the support of corrupt and weakly
governed states, especially in west Africa. When he chaired the union in 2009-2010, he
promoted a characteristically eccentric vision of Africa as a single political unit with
himself as its “king of kings”. Too many African leaders tolerated his antics because of
Libya’s willingness to underwrite the union’s budget.

None of this is to say that western and Arab governments should not be on the look-out
for opportunities to negotiate an end to the conflict. On the contrary, it has become
increasingly clear since Nato began enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya on March 19
that air strikes alone will not topple Col Gaddafi. International diplomatic pressure, and
behind-the-scenes efforts to detach key supporters of the Gaddafi regime from the
dictator, are more likely to bring results. If this process were to require a transition
period, clearly defined, for Col Gaddafi’s departure, it would be a price worth paying.
But for the moment it would be foolish to raise hopes of an imminent solution.
-------------------------
SUDAN: North-South on the brink of all out war (Somalilandpress)
By Unattributed Author
April 11, 2011
ADDIS ABABA – Reports have revealed that tensions are running at an all time high in
the disputed region of South Kordofan as locals gear up for the much delayed
legislative and executive elections to choose a governor and council of ministers for the
fertile oil-producing state.

The May gubernatorial election was originally scheduled to be held April 2010 during
the presidential and parliamentary elections but was delayed due to disagreements
over 2008 census conducted by the government of Omar al-Bashir. The results were
rejected by Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), South Sudan’s main party.
They accused the Khartoum government of gerrymandering, claiming that al-Bashir
was endeavouring to load the dice in his own favor. The SPLM immediately called for
recount of population and housing census with more say for the south.

In late February, the National Election Commission (NEC) completed the voter
registration after a month process using 110 mobile voter registration teams at over 1400
centres. It said more than 640,000 have registered to vote for either Ahmad Harun, the
candidate for northern-based National Congress Party (NCP) or his sole opponent
SPLM’s Abdul’Aziz Adam Al-Hilu. The new census recorded 1,101,864 more people
than the initial results according to the Khartoum-based NEC. Mr Harun, a trained
lawyer, was appointed to the governorship position of the oil-rich state in 2009 by al-
Bashir however his appointment came under international scrutiny after he was
accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by the the
International Criminal Court (ICC). He is one of three Sudanese wanted over Darfur
crimes.

The SPLM candidate was also installed as the Deputy Governor of South Kordofan in
the same year in an unlikely SPLM-NCP partnership. His appointment was seen by
many as a strategic yet cynical move to win over marginalised groups including his
own and local Nuba tribe. The Nuba people consider Lieutenant-General Al-Hilu a
strong and capable man.

On 2nd May the battlelines will be drawn in the strategic, but volatile state of South
Kordofan when the people go to the polls to elect their governor. Analysts fear that if
the result is inconclusive or fall short of expectations, this will further increase tensions
and could bring northern and southern Sudan to the very brink of all out war. There are
already reports of massive military build-up in the region which falls within the fault
lines that also includes the disputed border region of Abyei.

Princeton Lyman, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, told the Associated Press (AP) that
the situation is “very tense” and that both northern and southern have violated a recent
security deal. He called on both sides to reduce tension by withdrawing their forces
from the region immediately and return to dialogue in resolving the matters, chief
amongst them being the region of Abyei. The region is inhabited by the Ngok Dinka
tribe ( traditional farmers and southern Sudan supporters) and the Misseriya (cattle
herders who support the north and have a deep mistrust of those in Juba).

As the north and south prepare to officially seperate, more and more armed groups are
emerging in the south and targeting SPLM positions which could further complicate the
situation. The south accuses the north of aiding militants while the north claims the
south is arming Darfur rebels. Regional experts believe that there is a very real danger
that this could spread to South Kordofan and destabilize the entire region.
--------------------
Sudan sending delegation to Washington for talks on debt relief (Sudan Tribune)
By Unattributed Author
April 10, 2011
KHARTOUM – The Sudanese government is dispatching a delegation to Washington in
mid-April for talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World bank on
ways to obtain relief from the country’s crippling debt.

State media reported that the delegation will include members from the federal
government, National Congress Party (NCP) in control of the North and the Sudan
people Liberation Movement (SPLM) which rules the South.

The African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by Thabo Mbeki will
also travel with the delegation, according to these reports.

Mbeki is mediating between the NCP and SPLM to help settle a wide range of post-
referendum issues such as splitting up the national debt between the North and South,
citizenship, wealth sharing, water, border demarcation and the status of Abyei.

South Sudan chose to secede in the plebiscite that took place last January and yielded a
near unanimous vote by Southerners in favor of independence. The South will officially
become the world’s newest state by the end of the interim period on July 9th.

However, the outstanding issues between the North and South cast doubts over
whether the divorce would be a smooth one.
The North insists that South Sudan should bear a portion of the $37.8 billion saying that
part of the money was used for development project in the semi-autonomous region.

But the South says that the money was borrowed to finance the northern army to fight
southerners in the civil war.

Western countries along with Arab states such as Kuwait have promised to try and help
Sudan cancel come of the debt but some officials warned this would be a lengthy
process.

The former U.S. special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios told Sudan Tribune last year
that many Western nations struggling with their economic crises at home may be
reluctant to forgive Sudan’s debt due to domestic policy concerns.
-------------------
UN Council backs new courts and prisons for pirates (AFP)
By Unattributed Author
April 11, 2011
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council on Monday called for the
establishment of specialized international courts and prisons and new laws to combat
Somali pirates.

The council voted unanimously for a Russian drafted resolution to step up the
international battle against the growing threat from piracy off the Somali coast.

The pirates are currently holding dozens of vessels and hundreds of hostages. An
international navy is trying to battle the scourge in the Indian Ocean. One of the key
elements of the new resolution calls for courts to try pirates in a third country outside of
Somalia.

The resolution said the council "decides to urgently consider the establishment of
specialized Somali courts to try suspected pirates both in Somalia and in the region,
including an extra-territorial Somali specialized anti-piracy court."

Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, called the courts "the first practical step in the
direction of setting up an effective judicial mechanism, one capable of a credible reliable
solution to the problem of bringing pirates to justice."

France's envoy Gerard Araud called resolution 1976 "a considerable and concrete" step
forward in the battle against piracy off the Somali coast.

The council called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to prepare recommendations

on setting up the courts within two months.
Many of the measures in the resolution are based on ideas proposed by Jack Lang, the
former French minister who carried out a special study for Ban on new legal means to
combat piracy.

Lang had suggested using the international court in Arusha, Tanzania where cases from
the 1994 genocide in Rwanda have been heard. He also said there should be special
courts in the northern Somali enclaves of Somaliland and Puntland.

Authorities in Somaliland last month inaugurated a UN-funded prison to hold pirates

but warned it would not yet accept those detained by foreign powers.

Somali pirates have infested the waters of the Gulf of Aden, southwest of the Arabian
Sea, making it one of the world's most dangerous waterways.

According to Ecoterra International, a group which monitors maritime activity in the

region, Somali pirates currently hold more than 40 vessels and about 700 seafarers. It
says several others vessels, mainly small fishing boats, are missing and believed to have
been captured.
--------------------
Progress in Africa? (Chicago Tribune)
By Unattributed Author
April 11, 2011
After a dispute over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore and George
W. Bush spent five weeks battling in court over the vote count in Florida, which was the
balance of victory. The outcome of Ivory Coast's presidential election last November
was also disputed, but in this case, it produced a bloody shooting war between the two
candidates and their supporters.

On Monday, strongman Laurent Gbagbo was arrested at his presidential palace, where
he had been besieged by opposition fighters and French military units. That does not
guarantee the civil war will end, but it should signify at least the beginning of the end.

Incumbent Gbagbo lost the election to Alassane Ouattara, according to the country's
electoral commission, a verdict certified by the United Nations. So his capture is a
victory of sorts for democracy.

But as is often the case in Africa, democracy is a mixed achievement. To secure that
victory, opposition forces resorted to methods that don't bode well. According to
Human Rights Watch, they "killed hundreds of civilians, raped more than 20 alleged
supporters of his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, and burned at least 10 villages." The
organization found evidence that Gbagbo's forces also committed atrocities.
So the president-elect has a challenging agenda ahead: securing peace, establishing a
government that can start to overcome the violent divisions in the country, and
enforcing accountability on those on either side who committed horrific abuses.

Ivory Coast's experience, unfortunately, has many parallels in the continent of Africa as
a whole. Once a sea of corruption and repression, it saw notable progress toward
democracy during the 1990s, according to surveys by the human rights group Freedom
House. But in the following decade, it didn't live up to all the hopes that had been
raised.

While some countries became democracies in fact, others are only in name. Some
elected governments proved to be no more tolerant of opposition than the regimes they
replaced. Much of the continent, from Niger to Zimbabwe, remains under autocratic
rule.

There have been some conspicuous success stories, though, such as South Africa, Ghana
and Botswana. Says Arch Puddington, research director at Freedom House, "In general,
things have been improving."

For the Middle East, which is currently experiencing a burst of democratic change,
Africa holds a lesson: Worthwhile political change does not always move in a straight
line. Often it retreats and detours before resuming its forward journey. It requires
constant tending to succeed.

But in the right hands and the right public climate, it can flourish. Ivory Coast has been
stalled for the past five months. It's up to President-elect Ouattara to put his country
back on the path last year's election was intended to create.
------------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Security Council to consider plans for specialized Somali courts to try pirates
11 April – Recognizing the need for further steps to boost anti-piracy efforts, the
Security Council today decided to urgently consider the establishment of specialized
Somali courts to try suspected pirates both in the Somalia and in the region.

Ex-leader of Côte d'Ivoire surrenders as UN pledges to help restore rule of law

11 April – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire today confirmed
the surrender of the country's former president Laurent Gbagbo to forces loyal to
President Alassane Ouattara, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged that the UN
will help the West African country restore the rule of law after weeks of fighting and
human rights abuses.