AFRICOM Related News clips 16 March 2011

8/7/2019 AFRICOM Related News clips 16 March 2011

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/africom-related-news-clips-16-march-2011 1/22

United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office16 March 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

G-8 Ministers Fail to Agree on Libya No-Flight Zone (NYT)(Libya) The eight most powerful industrialized nations failed to agree Tuesday on a no-flight zone or any other military operation to help the Libyan opposition, insteadpassing the problem to the United Nations Security Council by urging an undefined

increase of pressure on the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

As UN debates Libya, Kadhafi vows to crush rebels (AFP)(Libya) Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi said he was determined to crush themonth-old uprising against him, while at the UN, proposals for a no-fly zone to groundhis warplanes met stiff resistance.

U.S. Increases Libya Aid (VOA)(Libya) The United States continues to be a leader in supporting relief efforts on theground in and around Libya. The U.S. has to date pledged a total of $47million inemergency assistance for the humanitarian needs of conflict victims, vulnerable

migrants, and others displaced by the increasing civil unrest in Libya.

U.S. looking how to support Libya opposition: Clinton (Reuters)(Libya) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States waslooking at ways to support the opposition to Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi.

Gaddafi·s forces likely to push rebels back to Benghazi, analysts say (WashingtonPost)(Libya) Libya·s military has leveraged its overwhelming advantage in firepower to routrebel forces in recent days, turning the tide of a conflict in which the rebels once seemed

to have had at least a fighting chance.

People Prevented From Fleeing Combat Zones in Libya (VOA)(Libya) The United Nations refugee agency is appealing to countries to provide a safehaven for civilians fleeing violence inside Libya. The UNHCR says it is very worriedthat many people needing to flee combat areas are either unable to go or are beingprevented from leaving.



Ivory Coast Fighting Moves In on Defeated President (Time)(Ivory Coast) Around dawn on Monday, residents in the Youpougon district ofAbidjan, the main town in Ivory Coast, believed that the much-feared civil war reallyhad started when they awoke to the boom of weapons and machine-gun fire. "The noise

went on forever," says a 40-year-old resident, who asked to remain anonymous for hissafety. "The whole building was shuddering."

Ivory Coast's 'Invisible Commandos' attack renegade president's strongholds (Christian Science Monitor)(Ivory Coast) Fighters loyal to Ivory Coast's internationally recognized President-electAlassane Ouattara advanced out of their strongholds in the West African nation's maincity Monday.

North, south Sudan urged to resume separation talks (Reuters)

(Sudan) The United States and other world powers urged south and north Sudan onTuesday to return to talks over the looming division of the country, and to controlarmed groups blamed for recent attacks.

Pirates jailed in 17 nations as prosecutions rise (AP)(Somalia) Five Somali pirates are jailed for life by a U.S. court. Sixty-one suspectedpirates captured at sea face trial in India. Somali prisons are running out of room.

Issoufou Wins Vote in Next Step to Civilian Rule (RFI)(Niger) Social Democratic Party leader Mahamadou Issoufou has won elections in

Niger with 57.95 per cent of the vote. He says he intends to return Niger to civilian ruleafter a military coup in February 2010.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Ban calls on Central African countries to ratify treaty curbing small arms

y Rural Moroccans set to gain from UN-backed anti-poverty project

y UN official urges good management of African resources for economic growth

y T ogolese general selected as force commander of UN mission in Côte d·Ivoire

y New fighting hampers UN efforts to aid thousands displaced in Côte d·Ivoire-------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, March 16, 2011; 9:30 am to 4:00 pm; The BrookingsInstituteWHAT: Defense Challenges and Future Opportunities



WHO: Peter W. Singer, Director, 21st Century Defense Initiative; Ted Piccone, SeniorFellow and Deputy Director of Foreign Policy; COL Timothy McKernan, ExxonMobileSC Corp Fellow and 13 additional DOD/Brookings panelists.Info: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2011/0316_defense_challenges.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FULL ARTICLE TEXT

G-8 Ministers Fail to Agree on Libya No-Flight Zone (NYT)By STEVEN ERLANGERMarch 15, 2011PARIS ³ The eight most powerful industrialized nations failed to agree Tuesday on ano-flight zone or any other military operation to help the Libyan opposition, insteadpassing the problem to the United Nations Security Council by urging an undefinedincrease of pressure on the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

France and Britain pressed for agreement on a no-flight zone, while Germany andRussia opposed the measure and the United States was cautious, officials said, speakinganonymously following diplomatic protocol.

Alain Juppé, the French foreign minister, read a statement after talks among foreignministers of the Group of 8 nations concluded here on Tuesday, saying that they calledon Colonel Qaddafi ´to respect the legitimate claim of the Libyan people tofundamental rights, freedom of expression and a representative form of government.µ

The group also agreed ás a matter of urgency,µ Mr. Juppé said, that ´the U.N. SecurityCouncil should increase the pressure, including economic measures, for MuammarQaddafi to leave.µ He said he hoped for a United Nations resolution by the end of theweek.

Mr. Juppé later told the French Parliament that a no-flight zone was no longer useful.Ít·s past, and it is not what today will stop the advance of Qaddafi.µ Mr. Juppe blamedthe lack of Security Council action so far on China, Russia and an American positionthat he called undefined.

Íf today we are stuck, it·s not only because Europe is impotent, it·s because at the

Security Council, for now, China doesn·t want any mention of a resolution leading tothe international community·s interference in a country·s affairs,µ he said. Ńever mindthat there·s European impotence, but what about American power? What about Russianpower? What·s China·s power over Libya?µ he said to the Parliament·s foreign affairscommittee.



´Russia is evolving and the Americans haven·t yet defined their position on Libya,µ Mr. Juppé said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who left early on Tuesday for talks withEgyptian political and military leaders in Cairo, had met Monday evening with a senior

representative of the Libyan opposition, Mahmoud Jibril, who reportedly asked forarms and a no-flight zone.

But she was reported by American officials to be noncommittal, as well as eager to haveArab countries join in any such zone should the United Nations authorize one. TheArab League called for a no-flight zone, but did not specify that its members wouldparticipate in implementing one.

The French have been vocal in support of the anti-Qaddafi forces, recognizing them asthe legitimate government of Libya. But French statements have not been supported by

any unilateral action. Speaking Tuesday morning on Europe 1 radio, Mr. Juppé saidthat the world had missed an opportunity to act when it might have mattered more.

Íf we had used military force last week to neutralize some airstrips and the severaldozen planes that they have, perhaps the reversal taking place to the detriment of theopposition wouldn·t have happened,µ he said.

It has never been clear what role France expected to play in any no-flight zone, sinceMr. Juppé had also ruled out using NATO as an instrument in Libya, saying that thealliance had an ággressiveµ image in the Arab world.

Mr. Juppé later cited a sea embargo among possible alternative means of applyingpressure, and an American official said there was a discussion of providing ´safezonesµ for civilians and enacting more economic sanctions.

´Military intervention is not the solution,µ said the German foreign minister, GuidoWesterwelle . ´We do not want to get sucked into a war in North Africa and we wouldnot like to step on a slippery slope where we all are, at the end, in a war.µ

Franco Frattini, the foreign minister of Italy, which has the closest oil and economic tieswith Libya of any European country, said Russia had argued that a no-flight zonewould be ineffective and even counterproductive.

China, which has a veto at the Security Council, also opposes a no-flight zone, but it isnot a member of the G-8.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the German television station RTL on Tuesday,Colonel Qaddafi praised the position of Germany and said Libya would trade with it in



the future for oil, but that otherwise, ´the West is to be forgotten.µ He said Libyan oilcontracts would go ´to Russian, Chinese and Indian firms.µ----------------------- As UN debates Libya, Kadhafi vows to crush rebels (AFP)March 16, 2011

TRIPOLI - Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi said he was determined to crush themonth-old uprising against him, while at the UN, proposals for a no-fly zone to groundhis warplanes met stiff resistance.

And as Kadhafi's army announced it would soon move against the rebel bastion ofBenghazi, anti-aircraft batteries and heavy artillery opened up in the rebel stronghold.

"If this is a foreign plot, we will crush it; if it is a domestic plot, we will crush it," saidKadhafi, who has repeatedly blamed Al-Qaeda and Western powers for the revoltagainst his four decades of rule.

Late Tuesday, Kadhafi's army said it would soon move on the opposition stronghold ofBenghazi, 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) east of Tripoli, Libya's second city.

A statement addressed to its residents said: "The armed forces are arriving to ensureyour security, undo the injustice done to you, protect you, restore calm and bring lifeback to normal.

"This is a humanitarian operation being undertaken in your interests, and is not aimedat taking revenge against anyone," it added.

It was not clear if the gunfire heard in Benghazi heralded an assault by loyalists:fireworks were also heard following rumours, later denied, that Kahdafi's Tripoliresidence had been bombed.

There were conflicting reports too as to whether Kadhafi's troops had taken the town ofAjdabiya, the gateway to Benghazi, 160 kilometres to the south.

State television claimed earlier: "Ajdabiya is totally controlled and is being cleansed ofarmed gangs."

A French news photographer said loyalists had outflanked the rebel forces, cutting theroad north towards Benghazi, amid scenes of chaos in the city.

But rebel spokesman Khaled al-Sayeh later denied Ajdabiya had fallen, "(It) is still in thehands of the revolutionaries," he said.



"Army units tried to get back into the town, but our forces drove them off," he told journalists in Benghazi.

Sayeh also denied that the road from Ajdabiya had been cut by loyalists.

"They have been liquidated," he said.

But in Tripoli, deputy foreign minister khaled Kaaim told AFP Kadhafi's forces hadtaken Ajdabiya.

"There are still some elements firing, and our forces are pursuing them. We are nowbeyond Ajdabiya -- our forces are heading for Benghazi," he added.

Shelling and air strikes that pounded Ajdabiya earlier killed and wounded anundetermined number of people.

At the hospital, wounded and dead rebels were being brought in from the front line justa few kilometres away.

Some were accompanied by unhurt fighters, sparking fierce rows with doctors whoaccused them of leaving the battle, but the rebels said they were completely outgunned.

Earlier, rebels in Ajdabiya manned anti-aircraft guns pointing down the boulevardalong which Kadhafi's troops were expected to appear.

Doctor Suleiman al-Obeidi said: "We want a no-fly zone and surgical strikes. We arecivilians. What can we do against heavy weapons? Against tanks, (Russian-made) Gradrockets and warships?"

But leading powers meeting in Paris failed to back military intervention, turninginstead to the United Nations.

Group of Eight foreign ministers "agreed that the UN Security Council should increasethe pressure, including through economic measures, for Moamer Kadhafi to leave," saidthe French host, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.

A drive by France and Britain to impose a no-fly zone over Libya failed to convinceother European Union members in the G8 bloc, as well as the United States and Russia.

But London and Paris are pursuing their efforts at the Security Council.



New "paragraph by paragraph" talks on the two-part draft resolution are to be held onWednesday, said Britain's envoy Mark Lyall Grant. But diplomats said no vote waslikely before Thursday.

Lebanon, acting for the Arab League, proposed half of the resolution which calls for a

no-fly zone to protect civilians.

The second part, drawn up by Britain and France, calls for toughened sanctions againstthe Kadhafi regime, including adding new names of individuals and entities face anasset freeze and travel ban, diplomats said.

China and Russia are leading opposition to the no-fly zone however.

The United States is very cautious and Germany favors putting new bite into the armsembargo, travel ban and assets freeze passed by the council on February 26.

French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud stressed that time was of the essence.

"We are deeply distressed by the fact that the things are worsening on the ground, thatthe Kadhafi forces are moving forward extremely quickly and that this council has notyet reacted," he said.

Juppe meanwhile accused China of blocking Security Council action.

"If today we are stuck, it's not only because Europe is impotent, it's because at the

Security Council, for now, China doesn't want any mention of a resolution leading tothe international community's interference in a country's affairs," he said.

The White House defended President Barack Obama's reluctance to order US forces tomount a no-fly zone, following domestic criticism.

"I do not believe that the American people would want the US president to actunilaterally in a way to engage militarily without taking careful consideration of whatthe consequences of that would be," spokesman Jay Carney said.

Washington meanwhile announced sanctions on Libya's Foreign Minister Mussa Kussaand 16 state-owned companies.----------------------- U.S. Increases Libya Aid (VOA)By Unattributed AuthorMarch 15, 2011The United States continues to be a leader in supporting relief efforts on the ground inand around Libya. The U.S. has to date pledged a total of $47million in emergency



assistance for the humanitarian needs of conflict victims, vulnerable migrants, andothers displaced by the increasing civil unrest in Libya.

Third country nationals who have fled the violence in Libya continue to requireevacuation to their home countries. The United States is working with these countries,

the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, and other international partnersto assist these people to go home.

The U.S. is providing $13 million to IOM to support the transportation of thousands ofpeople from Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia who fled Libya and are now inTunisia and Egypt. Seven million dollars in U.S. funds are going to the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees, which is working in both Tunisia and Egypt,including managing the transit center in Tunisia near the Tunisia-Libya border that iscurrently providing basic services to thousands of migrants. Another $7million is forthe International Committee of the Red Cross to assist their efforts in meeting

humanitarian needs in the region arising from the unrest and armed confrontations inLibya.

The United States has set aside up to $10 million to support international and non-governmental organizations, operating inside Libya, ensuring that health facilities ineastern Libya have adequate medical supplies and staff.

The United States has approved a $10 million contribution to the World Food Program.The aid will help meet the need for food of those who have fled Libya into Tunisia andEgypt, and to pre-position food to assist those who are most vulnerable to a

deterioration of humanitarian conditions within Libya. The United States has alsodeployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to the region to identify humanitarianneeds on the ground and to coordinate the international efforts to provide humanitarianassistance as quickly as possible.

The United States is committed to working with the United Nations, the EuropeanUnion and other European partners, the Arab League, the African Union, and Libya·sneighbors to meet the humanitarian needs of the people in the region.-----------------------U.S. looking how to support Libya opposition: Clinton (Reuters)By Unattributed AuthorTue Mar 15, 2011 2:39pm EDTCAIRO - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States waslooking at ways to support the opposition to Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi.

"We understand the urgency of this. And therefore we are upping our humanitarianassistance. We are looking for ways to support the opposition," said Clinton, speakingat a news conference during a visit to Cairo.



"But we believe that this must be an international effort and that there (have) to bedecisions made in the (U.N.) Security Council in order for any of these steps to goforward," she said.-----------------------------

Gaddafi·s forces likely to push rebels back to Benghazi, analysts say (WashingtonPost)By Craig WhitlockMarch 15, 2:12 PMLibya·s military has leveraged its overwhelming advantage in firepower to rout rebelforces in recent days, turning the tide of a conflict in which the rebels once seemed tohave had at least a fighting chance.

Col. Moammar Gaddafi leads the worst-trained, worst-maintained military in NorthAfrica, but his decrepit armed forces have consolidated control around Tripoli, the

capital, and steadily reclaimed several cities and coastal territory that had temporarilyfallen into rebel hands.

Absent foreign intervention, officials and analysts predict that leaders of the uprisingwill be forced to retreat completely to their base in the eastern city of Benghazi andadopt guerrilla tactics more in keeping with a classic insurgency.

´The rebels simply don·t have the expertise or equipment to hold territory,µ said FredWehrey, a RAND Corp. security analyst and reserve officer in the U.S. Air Force, whowas in Libya on assignment until last month. ´Their best case may be to withdraw into

terrain that·s better suited to a lightly equipped rebel force where they could try tosimply bleed the regime dry.µ

Unlike deposed rulers Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia,Gaddafi has survived a popular revolt because he has largely maintained the loyalty ofhis armed forces. In turn, those forces have been willing to brutalize and kill civilians, aline that the Egyptian and Tunisian militaries would not cross.

A similar dynamic is likely to shape the outcome of other Arab uprisings as autocratsacross the Middle East quickly re-assess whether they can count on their security forcesto keep them in power. In Bahrain ³ where the ruling al-Khalifa family has long staffedthe army with fellow Sunni Muslims from Pakistan to keep the country·s majority Shiitepopulation in check ³ an estimated 2,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and the UnitedArab Emirates have been brought in to maintain control.

In Libya, Gaddafi has outlasted an initial wave of troop defections by leaning on aninner circle of family members and trusted aides.



Responsibility for protecting the Libyan leader and Tripoli rests with his son, Khamis,the Russian-trained leader of the 32nd Brigade, the best-equipped unit in Libya. U.S.officials said the 32nd Brigade has led the crackdown in the capital and has alsorecaptured or besieged nearby cities on the Mediterranean coast, such as Zawiyah andMisurata.

A different brigade, believed to be led by another Gaddafi son, Saadi, has movedeastward toward the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Yet another son, Mutassim, serves asLibya·s national security adviser. A brother-in-law, Abdullah Senoussi, is the longtimehead of military intelligence.

´These people know that if he goes down, they·ll go down with him,µ said Chuck Cecil,a retired State Department official who served as the top U.S. diplomat in Libya from2006 to 2007. ´There·s going to be a lot of retribution. So for them, it·s a fight to preservetheir own lives.µ

Precise details of Libya·s military power are murky, but the London-based InternationalInstitute for Strategic Studies recently estimated that Gaddafi had 119,000 militarypersonnel at his disposal, including 45,000 reservists, prior to the rebellion. Those forcesinclude 10 tank battalions with an estimated 2,000 tanks, 28 infantry battalions andseven air defense battalions.

Analysts, however, have characterized the Libyan military as poorly trained and itsequipment ³ much of it purchased from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s ³ inbad condition, because of international sanctions. Many of its tanks and aircraft have

been disabled or kept in storage because of a lack of qualified soldiers and pilots.

Íts overall ratio of weapons to manpower is militarily absurd, and Libya hascompounded its problems by buying a wide diversity of equipment types that make itall but impossible to create an effective training and support base,µ Anthony H.Cordesman and Aram Nerguizian of the Center for Strategic and International Studiesin Washington concluded in a December study.

Rebel leaders have accused Gaddafi of ordering airstrikes against civilians and havecalled on the United States and NATO to impose a ńo-flyµ zone over Libya. OnSaturday, the Arab League also endorsed such a plan.

U.S. officials and analysts, however, have said that Gaddafi·s air units have played alimited role in the conflict. Most of his planes are grounded, they said, and those thatcan fly rely on outdated technology.



Instead, Gaddafi·s forces have used artillery and tanks, mostly T-72 Soviet-built models,to pound rebel-held cities. In recent days, several mechanized infantry units havemoved quickly into eastern Libya.

´Psychologically, air power is very impressive, but what you really need to take back

territory are forces on the ground,µ said Alexander von Rosenbach, armed forces editorfor Jane·s, the British security and defense research firm.

Rebel forces seized control of several arms depots in the eastern part of the country,including large ones near Benghazi and Ajdabiya that are well stocked with mortars,rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, said Gary Li, a military analyst with theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies.

The rebels also appear to have stocks of Grad truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers,but have not made much use of them because of a lack of training, Li said. Rebel forces

are commanded by professional Libyan military officers who defected, but in generaltheir ragtag units are loosely organized.

As Gaddafi·s forces push closer to Benghazi ³ which is about 400 miles east of thecapital ³ their biggest challenge might be the risk of spreading themselves too thin.Analysts said it could be difficult for the military to maintain adequate supply lines andfuel reserves, and that rebel sabotage would likely emerge as a threat.

´They·re barely able to keep a lid on Tripoli,µ Li said. ´We don·t really know how manyresources they have left.µ

-------------------------People Prevented From Fleeing Combat Zones in Libya (VOA)By Lisa SchleinMarch 15, 2011Geneva - The United Nations refugee agency is appealing to countries to provide a safehaven for civilians fleeing violence inside Libya. The UNHCR says it is very worriedthat many people needing to flee combat areas are either unable to go or are beingprevented from leaving.

Fighting in Libya is intensifying. And yet, the U.N. refugee agency says relatively fewpeople are fleeing across borders in search of refuge.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming calls this very strange and very worrying. In asituation of conflict, she says significant numbers of injured people and women andchildren typically head for other countries in search of safety.

But so far, she says UNHCR staffs at the borders with Egypt and Tunisia are seeing farfewer people crossing the border than would be expected given the level of the conflict.



´We appeal again to all parties to ensure safe passage for all civilians fleeing theviolence. We continue to worry about the sub-Saharan nationals who are in all parts ofLibya. We believe their situation is particularly critical. We are still getting calls fromthem, anguished calls on our hotlines. And we are hearing that Eritrean refugees are

being detained in detention centers in both eastern and western parts of the country,µshe said.

Fleming says people fleeing Libya are reporting that those who are injured are notbeing allowed to leave. She says she does not know why. But she says some may bedissuaded because the journey from Libya to Tunisia is difficult and intimidating.

The UNHCR spokesman notes the road is riddled with military checkpoints, wherepeople are stopped and their valuables and other possessions stolen.

Despite this, she says there is an increase in the numbers of Libyan citizens fleeingtowns under fire who are crossing the borders.

´So, just to note that trend, while this was, and probably still is, can be characterized asa primarily evacuation of the migrant population, it could very well, very quickly turninto a situation of mixed flows, as we say, or a refugee crisis,µ Fleming stated.

According to Fleming, the U.N. High Commissioner, Antonio Guterres, has released anadditional $5 million from UNHCR·s operational reserve. This money is to cover thecosts of a further 75 UNHCR flights, which will carry some 15,000 Africans to sub-

Saharan African destinations.

Since the crisis erupted in February, the UNHCR reports more than 280,000 people havefled the violence in Libya.----------------------Ivory Coast Fighting Moves In on Defeated President (Time)By Monica MarkMarch 15, 2011Abidjan - Around dawn on Monday, residents in the Youpougon district of Abidjan, themain town in Ivory Coast, believed that the much-feared civil war really had startedwhen they awoke to the boom of weapons and machine-gun fire. "The noise went onforever," says a 40-year-old resident, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety."The whole building was shuddering."

Ivory Coast has been rocked by months of post-electoral turmoil after presidentialincumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down despite losing to Alassane Ouattara inthe November vote. The southwestern suburb of Youpougon houses the residence ofthe country's army chief of staff ³ who remains loyal to Gbagbo ³ and on Monday



fighting was heaviest around there. At about the same time, a base camp of youthgroups loyal to Gbagbo also came under attack. "The death toll is literally in the dozens.I challenge anyone to come and look at the wreck of the camp this morning and tell mea single person survived the attack," says Tea Kambou, a resident on the neighboringstreet.

State television, tightly controlled by Gbagbo, has denied that any fighting took placearound the army chief's compound. But residents say Monday's fighting marks a sharpescalation in the months-long battle between Gbagbo and the internationally recognizedpresident-elect Alassane Ouattara. Observers have warned that the post-electoraldispute threatens to re-ignite a 2002 civil war. With Gbagbo ignoring the latest deadlineset by the African Union (AU) on March 11 ³ the fourth time a high-level AUdelegation has visited Ivory Coast since the polls ³ his obstinacy may boost aburgeoning insurgency loyal to his opponent.

The insurgents call themselves the "invisible commandos," and their identity has yet tobe fully confirmed. Monday's battles are the first time they have pushed out of thenorthern suburb of Abobo ³ where at least 400 have died in the crossfire, according tothe United Nations. The quartier's streets are spookily deserted after almost all of its200,000 residents have fled. On the night of March 13, fighting was reported in theneighborhood of Adjame, a 2.5-mile swathe of suburb linking Abobo and Youpougon.This points to a huge insurgent advance southwards, bringing the combat withinsignificant range of the presidential palace where Gbagbo has hunkered down formonths.

And the violence hasn't been contained to Abidjan. New Force rebel soldiers, wholaunched the 2002 civil war against Gbagbo that divided the country, have marched ona southwards offensive. Prior to the November polls, government services had begun toresume in the northern territory under the New Force's control and the group had saidit had disarmed. But on the afternoon of March 13, the town of Doke, along the Liberianborder, became the fourth town to fall to the rebels. "I left my fruit stall and ran home assoon as I heard gunfire," says market vendor Sia Ssatdou, 22, in Doke. "I thought, thankGod my family have already moved to Liberia."

Ssatdou's family are among the nearly 100,000 people who have flooded theneighboring country, according to the U.N., which is bracing for 150,000 refugees.Across Ivory Coast, some 400,000 have been displaced. Liberian mercenaries fighting onboth sides ³ although primarily for Gbagbo, according to the U.N. and aid groups ³are known to enter Ivory Coast using the heavily forested area around Doke. The smalldust-road town also lies only a few miles from the strategically important town ofBlolequin, which is heavily guarded by forces loyal to Gbagbo.





In the early hours of Monday, the fighters slipped into the Banco forest, a wild greenexpanse in the center of the city, emerging on the other side and laying siege to thehouse of the head of Gbagbo's army. The house is located at the edge of Yopougon, anotoriously pro-Gbagbo neighborhood where Ouattara supporters were lynched, andin some cases burned alive, in the past couple of weeks.

It's unclear whether the Invisible Commandos took the house and then abandoned it, assome of them who were contacted by telephone claimed, or whether the attack wassuccessfully repelled, as Gbagbo's government announced on state television. At theend of the day, however, Gbagbo's police were again in control of the neighborhood.

West Africa's gem now a war zoneAbidjan, once known as the "Jewel of West Africa," is starting to look more and morelike a war zone.

Bullet holes scar building facades and puncture the doors of parked cars. Roadblocksmanned alternatively by police, soldiers, and armed militias proliferate.

"I'm scared to come to work," says one hotelier who asked that his name not bepublished. "These boys running the roadblocks threaten everyone. They grabbed mybag to search it even though it only contains my work shoes."

The Nov. 28 election was intended to reunite the country after a civil war andprotracted peace process had allowed Gbagbo to stay in power five years after hismandate expired.

Instead, it thrust the world's top cocoa producer back to the brink of civil war.

Ouattara, by all measures, won the election, but the country's constitutional council, in adubiously constitutional move, unilaterally threw out more than half a million votesand overturned the results, declaring Gbagbo the winner. Ouattara has received thenear-unanimous support of the international community, and has translated this intofinancial sanctions in an attempt to starve Gbagbo out of power. Gbagbo, however,maintains control of the state bureaucracy and its security forces, which he has beenusing to hunt down and execute Ouattara supporters, spreading a campaign of terrorthat the UN says has killed more than 400 people.

The 'Invisible Commandos'The mysterious Invisible Commandos rose up after a particularly brutal crackdown twoweeks ago when seven women were mowed down by military police with machineguns.Ouattara's political advisers deny having any control over the irregular fighters, who upuntil now were simply defending their neighborhoods from police attack. Speculation is



rife, however, that the Invisible Commandos are led by members of the New Forcesrebels, known as FN for their French acronym, a well-equipped and well-trainedprofessional army loyal to Ouattara.

Monday's advance comes on the heels of yet another failed mediation effort, when the

African Union endorsed Ouattara's victory and demanded Gbagbo step downimmediately. Gbagbo's camp rejected this, as it has rejected a half-dozen previousinternational mediation attempts, and Ouattara's ground-level support seems to betaking the situation into their own hands, pushing for a military solution in spite oftheir leader's reticence.

"We assumed at the beginning that President Gbagbo had a large military force," sayslocal United Nations peacekeeping mission head Choi Young-jin. "But this doesn't at allcorrespond with the facts since the majority of the military doesn't want to fight."

Out of a total of more than 50,000 police and military forces under Gbagbo's control, Mr.Choi believes that only the 5,000 special forces troops will fight to defend theirpresident.

Standing against them are somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 New Forces rebels andthe small but determined force of invisible commandos.

Rebels take towns in the westFar from the fighting in Abidjan, the rebels are also pressing forward in the jungle in thewest of the country along the border with Liberia. Over the weekend the FN took a

fourth town there, attempting to seal the border to prevent Gbagbo from smuggling inweapons and mercenaries. While some analysts speculate that the rebels will push 250miles south to the country's strategic port of San Pedro to gain a foothold on the coast,others doubt the rebel's ability to sustain such a large offensive.

"That border is 100 percent porous, and would take thousands of soldiers to patrol evenquasieffectively," says Christian Bock, senior adviser at the London-based securityconsulting firm Avascent International. "(The) FN have indeed taken all major crossingarteries, but there is still a very fluid passing of men and materiel."

One Western diplomat, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, says that Ouattaradoesn't want to attack because as a legitimately elected leader he doesn't want to beseen to take the country by force. Perhaps more important, the diplomat says, it'sbecause he lacks the munitions to do so ² though it's difficult to assess the militarycapabilities of both sides.





The United States, Britain and Norway, who formed a troika to support the 2005 accord,issued a joint statement saying they were seriously concerned about the suspension oftalks on preparations for the secession.

"We call upon the parties to take immediate measures to restrain armed groups under

their influence," they said.

More than 100 people died in clashes between north and south-linked groups in thecentral, fertile Abyei region -- claimed by both sides -- earlier this month, said the south.

On Saturday militias attacked Malakal, the capital of south Sudan's Upper Nile state,and killed at least 42 people, the southern army that defended the town said.

Southern government minister Pagan Amum accused Khartoum on Saturday of armingmilitias in both those attacks and other recent clashes in the south.

Khartoum dismissed the accusation and says the south has sent troops into Abyeidisguised as police officers. Abyei is supposed to be patrolled only by joint north-southarmy and police units.

African Union chairman Jean Ping released a statement calling the violence and Abyeiborder tension "disturbing" and said both sides should return to talks.

Before the weekend, the north's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the south'sSudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) had been making slow progress in talkson issues like the position of their border, and how to divide debts and assets after the

split.------------------------Pirates jailed in 17 nations as prosecutions rise (AP)By Unattributed AuthorMarch 15, 2011NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ³ Five Somali pirates are jailed for life by a U.S. court. Sixty-onesuspected pirates captured at sea face trial in India. Somali prisons are running out ofroom.

Pirates captured at sea by international navies used to be routinely set free because nocountry wanted the hassle and expense of a court case. But as piracy has flourished andturned increasingly violent, an unprecedented 17 countries are prosecuting pirates incourts around the world.

The increase in arrests and prosecutions shows a growing recognition of the globalproblem piracy has become, said Alan Cole, the head of the U.N.'s anti-piracy program.



In recent months, six hostages have been killed ³ including four Americans on ahijacked yacht ³ and pirates have begun using explosives and blow torches to cutcrews out of the secure rooms they sometimes retreat to during attacks.

"Piracy is becoming quite a high-risk enterprise," said Cole. "We see pirates in prison in

Kenya, the Seychelles and Maldives. They are amazed to come in and see their cousins,brothers and friends in there. They thought they had all made it and gone to open shopsin Europe. The recruiters are lying to them."

Seventeen nations have put more than 850 pirates on trial in the past year and a half,Cole said, including five Somali pirates given life sentences in a U.S. court on Monday.Before the five were convicted late last year, the last U.S. conviction for piracy was in1819.

A U.S. federal judge was set to decide Tuesday whether 14 more suspected pirates

should remain in jail while awaiting trial on charges of piracy, kidnapping and firearmscharges in the February yacht hijacking that left the four Americans dead.

In Somalia's semiautonomous region of Puntland, Cole said, authorities were releasingsome low-level criminals to make room for pirates in the overcrowded jail in the portcity of Bosasso. The U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime was funding a prison extensionof 200 beds to help hold the extra prisoners, he said.

But attacks are increasing, not decreasing.

That's partly due to pirates' changing tactics. They are using captured vessels as"motherships" ³ a mobile base from which to launch small attack skiffs. The hostagesbecome human shields, preventing warships from intervening, said Cmdr. PaddyO'Kennedy of the European Union Naval Force.

On Sunday night, the Indian navy attacked the fishing boat Vega 5, which had beenused as a mothership, in self-defense. Sixty-one pirates were captured and were beingtaken to Mumbai, India's financial capital, to be prosecuted.

O'Kennedy said that because pirates are now using motherships they can now launchattacks during the northeastern monsoon, which was prohibitive when pirates onlyused smaller skiffs.

During the monsoon in January 2010, there were 7 piracy incidents. In January 2011 thatnumber shot up to 37, he said.

O'Kennedy said only 93 suspected pirates had been sent to court out of 770 piratesdetained by the EU Naval Force since it began keeping records in December 2008. Many



countries will not try suspects for conspiracy to commit piracy, because suspectscaptured with weapons and ladders often cannot be tied to a specific attack.

Even if countries are willing to try pirates, many are not willing to jail them. ThomasWinkler, an official from the Danish Foreign Ministry who helps coordinate the

international response to piracy, said that although Somali courts might not be able tohandle all piracy cases, Somalia was the natural place for pirates to serve their jailterms.

"The main challenge is not about courtrooms, it is about where they can serve their jailterms," he said. During a meeting in Copenhagen last month, U.N. officials suggestedthat the Somali region of Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland buildmore jails to accommodate pirates convicted outside the country.

Last month, the island nation of the Seychelles, whose fishing and tourism industries

have been hard hit by piracy, reached a deal to begin repatriating captured Somalipirates to their home country. It also changed its law last year to allow the prosecutionof pirates who attack non-Seychelles-flagged ships, provided the flag country consents.

The state counsel in Seychelles, Michael Mulkerrins, said his country is prosecutingpirates because the scourge has had a "huge impact" on the economy.

Winkler also said Somali pirates should serve jail terms in Somalia, where they may beable to be rehabilitated. But he said trials must be held overseas.

"It is necessary to prosecute them outside Somalia because our sailors and ships areattacked," said Winkler. "While we are waiting the stability to return to Somalia, wehave to prosecute them outside Somalia."--------------------------Issoufou Wins Vote in Next Step to Civilian Rule (RFI)By Unattrbitued Author14 March 2011Social Democratic Party leader Mahamadou Issoufou has won elections in Niger with57.95 per cent of the vote. He says he intends to return Niger to civilian rule after amilitary coup in February 2010.

Issoufou defeated former Prime Minister Seini Oumarou, who took 42.05 per cent in therunoff election held on Saturday, according to the Niger electoral commission.

Voter turnout was 48.17 per cent, down from 51.56 per cent in the first round on 31 January.



"There was wild jubilation when the result was announced," says correspondent BenShemang. "The party of the defeated candidate has always insisted that the president-elect has been favoured by the military government. Many supporters of the president-elect are quick to reply that the defeated candidate is a very close friend of the deposedpresident, Mamadou Tandja."

There have been no reports of rigging anywhere.

The result is still provisional because a constitutional court still has to confirm it.

Oumarou, leader of the National Party for Democracy and Socialism, is a former ally ofPresident Mamadou Tandja, who was toppled in a military coup last year after heattempted to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limits.

Issoufou, a longtime opponent of Tandja's rule, was the favourite after taking the lead

in the first round vote.

He strengthened his candidacy by forging alliances, especially with Hama Amadou,another former premier under Tandja who garnered 19 per cent in the first round vote.

Niger's junta vowed to hand over power civilian government after it took power lastyear. No junta member ran in the election.

"If we can hold a successful election then together we will have accomplished bringingabout a democracy that can serve as an example to Africa," junta leader General Salou

Djibo said as he cast his ballot on Saturday.

Djibo urged candidates to respect the outcome of the vote.

The junta leader is scheduled to hand over to Issoufou on 6 April. The civilian andmilitary authorities have signed a "republican pact" by which they have agreed torespect the country's new constitution, adopted at the end of last year.---------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

Ban calls on Central African countries to ratify treaty curbing small arms15 March ² Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Central African nations toratify as soon as possible a regional convention curbing light arms and small calibreweapons, pledging United Nations support for the measure in the furtherance of peaceand stability.



Documents

AFRICOM Related News clips 16 March 2011