AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 January 2011

8/7/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 January 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office24 January 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

New Africom chief will consider base in Africa despite initial opposition (The EastAfrican)(Pan Africa) The incoming head of the US Africa Command has promised to considerAfrican countries as part of a review of where Africoms headquarters should besituated.

Nigeria: US Africa Command chief to visit Nigeria (Afrique en Ligne)(Nigeria) Deputy Commander of the U.S. Africa Command, Ambassador J. AnthonyHolmes, will visit Nigeria 24-28 January, the US Embassy in Nigeria said in a statementobtained by PANA here Thursday.

US envoy visits Nigeria over security (Next.com)(Nigeria) The Deputy to the Commander of the U.S. Africa Command will be visitingNigeria from January 24 to 28 to meet with the nation's security officials to evaluate thenation's security challenges relative to the continent.

US focus on Africa to rise, but Agoa extension may hit resistance (Engineering News)(Pan Africa) President Barack Obamas Administration remained profoundlycommitted to putting Africa back at the centre of US foreign policy and there would bea greater emphasis on Africa in 2011 and 2012, Deputy Assistant Secretary for PublicDiplomacy in the Bureau of African Affairs Bruce Wharton said in Washington DC thisweek.

Future of Sudan's Darfur uncertain post-referendum (Associated Press)(Sudan) International mediators and rights groups are calling for stronger efforts tosettle the eight-year Darfur conflict, fearing that the expected breakaway of the south

may push Khartoum's leaders to clamp down harder on dissent and place stricter limitson an international role in Darfur and other areas that remain under its direct control.

Central African Republic goes to the polls (AFP)(Central African Republic) Voters cast their ballots Sunday in the Central AfricanRepublic's presidential and parliamentary polls, with incumbent President FrancoisBozize widely expected to retain power amid charges of fraud.


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Somalia Is Likely to Cut Ties To Mercenaries, Official Says (New York Times)(Somalia) The minister of information for the transitional federal government here saidSunday that Somalia was likely to end its relationship with Saracen International, aprivate security company in which South African mercenaries and the founder of

Blackwater Worldwide are said to be involved.

South Korean special forces seize ship from Somali pirates (Associated Press)(Somalia) In a daring and rare raid Friday, South Korean special forces rescued all 21crew members aboard a freighter hijacked in the Arabian Sea near Africa, killing eightpirates and capturing five others, South Korea said.

West African Bank Replaces Head to Cut Off Ivory Coast Government(Voice ofAmerica)(Ivory Coast) West African leaders have replaced the head of the region's central bank

in a move to further isolate the incumbent president of Ivory Coast who is refusing togive up power to the internationally-recognized winner of November's vote.

Tunisian Police Arrest Allies of Ben Ali (Associated Press)(Tunisia) Police in Tunisia cracked down Sunday on key allies of the ousted president,placing two high-ranking officials under house arrest and detaining the head of a well-known private TV station for allegedly trying to slow down the country's nascent stepstoward democracy.

Oil-Field Contractor in Ghana Is Probed (Wall street Journal)

(Ghana) Kosmos Energy Ltd., a major player in exploiting a vast new oil field in Ghana,revealed it is the latest energy company grappling with the fallout from a U.S.crackdown on corporate bribery in foreign countries.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Latest round of UN-backed Western Sahara talks concludes in New Yorky UN-AU force monitoring Darfur camp after Government search operationy Somali drought worsening, driving herders with livestock into capital, UN saysy Ban hopes Central African Republic elections will advance stabilityy Heavy rainfall triggers flood alert in southern Africa UN

-------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 12:00; Elliott School of InternationalAffairs, George Washington UniversityWHAT: Tunisia: Protests and Prospects for Change


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WHO: Christopher Alexander, Associate Professor of Political Science, Dean RuskInternational Studies Program; Associate Dean for International Programs, DavidsonCollege; John P. Entelis, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Middle EastStudies Program, Fordham UniversityInfo:

http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=1

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 6:30 pm; Elliott School of InternationalAffairs, George Washington UniversityWHAT: The Referendum in Southern SudanWHO: Jendayi Frazer, Distinguished Public Service Professor; Director, Center forInternational Policy and Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University; Former U.S. AssistantSecretary of State for African Affairs (2005-2009)Info:

http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=1#1402

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 12:30 pm; School of AdvancedInternational Studies, Johns Hopkins UniversityWHAT: After the Referendum: The Future of Sudan and South SudanWHO: Andrew Natsios, distinguished professor of international development at theWalsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and former U.S. specialenvoy to Sudan, and Omar Ismail, adviser for the Enough ProjectInfo: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/calendar/index.htm

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9, 2011; National DefenseIndustrial Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DCWHAT: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development: Translating Policy into OperationalCapabilityWHO: Keynote Speakers include ADM Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefsof Staff; BG Simon Hutchinson, GBR, Deputy Commander, NATO Special OperationsForces Headquarters; ADM Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander, U.S. Special OperationsCommand; Gen Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air ForceInfo: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1880/Pages/default.aspx----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FULL ARTICLE TEXT

New Africom chief will consider base in Africa despite initial opposition (The EastAfrican)

The incoming head of the US Africa Command has promised to consider Africancountries as part of a review of where Africoms headquarters should be situated.


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I think we ought to consider locations on the continent of Africa, Gen Carter Hamtold a US Senate panel that was assessing his appointment in November.

Gen Ham was chosen by President Barack Obama to succeed Africoms first

commander, Gen William Ward, who recently visited Tanzania and Rwanda on afarewell tour.

Gen Ward is credited with having partly soothed the suspicions with which manyAfrican leaders have viewed Africom since its inception four years ago.

Liberia is the only African nation that has publicly offered to host Africom.

Misgivings among Africans about the commands purposes caused the Pentagon toscrap initial plans to locate Africoms headquarters on the continent. It has been based

in Stuttgart, Germany, for the past three years.

Some Africans worry that the move represents a neo-colonial effort to dominate theregion militarily, the US Congress research arm said in a recent report reviewingAfricoms creation and current status.

Reports of US air strikes in Somalia in recent years and US support for Ethiopiasmilitary intervention there have added to those concerns, the report noted. Manyview US counter-terrorism efforts in Africa with skepticism, and there appears to be awidespread belief that the new commands primary goals will be to hunt terrorists and

to secure US access to African oil.

Africom is also seen as an instrument in the US competition with China for influence inAfrica.

In addition to the political obstacles to basing the command in Africa, a 2009 study citedissues such as poor infrastructure as disincentives to moving the headquarters out ofEurope.

The instability of many African countries was seen in the study by US Navy officer OttoSieber as another factor in favour of keeping Africoms nerve centre in Germany orrelocating it to the US.

Concerns about the safety of the 1,000 US military and civilian personnel who staffAfricoms headquarters makes it additionally unlikely that the command will be movedto a continent viewed as more vulnerable than Europe or North America to an attack bymilitants.


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Transportation factors, however, work in favour of a headquarters in Africa.

Stuttgart is eight hours by air from Kenya, for example, and alternate potential sites inEurope and the US are not much closer.

Regardless of Africoms ultimate location, this $300 million-a-year operation willremain only one aspect of the USs extensive military involvement in Africa.

Soon after the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the US established amilitary base in Djibouti.

Housed in a former French army installation called Camp Lemonnier, this CombinedJoint Task Force/Horn of Africa has emerged as an important strategic centre a shortdistance from hotspots such as Somalia and Yemen.

The 2,000 troops based there conduct naval and air patrols while also carrying outhearts-and-minds civic initiatives such as digging wells in northern Kenya.

The Djibouti-based force also conducts training for Ugandan and Burundian troopsdefending the US-backed government in Somalia.

The US military has separately trained more than 150,000 African soldiers from 20-pluscountries during the past dozen years.------------------Nigeria: US Africa Command chief to visit Nigeria (Afrique en Ligne)

Lagos, Nigeria - Deputy Commander of the U.S. Africa Command, Ambassador J.Anthony Holmes, will visit Nigeria 24-28 January, the US Embassy in Nigeria said in astatement obtained by PANA here Thursday. During the visit, Ambassador Holmeswill meet with Nigerian military and security officials and their civilian counterparts togain a deeper understanding of both countries' military relationship, common securitygoals on the continent and future priorities.

In Lagos, Ambassador Holmes will call on senior Nigerian Navy commanders andvisit joint naval training facilities. In Abuja, Ambassador Holmes will meet with theHonorable Minister of Defence and address military officers at the National DefenseCollege, before traveling to (northern city of) Kano to join a commissioning ceremonyfor a U.S.-sponsored renovation of a facility for visually and hearing impairedchildren, the statement said.

As U.S. Africa Commands Deputy for Civil-Military Activities (DCMA), AmbassadorHolmes directs programmes in health and humanitarian assistance, de-mining, disasterresponse, security sector reform, and peace support operations.


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The Tudun Maliki Special Education School in Kano is the only school for students whoare visually impaired or hearing impaired in Kano State.

Recent renovations of seven buildings at the school cost US$84,600 and will help to

alleviate overcrowding, improve sanitation and create a better learning environment forthe school's nearly 1,000 students.

A humanitarian assistance team from the Africa Command carried out the renovations,in partnership with U.S. Mission Nigeria and Kano education authorities.

The school will also receive 5,000 books and 500 mosquito nets from the United StatesAgency for International Development (USAID) American Educators for Africa project.------------------US envoy visits Nigeria over security (Next.com)

The Deputy to the Commander of the U.S. Africa Command will be visiting Nigeriafrom January 24 to 28 to meet with the nation's security officials to evaluate the nation'ssecurity challenges relative to the continent. According to a statement from the USDiplomatic Mission during his stay, Anthony Holmes will be meeting with Nigerianmilitary and security officials and their civilian counterparts to gain a deeperunderstanding of the U.S.-Nigeria military relationship, common security goals on thecontinent, and future priorities.

Mr Holmes will be expected to call on senior Nigerian Naval commanders and visit

joint naval training facilities in Lagos. While in Abuja, he will meet with the minister ofdefence and address military officers at the National Defence College, before travellingto Kano to join a commissioning ceremony for a U.S. sponsored renovation of a facilityfor visually and hearing impaired children. The Tudun Maliki Special Education Schoolin Kano is the only school for students who are visually impaired or hearing impairedin Kano State where a recent renovations totalling $84,600 by U.S. Mission Nigeria andKano education authorities was carried out.

The school will also receive a total of 5,000 books and 500 mosquito nets from theUSAID American Educators for Africa project.------------------US focus on Africa to rise, but Agoa extension may hit resistance (Engineering News)

President Barack Obamas Administration remained profoundly committed to puttingAfrica back at the centre of US foreign policy and there would be a greater emphasison Africa in 2011 and 2012, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in theBureau of African Affairs Bruce Wharton said in Washington DC this week.


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But he also warned that it would require a concerted effort to convince Americans toextend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which currently offerspreferential market access on 7 000 African product lines. Agoa was due to come to anend in 2015, and many African countries are expected to call for the scheme to be rolledover.

Addressing foreign correspondents at the State Department, Wharton, whose 25-yearforeign service career has been split between South America and Africa, having servedstints in both South Africa and Zimbabwe, also indicated that the proposedreprioritisation of Africa would be coupled to the creation of new models fordevelopment and partnerships.

For too long, I think, Africa and the United States have had a sort of a client/donorrelationship that has not worked well. And so, this administration is looking for newmodels to do business, Wharton said.

Envisaged is the development of country-led initiatives, which will seek to eschew anapproach whereby development packages are designed in Washington, wrapped in anice ribbon and offered to the rest of the world.

Nevertheless, the US will also continue with its large global initiatives, such as the Feedthe Future project, a $3,5-billion-a-year initiative focused on sustainable agriculture, aswell as the Global Health Initiative.

On Agoa, Wharton said that the Administration would very much like to see Agoa

continue, but said that its going to take a concerted effort to persuade people in thiscountry [the US] that Agoa remains a good investment.

He added that, while the scheme had delivered benefits, these had not been as great aswe would have wished.

I think if you look critically at the data from Agoa, its pretty clear that oil andpetroleum dominates African exports to the United States. There are some examples,though, where it works very well, and we believe that it remains an importantframework for economic growth and partnership between Africa and the UnitedStates, he added.

But in the face of Americas own economic challenges, its important for people like meto make the case that Agoa ultimately translates into American jobs, as well as Africanjobs.

Wharton also made a commitment that he would work with members of Congress, aswell as with civil society and African allies, to seek an extension of the trade package.


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------------------Future of Sudan's Darfur uncertain post-referendum (Associated Press)

KHARTOUM, Sudan Years before Sudan's south began casting votes for succession,the woes of Africa's largest country were defined by the ethnic bloodshed in the

western Darfur region.

Now, international mediators and rights groups are calling for stronger efforts to settlethe eight-year Darfur conflict, fearing that the expected breakaway of the south maypush Khartoum's leaders to clamp down harder on dissent and place stricter limits onan international role in Darfur and other areas that remain under its direct control.

Human Rights Watch and other groups say violence was already increasing in the vastarid region in the lead-up to the southern referendum held earlier this month. At thesame time, government restrictions are making it harder to obtain information on

conditions there, they say.

On Friday there were reports of new clashes between the military and rebels in Darfur,leaving 21 dead.

As many as 300,000 people have died as a result of the fighting in Darfur a vastregion outside the secession-seeking south between forces from the Arab-led centralgovernment and rebel factions whose demands include greater control over naturalresources. At least 2.7 million people have been displaced inside Darfur and inneighboring Chad.

The roots of the breakaway movement in the south are similar, but it's also fed by areligious split between the Muslim-dominated north and the heavily Christian south.

The referendum for southern independence was part of a 2005 peace deal that endedmore than two decades of civil war. Preliminary results show overwhelming support tocreate the world's newest nation.

American officials visited Darfur during the referendum to send a message that theregion will not be forgotten.

U.S. Senator John Kerry reminded Sudanese officials that prospects for improvedrelations with the U.S. hinge on progress in Darfur. He also urged greater internationalefforts to reach a resolution in Darfur after more than two years of talks in Qatar havefailed to reach a comprehensive peace deal.

Mediators from the African Union echoed Kerry's appeal.


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Roger Middleton, a Sudan expert with the London-based Chatham House, said theimpact of the referendum on Darfur is still far from clear.

"There are two possibilities. One of them is that the loss of southern Sudan and the lossof that big obstacle frees up Khartoum to really focus on winning a war a political

war, at least in Darfur and that gives them the ability and time and the money tofocus on that," he said.

The other possibility is that the Darfur rebels could take inspiration from the south "andperhaps even potentially (see) an ally in the new southern independent state," saidMiddleton.

In advance of the referendum, violence flared between government forces and the arrayof Darfur rebel groups, which pledged to unite. U.N. officials said as many as 40,000people were displaced by the December fighting.

The government walked out of peace talks held in Qatar's capital, Doha, after failing toreach a cease-fire agreement. And a rebel leader who had signed a peace deal with thegovernment in 2006 fled to southern Sudan, prompting the government to declare him apublic enemy.

The "defection" of Minni Minawi, who was appointed a presidential adviser aftersigning the peace deal, has raised alarms about the potential of proxy wars betweennorth and south.

"We don't think that it is in the best interest of the new state of south Sudan to be asanctuary" for rebel groups, the head of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission,Ibrahim Gambari, told The Associated Press.

He has held recent talks with the U.N. mission in Sudan over tightening securitycooperation along the 286-mile (460-kilometer) border between Darfur and breakawaysouth Sudan. U.S. officials said President Barack Obama also raised the issue with thesouthern Sudan president, Salva Kiir, before the referendum.

But despite a public promise from Kiir to deny Darfur rebels a home in southern Sudan,Minawi is still in the south. He was quoted by Sudanese papers as saying there has beenno progress in talks with Khartoum officials over his return.

Mediators say the Doha peace talks are not dead. Shuttle diplomacy between rebelgroups and the government have already began and a small delegation from the mainrebel faction, the Justice and Equality Movement, is currently in Qatar.


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"Now with the referendum and maybe in July the separation, I think the attention of theinternational community will be focused ... to have a success story like with the north-south," Gambari said, adding that sanctions against rebel groups refusing to join thetalks are also being considered.

There are fears, however, that Khartoum could move to limit access to Darfur and therest of its territory to international groups, like those providing crucial humanitarianaid to the displaced.

The Small Arms Survey, a research project that monitors armed violence, said in aJanuary report that the northern ruling party has made it clear "it would set the price ofsouthern secession very high, and part of that price would be limitations on theinternational community's role in and access to the north."

The report said mediators have expressed concern that a Darfur deal if reached

may be impossible to "implement in the shrinking political space that is expected tofollow the referendum."

Government officials said they hope a peaceful settlement with the south would openthe door to settle Darfur. Khaled Musa, Foreign Ministry spokesman, insisted armedrevolt will get the rebels nowhere.

"When the government signed (the southern peace deal) it was not in its weakestpolitical or military position. We had the upper hand," Musa said. "The only possibleway to resolve Darfur is through political negotiations."

But the rebel Justice and Equality movement accused government forces of capturingsome of its senior military commanders this week. It also condemned governmentefforts to open dialogue with Darfur residents as an attempt to sideline the rebelgroups.

A Sudanese army spokesman said clashes erupted between army forces and JEMfighters a week after the referendum, killing 21 people, including 13 rebel fighters.

"Our priority is to work within a united Sudan. But if the suffering and crimes continuewithout a resolution, all options are open," said Ahmed Hussein, a spokesman for therebel group. "For now the focus is on working within a united Sudan and we don'tdemand a separation for the time being."------------------Central African Republic goes to the polls (AFP)


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BANGUI Voters cast their ballots Sunday in the Central African Republic'spresidential and parliamentary polls, with incumbent President Francois Bozize widelyexpected to retain power amid charges of fraud.

Polls opened well behind the scheduled time of 6:00 am (0500 GMT) in many parts of

the country of 4.5 million people and were set to close at 1500 GMT.

But in the capital Bangui, voting was extended by several hours in many pollingstations visited by AFP correspondents.

Security forces were keeping a close watch as people lined up to cast their ballots.

Some 1,500 national and international observers were on hand to scrutinise the doublevote in a country rich in raw materials such as diamonds, gold, and wood.

Provisional results are expected over the next week, after which the constitutional courthas a fortnight to validate them or voice objections.

Already the opposition has denounced irregularities, particularly the circulation of fakepolling cards and the late posting of electoral lists.

The polls come after a generally peaceful campaign without much mobilisation of the1.8 million voters.

Bozize, who took power in a coup in 2003 and then won elections two years later,

presented himself as a "builder" who guaranteed peace and said his record spoke foritself.

However former prime minister Martin Ziguele has charged that false voter registrationcards have been in circulation for months.

Bozize's four opponents include Ziguele as well as former president Ange-Felix Patasseand former defence minister Jean-Jacques Demafouth.

Patasse, seen as Bozize's main challenger, is trying to make a comeback after beingousted by the incumbent in 2003.

He has predicted that "Bozize will fiddle 10 or 20 percent of the vote, but it doesn'tmatter, I'll beat him anyway." His spokesman Guy Simplice Kodegue said he plans tolodge a complaint to the independent election commission.

Bozize has dismissed allegations of fraud, blaming the opposition for delaying theelections from their original planned date of April last year.


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The United Nations on Friday urged credible and transparent elections, the culminationof a two-year-process in the impoverished nation with a history of coups and rebellions.

The polls come after a generally peaceful campaign without much mobilisation of the

1.8 million voters.

"I want work. And for that, we need peace and security," said Gervain Koufeu, a 26-year-old street vendor who said he earns betwen nine and 18 euros a day.------------------Somalia Is Likely to Cut Ties To Mercenaries, Official Says (New York Times)

MOGADISHU, Somalia The minister of information for the transitional federalgovernment here said Sunday that Somalia was likely to end its relationship withSaracen International, a private security company in which South African mercenaries

and the founder of Blackwater Worldwide are said to be involved.

Saracen has offered to train the beleaguered government troops and battle pirates andIslamist insurgents in Somalia, which has been steeped in civil war for two decades. Butafter the recent disclosure of an African Union report that said Erik Prince, Blackwatersfounder, provided seed money for the Saracen contract and was at the top of themanagement chain, many of Somalias biggest financial supporters, including theUnited States, have questioned the wisdom of the deal. Somali officials, in turn, havecooled to the idea of working with Saracen.

At this point, our collective thinking is that this is not a good thing, said the ministerof information, Abdulkareem Jama.

We dont want to have anything to do with Blackwater, he said, mentioningaccusations that Blackwater employees had killed civilians in Iraq. We need help, butwe dont want mercenaries.

Mr. Jamas word will not be the last concerning Saracen, whose clandestine operationshave incited controversy in Somalias Parliament. Several representatives have accusedthe government of striking secret deals that could open Somalia to private securitycompanies and worsen the nations instability. Other Somali officials were said to bedebating, on Sunday night, how to handle Saracen.

Mr. Jama is considered one of the governments most powerful ministers he was thepresidents chief of staff until recently and he sits on the four-member committee thatis entrusted with reviewing the Saracen contract. He said a final report would be givento Parliament this week. Our recommendation is not to go forward with this, he said.This all has a bad taste.


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Somalias defense minister, Abdulhakim Mohamoud Haji Faqi, agreed: We will notaccept any mercenaries.

Mr. Faqi said, however, that Somalia desperately needed to improve its security forces,

which are struggling to control just a few square miles in a country that is about the sizeof Texas. In Mogadishu, the capital, the sky flashes a violent orange almost every nightas government troops and insurgent forces shell each other by the old seaport.

Few, if any, Western nations want to send troops here, and for the time being, an 8,000-member force from the African Union is keeping the fragile Somali government afloat.Mr. Faqi said he was open to the idea of working with private security contractors toimprove the capacity of government troops if another country would pay for it.

Somali officials have said that some Muslim nations, which were not identified, had

agreed to pay Saracens bill. Western officials said one of the countries was the UnitedArab Emirates, where Mr. Prince lives.

According to a copy of a letter dated May 15, 2010, Somalias previous prime minister,Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, planned to authorize Saracen to begin training andequipping the Somali police. Mr. Sharmarke insists that he never wrote such a letter,and it does not appear that the final contract has been signed.

The contract lists Lafras Luitingh, a former officer in South Africas Civil CooperationBureau, an apartheid-era internal security force that was notorious for killing

government opponents, as Saracens chief operations officer.

The Saracen deal has been shrouded in mystery from the moment that African Unionofficials began whispering about it in Nairobi, Kenya, in November. The company hasits headquarters in Saida, Lebanon, according to Somali government records, but itappears to have been formed from the remnants of Executive Outcomes, a mercenaryfirm comprised largely of former South African special forces.

Saracens Uganda subsidiary was implicated in a 2002 United Nations Security Councilreport in the training of rebels in Congo who went on to massacre civilians and plundergold.

Saracen officials declined to comment Sunday, as did a spokesman for Mr. Prince. Lastweek, Mr. Princes spokesman, Mark Corallo, challenged the African Union report,saying that Mr. Prince had no financial role in Saracen and that he was primarilyinvolved in humanitarian efforts and in fighting pirates in Somalia. Mr. Prince, whofaces a wave of lawsuits, recently rebranded Blackwater as Xe Services.


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Saracen signed a separate security-related deal with officials in Puntland, asemiautonomous, pirate-infested region of northern Somalia. According to UnitedNations officials, Saracen agents recently imported weapons into Puntland, a possibleviolation of the longstanding arms embargo on Somalia, and Saracen agents have beguntraining a heavily armed, antipirate militia.

Mr. Jama said he hoped that Puntland would follow the direction of the federalgovernment and not continue with Saracen, but officials there recently said they wereso fed up with the federal governments lack of progress that they were going to cuttheir ties.

On Sunday evening, Puntlands information minister, Abdihakim Ahmed Guled,declined to discuss Saracen, saying, I cannot give you any information regarding thiscase.------------------

South Korean special forces seize ship from Somali pirates (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea In a daring and rare raid Friday, South Korean special forcesrescued all 21 crew members aboard a freighter hijacked in the Arabian Sea near Africa,killing eight pirates and capturing five others, South Korea said.

The military operation came a week after Somali pirates seized the South Koreanfreighter and held hostage eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 citizens fromMyanmar.

"We will not tolerate any behavior that threatens the lives and safety of our people inthe future," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in a brief televised statement.

Lee said he appreciated unspecified countries for cooperating in the military operation.He didn't elaborate.

South Korea's special navy forces stormed the hijacked vessel in a pre-dawn rescueoperation that left eight of the pirates dead and five captured, Lt. Gen. Lee Seong-hotold reporters.

The 11,500-ton chemical carrier Samho Jewelry was sailing from the United ArabEmirates to Sri Lanka when it was hijacked.

It was the second vessel from South Korea-based Samho Shipping to be hijacked in thepast several months.

In November, Somali pirates freed the supertanker Samho Dream and its 24 crew five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos after seven months of captivity.


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Samho Shipping did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991. Piracy has flourished off itscoast, sometimes yielding multimillion-dollar ransoms.

The ransoms the pirates get are among the few regular sources of income for smallbusinesses that supply the pirates with food and other goods.

In April 2009, a French navy commando team stormed the yacht Tanit. The shootoutkilled two pirates and one French hostage and freed four French citizens.

In the same year, U.S. navy snipers also shot three pirates who were holding anAmerican captain hostage in a lifeboat after they had abandoned a larger ship, theMaersk Alabama.

------------------West African Bank Replaces Head to Cut Off Ivory Coast Government (Voice ofAmerica)

West African leaders have replaced the head of the region's central bank in a move tofurther isolate the incumbent president of Ivory Coast who is refusing to give up powerto the internationally-recognized winner of November's vote.

West Africa's central bank last month announced it would sever incumbent presidentLaurent Gbagbo's access to Ivorian funds as part of an effort to drive him from power in

favor of the man who most regional leaders say won the presidential election -formerprime minister Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo's government continued to have access to state funds, chiefly because centralbank governor Philippe Henri Dacoury-Tabley is a Gbagbo ally. So West Africanleaders forced Tabley to resign.

Soumaila Cisse, the president of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, saysheads of state at an emergency meeting in Mali were concerned about the impact thatTabley not applying their decision would have on the stability of the regional economicand monetary union.

Cisse says the current vice-governor will take over until there is a permanentreplacement for Tabley. A written statement from the meeting says Ouattara has beenasked to nominate a candidate for that permanent replacement.

Ouattara's prime minister Guillaume Soro was at the meeting in Mali. He says the moveis further evidence of Gbagbo's isolation.


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Soro says the conclusion presented by heads of state in Mali is clear. The central bankgovernor has resigned and Ouattara will propose a new governor.

The European Union has frozen the assets of Ivory Coast's main cocoa ports, its state oil

firm, its main energy utility, its national broadcaster, and three banks because Europeanleaders say those firms are helping to fund what they call an illegitimate government.

The U.S. treasury has frozen Gbagbo's accounts and banned Americans from doingbusiness with his government.

Gbagbo's government says those economic sanctions will hurt foreign businesses morethan Ivorians because they can buy manufactured goods from Asia and South Americabut there is nowhere else in the world that has as much cocoa as Ivory Coast.

West African leaders are also considering a regional military force to remove Gbagbo.Ouattara says that force may now be necessary.------------------Tunisian Police Arrest Allies of Ben Ali (Associated Press)

TUNIS, Tunisia Police in Tunisia cracked down Sunday on key allies of the oustedpresident, placing two high-ranking officials under house arrest and detaining the headof a well-known private TV station for allegedly trying to slow down the country'snascent steps toward democracy.

The measures against former cronies and supporters of deposed President Zine ElAbidine Ben Ali came amid continued street protests in the North African country'scapital, Tunis, and efforts by the tenuous interim government to heed the incessantgroundswell of opposition to his old guard.

Hundreds of protesters, many from Tunisia's provinces south of the capital, rallied inTunis to press on with demands that holdovers of Mr. Ben Ali's repressive 23-yearregime be kept out of power.

Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" drove the iron-fisted Mr. Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabiaon Jan. 14, and sparked similar protests and civil disobedience across the Middle Eastand North Africa. Many observers were looking to see if Tunisians can complete theirfervent push for democracy.

State news agency TAP reported that Larbi Nasri, the president of privately ownedHannibal TV, was arrested along with his son on charges of "high treason" and plottingagainst state security.


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The station, which has become one of Tunisia's most popular channels mainly for itssports coverage and lively talk shows, almost immediately stopped its broadcasts.

Mr. Nasri, who has family ties to Mr. Ben Ali's widely despised wife, Leila Trabelsi, isaccused of using his channel to "cause the revolution of the young to fail, sow chaos,

incite disobedience and broadcast information" aimed to hoodwink the public, TAPsaid. The ultimate aim, its report said, was "to restore the dictatorship of the formerpresident."

TAP also reported that former Ben Ali advisers Abdallah Kallel and Abdelaziz BenDhia were placed under house arrest, and police are looking for a third man,Abdelwaheb Abdallah.

Mr. Kallel, the Senate president and a former government minister, was stopped fromleaving the country after Mr. Ben Ali fled. A Geneva-based legal advocacy group, Trial,

said torture was widespread in Tunisia while Mr. Kallel was interior minister in theearly 1990s.

Mr. Ben Dhia is considered one of Mr. Ben Ali's most influential advisers, and Mr.Abdallah was a top political adviser to the former president who kept tabs oncommunication, notably on Tunisia's powerful state-run media.

Some Tunisians who have been protesting praised the house arrests.

"I started applauding and singing in the house when I heard the news," teacher Leila

Labidi, 35, told The Associated Press. "These men were like the right hands of BenAli....guiding him to more oppression of the people."

"It's also proof that the people's voice is being heard and our demands are being metslowly," she added. "This is only the beginning.... The revolution won't quiet until all ofthem are removed."

The demonstrators scattered throughout the capital, near the prime minister's office, thefinance and defense ministries, and a city office building, waving banners and photos ofa young man who set himself on fire and triggering the uprising that ended Mr. BenAli's rule.

"Bouazizi gave his life for his country," read one banner honoring 26-year-oldMohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in central Sidi Bouzid last month to protestharassment under Mr. Ben Ali.


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The pilgrimage billed as the "Caravan of Freedom" left Saturday on a 200-mile trek toTunis by car, truck and motorcycle from around Sidi Bouzid, protester Tahri Nabil said.Some hitchhiked or walked.

"We don't want Sidi Bouzid to continue to be marginalized like it was in the previous

decades," said Nabil, a French language teacher who lives in the town of MenzelBouzayane near Sidi Bouzid.

Weeks of public upheaval and the shooting deaths of some protesters by police onorders from Mr. Ben Ali's government helped send him fleeing. But daily protests havecontinued to force the old guard from power.

Some at the Tunis protest Sunday carried a makeshift coffin that was draped in aTunisian flag, in a symbol of those who died as "martyrs" of the uprising.

Many marchers in this predominantly Muslim country chanted the line "There is noGod but God, and the Martyr is God's Beloved" and some held aloft signs saying "Longlive a Free Tunisia" and urging Mr. Ben Ali's former RCD party to be banned frompower.

"We have gotten rid of the head of the snake but the tail is still alive, and we need tocompletely kill it," said protester Nizar Bouazziz, a 24-year-old student who said hewalked to the rally from Sidi Bouzid.

"We are here to support our people and the revolution," he added. "We don't want to

see one party gone and then another same oppressive party in its place. We want theTunisians who have been forced to exile and who have good education and money tocome back and invest in this country."

Weeks of public upheaval and the shooting deaths of some protesters by police onorders from Mr. Ben Ali's government helped send him fleeing. But daily peacefulprotests have continued to try to force the old guard from power.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who took that post in 1999 under Mr. Ben Aliand has kept it through the upheaval, has vowed to quit politics after coming elections.But he has insisted that he needs to stay on to shepherd Tunisia through a transition todemocracy. Many other cabinet members are also Ben Ali-era holdovers.------------------Oil-Field Contractor in Ghana Is Probed (Wall street Journal)

Kosmos Energy Ltd., a major player in exploiting a vast new oil field in Ghana, revealedit is the latest energy company grappling with the fallout from a U.S. crackdown oncorporate bribery in foreign countries.


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Kosmos said in documents filed last week with the U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission that it and its partners in the Jubilee field are looking into "potentialviolations" of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by one of the project's contractors.Their inquiry involves Modec Inc., a Japanese company that owns the specialized vessel

Kosmos and its partners have hired to extract and collect crude oil from the offshorefield, which is among the past decade's largest oil discoveries.

Modec didn't respond to a request for comment. In a July 2010 statement posted on itswebsite, Modec said it was "undertaking a due diligence" of its service agreement withanother contractor, at the request of one of Jubilee's owners. "Modec has retainedoutside independent counsel for this purpose," the statement said.

Production from the Jubilee field began last month, thrusting Ghana into the ranks ofAfrica's emerging oil producers and giving Dallas-based Kosmos, a private-equity-

backed venture that owns a 23% stake in the field, the opportunity to reap a big returnon its estimated investment of about $1 billion.

The International Finance Corp., a World Bank entity that helped finance the Modecvessel, is also investigating the situation, according to the filing, which Kosmos made inconnection with a planned initial public stock offering. Lance Crist, the IFC's globalhead of oil and gas investments, said the agency is in the process of finalizing its duediligence on the matter.

The disclosure underscores the potential hazards that oil companies face when

operating on frontiers such as West Africa. Many West African nations are rankedamong the world's most corrupt by antibribery groups.

In recent years, the Justice Department has aggressively pursued violations of theFCPA, which bars U.S. companies from paying, or offering to pay, foreign-governmentofficials or employees of state-owned companies to gain a business advantage. Thedepartment has warned that companies bear responsibility for the behavior of vendorsand contractors. The number of FCPA enforcement actions increased by 85% from 2009to 2010, according to law firm Morrison & Foerster.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the Modec matter or say whether itwas investigating Modec or Kosmos. Companies often look into suspected FCPAviolations on their own because department officials have said they may show leniencyto companies that report their own violations.

In November, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and six other companies agreed to pay acombined $236 million to settle allegations they or their contractors bribed foreignofficials to smooth the way for importing equipment and materials into several


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countries, including Nigeria and Angola. A Shell spokeswoman has said Shellcooperated with the probe and fired or disciplined employees in its aftermath.

Schlumberger Ltd., the largest oilfield-services company in the world, is beinginvestigated by the Justice Department for possible bribery in Yemen. Other large

services firms, such as Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. have in recent yearssettled cases with federal authorities over bribery allegations in Africa and Central Asia.

Kosmos failed last year in its attempt to sell its stake in Jubileeits major assetto theworld's biggest publicly traded oil company,Exxon Mobil Corp.

Now, Kosmos is counting on the field's income to attract investors to its planned IPO of$500 million worth of shares. Kosmos is majority-owned by the private-equity firmsBlackstone Group LP and Warburg Pincus LLC.

Kosmos's filing said that the Jubilee partners' inquiry has triggered a suspension ofModec's loans with a syndicate of unidentified international banks. If Modec can't getfunding, Jubilee's owners could be forced to buy its oil-producing and storing vesselbefore Sept. 15, 2011, in order to keep oil flowing. If they can't, and lose access to theship, production would have to stop, according to the filing.

Analysts and Jubilee's owners played down the risk of that scenario, however. Aspokesman for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which also owns a 23% stake in the field,said "regardless of the outcome, we do not anticipate this will impact our costs oroperations."

------------------UN News Service Africa BriefsFull Articles on UN Website

Latest round of UN-backed Western Sahara talks concludes in New York23 January The fifth round of United Nations-backed informal talks on the disputeover Western Sahara ended on Sunday with Morocco and the Frente Polisario agreeingto continue their discussions in March.

UN-AU force monitoring Darfur camp after Government search operation23 January The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission has stepped

up its presence in a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in North Darfur, afterGovernment forces carried out an extensive search operation early Sunday withoutnotifying or consulting the mission first.

Somali drought worsening, driving herders with livestock into capital, UN says


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21 January The drought is worsening in many parts of strife-torn Somalia, withherders reported to be moving into Mogadishu, the capital, with their livestock for thefirst time ever due to lack of pasture and water, the United Nations reported today.

Ban hopes Central African Republic elections will advance stability

21 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced the hope today that Central AfricanRepublics (CAR) delayed presidential and legislative elections, slated for Sunday, willhelp lay the foundation for stability and development in a country riven by fighting.

Heavy rainfall triggers flood alert in southern Africa UN

21 January Five countries in southern Africa have issued flood warnings followingunusually heavy rainfall throughout the region, the United Nations humanitarian officereported today.

Documents

AFRICOM Related News Clips 24 January 2011