Media Review for February 17, 2012

By Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Updated: 02/17/2012

Please note: The following news items are presented here for informational purposes. The views expressed within them are those of the authors and/or individuals quoted, not those of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the National Defense University, or the Department of Defense.

Today’s News

UK pushes for new Somalia strategy
Britain moved to whip up international support for a new military and political strategy in Somalia to intensify pressure on al-Shabab militants and try to pull the failed Horn of Africa nation back from the grip of pirates and terrorists. Britain’s United Nations ambassador Sir Mark Lyall Grant said Security Council experts were discussing a new resolution that would pave the way for a bigger African Union force in Somalia, from 12,000 to about 17,700 troops. Wales Online

Somaliland: The illegitimate widow in the Horn of Africa
In the turbulent Horn of Africa, Somaliland is an oasis of relative quiet and order. Twenty years ago Somaliland declared itself independent. Since, however, no country has recognized this tiny state in the northeast of Somalia. Somaliland Press

Sudan and South Sudan agree to demarcate border
Delegations Khartoum and Juba agreed to immediately demarcate the border between the two countries in a bid to settle a number of pending issues they started to discuss before the independence of South Sudan in July 2011. Sudan tribune

In South Sudan, oil shutoff is a matter of national pride
The move stems from a dispute over Sudan’s oil transit fees. South Sudanese say they are prepared for hardship, but outsiders warn it could mean another war. LA Times

South Sudan: A critical battleground between China and USA
With only few months into independence, the oil rich, but yet impoverished South Sudan finds itself trapped on the cycle of foreign aid dependency as well as a battleground for superpowers’ hegemony and influence. This is the classical rivalry and the clash of East meeting West being put into play, with the number two world economy, China, trying to hold on its sphere, while the the number one USA is trying to outmaneuver its way through. The battle between China and USA over influence in Africa, the Sudan in particular, has been brewing for years. The rivalry is now reaching its climax, with South Sudan being set as the theater of operations. Sudan Tribune

South Africa Deploys Army to End Rioting at World’s Largest Platinum Mine
South Africa sent troops to end rioting at the world’s largest platinum mine after owner Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (IMP) asked for government help to stop violence stemming from an illegal strike that has halted output. Bloomberg

Gay Ugandans flee fearing for their lives
With the latest incarnation of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill tabled before parliament, the BBC’s East Africa correspondent Will Ross talks to several people who fled the country to escape harassment. BBC

Two Ugandan ministers fired over corruption claims
Two Ugandan ministers have been forced to resign and are expected to face a police investigation. Syda BBumba and Kiddu Makubuya have quit the cabinet over payments made to city businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba’s company. RFI

ECOWAS Member States Urged to Rise Up to Regional Security Challenges
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru has called on Member States to close ranks in dealing with the heightened security concerns confronting the region, including terrorism, piracy and the fallout of the Arab Spring in North Africa. allAfrica

Nigeria president warns arms pouring into crisis-hit Sahel
Nigeria’s president warned at a West African regional summit Thursday that a security crisis in the Sahel has led to a rise in the number of weapons flowing into the drought-hit region. AFP

Mauritania appeals for aid to Malian refugees
The Mauritanian government is appealed to donors and well-wishers to come to the aid of Malian refugees fleeing the conflict in northern Mali and taking shelter in Mauritania. An estimated 16,100 refugees crossed the border into Mauritania, an official told Xinhua on Wednesday. Xinhua

Clinton: ‘Cultural Tradition’ is No Excuse for Female Genital Mutilation
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that there is no cultural justification for female genital cutting, a practice that is sometimes referred to as female circumcision. Secretary Clinton says governments and non-governmental organizations are making progress toward ending female genital mutilation, or FGM, by reaching out to those who still practice it. VOA

Senegal’s anti-Wade front stumbles as election looms
Lacking real unity and seemingly unable to present a credible alternative to President Abdulaye Wade, Senegal’s opposition appears to be heading for yet another defeat at the polls. France 24

Libyan militias ‘out of control,’ Amnesty International says
Armed militias in Libya are committing human rights abuses with impunity, threatening to destabilize the country and hindering its efforts to rebuild, Amnesty International said Thursday. Militias have tortured detainees, targeted migrants and displaced entire communities in revenge attacks, according to a report the organization released a year after the start of popular uprisings that eventually ended Moammar Gadhafi’s 42-year rule. CNN

Are Egypt’s Generals Losing Control of their Officers?
Battered by a fractious security situation and embroiled in an escalating feud with the United States, Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has found it easier to take power than to govern. Now, according to Western diplomatic and Egyptian military sources, it’s facing another challenge — maintaining control over an increasingly restive officer corps. Foreign Policy

Egypt: Chaos: the new ’status quo’
For Israel, chaos is ultimately a good thing. It means that the Islamists and other hostile forces will be too distracted by infighting to focus any attention on fighting Israel. Haaretz

Egypt vs. Israel: How Congress Weighs the Risks of Cutting Our Aid to Cairo
The indictment of 16 American NGO workers in Egypt last week has led a number of Congressmen to call for reexamining and possibly revoking the billions of dollars in annual U.S. aid to the country — the fifth-greatest recipient of American funds in the world after Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Israel. “Not one more dollar should flow to the government of Egypt until the secretary of state can assure the American people that this issue is resolved,” said Rep. Kay Granger, the chairwoman of the foreign operations subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. The Atlantic

Egypt-U.S. Rift Hangs Over IMF Loan Talks
Egypt’s politicians and media are issuing ever-louder accusations of American meddling just as the country seeks loans from the International Monetary Fund, where the U.S. is the biggest shareholder. “America is behind the chaos,” blared a red headline on the front page of state-run Al-Gomhuria newspaper this week. The Muslim Brotherhood said U.S. money was being spent “to destroy Egypt and ruin its society.” The dispute over the prosecution of employees at U.S.-based NGOs, accused of breaking rules on foreign financing, has opened the deepest rift for decades between the military allies. Bloomberg

Nigeria: 72 Generals Redeployed in Army Shake-up
As the Federal Government continues to tighten security around the country in the wake of challenges posed by terrorist groups and insurgency, the Nigerian Army Wednesday re-jigged its formations with the redeployment of 72 of its generals. Of the number, 29 are major generals while 43 are brigadier generals. This Day

Federal prison stormed in Nigeria
Attackers have stormed a federal prison in Nigeria with heavy gunfire and explosives, killing one guard and freeing at least 119 inmates in a new assault, according to officials. The details of the prison attack in Koton-Karifi, a town in Kogi state, just south of Nigeria’s central capital Abuja, were announced on Thursday. Al Jazeera

How is Africa coping with the euro crisis?
Africa emerged relatively unscathed after the financial crisis fuelled by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, but how is it coping with the current economic woes in the Eurozone? BBC

U.S. Faces Broad Spectrum of Threats, Intel Leaders Say
The United States and its allies face a broad spectrum of national security threats from terrorism, nuclear proliferation and cyber attacks, intelligence leaders told Congress members Feb. 16. [...] In Africa, the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Shabaab organizations struggle with internal divisions and outside support, and have been diminished by government and military pressure in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, he said. Defpro

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