Media Review for September 18, 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

Somali militants al-Shabab ‘leaving’ Kismayo stronghold
Residents in the Somali city of Kismayo have told the BBC that fighters from the Islamist group al-Shabab are leaving their stronghold in the port. Kismayo is the group’s main base in its fight against the Somali government, which has been converging on the town with African Union (AU) soldiers. Local residents say militants have been leaving on buses and trucks, taking heavy equipment with them. BBC

US steps up African evacuation
Washington has ordered all non-essential staff to leave Tunisia and Sudan after its embassies were stormed by Muslims protesting against an anti-Islam movie and as al-Qa’ida called for more attacks on US targets. AFP on the Australian

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb urges killing of more U.S. diplomats in North Africa
The North African branch of al Qaeda, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has praised the militants who attacked the U.S. Consulate in northern Libya, and called on Muslims across the region to try and kill more American diplomats. CBS news

Libya sacks Benghazi security chiefs after U.S. attacks
Libya has sacked its security chiefs for Benghazi after a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city last week, Interior Minister Fawzi Abdel A’al told Reuters. Colonel Salahadeen Doghman will replace the deputy interior minister for the east, Wanis Sharif, as well as the head of national security for Benghazi, Hassan Bou Hmida. Reuters

Congress was warned about Libya last month
While Washington vacationed in August, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service issued a now prescient-sounding report warning that Libya’s security concerns were an “immediate priority” that might require far more attention and resources than the United States had given it. “Libya’s security remains a function of Libyans’ self-restraint rather than the capability of security authorities,” CRS warned. Foreign Policy

More details emerge on U.S. ambassador’s last moments
Three days before the deadly assault on the United States consulate in Libya, a local security official says he met with American diplomats in the city and warned them about deteriorating security. Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade, told CNN that he and a battalion commander had a meeting about the economy and security. He said they told the diplomats that the security situation wasn’t good for international business. “The situation is frightening, it scares us,” Mabrouk said they told the U.S. officials. He did not say how they responded. CNN

Around the Halls: Has the Arab Spring Made the World a More Dangerous Place?
Brookings experts examine the implications of the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and renewed unrest in Egypt and Yemen, exploring whether the Arab Spring has ushered in a new period of Islamist ascendency and resulting anti-American sentiment. Martin Indyk pays tribute to slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, while Bruce Riedel focuses on possible al Qaeda links to the attack in Benghazi. Daniel Byman examines the demonstrations in Libya and protests in Egypt and Yemen, and Michael Doran details the emergence of a new Middle East order. Brookings

Why is the Arab world so easily offended?
Modernity requires the willingness to be offended. And as anti-American violence across the Middle East and beyond shows, that willingness is something the Arab world, the heartland of Islam, still lacks. The Washington Post

Meet the New Boss
The news may look grim, but the United States is poised to remain the dominant power in the Middle East. The attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, this Sept. 11 echoed the worst moments of American impotence in the Middle East. They not only evoked memories of Iranian revolutionaries storming the U.S. Embassy in Tehran almost 33 years ago, but their occurrence on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington further reminded Americans of the deep roots of anti-American rage in the Arab world. Foreign Policy

Egypt: U.S. Embassy Arrests Rise to 431
A source from the interior ministry said that Egypt’s security apparatus has arrested 431 individuals since violent confrontations broke out near the American embassy in Cairo. The number includes 143 people who were jailed pending prosecution, 68 with criminal records and 33 fugitives, a local newspaper said on Monday. Aswat Masriya on allAfrica

Nigerian military: 2 radical sect leaders killed
Soldiers manning a checkpoint in northern Nigeria shot to death two ranking members of a radical Islamist sect responsible for hundreds of killings this year alone, a military official said Monday. The dead included the spokesman for the sect known as Boko Haram, as well as a commander who operates in Kogi state south of Nigeria’s capital, the official said. The killings could prove to be a boon to Nigeria’s security forces, which remain largely unable to stop guerrilla attacks and bombings by the sect, which killed another 13 people this weekend alone, authorities said. AP

Assessing U.S. Policy on Peacekeeping Operations in Africa [video]
Testimony of Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights. Washington, DC. State.gov

Security Council extends UN presence in Liberia for another year
The UN Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia for another year. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia ( UNMIL) until Sept. 30, 2013, based on the observation that the ” situation in Liberia continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region.” Xinhua

S.A.: Army deployment in Marikana draws widespread criticism
In an unprecedented move in post-Apartheid South Africa, hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in Marikana to assist police in dealing with striking mining workers. Africa Report

Russia, S. Africa in Talks on Joint Weapons Development
Russia and South Africa are discussing the possibility of joint development of defense-related products, Russia’s state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Monday. “There is a great potential [for joint projects] in the area of radar equipment and rocket engines,” Rosoboronexport said in a statement. Ria Novosti

Sudan says against foreign interference in the talks with South Sudan
Sudan has reiterated its rejection to foreign intervention in the ongoing efforts of the African Union mediation to settle the unresolved issues with South Sudan after its independence. As the deadline of 22 September approaches, foreign envoy gather in Addis Ababa in a bid to push the two parties to make the necessary concessions and to seal an agreement over the disputed issues. Sudan Tribune

Toll rises to 40 in S. Sudan military boat sinking: army
South Sudan’s military on Monday raised to as many as 40 the death toll from a “friendly fire” incident last week in which it sank one of its own river boats at night. “The final death toll is between 37 and 40″ from the incident last Wednesday in which the army fired at the boat transporting soldiers on the River Nile, military spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP. AFP on Modern Ghana

Algeria’s Stance on Northern Mali Remains Ambiguous
Algeria is a key military power in the Sahel region and could play a decisive role in the outcome of the crisis in Mali, where al-Qaida-linked Islamist militants control the northern half of the country. Questions remain as to what exactly is Algeria’s position in this crisis. Mali has officially requested military assistance from West African regional bloc ECOWAS to help retake the country’s north, which fell to heavily-armed militant groups in April, shortly after a March 22 military coup in the capital, Bamako. VOA

A Bewitching Economy: Witchcraft and Human Trafficking
In parts of Africa, witchcraft is becoming increasingly linked to a modern form of slavery: human trafficking. Through ritual “oaths of protection”, witchcraft provides a convenient way to traffic and mentally dominate victims, who are easily silenced with the threat that any disobedience will be punished by the spiritual world. This has left the phenomenon hard to detect. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recently almost doubled its 2005 estimate, and revealed that there are currently 20.9 million victims of trafficking in the world. 3.7 million of these victims reside in Africa. Yet in 2011, there were only 257 prosecutions, 218 convictions and 10,094 victims identified on the continent. Think Africa Press

Ethiopian Maids in a Severe Arab World
Born in a poor family in Ethiopia, Makiya says she is happy to finally follow in her friends’ footsteps. Those steps have taken them far – to the Middle East – but, once abroad, what chances do they really have to get ahead? Many young Ethiopian women are choosing to work as maids in the Arab world. This occupation seems to promise a way out of poverty. But one must ask, ironically, at what price? Radio Netherlands

How ‘Afropreneurs’ will shape Africa’s future
His full name is Idris Ayodeji Bello, but you might just call him “Afropreneur.” That’s the buzzword adopted by the young Nigerian to describe the bright, independent and tech savvy entrepreneurs using creative thinking and the power of innovation to take over Africa’s economic destiny. CNN

FOR THE RECORD – AFRICA – U.S. Government Events, Statements, and Articles
A weekly compilation by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) .