Media Review for September 24, 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

Mali agrees ECOWAS military deployment plan
Malian defence minister Yamoussa Camara said on Sunday that his country was ready to welcome ECOWAS troops after reaching an agreement with the West African regional bloc over a military plan to retake northern Mali from Islamist militants. France 24

How Africa’s Most Threatening Terrorist Group Lost Control of Somalia
Al Shabaab, which once ruled much of a country roughly the same size as France, was undone by famine, unprecedented African military cooperation, and their own medieval rule. The Atlantic

More Minnesotan Somalis Recruited Into Terror
A leader in the Somali community confirmed that Omar Farah is the latest young man to be recruited into Al-Shabaab – the Somalia-based cell of the militant Islamist group Al-Qaeda. Farah, a student at the University of Minnesota, told his aunt he was going to Somalia to get married. But a few days later, the 21-year-old called back to tell her the real reason he left Minneapolis was to join the militant group. CBS Minnesota

Hijacked: How the U.N. saved the Somali pirates from the brink of extinction
[...] Somalia is unique in that the pirates have a clearly defined business model: They violently grab ships, sail them to the Somali coast, and then hold the crew and cargo for months while insurance companies negotiate over the release. The amount of the settlement ransom differs, but it’s a lucrative business: Over the past few years, pirates have been paid an average of $4.5 million per ship — in giant bundles of $100 bills. Foreign Policy

Deadly Attack in Libya Was Major Blow to C.I.A. Efforts
The attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans has dealt the Central Intelligence Agency a major setback in its intelligence-gathering efforts at a time of increasing instability in the North African nation. Among the more than two dozen American personnel evacuated from the city after the assault on the American mission and a nearby annex were about a dozen C.I.A. operatives and contractors, who played a crucial role in conducting surveillance and collecting information on an array of armed militant groups in and around the city. The New York Times

US State Dept. blasts CNN report on Stevens’ diary
CNN reported on the personal journal of slain American ambassador Christopher Stevens over objections from his family. In a blistering statement, a State Department spokesman called CNN’s actions ‘indefensible.’ CS Monitor

Egypt’s New Leader Spells Out Terms for U.S.-Arab Ties
On the eve of his first trip to the United States as Egypt’s new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi said the United States needed to fundamentally change its approach to the Arab world, showing greater respect for its values and helping build a Palestinian state, if it hoped to overcome decades of pent-up anger. The New York Times

Obama struggles for unifying strategy post-Arab Spring
Three years after outlining his vision for better relations with the Arab and Muslim world, President Barack Obama finds his administration struggling to find its footing and a unifying strategy to deal with the fallout of an Arab Spring that dislodged dictators and touched off seismic shifts in the region’s politics. McClatchy

Al-Qaeda incites Maghreb youth to violence
[...] “We call on the youth of Islam to follow in the footsteps of the lions of Benghazi by pulling down American flags in the embassies of all our capitals,” al-Qaeda wrote. “We urge them to kill American ambassadors and representatives… in revenge for the honour of the Best of Beings, peace be upon Him,” the statement said. The AQIM statement, which appeared online one day after salafists attacked the US embassy in Tunis, encouraged new attacks in Casablanca, Algiers, Tunis and Nouakchott. Magharebia

Guinea: Ethnic riots spread in capital
Anti-riot police on Friday dispersed protesters in the Medina market of Guinea’s capital, after a riot broke out between sellers from the Peul and Malinke ethnic groups, the two largest ethnicities in the country, according to witnesses. By afternoon, the riots had spread to other parts of the city and in Peul-dominated areas of the capital, residents were stopping taxis and yanking out Malinke passengers. There are similar reports in Malinke areas, where Peul passengers were suddenly not being allowed in. News 24

Russia says Uganda to buy six more jets
Uganda has started negotiations with Russian state arms export company over a possibility of purchasing six more fighter jets, nine months after sealing similar transaction with the same arms company, a Russian international state news agency, Rianovosti, claims. Daily Monitor

Cameroon ex-minister faces jail over jet scam
A court in Cameroon has sentenced former presidential hopeful and senior minister Marafa Hamidou Yaya to a 25-year jail term on embezzlement charges related to the botched purchase of a presidential jet in 2004. The court handed down the sentence early on Saturday morning after a marathon overnight trial. The court handed the same sentence to Yves Michel Fotso, former director of defunct state air transport company CAMAIR. Al Jazeera

Reluctant Farewell to Arms in Côte d’Ivoire
n his black boots and green fatigues – complete with arm patches bearing the name of the national army, Forces Republicaines de Côte d’Ivoire – Ousmane Kone looked every bit the soldier as he stood guard over an electricity and water distribution company one Tuesday afternoon in Abidjan. But his appearance was somewhat misleading. The 22-year-old received no formal training before he was handed his first Kalashnikov rifle last year, and he has never been registered with the Côte d’Ivoire army. IPS

Suicide bomber kills 2, injures 45 in Nigeria
A suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church conducting Mass in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing two people and wounding another 45 in a region under assault by a radical Islamist sect, officials said. An Associated Press journalist heard the explosion after 9 a.m. Sunday in the city of Bauchi, which has seen a number of bombings and shootings blamed on the sect known as Boko Haram. The blast appeared to hit a parking lot alongside the St. John’s Catholic Church in the city. AP on The Boston Globe

‘Touts’ Frustrate US Visa Process in Nigeria
It is no secret it is hard to get a visa to the United States from Nigeria. These days, the process is confused by local ‘touts’ who sell speedy interview appointments for hundreds of dollars, while most people have to wait several months. Embassy officials say they are not sure how they manage to crack the system. VOA

Hopes mount for deal as Sudan, South Sudan leaders meet
The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan met late Sunday as international pressure grew to end long-running disputes that have brought the former civil war foes to the brink of renewed conflict. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir entered a meeting room for the start of face-to-face talks, after hours of delay as rival delegations sought to bring negotiating positions closer. The Daily Star

Congressmen urge America’s UN Ambassador to act for sanctions on Sudan
A bipartisan group of 38 Congressmen urged the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice to work for imposing sanctions against the Sudanese government because of its failure to allow humanitarian access to the Two Areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Sudan Tribune

UN: Torture of activists in Morocco ’systematic’
Torture is systematic in Morocco for cases involving anti-government demonstrators and those accused of terrorism, a U.N. expert said Saturday after concluding a fact-finding mission in the North African kingdom. U.N. special rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez spent a week visiting prisons and police stations throughout the country. AP on Stars and Stripes

US-Africa relations 11 years after terror attacks
On Tuesday last week, Americans gathered in designated locations to mourn the victims of the September 11 terror attacks that occurred 11 years ago. Truly, 9/11 remains one of the most important days in the modern history of this security-paranoid nation. One continent that has become more significant to the US now than at any other time before is Africa, which American author David Lamb described in the 1980s as “in need of more education than guns”. What made Africa essential to the US that was just recovering from an embarrassing attack on its soil? Daily Monitor

Swaziland: The King’s Monopoly
Last week, employees of the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) became the latest group to go on strike in the public sector in Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy. The protest was a reaction to the decision by the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) to hold the SPTC in violation of a Joint Venture Agreement with Swazi MTN (MTN), the only other company trading in the telecommunications sector. Think Africa Press

Hoteliers Fill a Gap: Africa
Marriott International Inc. wants to plant a new flag on its global expansion map—in Africa. Although the Maryland-based hotelier has 605 properties spread across more than 70 countries outside the U.S., sub-Saharan Africa has remained Marriott-free. That will change soon. Marriott plans to open a hotel in the Rwandan capital of Kigali late next year. The company has at least eight more properties planned for south of the Sahara over five years, targeting fast-growing economies such as Ghana and Ethiopia. The Wall Street Journal

In Tanzania, People And Lions Face Off Over Wildlife Corridors
Laly Lichtenfeld has reason to be cautious. White outsiders have left some painful memories in this region of vast plains in the north of Tanzania. Thousands of people were expropriated to create the nearby national parks of Tarangire and Manyara, as well as the Serengeti, further north on the Kenyan border. In East Africa, there are few tribes who have paid as heavy a tribute to conservation as the Maasai. A third of Tanzania is a designated protected area, three times more than the world average. Worldcrunch – Le Monde

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