Media Review for September 28, 2012

By Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Updated: 09/28/2012

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

Kenyan troops take control of Shabaab stronghold Kismayu
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have taken control of Kismayu, the last remaining al-Shabaab stronghold in Somalia. KDF information officer Cyrus Oguna said the military entered Kismayu at 2.00am and advised locals to avoid areas where the troops are operating. “KDF troops have taken control of Kismayu!!!,” the military said Friday. Daily Nation

UN Members Divided Over Response To Mali Crisis
UN members appeared deeply divided on Wednesday as they sought to resolve the crisis in Mali, with France and some of Mali’s neighbours backing possible military intervention. The U.S. however, said the West African nation must first have an elected government. Leadership

Analysis: Mali leadership limbo holds up military action plan
Photographs of Captain Amadou Sanogo – the U.S.-trained infantry officer who toppled Mali’s government in a March coup – are difficult to avoid in the capital Bamako, appearing in newspapers, on stickers plastered inside taxis, and on badges worn by his supporters. Reuters

West Africa’s northern Mali emerges as an al-Qaida hub
Northern Mali, captured by Muslim fundamentalists earlier this year, is rapidly becoming a new haven and headquarters for the al-Qaida terrorist network. Al-Qaida’s growing presence in the Sahel region stretching across West Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea comes as it is under increasing pressure in its other base areas. The Vancouver Sun

U.S. Ties Libya Attack to ‘Powder Keg’ in Mali
Mali has become an incubator for terrorist activity that demands urgent international attention, world leaders said Wednesday, as the U.S. drew its most explicit link between al Qaeda havens in such places and the recent attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The Wall Street Journal

Security Fears Hobble Inquiry of Libya Attack
Sixteen days after the death of four Americans in an attack on a United States diplomatic mission here, fears about the near-total lack of security have kept F.B.I. agents from visiting the scene of the killings and forced them to try to piece together the complicated crime from Tripoli, more than 400 miles away. The New York Times

Terrorists killed U.S. ambassador to Libya: Panetta
Terrorists killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, but an ongoing investigation into the attack will have to determine which group was involved and whether it had links to al Qaeda, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday. Reuters

Mugabe: Gaddafi’s death as tragic as US envoy’s
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has qualified the death of Libyan ex-leader Muammar Gaddafi as tragic as that of US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, in his speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. He also strongly criticised US, UN and NATO actions. Radio Netherlands

US Africa command chief in Mauritania
U.S. Africa command head Gen. Carter Ham met with Mauritania’s president and an official says the two are discussing a possible military intervention, likely West African-led, in north Mali against al-Qaida-linked group members and their allies. The Boston Globe

UN drugs, crime office to tackle sea piracy on dry land
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Thursday stressed the importance of combating sea piracy on land. The UNODC stated in a press release that 170 million U.S. dollars was paid in ransom money in 2011, with between 25 million and 30 million dollars paid so far in 2012. Xinhua

Central Africa: Organized Crime Trade Worth Over U.S. $30 Billion, Responsible for Up to 90 Percent of Tropical Deforestation
Between 50 to 90 per cent of logging in key tropical countries of the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia is being carried out by organized crime threatening efforts to combat climate change, deforestation, conserve wildlife and eradicate poverty. Globally, illegal logging now accounts for between 15 and 30 per cent of the overall trade, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and INTERPOL. allAfrica

EAC urged to enforce money laundering and terrorist financing laws
Experts meeting in Kigali to explore ways of addressing money laundering and terrorist financing in the region are calling on the East African Community (EAC) partner countries to enforce the laws on money laundering. The meeting brought together key stakeholders from governments, law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and security experts from the region. Newstimes

Critics say Kenya’s proposed terror law can be used by state to fight political opponents
Faced with an increased threat of terrorism from al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia, the Kenya government looks set to pass the country’s first anti-terror law to help police prosecute terrorism cases. But the legislation is opposed by a government human rights group that says the law would give the state sweeping powers that can be abused to intimidate political opponents. AP on The Washington Post

Tunisian president vows crackdown on extremists
The newly-elected Tunisian president vowed Thursday to crack down on Islamist extremists after they encouraged crowds to attack the U.S. embassy in the capital Tunis. President Moncef Marzouki, in an interview with The Associated Press during the annual United Nations General Assembly gathering of world leaders, also called for the Arab League to send a force to Syria. Mercury News

Nigeria suspends Hajj flights over women deportation
Nigeria has suspended all Hajj flights to Saudi Arabia after the authorities there deported more than 170 women who had arrived without a male escort. About 1,000 Nigerian women intending to make the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca have been detained since Sunday. A Nigerian government delegation is going to Saudi Arabia to complain. BBC

Sudan and South Sudan ink deal on oil and security
The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan signed economic and security agreements yesterday that will allow a resumption of oil exports from South Sudan. The two countries also reached deals for a demilitarised zone between their borders and a cessation of all hostilities that brought the countries to the brink of all-out war just a few months ago. The National

At UN, African leaders voice range of concerns, from development issues to Council reform
Malawi’s President Joyce Banda today called on the United Nations General Assembly to ensure that an ambitious programme adopted last year to spur development and economic growth in the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) be fully and speedily implemented. UN

Liberia: Sub-Regional Security Undermines Peace
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that some parts of the West African sub-region are still dogged by serious challenges that risk undermining the peace and progress of the entire region, while the majority of the countries are consolidating economic and social gains underpinned by democratic processes. The New Dawn

East African Oil and Gas – Proper Environmental Planning Needed to Avoid Disaster
East Africa is about to experience a hydrocarbon induced economic boom. However, the disconnect between what oil and petrol companies say is happening regarding the development of oil and gas resources, versus what international NGOs, academics and ecologists say is occurring is alarming. allAfrica

Namibia: Forced Sterilisation and Gender Inequality
On July 30, Judge Elton Hoff ruled in favour of three women who sued the Namibian state for being forcibly sterilised. Whilst this has been heralded as a positive development, the court also deemed that there was inconclusive evidence that the procedure was carried out due to the women’s HIV-positive status. The case has highlighted a worrying trend in Namibia whose roots lie not just in rights-infringing policies but in a deeper culture of gender inequalities. Think Africa Press

CFR Launches Online Channel to Explore Big Ideas in Global Economic Development
The Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has launched the Development Channel, an online portal to examine opportunity and exclusion in the global economy—two topics high on the agenda of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Council on Foreign Relations

Africa May Have Up to 200 Hidden Billionaires, Mobius Says
Africa may have as many as 200 “hidden” billionaires operating in the unofficial economy who will seek to legitimize their wealth in the future, investor Mark Mobius said. “There is a lot of hidden wealth,” Mobius, who oversees more than $40 billion as executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said yesterday in London. “You hear about Dangote but there are maybe 200 with the same kind of resources that we do not see. The black economy is very big.” Business Week
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