Media Review for September 7, 2012

By Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Updated: 09/07/2012

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

What Lies Between War and Peace in the Great Lakes?
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is undeniably facing both a leadership and a humanitarian crisis. The rapid progress of the M23 rebel group and its threat to seize control of Goma show that President Joseph Kabila has very little control over territory outside Kinshasa, particularly the eastern region. As a result, civilians have almost no personal security, with many inhabitants of the east running for their lives for the past 16 years. For most of these people, daily life consists of fear, uncertainty and the ever-present possibility of being murdered, robbed, assaulted, raped or displaced. ISS

Mali to fight own fight
Mali does not want African troops to be deployed into combat against Islamic extremists occupying its north, but seeks logistical support from its neighbours, according to a letter seen by AFP on Thursday. The letter from interim president Dioncounda Traore to the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), dated 1 September, requests “help from Ecowas to recover occupied territories in the north and the fight against terrorism.” News 24

Somalia: : Kismayo feels the heat ahead of AMISOM assault
Hundreds of civilians have over recent weeks fled the Somali port city of Kismayo, where tension is rising amid sporadic shelling by the Kenyan navy in the run-up to an African Union military operation to dislodge Al-Shabab militants from their last stronghold in the country. Some 800 people left Kismayo between 30 August and 6 September, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which tracks population movements in Somalia. IRIN

Somalia: AMISOM troops deploy in captured port
Troops from the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have deployed in Elma’an port about 40km North East of Mogadishu as the force continues to secure more territory from Al Qaeda-affiliated extremists Al shabaab. The AMISOM peacekeepers deployed in the Horn of Africa country to restore stability first launched their assault on Elma’an port in June. The troops led by UPDF secured the port on Tuesday and subsequently deployed to build defenses. New Vision

Ugandan military closes in on senior LRA commander in CAR
The Ugandan military on Thursday said that Dominic Ogwen, the second in command of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) survived capture in Central African Republic (CAR). Col. Felix Kulayigye, army spokesman said that Ugandan troops hunting for the LRA in the jungles of CAR on Tuesday had a close fight with Ogwen who is wanted by International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Xinhua

Islamic radicalism hits ancient city of Mombasa
Hardline Muslim clerics. Young people who feel marginalized. Suspicions that police are responsible for the killings and forced disappearances of extremists. These elements created a combustible mixture that exploded into rioting last week after Aboud Rogo Mohammed, a Muslim preacher accused of links to an Islamist insurgent group in neighboring Somalia, was riddled with bullets as he drove his wife to a hospital for a checkup. Observers say these events underscore growing fundamentalism in Mombasa, dividing people in a city established centuries ago by Muslim traders from the Arabian peninsula, now home to many people of Arab descent and Somalis. The State

Sudan proposes to deliver humanitarian aid from B. Nile and N. Kordofan
The Sudanese government proposed Tuesday to deliver humanitarian assistance from the capitals of North Kordofan and Blue Nile states to areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) rebel group. Sudan Tribune

Sudan bolsters army, imposes curfew in Darfur after attack
Gunmen killed seven people in Sudan’s Darfur region during an attack on a government official’s motorcade, prompting the authorities to impose a curfew and close schools, state media said on Thursday. Reuters

The United States Has A New Rival For Influence In Egypt
The United States is suddenly competing for influence over its most stalwart ally in the Middle East. Newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, charting a fresh course for the country both at home and abroad, chose Beijing for his first official visit outside the Middle East and Africa last week. He traveled with a battalion of businessmen and shored up unprecedented financial and political support from Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, including large-scale investments in infrastructure. Business Insider

AFRICOM: No Plans for an Africa Base
AFRICOM commander Gen. Carter Ham has again stated that there are no U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) plans to move its headquarters to Africa. He repeated what has been said by U.S. officials before: AFRICOM’s headquarters will remain in Stuttgart. Gen. Ham added that there would be “financial issues” in any location. Council on Foreign Relations

Angola’s UNITA – From Battlefield to Ballot Box
Angola is still waiting for final results of the parliamentary elections, which are likely to be won by the ruling party MPLA and its leader, incumbent president José Manuel Dos Santos. In the meantime, the main historical opposition party, UNITA, is using all legal means to contest the elections. From the battlefield to the ballot box, the party has come a long way to achieve a peaceful resistance. VOA

South Africa: It’s not just the mines
“WE THOUGHT we were having a nightmare”, said Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a South African Nobel peace prize laureate and a veteran of the struggle against apartheid. But no, he cried, “it was us, in 2012, in our democracy.” His howl of rage and disbelief has echoed across South Africa. Many of its people experienced flashbacks to the horrors of an earlier time, after last month’s killing by police of 34 striking workers at a platinum mine near Marikana, in the North West province. The Economist

Lonmin, unions sign South Africa mine peace deal
Unions representing workers at the strike-hit Marikana platinum mine in South Africa have signed an accord with Lonmin for a return to work, but a militant breakaway union was not part of the deal, union officials said Thursday. France 24

North Nigeria mobile phone towers attacked, severing region’s communications amid sect attacks
A radical Islamist sect that has attacked mosques, churches, schools and government buildings at will in Nigeria appears to have added a new target for its violence: mobile phone towers. Attacks in the last day have damaged more than 20 towers operated by all the major providers in the country, further straining the one link the nation relies on for communication in a country with nearly no landlines. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, the Islamist sect known as Boko Haram threatened mobile phone companies six months ago, warning that they would be targeted for cooperating with the government to flush out its members. The Washington Post

Moroccan royal dominance: Is it out of step?
Rows of figures in traditional hooded white Moroccan robes advance in unison under the blazing sun to where the king, surrounded by his courtiers, is seated on a black pure-bred horse shaded by a burgundy parasol. The quasi-religious ceremony has a medieval feel at odds with Morocco’s self-proclaimed emergence as a modern democracy. BusinessWeek

15 soldiers reported missing after sinking of Cote d’Ivoire’s navy ship
A military ship belonging to the Cote d’Ivoire’s navy sunk on Wednesday night in a lagoon in Abidjan, a security source told Xinhua on Thursday. Residents of Locodjro locality in western Abidjan where the accident occurred, said at least 15 marines who were on board the ship were still missing. Xinhua

‘Last flight to Abuja’: Nollywood thriller campaigns for safer skies
For award-winning Nigerian film director Obi Emelonye, the London premiere of “Last flight to Abuja” in early June was supposed to be a celebratory event, a marquee moment introducing his suspense-filled airplane disaster thriller to the rest of the world with pomp and grandeur. But then June 3rd happened. On that fateful Sunday, the Dana Air Flight 992 from the Nigerian capital of Abuja crashed into a densely populated neighborhood in Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard as well as at least 10 people on the ground. CNN

Israel urged to admit African migrants on Egypt border
The UN’s refugee agency has called on Israel to grant entry to African migrants trapped on the country’s tightly controlled border with Egypt. Around 20 people, believed to be from Eritrea, have been stuck at the fenced desert barrier for a week. Israel’s refusal to grant them asylum “is highly irresponsible”, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. BBC

Africa holds largest pandemic response planning conference
Representatives from 16 African nations and the United States, including senior government officials, public health professionals, and military officers, came together August 27-31, at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana, for the largest pandemic conference ever conducted among African nations. Africom
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