Media Review for October 9, 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

As al-Qaeda falls, Ansar al-Sharia rises
In the free space created by the revolutions of the Arab Spring, radical Islamists are forming a number of new groups to push their agenda. At the forefront of the salafist surge in Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen are groups rallying under the banner of “Ansar al-Sharia”. At first, many analysts believed that these groups were an attempt by the salafist current to adapt to the new conditions and that they would eventually renounce violent jihadist ideology. However, as Moroccan researcher Abdellah Rami explains, the Ansar al-Sharia groups are now serving as “the ideological face, the human reservoir and money provider for the armed al-Qaeda”. Magharebia

Al-Qaeda appoints new Sahara emir
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) Shura council named Al Vourghan brigade chief Jemal Oukacha, alias Yahya Abou El Hammam, as its new Sahara emir, ANI reported Thursday (October 4th). Citing an AQIM leader, ANI reported that Abdel Mejid Abou Zeid was appointed Abou El Hammam’s deputy. The news came one month after former Sahara emir Nabil Makloufi, alias Nabil Abu Alqama, was killed in a car crash between Gao and Timbuktu. Magharebia

UN report: Gbagbo allies reached out to Islamists
A new report from U.N. experts accuses exiled allies of Ivory Coast’s former president of trying to recruit Islamist rebels who took control of the northern half of neighboring Mali in a campaign to destabilize the volatile West African region, a U.N. diplomat and a Western official familiar with the document said Monday. AP on the Seattle Times

Ivory Coast reopens Ghana land and sea borders
Ivory Coast has reopened its land and maritime borders with Ghana, more than two weeks after they were shut following a deadly cross-border attack. Ivorian Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said both countries had tightened security along the border “with the aim of stopping all incursions”. BBC

Nigerian soldiers kill dozens of civilians
Nigerian soldiers have shot dead more than 30 civilians in the northeastern city of Maiduguri after their colleague was killed, according to news agencies. Monday’s attack was carried out by soldiers attached to a special army unit policing Maiduguri, the spiritual home of Boko Haram, an armed group that is fighting Western influence and wants to form an Islamic state, the Associated Press news agency reported. Al Jazeera

Boko Haram commander slain in raid
A field commander for the Islamist militant group Boko Haram was killed in a raid on Sunday in north-eastern Nigeria, security forces said. Baa Kaka, Boko Haram’s field commander in the north-eastern town of Damaturu, and three other members of the anti-Western group were slain, police commissioner Patrick Egbuniwe said. Police arrested 11 suspects in the operation in Damaturu, Egbuniwe said. News 24

Bashir orders reopening of border with South Sudan
Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir has ordered Sunday to reopen the border with South Sudan, while it is decided to transfer security meetings between the two countries to Khartoum. Sudan Tribune

Oil Diplomacy in the Sudans
At the end of September, the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of agreements allowing for the resumption of oil exports (WSJ) that have been stalled for eight months, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone along their disputed shared border. South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July 2011, annexing three-quarters of its oil reserves, but still relies on the north’s refineries and pipelines to export the oil. The accords, negotiated in conjunction with the African Union, failed to address violent clashes over five contested border areas–including the oil-rich Abyei region–and the role of various rebel groups in the north-south conflict. Council on Foreign Relations

Libyan parliament removes newly elected prime minister
Libya’s parliament ousted the country’s newly elected prime minister in a no-confidence vote, the latest blow to hopes that the country’s factions could agree on a government charged with restoring stability after last year’s civil war. Mustafa Abushagur was Libya’s first elected prime minister after last year’s overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The Independant

US Ambassador Chris Stevens ‘wanted military security team to stay in Libya’
The US ambassador killed in last month’s terrorist attack in Libya wanted a military security team to continue protecting his embassy when it was withdrawn in August, the team’s commander has said. The Telegraph

Libya militias lay siege to pro-Gadhafi city in another sign of chaos
Thousands of Libyan security force members and hundreds of militiamen have massed around the Libyan town of Bani Walid in a show of force that underscores how tense and fragile the country’s security situation remains, nearly one month after an attack by Islamist militants on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. McClatchy

Only stability will keep al-Qaida groups out of Somalia and Libya
The evictions of Somalia’s al-Shabaab from its stronghold in Kismayo, and of Ansar al-Sharia from Benghazi in Libya are the latest successes in a concerted, US-driven effort to eradicate al-Qaida-related groups from the Middle East and Africa. But it is doubtful that this is the end of extremism in either location, or that force of arms will deliver long-lasting security solutions in the region. The Guardian

Mozambique president sacks prime minister
Mozambique President Armando Guebuza on Monday sacked his prime minister in a surprise cabinet reshuffle that saw five ministers and four provincial governors shifted amid uncertainty over who will be his successor. Times Live

New Somalian President Picks a Businessman, a Political Newcomer, as Prime Minister
The new Somalian president, Hassan Sheik Mohamud, on Saturday evening named as prime minister a political novice who is expected to lead the council of ministers for the next four years, officials said. The nominee, Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, promised that his government would not tolerate corruption or nepotism. The New York Times

Assessing Turkey’s Role in Somalia
Turkey is the newest country to intervene in Somalia and its involvement has produced some positive results. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s courageous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011 at the height of the famine and his decision to open an embassy gave fresh impetus to efforts to establish lasting peace. Widespread Somali gratitude for Turkish humanitarian endeavours and the country’s status as a Muslim and democratic state established Turkey as a welcome partner. International Crisis Group

Rwanda military intelligence tortures detainees, Amnesty report says
Rwanda’s military intelligence has illegally detained and tortured scores of people, rights group Amnesty International says in a new report. The report, released Monday, details accounts of severe beatings, electric shocks and sensory deprivation to force confessions from civilians by the Rwandan military intelligence department known as J2. Globalpost

Uganda’s Leader: 26 Years In Power, No Plans To Quit
[...] Yoweri Museveni has ruled the East African nation for 26 years, more than half of its post-colonial history. A charismatic former rebel commander, Museveni seized power in 1986, decrying other African leaders who overstayed their welcome. Museveni points to many achievements in a country with a troubled past. But today, more and more Ugandans say their president has grown heavy-handed as he clings to power. Despite this criticism, Museveni has dug in his heels. Just before he won a fourth five-year term last year, Museveni changed the constitution to loosen term limits. NPR

Greek-operated tanker goes missing in Gulf of Guinea
The Greek manager of a Bahamas-flagged tanker carrying more than 32,000 metric tonnes of gasoline reported the vessel missing on Monday after it left Abidjan in the Ivory Coast unexpectedly in the early hours of Saturday. The tanker Orfeas, crewed by two Greeks and 22 Filipinos, had been expected to discharge its cargo at Abidjan. However, Grace Management said in a statement that the vessel instead “sailed south without orders or explanation”. Reuters

Africa Should Wake up to the Importance of an Integrated Maritime Strategy
There is an urgent need for African leaders to operationalise their maritime strategies through orchestrated implementation plans to ensure sustainable development and competitiveness in the Africa Maritime Domain (AMD). Despite numerous documents and strategies, including the draft African Union (AU) Africa Integrated Maritime (AIM) strategy, considered last week in Addis Ababa, Africa appears blind to the maritime domain’s importance to its development. ISS

Algeria’s ex-president Chadji Bendjedid dies, aged 83
ALGERIA’S former long-time president Chadli Bendjedid, acclaimed for having introduced democracy to government institutions, has died of cancer aged 83. The APS news agency reported he died on Saturday and that eight days of national mourning have been declared. Bendjedid had been admitted to the Ain Naajda military hospital in Algiers more than a week ago. Herald Sun

Moroccan judges demonstrate for more independence
Around 1,000 Moroccan judges held an unprecedented sit-in Saturday in front of the Supreme Court, calling for greater independence for the judiciary. The rare demonstration was organized by the Judges’ Club, a group formed in August 2011 to push for judicial reform. The group has been officially banned, but is tolerated. AP

Russia to invest in mining sector of Zimbabwe
Russian has expressed interest in investing in mining sector of Zimbabwe with major emphasis on platinum extraction, a visiting Russian business delegation said on Monday. The head of the delegation and Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said the visit is the first step towards unlocking the full potential that Zimbabwe has and will be critical towards increasing trade between the two countries. Xinhua

Ex-child-soldier: ‘Shooting became just like drinking a glass of water’
As a teenager in war-ravaged Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah was brainwashed, drugged and forced to kill. “We went from children who were afraid of gunshots to now children who were gunshots,” says Beah who became separated from his family at just 12 years old when his town was attacked. He says his family were later killed in the country’s vicious civil war, which lasted from 1991 to 2002. CNN

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