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Kenya: Uhuru Kenyatta Wins Presidential Election
Compilation of articles by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Ansaru: We've killed 7 foreign hostages
The Islamic group, Jama'atu Ansaril Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan better known as Ansaru, confirmed at the weekend that it executed the seven foreign construction workers abducted last month in Jama'are, Bauchi State. The victims-three Lebanese citizens and one each from Britain, Greece, Italy and the Philippines - are all employees of Setraco, a Lebanese construction company. Ansaru, a splinter group from Boko Haram, said on its website that it executed the seven Christians because Nigerian and British forces had killed some Muslims while trying to free the hostages. The Nation - Nigeria
EU countries confirm Nigeria captives' deaths
Britain, Italy and Greece have admitted that a claim by a Nigerian armed group it had killed seven foreign hostages appeared to be true and condemned the act as barbaric and cold-blooded. The Ansaru group on Saturday announced the deaths of all the expatriates abducted from a construction site of Lebanese company Setraco on February 16 in Bauchi state in Nigeria's restive north. Ansaru, considered an offshoot of the Nigerian group Boko Haram, backed up its claim with "screen captures of a forthcoming video showing the dead hostages," SITE Intelligence Group said. Al Jazeera
British hostage killed because kidnappers thought UK was launching rescue mission
A British contractor executed in Nigeria may have died because his kidnappers mistakenly thought British military aircraft landing in the country to ferry troops to Mali were instead part of a rescue mission. The Telegraph
Nigeria Reports 52 Boko Haram Islamist Militants Killed, 70 Arrested
Nigerian security forces said on Saturday they had killed 52 Islamist militants over 10 days of fighting in the northeasterly Borno state, at a cost of only two of their own men, with no civilian deaths. The announcement came a day after President Goodluck Jonathan paid a visit to the state in which he rejected the idea of an amnesty for the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks in the past two years. The Islamists are seen as the main security threat to Africa's top energy producer, although their sphere of influence is far from the crucial oil fields in the south. The Huffington Post
AFRICOM Commander Outlines Diverse Challenges Ahead
Somalia and Mali represent different stages of the challenges for U.S. Africa Command, Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Ham, who will step down as Africom commander next month, said the five-year-old command has increased operational capabilities and capacities and has worked to build and focus security cooperation on the continent. "Our approach seeks to address the near-term threats to our national security while simultaneously building partnerships and fostering regional cooperation which contribute to achieving longer-term U.S. objectives in Africa," he said. Africom
Outsourcing the Fight Against Terrorism
[...] many African Union troops battling Shabaab militants in Somalia have been trained, equipped, and sustained by an international coalition led by the United States and coordinated through the State Department and CJTF-HOA. Last summer, for instance, Kenyan rangers trained by American Green Berets ran joint exercises with the Kenyan boat forces here. In September, armed with operational doctrine right out of the U.S. special forces handbook, they made an amphibious landing at the Somali port city of Kismayo and quickly routed Shabaab insurgents from their last urban stronghold-denying the terrorists a key port of resupply from the Arabian Peninsula. National Journal
Mali: The north, the army, and the junta
[...] Mali's armed forces have been almost shut out of military operations in the northern-most combat zone. Since late January Malian troops, alongside counterparts from France, Niger and Chad, have occupied Gao, Timbuktu and other towns along the Niger River; Malian soldiers were patrolling jointly with French counterparts near Tin Keraten, according to the Associated Press. But further north, in the region of Kidal (birthplace of many rebellions over the years), the fight against Islamist rebels is being waged by troops from France and Chad, who have now been present there for more than a month. Bridges for Bamako
French and Chadian troops 'capture Al-Qa'ida citadel in northern Mali'
French and Chadian troops have captured the main al-Qa'ida "citadel" in northern Mali, according to French officials and journalists. After three weeks of close combat and aerial bombardment in the Ifoghas mountains, France believes that it has overrun the complex of tunnels and caves which the islamist insurgents have built as a sanctuary over the last three years. Fighting continues but intercepted communications suggest that the remaining rebels are trying to flee on foot and on camel-back, presumably towards Mauretania or Algeria, according to Le Monde. The Independant
Mali Intervention Becoming a Partisan Issue in France?
French former president Nicolas Sarkozy criticized the French intervention in Mali in a March 6 magazine interview. He is quoted as saying, "the rule is never to go into a country that has no government," and, "What are we doing there if we're not just supporting putschists and trying to control a territory four times larger than France with four thousand men?" Sarkozy's comments highlight the awkward reality that French intervention was at the request of the Bamako regime that had overthrown the legal government. He is also likely to continue to make partisan political statements the longer the French stay in Mali and the intervention inevitably becomes unpopular in France. Council on Foreign Relations.
Ansar al-Sharia returns to Benghazi
[...] The basis for Ansar's reappearance seems to be an arrangement with the Libyan Ministry of Defense. At the time of the attack on the consulate, the government promised to do everything in its power to bring the perpetrators to justice - but now we see the Libyan authorities actually cooperating with the militia. What happened? Despite the ongoing efforts to improve security, including training programs for thousands of new recruits in the police and army, there is currently a big shortage of security personnel on the ground, especially in Benghazi. This could help to explain the arrangement between the Libyan government and groups like Ansar. Foreign Policy
Meeting Tunisia's Ansar al-Sharia
[...] Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia is an organization that believes in al Qaeda's worldview, but primarily at this juncture only focuses on local recruitment and missionary activities. AST typically sets up lectures from prominent Tunisian Salafi clerics, passes out mainstream Salafi literature at weekly markets, provides food, medicine, and clothing in charitable convoys, and publishes about its activities on Facebook as well as highlights key news events and new releases relating to the global jihadi world. Foreign Policy
Africa's Cocaine Hub: Guinea-Bissau a 'Drug Trafficker's Dream'
Guinea-Bissau has become a major hub of cocaine trafficking between Latin America and Europe. But any wealth the West African nation has derived from its middleman status has been offset by increased violence and instability. Spiegle
MDC: Two thirds of voters on Zim voter's roll are dead
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary general, expressed his parties concerns over voter registration and violence issues, saying: "There's massive challenges with the voter registration exercise that is taking place." "It's the ordinary hygiene issue of the election, the integrity of the election, we are talking about," he added. General elections expected in July should end a shaky coalition government between Tsvangirai's MDC and President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. Mail and Guardian
Egypt's silent soccer stadiums show the depth of country's troubles
[...] Ever since 74 fans died last year in a stampede after a match between rivals al Ahly of Cairo and Port Said's al Masry, the government has prohibited fans from attending the games. Concerned that Egypt's badly demoralized and fractured police were unable to secure the games, matches now take place in stadiums secured and owned by the country's military. The change is one of the many new forms of normal emerging here - and shows how the inability of the government to guarantee the safety and security of its citizens has affected life here. McClatchy
Chadian migrants rue Libyan detention, ill-treatment, deportation
In the violence immediately before and after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in October 2011, thousands of sub-Saharan migrants were forced to flee. Since then, however, the authorities have detained in harsh conditions, and subsequently deported, hundreds more, according to former Chadian migrant workers. More than 2,000 Chadians and other sub-Saharan African nationals have been returned since 2012, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Many of the deportees had been detained for several months or years, and were taken back to Chad in open trucks, said returned migrants, recounting that they had been arrested for lack of valid papers or on suspicion of being mercenaries who supported the Gaddafi's regime. IRIN
UN in DR Congo 'army rape' ultimatum
The UN peace force in the Democratic Republic of Congo has issued an ultimatum to two units within the army over allegations of mass rape. Unless swift legal action was taken against the accused soldiers before the end of March, the UN said it would stop working with their brigades. In December, it said it had evidence of at least 126 rapes carried out by soldiers fleeing a rebel offensive. BBC
Conservative brand of Catholicism thrives in Africa
[...] Roman Catholic churches in Uganda are packed these days, the participants traditional-minded, their faith vibrant and strong. Across Africa, the church reinforces the staunchly conservative values of a population that often attends services several times a week, for hours on end. Catholic leaders also provide homes and food for poor and disadvantaged people whom the state doesn't help, including orphans, abandoned children, the homeless and the disabled. LA Times
A decade on, Sudan threatens to repeat the tragedy of Darfur
Ten years ago, the Sudanese government launched military action against armed groups in Darfur that led to the deaths of over 300,000 people and displaced 3 million more, in what a United Nations (UN) commission of inquiry described as crimes against humanity. Darfur, a previously little known region in western Sudan, became synonymous with the most brutal of modern conflicts. The Guardian
Send an Ambassador, Not an Envoy, to Khartoum
This week marks what some consider the tenth anniversary of the conflict in Darfur. Sadly, this is not the only conflict still ravaging the people of Sudan and South Sudan. As the White House is preparing to name the United States' seventh special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan in the last 12 years, I believe it's time for a different approach to US policy, one that puts the central governance challenges in each state at the forefront. By Kate Almquist Knopf - center for Global Development
Khartoum, Juba to begin withdrawing forces from joint border
Sudan and South Sudan are set to start Sunday withdrawing forces from the joint border, as a first step to implement the agreement signed by the two sides. "Sudan and South Sudan will today (Sunday) begin immediate withdrawal of their forces from the joint border to make it a safe demilitarized zone," Abdul-Rahim Mohammed Hussein, Sudan's defense minister and head of the delegation to the meetings of the joint political and security mechanism with South Sudan, said at a press conference upon his return to Khartoum from Ethiopia Sunday. Xinhua
Gabon oil workers' union says begins unlimited strike
Gabon's powerful ONEP oil workers' union said it has begun an unlimited strike to demand the application of a 2010 agreement signed by the government on working conditions. "We have started an unlimited strike from Saturday," Hans Landry Ivala, ONEP spokesman, said by telephone from the oil hub of Port-Gentil. "We have called on all our members to observe the strike." ONEP is demanding the application of a November 2010 agreement between the government and oil workers, guaranteeing better labour terms and greater use of Gabonese staff. Times Live
Pirates In Global Waters: In Somalia, Has The Business Model Fallen Flat For Criminals On The Oceans?
It's a tight squeeze for commercial vessels trying to move their goods between Europe and Asian markets - but not as tight as it used to be. Beginning in the Mediterranean Sea, ships have to pass through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea. Then they navigate the narrow Bab-el-Mandeb - Arabic for the "Strait of Grief" - between the sandy coastlines of Yemen and Djibouti. Next comes the Gulf of Aden, which borders northern Somalia and opens up to the Arabian Sea. International Business Times
China's Xi to visit Africa as U.S. frets over Beijing influence
Incoming Chinese president Xi Jinping's first trip as head of state will take him to Africa, the government said on Saturday, as China seeks to cement a growing trade and energy relationship that has caused alarm bells to ring in Washington. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said that Xi, scheduled to take over formally from Hu Jintao as national leader next week, would visit South Africa, Tanzania and Republic of Congo, as well as Russia, though he provided no exact dates. Reuters
Susan Rice as national security adviser? U.N. ambassador said to be front-runner
Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who lost out in a bruising bid for the job of secretary of state, may have the last laugh. Rice has emerged as far and away the front-runner to succeed Thomas E. Donilon as President Obama's national security adviser later this year, according to an administration official familiar with the president's thinking. The job would place her at the nexus of foreign-policy decision making and allow her to rival the influence of Secretary of State John F. Kerry in shaping the president's foreign policy. The Washington Post
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