United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

12 January 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

AFRICOM chief stresses support for Rwanda-US relations (Rwanda Bureau of

Information and Broadcasting)
(Rwanda) The commander of the United States Africa command Gen William Ward
this Monday held a one day official visit to Rwanda aimed at strengthening military
relations between the USA and Rwanda.

Save the Seychelles From Pirates (NYT)

(Seychelles) Here in the Seychelles, they believe that a turning point in the war with
Somali piracy occurred when the Supreme Court handed down a severe sentence of 22
years each to nine Somali pirates under a new “antipiracy” amendment to Seychelles
law.

New Franco-US Axis in Africa (Le Figaro)

(Ivory Coast) Immediately after the Ivorian election, 28 November, a "diplomatic
couple" was formed in Abidjan. French Ambassador Jean-Marc Simon and his US
counterpart, Phillip Carter III, appeared at the Golf Hotel several days in succession to
meet with Alassane Ouattara, the elected president entrenched within its walls.

US applauds Uganda’s role in Somalia (New Vision)

(Uganda) The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has commended Uganda for
its efforts in keeping peace in war-torn Somalia. According to a press statement from
the UPDF, AFRICOM commander Gen. William Ward gave the commendation during
talks with Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) leadership on Sunday.

Logistics assessment paves way for Burundian Defense Forces ADAPT (US Army
Africa)
(Burundi) Two United Stated Army Africa personnel from the Directorate of Logistics
conducted a deployment capability assessment with uniformed and civilian members of
the Burundian Defense Forces in Bujumbura, the capital, Dec. 14-17.

Ivory Coast's Ouattara Sees Hope Fade for Regional Military Intervention
(Bloomberg)
(Ivory Coast) The hopes of Ivory Coast’s President-elect Alassane Ouattara for a
foreign military intervention to oust rival Laurent Gbagbo dimmed as regional leaders
stepped up efforts to seek a negotiated end to the West African nation’s political
standoff.

What would it take to remove Ivory Coast's Gbagbo? (Christian Science Monitor)
(Ivory Coast) After more than a month, the brinksmanship that has brought Ivory
Coast back to civil war continues. Two men, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara and
incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, claim to be president.

Deadly Violence Erupts in Ivory Coast (Voice of America)

(Ivory Coast) Gunfire has erupted in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, killing at least
two two people as the political power struggle continued in the West African nation.

Foreign Policy: Too Early To Celebrate In South Sudan (NPR)

(Sudan) There is a danger in celebrating too early. Voters may call for an independent
Southern Sudan as they cast their ballots this week, but the means by which the new
country would split off is still subject to difficult negotiations and thorny details.

South Sudan voters die in ambush (Al Jazeera)

(Sudan) At least 11 more people have been killed in violence over southern Sudan's
historic referendum, officials have said.

Four die in clashes between Tunisia jobs protesters and police (The Guardian)
(Tunisia) Four more civilians have been killed in clashes between riot police and
protesters in Tunisia, authorities said today, bringing the official death toll in the worst
civil unrest for decades to 20.

Algeria and Tunisia: Arab Regimes in Trouble (Time)

(Algeria/Tunisia) The new year has brought a wave of protests and violence against
two U.S.-friendly authoritarian Arab regimes in North Africa.

Troops deploy after 13 reported dead in Nigeria (AFP)

(Nigeria) Soldiers rushed to restore calm to parts of central Nigeria on Tuesday after 13
people were reported killed in an attack on a village and unrest flared in other areas,
authorities said.

Benin to hold presidential vote on Feb 27 (AFP)

(Benin) Presidential elections in the west African nation of Benin will take place on
February 27, the presidency said on Tuesday.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Sudan: UN intensifies patrols after clashes in north-south border region
  Number of Ivorian refugees in Liberia tops 25,000 – UN agency
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 2:00 pm; Woodrow Wilson Center for
International Scholars
WHAT: A Lens into Liberia: Experiences from International Reporting Project
Gatekeepers
WHO: Sunni Khalid, Managing News Editor, WYPR, Baltimore; Ed Robbins, Video
Journalist, New York; Teresa Wiltz, Senior Editor, TheRoot.com, Washington DC
Info: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?
fuseaction=events.event_summary&event_id=646658

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 6:30 pm; George Washington University
WHAT: Tackling the Threat: The Lord's Resistance Army
WHO: Pulitzer Center journalist Joe Bavier, photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale, Human
Rights Watch researcher Ida Sawyer, Human Rights Watch senior researcher Anneke
Van Woudenberg
Info: http://georgetown.patch.com/events/tackling-the-threat-the-lords-resistance-
army

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, January 21, 2011; Council on Foreign Relations

WHAT: Separating Sudan
WHO: Francis Deng, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of
Genocide, United Nations; Richard Williamson, Principal, Salisbury Strategies, LLP;
Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Nonresident Senior Fellow,
Brookings Institution; Peter M. Lewis, Director, African Studies Program, Paul H. Nitze
School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Info: http://www.cfr.org/

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9, 2011; National Defense

Industrial Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC
WHAT: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development: Translating Policy into Operational
Capability
WHO: Keynote Speakers include ADM Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefs
of Staff; BG Simon Hutchinson, GBR, Deputy Commander, NATO Special Operations
Forces Headquarters; ADM Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander, U.S. Special Operations
Command; Gen Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force
Info: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1880/Pages/default.aspx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

AFRICOM chief stresses support for Rwanda-US relations (Rwanda Bureau of

Information and Broadcasting)
The commander of the United States Africa command Gen William Ward this Monday
held a one day official visit to Rwanda aimed at strengthening military relations
between the USA and Rwanda.
Gen Ward later was received by President Paul Kagame as well as the minister of
defense Gen James Kabarebe. Gen William Ward says he came to indicate his
continuing strong support for the relationship between the two states.
Gen Ward was received by the chief of staff Lt. Gen. Ceasar KAYIZARI and other senior
military officers upon arrival at Kigali international airport on Monday morning,
The AFRICOM chief was escorted to visit the genocide memorial centre where he was
briefed on the Rwandan history before during and after the 1994 genocide against the
Tutsi and how it was implemented. Gen Ward and the accompanying Delegation laid
wraths of flowers at the mass graves. He toured around different parts of the memorial
and later briefed the press about the major purpose of his visit to Rwanda.
Thereafter, the commander of the Us Africa Command Gen Ward paid a courtesy call
on President Paul Kagame at village urugwiro. His discussions with the head of state
also focused on strengthening military ties between Rwanda and USA. The government
is the prime supporter and trainer of the Rwandan troops going for peace mission in
Darfur Sudan.
His meeting with President Paul Kagame was preceded by a visit to the minister of
defense Gen. James Kabarebe, the chief of defense staff and other service chiefs in the
ministry of Defense.
General William ward’s mandate as the commander of the US Africa command is
ending latest this year. He disclosed that whether present or not, the existing
relationship between RDF and AFRICOM will continue. He adds all the existing
programs will remain uninterrupted.
The AFRICOM chief lauds Rwanda to be a well governed state with strong institutions
that are fundamental to local citizens as well neighboring states in the context of
building global peace and security. The minister of defense reassured that Rwanda is
ready to give the 5th Battalion to reinforce in peace keeping in southern Sudan
whenever found necessary.
------------------
Save the Seychelles From Pirates (NYT)

Put the pirates on trial!

Here in the Seychelles, they believe that a turning point in the war with Somali piracy
occurred when the Supreme Court handed down a severe sentence of 22 years each to
nine Somali pirates under a new “antipiracy” amendment to Seychelles law.

The pirates really had seized some Seychellois, so the mood in Victoria — the smallest
national capital city in the world, with one traffic light — was good, both among
officials and ordinary citizens. If we add to this that the United Arab Emirates had
donated five patrol vessels to Seychelles, significantly augmenting the local coast guard
(which until then had two patrol boats), it becomes clear why the military spirit of the
Seychellois was high. In addition to all this, American and French naval ships were in
port, providing extra jobs.

Still, the security problems of the 115 Seychelles Islands have not been resolved. When I
prepared to visit the southern island of Aldabra and its giant tortoises, I was told I
could become easy prey for those self-same pirates.

The thousands of Somali pirates, armed with Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers,
have become a serious international problem. Seychelles authorities complain that the
pirates have significantly undermined the country’s fishing industry. Yachting, and
tourism in general, have suffered. More broadly, shipping has been disrupted not only
in the Indian Ocean but around the world, as tankers and other vessels need to use
these ocean routes.

The Seychelles authorities have called on large countries to assume responsibility for
combating piracy. I spoke about this with a senior government minister, Vincent
Meriton, who saw the root cause of piracy in the fact that Somalia has virtually no
effective government, and who argued that unless order is restored to Somalia with
international help, the pirates — driven by poverty and despair — cannot be eradicated.

At the same time, there are conflicting opinions among islanders about who benefits
from this maritime evil. Some argue that the Somali bandits have long evolved into
organized crime groups linked, through the Somali Islamist insurgency Al-Shabaab, to
Al Qaeda. Then there are those who hold a darker notion, saying that pirate loot settles
ultimately in certain British and American banks, turning the fight with piracy into
hypocrisy. Conspiracy theories are not the best way to sort out the problem, of course,
but its very complexity gives rise to them.

I would not say, however, that Somali pirates have plunged the Seychelles into
complete darkness. The equatorial sun shines equitably all year round, without
crippling heat. Coco-de-mer, a coconut unique to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse,
still stirs the erotic imagination of tourists with its suggestive shape.

Have you ever seen a customs arrival form that lists, among potential reasons for
visiting the country, “honeymoon”? There’s nothing surprising in this. The Seychelles
are created for romance; when you tell the Seychellois that their islands are paradise,
they take it as a statement of fact, noting that apparently this was the actual Garden of
Eden. And I must say that the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of a population of
highly diverse roots and colors struck me deeply.

Maybe this was because ethnic problems in my native Russia are so acute now. At our
resort, I met many of my countrymen, who are celebrated here for their eccentricity —
and their tips (I stand amazed at the international myth of Russian wealth!) I was told at
the resort that Russians had entirely taken over the hotel for Russian Christmas, Jan. 7.
To be honest, I was here with my wife Katya for our honeymoon. But that did not leave
me indifferent to the problems of the islands.

After all, we Russians and the Seychellois are, in one sense, brothers in misfortune.
They too tried to “build socialism,” after they gained independence from Britain in
1976, and managed to create a harsh one-party system with censorship and fear. True,
they did not recreate Stalin’s Gulag, but they did achieve the traditional communist
shortages. The legacy of this socialism is still evident in the bad roads and modest
shops, and diplomats complain that it is difficult to find clothes to buy.

New problems have gradually appeared. Until recently, the Seychellois did not know
what a serious crime was. That changed four years ago, when the global wave of
narcotics rolled in like a tsunami. The local minister of tourism and sport says this is the
result of the integration of the Seychelles in global processes, but this globalization has
also led to robbery and murder. Drug addiction has become entwined with another new
phenomenon — alcoholism. Piracy is not the only evil.

The Seychellois are also greatly concerned about climate change. The beautiful granite
islands could sink below the sea if the oceans continue to warm. A rise in sea level has
already been noted, and the average annual temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees.

Nevertheless, as Vincent Mediton told me, the Seychellois have a positive vision for the
future, and the trained personnel for it. The youth of the Seychelles study at the local
university and around the world. Since there is harmony in the population, there will be
a common understanding of the challenges.

Personally, I am not rushing back to Moscow. Paradise is paradise, even if there are
problems. But a paradise needs help to remain a paradise. Save the Seychelles from the
pirates!

Victor Erofeyev is a Russian writer and television host. Translated from the Russian by
the International Herald Tribune.
------------------
New Franco-US Axis in Africa (Le Figaro)

Immediately after the Ivorian election, 28 November, a "diplomatic couple" was formed
in Abidjan. French Ambassador Jean-Marc Simon and his US counterpart, Phillip
Carter III, appeared at the Golf Hotel several days in succession to meet with Alassane
Ouattara, the elected president entrenched within its walls. The two men entered the
building together and left it together. Their aim was clear: to show the supporters of
Laurent Gbagbo -- who, though clearly defeated in the election, refuses to recognize the
fact -- that no wedge can be driven between France and the United States with regard to
the interpretation of the election result. As the crisis grew more intractable, this
bilateral approach spread to all levels of the Franco-US diplomatic hierarchy, via
embassy representatives, the respective ministries' Africa desks, and of course directly
between the Elysee [French presidency] and the White House. "The dialogue is
intensive, almost daily," according to one observer, who stressed "the key importance of
new technologies" in the quality of bilateral and multilateral communications. "It is all
proceeding very swiftly; we can call people directly on their mobile phones in New
York, Paris, or Washington, use text messages, or emails. This is important in a crisis of
this kind, in which everything must proceed very swiftly if we want to prevent the
various positions from becoming set in stone."

French officials agree that Franco-US relations in connection with Africa are undergoing
clear changes, but stress that, beyond the Paris-Washington couple, it is the
mobilization of the international community and the preeminent role played by the
Africans themselves, via the AU [African Union] and ECOWAS Economic Community
of West African States] that is the most crucial factor in the Ivorian crisis. "The striking
thing is less the excellent cooperation between France and the United States than the
international unanimity in supporting Ouattara," President Sarkozy's diplomatic
adviser, Jean-David Levitte, observed.

"Counterbalancing Chinese influence"

Nevertheless the fact remains that the Paris-Washington duo in Africa at this time of
crisis, behind which the EU can also be seen, seems to me becoming established. The
precedent for coordination between France and the United States, during last year's
crisis in Guinea, is reminiscent of that in Cote d'Ivoire now. At that time Paris and
Washington went as far as to publish -- in a rare move -- two joint communities to assert
the absolute necessity of a presidential election "without any possibility of
postponement." Guinea is no neutral territory for these two states, however. France
has few major income economic interests there, but does have a major colonial past.
The United States wants to exploit its iron resources. During the Iraqi crisis of 2003 the
two countries clashed in Guinea, where the United States tried to persuade dictator
Lansana Conte to support its intervention, which initiative was obstructed by French
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin. Major tensions resulted from that venture.
They have clearly been forgotten, in favor of a joint approach to preventing conflicts
and democratizing the African continent.

"Regional instability, bad governance, terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking, and

uncontrolled migration: all these threats require responses that no one state can provide
on its own," according to Nancy Walker, former director of the State Department's
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, now head of African studies at the Atlantic Council.
"Africa's entry into globalization and the competition developing there with the arrival
of new actors such as China and the Gulf states require almost a collective approach.
There can no longer be any question of private domains or policies of influence, strictly
speaking, vis-a-vis the Africans," one French observer added.
When you ask the Americans why the Franco-US partnership is so flowing so well now,
they explain that there has been a major change "in France's Africa policy." "The
colonial legacy is increasingly remote," one State Department official commented.
"Sarkozy [French president] has started demilitarizing and normalizing France's Africa
policy," according to Ambassador Frances Cook, who spent a large part of her
diplomatic career in Africa and who is now an adviser to companies investing on the
continent. "I remember my first period as counselor in Cameroon in the 1970s. The
French controlled everything. Their special advisers were based in the government
building and were more powerful than the ministers! But this would no longer be
possible now," she said, stressing President Sarkozy's "pragmatic, essentially economic
approach," seeking to diversify French interests in non-Francophone Africa, in such
countries as South Africa and Angola.

This assessment overlaps with that given by the US ambassador in Paris, in several
diplomatic cables drafted in August 2008 and recently published by the WikiLeaks
website. [passage quoting cables omitted]. Other cables refer to Gabon, casting doubt
on the Sarkozy team's ability to alter the private and obscure nature of Franco-African
relations. There are still perplexities and tensions on some issues, with decisionmakers
in Washington still wondering, for instance, about France's private and particular
relations with Chad," according to specialist Jennifer Cook, of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies. But overall, diplomats and experts see real convergence
between the two countries.

In the United States and elsewhere the historical perception, long established in
Washington, whereby "France is more interested in stability than in democratization
and good governance" is changing, Jennifer Cook said. "If you read Obama's speech in
Accra and Sarkozy's speech in Dakar, you will see a real convergence of viewpoints,
particularly regarding the need to Africanize the crisis management process,"
Ambassador Frances Cook added. "It has become anachronistic to talk in terms of
rivalry," a US defense ministry official stated forthrightly.

Example of Djibouti

Experts nevertheless point out that the Franco-US rapprochement in Africa does not
date from Obama or Sarkozy. It began at the turn of the new century, following the
"long gap" of the Rwandan tragedy, a time when French policy, motivated largely by its
obsessions with rivalry between French-speaking and English-speaking countries,
prompted an outright crisis with Washington, according to specialist Nancy Walker. At
that time, one of the Pentagon's Africa chiefs, Vincent Kearns, became persona non
grata in Paris for having accused France of having playing a murky role at the time of
the genocide. Following that peak of tension, Africa became a haven of good
cooperation, despite the storm over the Iraqi crisis. This is perhaps because the trauma
experienced by the major powers, which failed to halt the catastrophe, has had a major
impact... Paris and Washington also cooperated effectively in Madagascar during the
2002 crises, despite initial differences of assessment. Following 11 September 2001 the
two countries also gradually established "model" military cooperation, particularly in
connection with training African armies, antiterrorist action in the Sahel region, and
combating piracy at sea off the Horn of Africa.

From this viewpoint, the US and French military like to stress the excellent situation in
Djibouti, the former French colony that has since 2002 also hosted a US military base.
However, when US troops land there to join Camp Lemonnier, the French wonder
about their motives. An argument between French and US soldiers in a night club
made the news. But gradually attitudes calmed and the ménage a trios works well in
this key location that has become the "strategic hub" fo r monitoring Somalia and piracy
at sea. Troops train there together, and there is a permanent exchange of information
and technical assistance. The French military believe that this cooperation in Djibouti is
a good example of what bilateral relations in Africa should be. Djibouti has taken note
of this good understanding.

The US and French military are now are talking about "burden sharing." Increasingly
interested in Africa, but having limited resources on what is a new terrain for them, the
Americans regard France's expertise and networks as valuable," one Defense
Department official explained. The French, for their part, want to be involved in US
initiatives, and particularly the Africom venture, a command for Africa which the
United States established in 2008 in Stuttgart to strengthen the training of Africa's
armies. The French have a liaison officer there. They are also represented, via another
liaison officer, at the Center for African Studies at the Defense University (which comes
under the Pentagon) in Washington, which trains networks among the African elites
and which has grown considerably since its establishment, from 10 to 80 members.

Of course there are still differences about several countries and issues. France, for
instance, considers the United States too retiring in the struggle against Al-Qa'ida in the
Maghreb, whereas the United States believes that France does not take drug trafficking
in the Gulf of Guinea seriously enough. But both countries are increasingly playing a
collective game. "A real partnership," one French source ventured to say.
------------------
US applauds Uganda’s role in Somalia (New Vision)

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has commended Uganda for its efforts
in keeping peace in war-torn Somalia.

According to a press statement from the UPDF, AFRICOM commander Gen. William
Ward gave the commendation during talks with Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces
(UPDF) leadership on Sunday.
“The AFRICOM commander hailed Ugandan and Burundian militaries for their heroic
contribution to peace and security in Somalia and the entire continent,” read the press
statement.

The statement added that Gen. Ward and Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces Gen.
Aronda Nyakairima discussed bilateral and regional issues.

The two also discussed matters of bilateral cooperation between the US African
Command and the UPDF.

Matters concerning security in the sub-region were also tackled, as well as the AMISOM
Operations.

Ward, according to the statement, was accompanied by the US ambassador to Uganda,

Jerry Lanier, and AFRICOM commanders Maj. Gen. H.D. Polumbo, Capt. Peter Miller
and Col. Robert Miller.

Lanier reiterated the US government’s commitment to cooperation of the two countries

to promote peace and stability.

Ward pledged continued support to the peace building efforts on the African continent.

AFRICOM is a combatant command of the US Department of Defense responsible for

military operations and relations with all African nations, except Egypt.

The command, has in the past, played a role in Operation Lightening Thunder, led by
Uganda, against the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

The US has also provided training and logistical support to the peacekeeping mission in
Somalia.

During the meeting, Uganda was also represented by the commander of the land forces,
Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala, the chief of military intelligence, Brig. James Mugira and the
director of foreign liaison, Lt. Col. Richard Karemire.
------------------
Logistics assessment paves way for Burundian Defense Forces ADAPT (US Army
Africa)

VICENZA, Italy — Two United Stated Army Africa personnel from the Directorate of
Logistics conducted a deployment capability assessment with uniformed and civilian
members of the Burundian Defense Forces in Bujumbura, the capital, Dec. 14-17.
Sgt. 1st Class Luis Febles and Gordon Christensen of the USARAF Logistics Directorate,
stationed at Caserma Ederle, conducted the survey, which took place at the Bujumbura
Military Airfield.

Christensen and Febles were in Bujumbura to assess the Burundian capability to deploy
personnel and equipment via aircraft to various operations on the African continent,
and then to use those findings to custom design a lesson plan for an Africa Deployment
Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) scheduled for June 2011.

ADAPT, a U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) program that is managed and executed
by USARAF, aims to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries to
better support peace-keeping operations, humanitarian relief operations and UN
missions; foster positive relationships between U.S and African land forces; and
increase deployment interoperability with U.S. forces for joint or combined operations,
training and exercises.

“This is our first interaction with the Burundian military in a deployment operations
sense,” Christensen said. “This survey will help us to tailor the lesson plan for the June
2011 ADAPT, and tailoring the plan will help us to meet the Burundian’s training
requirements.”

“Having trained and certified deployers is a crucial component to deploying a force,”

Febles said.

“We want the ability to run this operation with our own soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Nkusi
Charles, Commandant de l’Aviation, Republique Du Burundi.

“The Burundian forces soldiers and civilians are excited about the upcoming ADAPT,
and applying the training to their real world operations,” Febles said.

“Understanding USARAF’s and the Burundian’s capabilities and limitations will

greatly assist us in future partnership events,” Christensen said.

“This successful military-to-military ADAPT event demonstrates the important

partnerships between U.S. Army Africa and African partner nations in increasing
deployment capabilities and capacity,” he said.
------------------
Ivory Coast's Ouattara Sees Hope Fade for Regional Military Intervention
(Bloomberg)

The hopes of Ivory Coast’s President-elect Alassane Ouattara for a foreign military
intervention to oust rival Laurent Gbagbo dimmed as regional leaders stepped up
efforts to seek a negotiated end to the West African nation’s political standoff.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the African Union’s envoy, will return to Ivory
Coast this week in a second effort to find a resolution to the conflict, according to an e-
mail sent from his office in Nairobi yesterday. Odinga’s trip follows the efforts of
former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who made an unannounced visit to the
country on Jan. 8.

The U.S., the United Nations, the AU and the Economic Community of West African
States, or Ecowas, recognize Ouattara, 69, as the winner of the Nov. 28 election.
Incumbent Gbagbo, 65, refuses to cede power, alleging vote fraud in some northern
regions. Ecowas hasn’t taken any military action since saying on Dec. 24 it may use
“legitimate force” to oust Gbagbo.

The bloc “is losing any semblance of credibility,” said Kissy Agyeman-Togobo, West
Africa analyst for Songhai Advisory, based in London. “As time has worn on and as the
level of support for Gbagbo hasn’t dwindled domestically, perhaps Ecowas is seeing
going in could result in carnage.”

The UN estimates as many as 210 people have been killed in violence following the
vote. About 25,000 people have fled to neighboring Liberia since the crisis began, and
are arriving at a rate of 600 people per day, the UN’s refugee agency said today.
Internally, about 16,000 people have fled villages in the west of the country where the
political crisis has exacerbated ethnic tensions, according to the Humanitarian Country
Team, a group of non-governmental and UN organizations.

Eurobonds

Ivory Coast’s $2.3 billion in Eurobonds recorded their biggest jump on record today
after the Finance Ministry told bondholders it is “taking all necessary measures” to pay
a $29 million coupon payment that it missed on Dec. 31. The bonds rose 10.6 percent to
41.875 cents on the dollar at 12:22 p.m. in Abidjan, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. The government has a 30-day grace period to make the payment.

Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, “does not have any other option than
taking into consideration the commitments taken in the past,” Ahoua Don Mello, a
Gbagbo spokesman said by phone from Abidjan.

The government may pay the money within days, according to DaMina Advisors LLP,
a New York-based frontier-market risk advisor.

Not an Option

Ouattara refused to enter talks with Gbagbo last week, telling the British Broadcasting
Corp. an Ecowas-led military intervention would come “sooner than you think.” The
regional group’s unity was punctured on Jan. 7 when Ivorian neighbor Ghana said it
wouldn’t contribute troops to a mission in the country.

“I do not think this military option is going to bring peace in Cote d’Ivoire,” Ghanaian
President John Atta Mills told reporters in the capital, Accra. “I don’t want to be
saddled with problems we cannot solve.”

Ivory Coast’s envoy to the United Nations, Youssoufou Bamba, yesterday told the
BBC’s Hardtalk program that Ouattara would consider a unity government if Gbagbo
steps down.

“In politics life goes on, you have to at some point because you are condemned to live
together,” he said. “Gbagbo is not alone, he has followers, he has competent people in
his party, with those people we are prepared to work in the framework of a wide
composite cabinet.”

‘Declaration of War’

The army, which supports Gbagbo, has blockaded streets around the Golf Hotel in
Abidjan, the commercial capital, where Ouattara has established his administration.

Any attempt to use military force to remove Gbagbo from office would be a
“declaration of war,” Ahoua Don Mello, a spokesman for the leader, said in a phone
interview from Abidjan on Jan. 7.

“Neither the Ivorian people nor the army will accept” military intervention, he said.
“We will defend the country.”

Pro-Gbagbo security forces searched houses early today in Abobo, a suburb of Abidjan
that supports Ouattara, said Yves Doumbia, a spokesman for the area’s mayor. Gunfire
was heard though there were no injuries reported, he said by phone.

Odinga will attempt to “set up proper structures to deal with the political impasse,”
according to yesterday’s statement. “The messy situation and loss of faith in the transfer
of power through the ballot could lead to the return of military coups in Africa,” he
said. With several elections scheduled in Africa this year, the Ivorian standoff could “set
a trend” of incumbents trying to “cling to power,” he said.

Cocoa for March delivery slid 5 pounds ($7.77), or 0.3 percent, to 1,935 pounds a metric
ton as of 11:15 a.m. in London today
------------------
What would it take to remove Ivory Coast's Gbagbo? (Christian Science Monitor)
Johannesburg, South Africa - After more than a month, the brinksmanship that has
brought Ivory Coast back to civil war continues.

Two men, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara and incumbent President Laurent
Gbagbo, claim to be president. Most electoral observers, the country’s electoral
commission, the United Nations, and most world leaders (aside from Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe) have proclaimed Mr. Ouattara the winner of the Nov. 28
runoff election. The vote count itself shows that Ouattara won with an 8 percent point
margin.

Mr. Gbagbo clings to his office mainly through the loyalty of his powerful southern-
based party, and through the country’s army. The radio and TV stations he controls
have been accused of inciting hatred and violence against Ouattara’s party and ethnic
group, and against the UN.

African Union mediators have come and gone, but the crisis continues.

West Africa’s strongest regional forum, the Economic Community of West Africa States
(ECOWAS) threatened to remove Gbagbo by force, but that threat has done little to
convince Gbagbos. Of course, this might have been because Nigeria’s own military is
involved in several peacekeeping operations already, notably in Sudan’s Darfur region,
and that one of the other major ECOWAS members, Ghana, said that it would not send
troops.

So small wonder that the news headlines about possible “solutions” in Ivory Coast have
taken on a boy-cries-wolf quality. Mr. Ouattara’s envoy to the United Nations,
Youssoufou Bamba, announced yesterday that there was hope for peace, after Ouattara
opened the possibility of a coalition government with Gbagbo’s party, if Gbagbo
himself steps aside.

Gbagbo "has followers, he has competent people in his party. Those people, we are
prepared to work with them in the framework of a wide composite cabinet," Mr. Bamba
told the BBC's HARDtalk television news program this week.

Efforts to whittle down Gbagbo’s hold on power – freezing his access to state bank
accounts, for instance – have done little to encourage his cooperation in ending the
crisis.

Fighting between soldiers loyal to Gbagbo and supporters of Ouattara broke out last
week, with an estimated 33 deaths, according to hospital officials in Abidjan. Even the
prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Netherlands, warned that
his court might investigate the former president, if violence grew too severe.
So what does it take to get Gbagbo (or for that matter, any African leader) to step aside
once they've lost a bid for reelection?

Author Paul Collier, in an opinion column in the Guardian newspaper, suggests the
best and perhaps only tool strong enough to remove Gbagbo is his own army. Weaken
loyalty between the army and the leader – perhaps by cutting off army salaries – and
the leader might see it in his best interest to look for accommodations in the Cote
D’Azur instead of Cote D’Ivoire.

Despite the happy rhetoric of African solutions for African problems, there is no
solution in sight, unless it comes from within Ivory Coast itself.
------------------
Deadly Violence Erupts in Ivory Coast (Voice of America)

Gunfire has erupted in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, killing at least two two people
as the political power struggle continued in the West African nation.

Witnesses say violence broke out Tuesday in the city of Abidjan between security forces
loyal to incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo and supporters of Allassane Ouattara, the
internationally recognized winner of a presidential poll in November.

The clashes took place in a pro-Ouattara neighborhood called Abobo.

The Associated Press reports U.N. peacekeepers retreated from the neighborhood after
security forces opened fire.

Mr. Ouattara remains holed up in an Abidjan hotel protected by U.N. peacekeepers.

The incumbent president, who continues to maintain control of the military, refuses to
give up power despite intense international pressure to do so.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is expected to return to Ivory Coast this week in
an effort to mediate an end not the impasse. Mr. Odinga serves as the African Union's
mediator in the country.

Separately, the U.N. refugee agency says 25,000 Ivorians have fled to Liberia because of
they fear the political crisis will lead to widespread violence.

On Monday, Ivory Coast's ambassador to the United Nations said Mr. Ouattara would
form a unity government with members of incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo's
party, if Mr. Gbagbo steps down first.
Youssoufou Bamba told British TV that Mr. Gbagbo has "competent people in his party"
and that Mr. Ouattara is prepared to work with them "in the framework of a wide,
composite cabinet."
------------------
Foreign Policy: Too Early To Celebrate In South Sudan (NPR)

JUBA, Sudan — Euphoria permeated the atmosphere in the Southern Sudanese capital
on Sunday, and for good reason. For a people who have fought and endured decades of
conflict, all for the remote prospect of finding independence at the end, this week is for
celebrating. A new state in the south seemed finally within reach when voting began in
a weeklong referendum on whether to secede from greater Sudan. Nearly 4 million
Southern Sudanese are expected to cast ballots in what the region's leaders are dubbing
their "Final Walk to Freedom." Popular sentiment almost unanimously favors secession,
and it was impossible not to notice the unbridled joy of many of the voters at a number
of polling stations I visited in Juba on Sunday. At one station under a mango tree in a
dusty open field, a middle-aged woman dropped her ballot in the plastic box, dipped
her finger in blue ink, and proceeded to literally skip out of the station, ululating as she
went.

That the voting is happening at all is incredible. Despite tough odds and scores of
doomsday analyses that warned it could be delayed, marred by violence, or stopped
altogether (mea culpa: I am among those who had such fears), polls opened on time in
10 southern states, in northern Sudan where many southerners have resided since the
war, and in eight countries worldwide that host a Sudanese diaspora.

Still, there is a danger in celebrating too early. Voters may call for an independent
Southern Sudan as they cast their ballots this week, but the means by which the new
country would split off is still subject to difficult negotiations and thorny details. There
is no agreement over a border, citizenship, the sharing of natural resources, and one
contentious border region called Abyei. So while its people are celebrating, Southern
Sudan's leaders are eager to get back to the negotiating table with Khartoum, where a
long agenda awaits after the voting finishes. If international attention wanes after the
votes are cast, those negotiations could easily take a turn for the worse.

It would be impossible for there not be a "hangover" following the announcement of the
results of the ballot, which will not be certified and officially announced until Feb. 6 at
the earliest, according to the referendum commission. The voting here in Juba has
captured international attention. News crews from around the world have flooded the
city, usually a relatively quiet capital with an expatriate community made up mostly of
aid workers and frontier businessmen.

There was also a huge diplomatic push to get to this moment. Last fall, U.S. President
Barack Obama's administration ramped up its efforts to ensure that the voting was
carried off on time. The White House sent its special envoy, Scott Gration, as well as a
seasoned Africa hand from the Council on Foreign Relations, Princeton Lyman, to do
the diplomatic legwork on the ground. A high-level meeting in New York during the
U.N. General Assembly in late September ensured that the international community
was acting in lockstep — and around the clock — to help Sudan hold the referendum
on time and in peace.

But the spotlight may well lift after the last voters go to polls later this week — at
exactly the moment when the politics of secession will become even more fraught. From
the moment the results are known, the clock starts ticking on independence talks: The
African Union-brokered negotiations between the ruling party in Khartoum and the
governing party in the south — now on hold while the voting takes place — have to be
completed by the summer. The 2005 north-south peace agreement governing the
referendum calls for an "interim period" between the voting and secession, to expire on
July 9, 2011. This is also the date the south will declare independence if the referendum
passes.

That leaves just a few months for some of the most contentious issues in Sudan's recent
history to be resolved. The parties will have to decide who becomes a citizen, a tricky
question since tens of thousands of southerners now live in the north. A security
arrangement along the border will have to be worked out — as will the actual border
demarcation itself. It's also not clear yet how north and south Sudan will share oil
wealth, much of which will be concentrated in the new independent state. But perhaps
most controversial of all is the status of Abyei, which lies along the disputed border. Oil
rich, ethnically diverse, and politically explosive, Abyei was supposed to hold its own
referendum this week over whether to be in Sudan or the new Southern Sudanese state.
Disputes over who would be able to vote, however, have delayed the polls. Clashes
have broken out there in recent days between settler and nomad populations, the
former preferring to go with the south and the latter favoring the north. The situation
on the ground on Monday was reportedly calm, but any further flaring of violence in
the area is likely to raise tensions between Khartoum and Juba over an issue on which
neither side wants to cede ground.

In the run-up to the referendum and on the first day of polling, a flurry of VIPs who
had descended on Southern Sudan underlined their collective concerns about Abyei.
U.S. Senator John Kerry was among them, promising that Abyei was "not forgotten."
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and actor George Clooney have also added their
voices. Without Abyei settled, Clooney told Time, "then this whole thing falls apart."

There is a good chance that the negotiations will move too slowly to meet the July
deadline. Insider accounts of the AU-brokered talks suggest that Khartoum is
intentionally stalling. Moderator and former South African President Thabo Mbeki has
reportedly chided Khartoum on at least one occasion for what appears to be a lack of
seriousness in the negotiations. A popular theory here in Juba is that Khartoum will
move as slowly as possible so as to extract the maximum concessions from the south
last minute, when the south will be desperate to wrap things up.

And what happens if the deadline isn't met at all? No matter where the talks stand in
July, Southern Sudan is likely to move forward with its claim for independence. And
that, many fear, could escalate in the worst-case scenario into a new north-south war. "If
we don't take these issues like Abyei and the wealth-sharing and other post-referendum
and Comprehensive Peace Agreement issues seriously and leave them on the back
burner and declare success with the southern referendum and walk away, I'm pretty
sure that war will resume in Sudan," warns John Prendergast, founder of the Enough
Project, referring to the 2005 agreement that ended the civil war. A renewed conflict
isn't all that far-fetched: Both north and south Sudan have bulked up their arms and
soldiers in contentious zones such as Abyei — something that becomes alarmingly
apparent whenever a small skirmish turns into a deadly fight with heavy arms.

Yet war is far from assured. There are many reasons for Khartoum and Juba not to take
up arms. For one, there's the price tag. A recent report estimated that another bloody
conflict between the two former foes would cost $100 billion. Sudanese President Omar
Hassan al-Bashir also sounded a conciliatory note last week when he visited Juba,
pledging to the south that he'd give "anything you need" and suggesting that he sees a
benefit in both sides moving forward peacefully, even if Sudan does become two states.
(He may also realize that the world is watching how the referendum unfolds, and is
merely biding his time.)

When the last polls close at 5 p.m. on Jan. 15, the true test of international attention span
begins. The Obama administration deserves credit for putting Sudan near the top of its
foreign-policy agenda. But if the White House's focus on Sudan wanes after the
referendum, then all its extra efforts will have been for naught. Obama's team will have
to keep in close contact with Mbeki's team in order to present a united front to the
Sudanese parties. If this cooperation breaks down, Khartoum will exploit confusion and
gaps among the diplomats.

The vote is off to a good start. But July is a long way off. The international community
cannot afford to rest until north and south have signed the papers to make the divorce
official and equitable.
------------------
South Sudan voters die in ambush (Al Jazeera)

At least 11 more people have been killed in violence over southern Sudan's historic
referendum, officials have said.

Major General Gier Chuang Aluong, South Sudan's interior minister, said 10 people
making their way to vote were killed in an ambush on Monday.
The announcement came as South Sudan held a third day of voting on Tuesday in a
referendum on whether to split from the north.

Fighters from the Misseriya tribe are thought to be behind the latest attack, which took
place in Kurdufan, on the northern side of the disputed region between the north and
south.

“Misseriya as a tribe belong to a country, they belong to a state, and they belong to
leadership. Somebody must be responsible to take the responsibility and be accountable
for what has taken place,” Aluong said, insisting the north should accept blame for the
attack.

Mohamed Wad Abuk, a senior member of the area's Arab Misseriya nomads, denied
any involvement in the attack.

"This is a lie and the Misseriya has not attacked any convoy. The SPLM just want to
exploit the situation in the area to create confusion," he said, referring to the south's
dominant party the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

The latest attack came four days after clashes between Misseriya nomads and southern
police and youths in the contested Abyei border region, a flashpoint of north-south
tensions in the past.

Day three

Observers fear the latest unrest could spark more fighting amid an otherwise peaceful
independence referendum in the south.

Abyei remains the most contentious sticking point between north and south following a
two-decade civil war that left some 2 million people dead.

Abyei, which holds oil deposits, had been promised its own self-determination vote.
But it still remains uncertain whether it will remain part of Sudan or join an
independent south.

The seven days of balloting in southern Sudan are likely to produce an overwhelming
vote for independence, and Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, has said he will let
the oil-rich south secede peacefully.

The scale of the turnout on the first two days of the week-long poll left many
southerners confident that they were well on the way to reaching the 60 per cent
threshold set by a 2005 peace deal between north and south for the referendum to be
valid.
The preliminary results are expected to be announced by February 7, leaving a five-day
period for appeals, before announcing the final and uncontested results on February 14.

South Sudan is among the world's poorest regions and the entire region has only 50km
of paved roads.

However, most of Sudan's oil is in the south, while the pipelines to the sea run through
the north, tying the two regions together economically.

Bashir was also reported to have told Jimmy Carter, the former US president, that the
north would take on all of Sudan's nearly $38bn debt even if the South decided to
secede.

Carter, who is in the country as an international observer, said that "in a way, southern
Sudan is starting with a clean sheet on debt".

However, Emad Sayed Ahmed, the Sudanese presidency spokesperson, denied this in a
statement carried by the state news agency.

Bashir simply told Carter that dividing the debt burden will not be of any help to the
north or the South because both sides lack the resources to make the necessary
payments, Ahmed said in the statement.

Bashir's office said that trying to split the debt between the north and a possible new
southern nation is of "no use" because the would-be state would not be able to service
the debt.

The statement said that Sudan's debt should be scrapped altogether, adding that is was
the "responsibility of the north, south and the international community".
------------------
Four die in clashes between Tunisia jobs protesters and police (The Guardian)

Four more civilians have been killed in clashes between riot police and protesters in
Tunisia, authorities said today, bringing the official death toll in the worst civil unrest
for decades to 20.

Human rights groups say many more have died, with at least 35 fatalities in the month-
long wave of violence. The dead include two people who committed suicide in acts of
protest.

The interior ministry said four people died in clashes yesterday in Gassrine, a town
about 125 miles south-west of the capital, Tunis. Gassrine was the focus of protests at
the weekend.
After Tunis became the scene of a rare protest by students yesterday, the Tunisian
government ordered the indefinite closure of all schools and universities in an attempt
to stamp out the clashes with police.

Protesters say they are demanding jobs, but President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – facing
the worst unrest of his 23-year rule – said the rioting was a "terrorist act" orchestrated
by foreign parties who were trying to damage Tunisia.

Ben Ali promised yesterday to cut graduate unemployment, a major complaint. But he
failed to appease some poorer areas; witnesses said police fired teargas to disperse
protesters in the towns of El Kef and Gafsa after his speech.

In front of the Lafayette job centre in Tunis, a handful of young people stood in line.
"The president's speech gave us new hope ... I have a master's degree in economy and I
have been jobless for four years. I hope I will get lucky and land a job soon," said
Hamdi, who is from the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid.

Journalists from Tunisian newspapers also took action in the capital today. About 100
gathered in the journalists' union headquarters to protest at what they said were
government restrictions on reporting the violence.

The journalists held up photos of people killed in the clashes and chanted "Freedom for
the Tunisian press." Their action is unusual because the domestic media is usually
deferential to the government.

"We must no longer be a loudhailer for the government's propaganda," said Naji
Baghouri, a former head of the journalists' union. "We must take back our freedom."

The Assabah newspaper reported that Ben Ali had asked the chairman of the bar,
Abderrazak Kilani, to help ease the tensions. Thousands of Tunisian lawyers went on
strike last week to protest against alleged police beatings.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has expressed concern about the escalation of
violence and called for restraint.
------------------
Algeria and Tunisia: Arab Regimes in Trouble (Time)

The new year has brought a wave of protests and violence against two U.S.-friendly
authoritarian Arab regimes in North Africa. Riots in Algeria over rising food prices last
weekend reportedly left five people dead and some 800 injured, while police arrested
more than 1,000 people in their effort to crack down on protestors. At the same time,
weeks of unrest and anger at high unemployment came to a head in neighboring
Tunisia, with security forces killing at least 14 civilians protesting in a number of the
country's poorer towns. Hundreds of others were hurt as police fired tear gas and live
ammunition into crowds, prompting condemnation by the E.U. and human-rights
groups.

A call from Tunisia's marginalized political opposition for a cease-fire fell on deaf ears.
Instead, the regime on Jan. 10 ordered all schools and universities shut to thwart further
student mobilization. Algeria, too, was eager to deny opponents platforms for protest,
suspending all the country's professional soccer games to prevent fans congregating.

For years, Tunisia has been one of the more stable countries in the region, with many
citizens accepting their regime's authoritarianism in exchange for guarantees of greater
prosperity. But economic decline there and continued hardship in Algeria have left both
countries facing simmering resentment, particularly from younger people whose job
prospects are grim. "The riots are a sign that young people in the region are losing
hope," says Haim Malka, senior fellow at the Middle East Program at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "They are getting increasingly
frustrated by the lack of opportunities and accountability in their societies."

Troubles in Tunisia began after Dec. 17, when Mohammed Bouazizi, an unemployed
26-year-old college graduate, poured gasoline over his body and set himself ablaze in a
public square in the town of Sidi bou Zid. Bouazizi had allegedly been beaten and
humiliated by police officers while trying to hawk vegetables without an adequate
license. His self-immolation — Bouazizi died of his wounds on Jan. 5 — struck a nerve
among Tunisians, some 14% of whom are unemployed. Demonstrations kicked off
nationwide, involving students and labor unions, and even a lawyers' strike. Apart
from a few conciliatory gestures, the government of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali
reacted aggressively, arresting dissidents (including a popular 22-year-old rapper
nicknamed El General) and gunning down others, while doing its best to muzzle the
press and civil society. The Committee to Protect Journalists alleges widespread
censoring of the Internet and monitoring of all Tunisian-based Facebook accounts; in
solidarity with the protesters, the global "hacktivist" group Anonymous, which had
recently rallied behind WikiLeaks, managed to temporarily shut down a number of
state-run Tunisian websites on Jan. 2.

"Though the spark seems to have been economic issues, these are protests against
political systems that are totally frozen," says Elliott Abrams, a fellow at the Council on
Foreign Relations who was the deputy national security adviser handling the Middle
East and North Africa in the Administration of President George W. Bush. "Nothing
changes. There's little to no freedom of the press, and each election is an even worse
charade than the other."

In Algeria, some three-quarters of the population is younger than 30. Few experienced
the savage violence of a civil war between the government and Islamists in the 1990s
that followed the military's cancellation of elections that the Islamists looked set to win,
let alone the storied armed struggle that won independence from France in 1962. Yet,
these experiences are still invoked to burnish the credentials of the military-backed
regime of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. In the wake of the riots, the Algerian
government attempted to ease the situation with the promise of food subsidies and tax
relief. But those measures may be thin paper over the widening cracks emerging in
Algerian society. Despite the country's abundance of natural-gas wealth, millions of
Algerians remain in poverty, with large slums surrounding the capital city, Algiers.
According to a report by Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV, some young protestors flung
animal bones at government buildings in the major city of Oran, "because," said one,
"[the government] has left nothing but bones for us."

Whereas the problem in Algeria is "primarily institutional," argues Abrams, "Tunisia is

a more old-fashioned dictatorship, where efforts revolve around keeping the First
Family in power." President Ben Ali is only the second ruler the former French colony
has had since its independence in 1956, and he has been at the helm for 23 years. A
secret U.S. diplomatic cable from 2008, released by WikiLeaks, brands Ben Ali's
extended family a "quasi mafia" at "the nexus of Tunisian corruption." Other cables
from the American embassy in Tunis quote U.S. officials reporting on the frustrations
felt by many locals at the excesses of "the Family" and their seeming indifference to the
plight of ordinary Tunisians. A 2009 cable details dinner at the lavish home of Ben Ali's
son-in-law, Sakher El Materi: Roman artifacts abound while guests dine on fruit, cakes
and frozen yogurt freshly flown in on a private jet from the southern French town of St.-
Tropez. A large tiger named Pasha roams the garden.

In Tunisia, "you've got substantially high per capita income and a high literacy rate,"
says Abrams. "You do have a society there that could be democratic if only the ruling
government could get out of the way." But the U.S. has been slow to push for
democratic change in the region, not least because the authoritarian governments of
Algeria and Tunisia are allies in the fight against Islamist terrorism. But the social
instability their policies have provoked can actually work to the advantage of regional
extremists. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a visit to the Gulf states this week,
plans to call publicly for political reform in the Arab world. But that may not offer much
help or comfort to the civil society in Tunisia and Algeria, set against phalanxes of
security personnel and the ubiquitous secret police.
------------------
Troops deploy after 13 reported dead in Nigeria (AFP)

JOS, Nigeria – Soldiers rushed to restore calm to parts of central Nigeria on Tuesday
after 13 people were reported killed in an attack on a village and unrest flared in other
areas, authorities said.

Central Nigeria has seen a wave of violence in recent weeks, including Christmas Eve
bomb blasts and reprisal attacks that killed at least 80 people as well as clashes between
Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.
The surge in killings has occurred ahead of elections set for April.

"I am told that 13 people died in the dawn attack," said Plateau state police
commissioner Abdulrahman Akano, adding that officers had been sent to the mainly
Christian village of Wareng to verify.

Details of the attack were not immediately clear. The commander of a military task
force in the region said unrest had occurred in other areas of the region as well and
soldiers had been deployed to restore calm.

"We have quite a number of people killed," Brigadier General Hassan Umaru told AFP.
"We are trying to contain each of these crises."

He could not immediately provide details on the unrest. Umaru first reported incidents
in "several villages," but later said two villages had been hit.

A local politician also told AFP that 13 people were believed killed in Wareng, alleging
Fulani Muslims had attacked Christian Beroms in the village.

Emmanuel Danboyi Jugul also accused soldiers of being involved in the attack, though
Umaru strongly denied the claim.

Plateau state, including its capital Jos, has long been on edge, but unprecedented
Christmas Eve bomb blasts added a frightening new dimension to the unrest.

An Islamist sect blamed for a series of attacks in the country's north claimed
responsibility for the Christmas Eve explosions, but authorities cast doubt on the claim
and attributed it to political motives with elections set for April.

Plateau state lies in the so-called middle belt between Nigeria's mainly Muslim north
and predominately Christian south.

Scores of people have been killed in clashes in the region in unrest many attribute to the
struggle for economic and political power between Christian and Muslim ethnic
groups.

Christians from the Berom ethnic group are typically referred to as the indigenes in the
region, while Hausa-Fulani Muslims are seen as more recent arrivals.

Tensions over the weekend in the region left a number of houses burnt, while two buses
carrying Muslim passengers were attacked in a Christian village on Friday.
Nigeria as a whole has seen an upsurge in violence in recent weeks ahead of the April
elections, including a deadly bombing in the capital Abuja and violence targeting
political rallies.
------------------
Benin to hold presidential vote on Feb 27 (AFP)

COTONOU – Presidential elections in the west African nation of Benin will take place
on February 27, the presidency said on Tuesday.

"The first round of presidential elections will be held on February 27," it said in a
statement.

If need arises for a second round of balloting, it will be staged two weeks later.

Legislative polls to elect a new parliament have been scheduled for April 17.

This will be the fifth presidential battle since Benin introduced multiparty politics in
1991.

The election will be the first organised by the government of President Boni Yayi, a
former international banker who swept into office in 2006.

He replaced General Mathieu Kerekou, who had dominated the political scene in Benin
for 30 years, first as a military ruler and then as a democratically-elected head of state in
the country of 8.9 million people.
------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Sudan: UN intensifies patrols after clashes in north-south border region

11 January – United Nations peacekeepers intensified their patrols in the border area
between North and South Sudan after reports of deadly clashes as the week-long
independence referendum in the South entered its third day today.

Number of Ivorian refugees in Liberia tops 25,000 – UN agency

11 January – The United Nations refugee agency said today that there are now some
25,000 Ivorian refugees in neighbouring Liberia, with around 600 people arriving daily
after fleeing the post-electoral crisis in their homeland.