United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 3 January 2012

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa, along with upcoming events of interest for January 3, 2012. Of interest in todays clips: -- Islamist militants in Nigeria warn Christians to leave north within three days (CNN) -- Somali militants gather, recruit outside town taken by Ethiopian forces; calm inside town (Washington Post) -- Ethiopia makes gains against militants in Somalia (WSJ) --South Sudanese flee to escape deadly ethnic vendetta (BBC) -- Al-Qaeda leader shot dead in Algeria (Globe and Mail) Provided in text format for remote reading. Links work more effectively when this message is viewed as in HTML format. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: [email protected] 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa Islamist militants in Nigeria warn Christians to leave north within 3 days (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/02/world/africa/nigeria-sectarian-divisions/ 2 January 2012 By Tim Lister The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to leave the area amid a rising tide of violence there. The African War on Terror: The latest Islamist front is in Nigeria (WSJ) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204720204577126701554253364.html 3 January 2012 In February 2007, President Bush launched a military command to help African governments fight terror. AFRICOM offers military training, intelligence-sharing and special operations throughout the continent. It's also been a steady source of controversy.
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In Nigeria, Boko Haram Is Not the Problem (NY Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/in-nigeria-boko-haram-is-not-theproblem.html 2 January 2012 Governments and newspapers around the world attributed the horrific Christmas Day bombings of churches in Nigeria to Boko Haram a shadowy group that is routinely described as an extremist Islamist organization based in the northeast corner of Nigeria. After Deadly Church Attacks in Nigeria, What Do Boko Haram Extremists Want? (PBS News Hour) http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec11/nigeria2_12-26.html Air Date: 26 December 2011 Transcript: Paul Lubeck, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Global, International and Regional Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, discuss the bombings in Nigera. He was in Northern Nigeria researching Islamist movements this past summer. Somali militants gather, recruit outside town taken by Ethiopian forces; calm inside town (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/somali-militants-gather-recruit-outsidetown-taken-by-ethiopian-forces-calm-inside-town/2012/01/02/gIQAWqzsVP_story.html 2 January 2012 NAIROBI, Kenya Militants from the insurgent group al-Shabab appeared to be gathering hundreds of fighters and attempting to recruit even more in villages outside a Somalia border town invaded by Ethiopian troops over the weekend, residents said Monday. Ethiopia Makes Gains Against Militants in Somalia (WSJ) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203462304577136612699687638.html? mod=googlenews_wsj 2 January 2012 By Solomon Moore NAIROBI, KenyaEthiopian government officials vowed Monday to hold a key Somali town that Ethiopian troops wrested from al-Shabaab over the weekend, as the Islamist militant group was said to be massing its troops on the outskirts. South Sudanese flee to escape deadly ethnic vendetta (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16381579 2 January 2012 Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are fleeing their homes after inter-ethnic clashes around the town of Pibor. The UN is warning villagers to run for their lives as some 6,000 fighters advance on their ethnic rivals. South Sudan: Nine people killed in Bahr el Ghazal (Sudan Tribune) http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-Nine-people-killed-in,41155
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2 January 2012 At least nine civilians have been killed in two separate incidents in South Sudans northwestern region of Bahr el Ghazal. Several others also sustained injuries in the incidents which took place in Aweil, the provincial capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Warrap state. Al-Qaeda leader shot dead in Algeria (Globe and Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/al-qaeda-leader-shot-deadin-algeria/article2288980/ 2 January 2012 Algerian police say a key militant leader has been shot dead by the army in an ambush east of the capital. Algeria sentences Qaeda leader to life (News 24) http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Algeria-sentences-Qaeda-leader-to-life-20120102 2 January 2012 An Algerian court sentenced one of the most radical leaders of Al-Qaeda's north Africa branch in his absence Monday to life in prison for creating "an international terror group", his lawyer said. Algeria's moderate Islamist party pulls out of coalition government (AP) http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/africa/algerias-moderate-islamist-party-pulls-outof-coalition-government 2 January 2012 A moderate Islamist party pulled out of Algeria's governing coalition, saying that 2012 is the year of competition - not alliances. The announcement by the Movement for a Peaceful Society, or MSP, to leave the so-called presidential alliance on Sunday comes ahead of legislative elections in April. Metastasis Of Al Qaeda?: Pan-African Terrorism Analysis (Eurasia Review) http://www.eurasiareview.com/02012012-metastasis-of-al-qaeda-pan-african-terrorismanalysis/ 2 January 2012 In a televised broadcast on December 31,2011, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of the country following anti-Christian violence by a jihadi group called Boko Haram.

### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA

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DR Congo: UN experts outline sources of funding for armed rebels 30 December Armed rebel groups active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) derive their funds from several sources, notably trade in natural resources, but also ordinary commerce and illegal taxation, according to a report by a United Nations group of experts unveiled today. Egypt: UN rights office voices alarm at raids on offices on NGOs 30 December The United Nations human rights office voiced alarm today at reports that the Egyptian military has carried out raids against the offices of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in what would be the first documented incidents of their kind in the countrys recent history. South Sudan: UN blue helmets deploy to deter ethnic violence in key town 30 December The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has deployed a battalion of troops in the town of Pibor in Jonglei state, which is under imminent attack by an estimated 6,000 armed men from one of two feuding communities in the area, a UN official said today. UN agency deplores killing of Somali community leader at refugee camp 30 December The head of the United Nations refugee agency voiced deep regret today at the killing of a Somali refugee leader in the Dadaab complex in north-eastern Kenya, describing the slaying as senseless. (Full Articles on UN Website) ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upcoming Events of Interest: 5 January 2012 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) Discussion with Former Libyan National Transitional Council Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni and Marina Ottaway. WHERE: CEIP, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW CONTACT: 202-483-7600; web site: www.carnegieendowment.org SOURCE: CEIP - event announcement at: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/2012/01/05/former-libyan-finance-minister-alitarhouni/8rh4 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------New on www.africom.mil

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### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL TEXT Islamist militants in Nigeria warn Christians to leave north within 3 days (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/02/world/africa/nigeria-sectarian-divisions/ 2 January 2012 By Tim Lister The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to leave the area amid a rising tide of violence there. A Boko Haram spokesman, Abul Qaqa, also said late Sunday that Boko Haram fighters are ready to confront soldiers sent to the area under a state of emergency declared in parts of four states by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday. "We will confront them squarely to protect our brothers," Abul Qaqa said during a telephone call with local media. He also called on Muslims living in southern Nigeria to "come back to the north because we have evidence they will be attacked." Recent weeks have seen an escalation in clashes between Boko Haram and security forces in the north-eastern states of Borno and Yobe, as well as attacks on churches and assassinations. Nearly 30 people were killed on Christmas Day at a Catholic church near the federal capital, Abuja -- a sign that Boko Haram is prepared to strike beyond its heartland. Human rights activist Shehu Sani told CNN that the latest Boko Haram threat is credible, but many Christians born and raised in the north have nowhere else to go. "The killings will continue," he said, and Boko Haram may respond to the state of emergency by taking its campaign of violence to areas not yet affected. Sani said the state of emergency and an enhanced presence of the security forces would not improve the situation, alleging that troops had already been involved in human rights abuses and had done little to reduce violence. Nigeria has almost equal numbers of Christian and Muslims, with the south predominantly Christian. Boko Haram and other Islamic groups claim the north has been starved of resources and marginalized by the government of Jonathan, who is a Christian. Boko Haram (which according to the group means "Western civilization is forbidden") is demanding the imposition of Islamic sharia law across Nigeria. Christian leaders have demanded a stronger response to the attacks from the government and the Muslim community. Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of
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Nigeria, complained last week that the response of Islamic leaders had been "unacceptable and an abdication of their responsibilities." "The Christian community is fast losing confidence in government's ability to protect our rights," Oritsejafor said. David Cook of Rice University, who has studied the rise of Boko Haram, said that "if radical Muslim violence on a systematic level were to take hold in Nigeria ... it could eventually drive the country into a civil war." Corruption, poverty and a lack of government services have helped Boko Haram gain support, especially among young Muslims out of work. So has a perception that the Muslim north has been marginalized by a political establishment drawn largely from the Christian south. Cook says the group has been responsible for at least 45 major attacks, which have included assassinations -- frequently using gunmen on motorbikes -- and, more recently, suicide bombings beyond its northern heartland. Beyond the security forces and Christian targets, it has assassinated Muslim clerics who oppose the group, and even killed a prominent Boko Haram member who had attended talks to explore a truce. Boko Haram's presence in the city of Maiduguri has made it almost ungovernable, according to analysts. Its ability to inflict mass casualties has grown fast. In August, a suicide bomber struck the U.N. building in Abuja, killing 23 people. In November, some 150 people were killed in a series of bombings and shootings in Damaturu, capital of Yobe state. The commander of U.S. Africa Command, Gen. Carter Ham, has suggested Boko Haram may have developed links with other Islamic jihadist groups in the region, especially al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Sani agrees, and says Boko Haram's leaders have established sanctuaries across the desert borders in Niger and Chad, out of reach of the Nigerian security forces. The former U.S. ambassador in Nigeria, John Campbell, says that Boko Haram is able to finance itself "through bank robberies and is arming itself by thefts from government armories and purchases -- there is no shortage of weapons on the market." Less than two months ago, President Jonathan described attacks by Boko Haram as a temporary setback, which would soon be a thing of the past. Now he appears to see the group as a lethal threat that demands the full attention of the security services. But since Yusuf's death, Boko Haram has had no obvious leader or structure, and appears to act as loosely connected cells. And it is feeding on deep-seated grievances that the government seems unable to address. Cook warns that "as more and more territories become ungovernable, such as Maiduguri, then Muslims more and more will want to join Boko Haram, if only because it represents the one group that can actually project power and hold out the illusion of security to the people."
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### The African War on Terror: The latest Islamist front is in Nigeria (WSJ) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204720204577126701554253364.html 3 January 2012 In February 2007, President Bush launched a military command to help African governments fight terror. AfriCom offers military training, intelligence-sharing and special operations throughout the continent. It's also been a steady source of controversy. Some critics see American "imperialism" and a scramble for African resources. Others see armed social work and wonder why Americans have committed to more distant basket-cases. The Christmas attacks in Nigeria offer the latest reminder of why the U.S. is really in Africa. Boko Haram, the Islamist group behind the coordinated church bombings that killed 39 people, immediately claimed responsibility and restated its aims: the suspension of the Nigerian constitution and the implementation of Shariah law throughout Africa's most populous country, which is split between a Muslim north and a Christian south. The groupwhose moniker translates to "Western education is sin"formed in 2002 as a mosque, school and recruiting hub. In 2004 it began attacking police outposts from a base with a flag bearing the word "Afghanistan," earning its other nickname: "Nigerian Taliban." Over the years Boko's attacks have become increasingly sophisticated. This year it has killed more than 400 Nigerians. Its August attack on the U.N.'s Nigerian headquarters killed 23. Bad enough if Boko were alone. But in February last year, Algeria-based al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb publicly pledged training and weapons support to its sub-Saharan brethren. In June 2011, Boko declared that some of its members had returned from training in Somalia, where al Shababanother al Qaeda-linked grouphas been wreaking havoc for years. In October AfriCom Commander General Carter Ham noted that while these groups are "each individually of concern," his biggest worry is their stated intent "to link and synchronize their efforts." To put things in perspective, the three terror groups mentioned above cover a land mass more than 10 times the size of Afghanistan. These columns have noted the extent to which President Obama has continued his predecessor's counterterror policies. Africa is another case in point, where the current Administration has sustained and even bolstered AfriCom's resources. Nigeria's Christmas massacre demonstrates why that policy is as wise as it is necessary. ### In Nigeria, Boko Haram Is Not the Problem (NY Times)
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/in-nigeria-boko-haram-is-not-theproblem.html 2 January 2012 GOVERNMENTS and newspapers around the world attributed the horrific Christmas Day bombings of churches in Nigeria to Boko Haram a shadowy group that is routinely described as an extremist Islamist organization based in the northeast corner of Nigeria. Indeed, since the May inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the Niger Delta in the countrys south, Boko Haram has been blamed for virtually every outbreak of violence in Nigeria. But the news media and American policy makers are chasing an elusive and ill-defined threat; there is no proof that a well-organized, ideologically coherent terrorist group called Boko Haram even exists today. Evidence suggests instead that, while the original core of the group remains active, criminal gangs have adopted the name Boko Haram to claim responsibility for attacks when it suits them. The United States must not be drawn into a Nigerian war on terror rhetorical or real that would make us appear biased toward a Christian president. Getting involved in an escalating sectarian conflict that threatens the countrys unity could turn Nigerian Muslims against America without addressing any of the underlying problems that are fueling instability and sectarian strife in Nigeria. Since August, when Gen. Carter F. Ham, the commander of the United States Africa Command, warned that Boko Haram had links to Al Qaeda affiliates, the perceived threat has grown. Shortly after General Hams warning, the United Nations headquarters in Abuja was bombed, and simplistic explanations blaming Boko Haram for Nigerias mounting security crisis became routine. Someone who claims to be a spokesman for Boko Haram with a name no one recognizes and whom no one has been able to identify or meet with has issued threats and statements claiming responsibility for attacks. Remarkably, the Nigerian government and the international news media have simply accepted what he says. In late November, a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security issued a report with the provocative title: Boko Haram: Emerging Threat to the U.S. Homeland. The report makes no such case, but nevertheless proposes that the organization be added to Americas list of foreign terrorist organizations. The State Departments Africa bureau disagrees, but pressure from Congress and several government agencies is mounting. Boko Haram began in 2002 as a peaceful Islamic splinter group. Then politicians began exploiting it for electoral purposes. But it was not until 2009 that Boko Haram turned to violence, especially after its leader, a young Muslim cleric named Mohammed Yusuf, was killed while in police custody. Video footage of Mr. Yusufs interrogation soon went viral, but no one was tried and punished for the crime. Seeking revenge, Boko Haram targeted the police, the military and local politicians all of them Muslims.
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It was clear in 2009, as it is now, that the root cause of violence and anger in both the north and south of Nigeria is endemic poverty and hopelessness. Influential Nigerians from Maiduguri, where Boko Haram is centered, pleaded with Mr. Jonathans government in June and July not to respond to Boko Haram with force alone. Likewise, the American ambassador, Terence P. McCulley, has emphasized, both privately and publicly, that the government must address socio-economic deprivation, which is most severe in the north. No one seems to be listening. Instead, approximately 25 percent of Nigerias budget for 2012 is allocaated for security, even though the military and police routinely respond to attacks with indiscriminate force and killing. Indeed, according to many Nigerians Ive talked to from the northeast, the army is more feared than Boko Haram. Meanwhile, Boko Haram has evolved into a franchise that includes criminal groups claiming its identity. Revealingly, Nigerias State Security Services issued a statement on Nov. 30, identifying members of four criminal syndicates that send threatening text messages in the name of Boko Haram. Southern Nigerians not northern Muslims ran three of these four syndicates, including the one that led the American Embassy and other foreign missions to issue warnings that emptied Abujas high-end hotels. And last week, the security services arrested a Christian southerner wearing northern Muslim garb as he set fire to a church in the Niger Delta. In Nigeria, religious terrorism is not always what it seems. None of this excuses Boko Harams killing of innocents. But it does raise questions about a rush to judgment that obscures Nigerias complex reality. Many Nigerians already believe that the United States unconditionally supports Mr. Jonathans government, despite its failings. They believe this because Washington praised the April elections that international observers found credible, but that many Nigerians, especially in the north, did not. Likewise, Washingtons financial support for Nigerias security forces, despite their documented human rights abuses, further inflames Muslim Nigerians in the north. Mr. Jonathans recent actions have not helped matters. He told Nigerians last week, The issue of bombing is one of the burdens we must live with. On New Years Eve, he declared a state of emergency in parts of four northern states, leading to increased military activity there. And on New Years Day, he removed a subsidy on petroleum products, more than doubling the price of fuel. In a country where 90 percent of the population lives on $2 or less a day, anger is rising nationwide as the costs of transport and food increase dramatically. Since Nigerias return to civilian rule in 1999, many politicians have used ethnic and regional differences and, most disastrously, religion for their own purposes. Northern Muslims indeed, all Nigerians are desperate for a government that responds to their most basic needs: personal security and hope for improvement in their lives. They are
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outraged over government policies and expenditures that undermine both. The United States should not allow itself to be drawn into this quicksand by focusing on Boko Haram alone. Washington is already seen by many northern Muslims including a large number of longtime admirers of America as biased toward a Christian president from the south. The United States must work to avoid a self-fulfilling prophecy that makes us into their enemy. Placing Boko Haram on the foreign terrorist list would cement such views and make more Nigerians fear and distrust America. ### After Deadly Church Attacks in Nigeria, What Do Boko Haram Extremists Want? (PBS News Hour) http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec11/nigeria2_12-26.html Air Date: 26 December 2011 Transcript: MARGARET WARNER: And for more on the bombings in Nigeria, we turn to Paul Lubeck, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Global, International and Regional Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was in Northern Nigeria researching Islamist movements this past summer. And, Professor, thank you for being with us. PAUL LUBECK, Center for Global, International and Regional Studies: Thank you. MARGARET WARNER: Tell us about this group Boko Haram. What is it they're seeking? PAUL LUBECK: Thank you for inviting me. Boko Haram is a nickname given to this movement by journalists because the leader, Mohammed Yusuf, advocates a strict interpretation of Sharia law and rejects anything that contradicts the Koran. The movement is made up of a radical splinter group of a larger Salafist movement in northern Nigeria influenced by Saudi Arabia. They had a conflict with the police in July 2009, resulting in the extrajudicial murder of their leaders by the police and the army, a bloodbath. After that, they have become an insurgency group demanding a return to true Sharia law, as they envision it, and a demand for release of their prisoners, a demand for the end of democracy and Westernization in northern Nigeria. MARGARET WARNER: So, do yesterday's coordinated bombings represent a step-up in their capabilities? PAUL LUBECK: It is a continuation of a campaign since 2010 marked by very
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sophisticated prison release -- prison breaks, robbing banks, attacking the police. It went in several phases. Initially, they attacked the politicians who they held responsible for the bloodbath in 2009. Then they attacked symbolic targets, the national police headquarters and the U.N. headquarters Aug. 26. MARGARET WARNER: Are they linked to al-Qaida? There's been some talk of that, but is there real evidence of that? PAUL LUBECK: There's no evidence showing operational coordination between the two. The general that's head of AFRICOM and others state that there is contact. Every security person I interviewed from the West believes there's contact between an al-Qaida group called al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, in Mali and Algeria. What's important is that they are modeling themselves after al-Qaida. They're engaging in what can only be called terrorist acts. And they are attempting to mobilize unemployed youth and impoverished children and school dropouts who cannot find employment in Nigeria. It's clear by the ability to elude the national police, the national security and the army for over two years that they have support locally. And in order to deal with them, there will have to be an economic and social redevelopment issue initiative in northern Nigeria, or else we will have the same conflict, and, if it's not this group, it'll be another. MARGARET WARNER: So, are you saying that, so far, the government's response has been ineffective, one? Are you saying that? And, two, is it -- are you saying it's been too focused on security measures, rather than going after -- you know, trying to bring the north up to some financial level more commensurate with the south? PAUL LUBECK: Both are true. The security effort has alienated members of the community. They have -- there's widespread human rights reports of abuse by the police and the military. Everyone agrees that the security forces have been ineffective. The newspapers are full of articles both from Christians and Muslims denouncing and ridiculing the leadership and capacity of the security forces to actually deal with security. Secondly, this is the most impoverished region of Nigeria. It is experiencing a demographic explosion. Every Muslim woman in this region has 7.4 children, on average. There's widespread poverty. The streets of the cities are filled with abandoned children, with unemployed youth demanding access to the vast petroleum wealth that's in Nigeria and has been taken up by the political elite. This is an attack on the political elite.
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MARGARET WARNER: Alright, and that brings me to the United States' stake here. As you pointed out, this is, one, the most populous country in Africa, but, two, has huge oil reserves. What's the U.S. interest here? PAUL LUBECK: The U.S. has an interest in maintaining the territorial integrity of Nigeria. If these -- if this communal violence continues -- and it's also Christians attacking Muslims in Jos. And if this continues, it threatens the territorial integrity of Nigeria. This is the largest country in Nigeria -- in Africa, as you stated. And this is a major source of petroleum and natural gas for international markets, especially for the U.S., because it's outside the Persian Gulf, it's close to American refining, and it's of a particular quality of oil that many gallons of gasoline could be developed from every barrel of oil. MARGARET WARNER: Now, Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, issued a statement late today saying in fact that the U.S. has been in touch with the Nigerian government about what happened and is going to assist in trying to track down or bring to justice whoever did yesterday's attacks. Is there close security cooperation? PAUL LUBECK: I've interviewed leaders in security cooperation. The U.S. has trained special forces groups there, and the Nigerian army doesn't take advantage of them, according to my sources. There's a concern that the Nigerians fear losing control over the territory if American trainers are given wide powers. There's a fear that, if American trainers are prominent, it will just stimulate sympathy for the insurgents. There must be a reconciliation, there must be resources to bring about some degree of hope and opportunity for tens of millions of youth. The population is young and very poor. MARGARET WARNER: Alright. Alright, well, Professor Paul Lubeck of U.C. Santa Cruz, thank you very much. PAUL LUBECK: Thank you for inviting me. ### Somali militants gather, recruit outside town taken by Ethiopian forces; calm inside town (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/somali-militants-gather-recruit-outsideU.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office  +49(0)711-729-2687  [email protected]

town-taken-by-ethiopian-forces-calm-inside-town/2012/01/02/gIQAWqzsVP_story.html 2 January 2012 NAIROBI, Kenya Militants from the insurgent group al-Shabab appeared to be gathering hundreds of fighters and attempting to recruit even more in villages outside a Somalia border town invaded by Ethiopian troops over the weekend, residents said Monday. Hundreds of Ethiopian troops moved into the Somali town of Beledweyne on Saturday, opening a third front against al-Shabab militants, who also face Kenyan troops in Somalias south and African Union troops in the capital, Mogadishu. Residents in Beledweyne said Monday that they welcome the presence of Ethiopias military because it has forced al-Shabab militants out of the town. But a resident in a nearby village said that militants were amassing hundreds of fighters in forests outside Beledweyne. Bearded, masked men also tried to persuade locals in the town of Bulo Burte to join what they were calling holy jihad, the resident said. We fear they will conscript our children because they are asking for more fighters, said Elmi Kheyre, a local elder. They also visited Quranic schools and asked teachers to convince students to join al-Shabab. We fear rampant conscription of children and elderly people. Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006, spawning fierce resistance and the militant group that has become al-Shabab. But residents on Monday said that so far they welcome the Ethiopians presence. Harsh punishments lashings, amputations and stonings and strict social rules enforced by al-Shabab has eroded the groups popularity. We really feel like we are in a new world after al-Shabab left us, Ali Abdullahi, a resident in Beledweyne, said by phone. People are free. There is no longer any oppression and fear. The oppressors have left. Residents say cafes and other social sites are crowded with people talking about their lives under al-Shababs rule. Now people are feeling ... that al-Shabab are gone for good, said Sadiya Hussein, a mother of three. If Ethiopians joined the war, we felt its the final game for al-Shabab. We ask the Ethiopians to avoid killing our people like they did before. Control of Beledweyne has lurched back and forth between al-Shabab and Somali government fighters and militias. In previous years when Ethiopian troops entered people fled and businesses, schools and mosques closed. Residents said Monday that Ethiopian troops were mingling with locals in cafes and at businesses, showing some sort of sense of trust.

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Previously we feared we will be harmed by Islamists if we do business with Ethiopians, said Nor Sheik, who has a small shop. But we can now do business with them because the Islamists are no more and will never return, he said, perhaps overly confidently. U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops moved into Somalia in 2006 at the invitation of the weak, U.N.-backed Somali government. But the incursion was seen by many Somalis as an unpopular invasion. Ethiopians pulled out in early 2009, and there are fears that a new push by Somalia could be a propaganda coup for al-Shabab. Ethiopia in November said it was considering whether to contribute troops to the African Union force in Somalia. Kenyas parliament recently voted for its forces to join the AU force. That move is awaiting approval by the United Nations. The central Somalia town of Beledweyne is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the border with Ethiopia. A commercial hub, it lies on a key road that links Mogadishu with northern Somalia. ### Ethiopia Makes Gains Against Militants in Somalia (WSJ) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203462304577136612699687638.html? mod=googlenews_wsj 2 January 2012 By Solomon Moore NAIROBI, KenyaEthiopian government officials vowed Monday to hold a key Somali town that Ethiopian troops wrested from al-Shabaab over the weekend, as the Islamist militant group was said to be massing its troops on the outskirts. The Ethiopian troops' seizure of Beledweyne on Saturday was another blow to alShabaab, which recently ceded ground in Mogadishu to Ugandan and Burundian troops fighting under the authority of the African Union mission in Somalia. Ethiopian troops are working independently of the mission, known as Amisom. Militants were gathering outside Beledweyne on Monday, the Associated Press reported, and were recruiting from neighboring towns. Beledweyne, a trading hub on the Ethiopian-Somalian border, has been the site of several battles between al-Shabaab, Somali government-allied militias and Ethiopian troops during recent years. Hundreds of Ethiopian troops crossed into neighboring Somalia last month at the invitation of Somalia's Transitional Federal Governmentthe second invasion of the war-torn country by Ethiopian since 2006. The earlier invasion lasted until 2009, when Ethiopia withdrew amid a lack of regional support for the military action and mounting
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public criticism in Somalia. Sebsese Bade, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he expects this incursion to be more successful, both in fighting al-Shabaab and in helping stabilize the Somali government enough to establish itself more firmly in Mogadishu. "This time Ethiopia has taken precautionswe were asked to send our troops by the TFG [Somalia's government] and the African Unionso that there are no misunderstandings on the part of the people of Somalia," Mr. Bade said. The rout of al-Shabaab in Mogadishu has also convinced Somalis that foreign intervention might have a positive effect, he said. Mr. Bade insisted, as Kenyan officials have since their troops crossed Somalia's southern border in October, that the operation will be relatively brief. "We have a common enemy in al-Shabaab and the Somali government is willing and appreciative of help from its neighboring countries," said Mohamed Ali Nur, Somalia's ambassador to Kenya. "They will help the Somali government defeat the enemy and the Somali people welcome this." The recent famine in Somalia and al-Shabaab's refusal, in some instances, to allow food shipments hardened the populace against the militant group, Mr. Nur added. As Ethiopian troops battle militants in the west, Kenyan troops have been advancing on another of al-Shabaab's important funding sources in the southeastthe port city of Kismayo. Kenyan officials also have said they hope to create a buffer zone between Somalia and Kenya to stave off kidnappings and terrorist attacks by al-Shabaab. Since Kenya's invasion, al-Shabaab militants have staged several attacks inside Kenya, including a New Year's Eve grenade attack that killed five people at a nightclub in Garissa, a northern town. Kenya is currently awaiting approval from the United Nations Security Council so that its troops can join the African Union command, a move that would allow the U.N. to provide funding to Kenya's overstretched military. Lindsey Kiptiness, deputy director of the Horn of Africa division of Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said such a regionalization of Kenyan troops would allow them to coordinate more closely with African Union forces in Mogadishu. "We will combine forces to beat al-Shabaab," he said. The four main foreign forces in Somaliafrom Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopianow operate mostly independently, though the Burundian and Ugandan troops are under the AU's aegis. Ugandan Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha, commander of Amisom troops in Somalia, said on Monday that his combined Ugandan and Burundian forces have largely secured Mogadishu, despite sporadic attacks by al-Shabaab.
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Gen. Mugisha said the shooting deaths last week of two staff members of Doctors Without Borders at the organization's Mogadishu compound were the act of a disgruntled former employee of the aid group of Somali descent and were unrelated to the current crackdown on al-Shabaab. The former employee has been detained, the general said. Doctors Without Borders confirmed the deaths of the two doctors, a Belgian and an Indonesian, in a statement last week. It said it will relocate some staff for security reasons, but remains committed to serving Somalia. ### South Sudanese flee to escape deadly ethnic vendetta (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16381579 2 January 2012 Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are fleeing their homes after inter-ethnic clashes around the town of Pibor. The UN is warning villagers to run for their lives as some 6,000 fighters advance on their ethnic rivals. Fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group are pursuing members of the Murle community, reports say, as a deadly vendetta over cattle raiding continues. A UN official told the BBC that peacekeepers and government troops are heavily outnumbered. The government is sending additional police and troops in a bid to quell the violence. About 1,000 people have been killed in recent months as reprisal attacks over cattle raids have escalated. Tens of thousands of Murle fled Pibor after it came under attack from the Lou Nuer on Saturday. BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the Lou Nuer are attacking villages and burning homes and that it could take a week for the Murle to walk to an area of safety. Deputy UN deputy humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan Lise Grande told the BBC that several hundred UN peacekeepers and government troops were "far outnumbered" by about 6,000 Lou Nuer fighters. "Several flanks of the attackers have moved in a south-easterly direction [from Pibor], almost certainly looking for cattle," she said.

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She said the main part of Pibor had been held but that a clinic belonging to the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) had been "overtaken". Ms Grande said the UN was tracking the movement of the Lou Nuer and warning others in their path to "disperse into the bush for their safety". 'Mother and sister missing' Our correspondent says many of the Lou Nuer fighters were now believed to be in pursuit of the Murle who had fled Pibor. The BBC has learnt that some of the displaced - mainly women, children and the elderly have been killed although it has not been possible to verify how many. A resident of Pibor who fled to the capital Juba told the BBC that the Lou Nuer were still occupying parts of the town. "The UN troops are there but they are not fighting the fighters who entered the town," said Rev Orozu Lokine Daky of Pibor's Presbyterian Church. "They are just trying to protect the city centre only, the rest of the town is now under [the control of] the fighters. "The situation is deteriorating. My own mother and my own sister are now missing. I don't know where they are. I assume they are dead," he added. South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has called on the Lou Nuer to stop their advance and return to their traditional areas. The government said it was deploying more troops and an additional 2,000 police to Pibor. Military spokesman Col Philip Aguer said on Sunday: "The 2,000 police are being sent within the next 24 hours. Troops will be deployed as soon as possible." MSF said it had lost contact with some 130 of its staff in Pibor and was "extremely worried" about their safety. The MSF workers were believed to have fled into the bush when Pibor came under attack. The medical charity's head in the country, Parthesarathy Rajendran, told the BBC they had only been able to get in touch with 13 members of the MSF team in the town. The Lou Nuer fighters have arrived in Pibor after marching through Jonglei state in recent weeks, setting fire to homes and seizing livestock.

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The entire town of Lukangol was burnt to the ground last week. About 20,000 civilians managed to flee before the attack, but dozens were killed on both sides. The governor of Jonglei state and the vice-president of South Sudan have been trying to mediate between the rival ethnic groups. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 following decades of civil war with the north. One legacy of the conflict is that the region is still flooded with weapons. These are now being used in ethnic power-struggles, which often focus on cattle because of the central role they play in many South Sudanese communities. ### South Sudan: Nine people killed in Bahr el Ghazal (Sudan Tribune) http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-Nine-people-killed-in,41155 2 January 2012 January 1, 2012 (JUBA) - At least nine civilians have been killed in two separate incidents in South Sudans north-western region of Bahr el Ghazal. Several others also sustained injuries in the incidents which took place in Aweil, the provincial capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Warrap state. Authorities in Warrap state, where seven people died, attributed the killings to a dispute between two local groups over the name of Mangar village in Gogrial West County. The fighting erupted days after high level community leaders, including the minister of Humanitarian Affairs Joseph Lual Acuil and the countrys police Inspector General Acuil Tito Madut, held its annual meeting in the disputed area on 27 December. Authorities have blamed the Aguok community for starting the fight against the neighboring Kuac community on 31 December. The Aguok deny this charge, claiming that Kuac had intended to annex the area into their territory, without the Aguoks consent. Aciec Kuot Kuot, commissioner of the Gogrial West said in an interview with Sudan Tribune on 1 January, that the county authorities in collaboration with state government had been able to contain the clash and that the situation had returned to normal. Yes there was a clash yesterday (31 December) but the security situation has now returned to normal. Police have been deployed and we are monitoring it closely commissioner Kuot said, before confirming that three were killed from his ethnic community of Aguok, and four from the Kuac community.

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Meanwhile on 1 January, Kuac Deng Kuac, commissioner of Aweil East County, reported that two civilians has been killed, and three had sustained injuries on 31 December, at Peth Market in Aweil East County, when a soldier who was allegedly a member of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA), opened fire into the market. He was then arrested. Although the cause of the shooting is unknown, the authorities have suggested that the perpetrator may have mental problems, and was reported to have shot himself in 2008. The security situation in the area is said to have returned to normal. ### Al-Qaeda leader shot dead in Algeria (Globe and Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/al-qaeda-leader-shot-deadin-algeria/article2288980/ 2 January 2012 Algerian police say a key militant leader has been shot dead by the army in an ambush east of the capital. An army patrol had been informed of Si Mohammed Ouramdhanes movements and ambushed him Monday afternoon south of the city of Tizi Ouzou in the mountainous Kabylie region. The militant leader, part of the Al-Qaeda in North Africa group, was responsible for numerous attacks on security forces in the Kabylie region, added the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. ### Algeria sentences Qaeda leader to life (News 24) http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Algeria-sentences-Qaeda-leader-to-life-20120102 2 January 2012 Algiers - An Algerian court sentenced one of the most radical leaders of Al-Qaeda's north Africa branch in his absence Monday to life in prison for creating "an international terror group", his lawyer said. After a one-day trial, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid "was sentenced to life in prison while five members of his family were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment each for forming an armed international group", lawyer Omar Boukadouss told AFP. In the first trial of its kind in Algeria, a prosecutor had sought a 20-year prison sentence for the fugitive Abou Zeid for his role in kidnapping Westerners. Four other co-accused were each sentenced to five years in jail, while two more were
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acquitted. Abou Zeid, whose real identity - Mohamed Ghdir - was officially revealed in court, is an Algerian in his 40s from a region close to the border with Libya. He is believed to have been under direct orders from Amari Saif, also known as Abderrezak El Para, regarded as the mastermind of the kidnapping of 32 Europeans trekking in Algeria's Sahara desert in 2003. The group held responsible for the abductions later renamed itself Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Abou Zeid is believed responsible for a series of kidnappings, including that of Briton Edwin Dyer, who was killed in June 2009, and of five French nationals, a Madagascan and a Togolese in northern Niger in 2010. Still missing A French woman and the two Africans have since been freed but the other French nationals are still missing. He also allegedly carried out the abduction of 78-year-old French aid worker Michel Germaneau, who according to AQIM was killed on July 25 2010. Former French AQIM hostage Pierre Camatte identified Abou Zeid in October 2010 in a picture published by the group. AQIM had detained Camatte, who worked for non-governmental organisation, for nearly three months in the Mali desert before he was freed in February 2010. Abou Zeid heads the jihadist unit Tareq Ibn Ziyad of about 200 well-trained men, mostly from Algeria, Mauritania and Mali, and mainly based in northern Mali. Among Abou Zeid's co-accused is a cousin of AQIM leader Laid Ghdir. He told the court that his father, Omar Ghdir, is one of Abou Zeid's deputies. The "international terror group" was headed by Abou Zeid and active in the Algerian Sahara and the Sahel region to the south "to kidnap foreign tourists and ask for ransom", according to the prosecution. It said Abou Zeid's new strategy was to "recruit [drugs, fuel or arms] smugglers in the Sahara and use them in their criminal plans". Mastermind Some of the accused admitted to giving Abou Zeid's group financial and logistical
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backing and providing fuel for which they paid with money from drug and cigarette smuggling on the border between Algeria and Libya. They also told the court they had seen a group of hostages held by Abou Zeid in southeastern Algeria in 2003 and that they met Abderrezak El Para, real name Amari Saifi, the supposed mastermind behind the kidnapping of the Europeans, in the same area. Chadian rebels who captured Abderrezak El Para after Libyan mediation, handed him over to Algerian security forces in 2004. He is still being held. Algerian security forces meanwhile said that they killed the local AQIM leader in the Tizi Ouzou region, 110km east of Algiers, on Monday. El-Khechkhache, real name Mohand Ouramdane, and his deputy died in the village of Azib Ahmed, about 3km from Tizi Ouzou. His group is blamed for suicide attacks in the region in the last two years. ### Algeria's moderate Islamist party pulls out of coalition government (AP) http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/africa/algerias-moderate-islamist-party-pulls-outof-coalition-government 2 January 2012 ALGIERS - A moderate Islamist party pulled out of Algeria's governing coalition, saying that 2012 is the year of competition - not alliances. The announcement by the Movement for a Peaceful Society, or MSP, to leave the socalled presidential alliance on Sunday comes ahead of legislative elections in April. The MSP's decision to enter the opposition should allow it to try to capitalise on the wave of Islamist victories in other Arab countries, although it is unclear how well the party can prosper after years inside the power structure. The party had already reached out to Algeria's Islamist ranks ahead of the elections, and differences with its partners, the powerful National Liberation Front and the National Democratic Rally, were well known. The MSP leader, Abou Djara Soltani, put the accent on disagreement over how to implement an array of reforms announced in April by Abdelaziz Bouteflika to placate the restless Algerian population. The year 2012, Mr Soltani said, will be "the year of political competition ... and not that of the alliance", synonymous with "political mediocrity which serves neither the country nor its citizens".
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The MSP has four ministers in minor posts. ### Metastasis Of Al Qaeda?: Pan-African Terrorism Analysis (Eurasia Review) http://www.eurasiareview.com/02012012-metastasis-of-al-qaeda-pan-africanterrorism-analysis/ 2 January 2012 In a televised broadcast on December 31,2011, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of the country following anti-Christian violence by a jihadi group called Boko Haram. The State of Emergency will be in force in the Yobe and Borno states in the north-east. It authorises the Government to use the Armed Forces for counter-terrorism duties. Nigerias international borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon are reported to have been closed. The Presidents action followed a series of bombings in the affected region on Christmas Day in which 42 persons were reported to have been killed. The bombings were directed at churches and other targets. Before his televised address, Jonathan spoke at a church in Abuja where 37 people were killed. He said that Boko Haram, which had started as a harmless group, had now grown cancerous. The full name of Boko Haram is jamaatu ahlis sunna liddaawati wal-jihad. It means People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophets Teachings and Jihad. The shortened version of its name as Boko Haram in the Housa dialect means Western Education Is Sin. It has been campaigning against Western and Christian education and for the enforcement of Sharia in a country where Christians and animists are in a majority in the South. It was responsible for more than 450 killings in Nigeria in 2011. The organisation was formed in the town of Maiduguri , the capital of the Borno State, in 2002 by a cleric called Mohammad Yousef. He was reported killed by the police in 2009.The name of its present leader is not known. It was initially thought of as an Islamic fundamentalist organisation with no links to Al Qaeda and other international jihadi terrorist affiliates of Al Qaeda such as Al Qaeda units in Yemen, Somalia and Algeria or the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) in Pakistan or the Taliban in the Af-Pak region. Since it stepped up its acts of violence in 2009, there are growing concerns of such linkages. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the present head of Al Qaeda, believes that instead of over-focussing on spreading the jihad to the US homeland, Al Qaeda should concentrate on creating a prairie fire of jihadi intifada across countries that have a Muslim majority as well as lands that, according to him, traditionally belonged to Muslims, but are now under the control of non-Muslims. He has been saying that African countries such as Algeria should play an important role in this multi-front war for the triumph of Islam.
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The spreading and growing pan-African jihadi violence since 2009 has to be seen in the beliefs and conviction of Zawahiri who is now in the driving seat of international jihadi terrorism. The death of Osama bin Laden during the US raid at Abbottabad on May 2,2011, was a set-back to those in Al Qaeda who had in the past advocated a US homeland-centric campaign. It has seen the coming to the fore of Zawahiri and his followers who believe that instead of wasting human and material resources for organising jihadi attacks in the US, Al Qaeda and its affiliates should concentrate on spreading the prairie fire of Intifada across the Islamic world. In 2004, from Maiduguri, Boko Haram spread to Kanamma in the Yobe State where it reportedly set up a base called Afghanistan, giving the first indication of a possible Afghan/Taliban inspiration for its ideology and activities. It spread its targets and started attacking the police too. It then spread to the Bauchi area. On August 26, 2011, the UN headquarters in Abuja was blown up by a suicide car bomber, leaving at least 21 dead and dozens more injured. On November 5, 2011,a series of coordinated attacks in Borno and Yobe states, mainly around Damaturu, killed at least 67 people, and practically destroyed a new police headquarters. Local government offices were damaged. A Boko Haram spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander General Carter F. Ham stated in September 2011 that three African terrorist groups Shabab of Somalia, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb across the Sahel region, and Boko Haram have very explicitly and publicly voiced an intent to target Westerners, and the U.S. specifically. General Ham was quoted as stating after the Christmas Day bombings: I remain greatly concerned about their stated intent to connect with Al Qaeda senior leadership, most likely through Al Qaeda in the lands of the Islamic Maghreb. A bipartisan U.S. congressional counterterrorism panel stated as follows in November 2011: a. Boko Haram poses an emerging threat to U.S. interests and the U.S. Homeland. b. Boko Haram has the intent and may be developing the capability to coordinate on a rhetorical and operational level with Al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al Shabaab. c. Boko Harams evolution in targeting and tactics closely follows that of other Al Qaeda affiliates that have targeted the U.S. Homeland, most notably Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). There still seems to be a difference of opinion in the US as to whether Boko Haram is a purely regional organisation of concern to Nigeria and its neighbouring States only or whether it has graduated into an international jihadi terrorist organisation capable of
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attacking targets in the US homeland. Congressional experts seem to suspect a linkage between Boko Haram and the Pakistani Taliban called the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Since the US has a number of Muslim migrants from Nigeria, they seem worried over the dangers of Boko Haram developing sleeper cells in the US with the help of the TTP. Counter-terrorism experts of the US intelligence community share the concerns of the Congressional experts over the unchecked growth of the organisation in Nigeria, but do not feel it could pose a threat to the US Homeland. The US intelligence Community seems to be under-estimating the potential of Boko Haram just it had under-estimated the potential of the LET till the 26/11 terrorist strikes in Mumbai. The death of OBL might have weakened Al Qaedas senior leadership, but it has not weakened the jihadi virus and its trans-national carriers. It is important for Indian counter-terrorism agencies to start closely studying the activities of Boko Haram. ### END REPORT

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