AFRICOM Related News Clips 13 Sep 2011

8/4/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 13 Sep 2011

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U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Office +49(0)711-729-2687 [email protected]

United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office13 September 2011

USAFRICOMrelated news stories

Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and upcomingevents of interest for September 13, 2011.

Of interest in today's news clips: The Pentagon confirms that the U.S. has put four servicemembers on the ground in Libya who are working under the State Department's chief of missionto assist in rebuilding the U.S. Embassy. According to reports, the chief of Libyas newgovernment is urging Libyans to support a civil, democratic state in spite of Qadhafi loyalistsattack on an oil refinery.

Al Jazeera reports that on September 11, the northern Nigerian city of Jos was rocked by twoexplosions at a popular restaurant. According to BBC, Qadhafis son, Saadi, has been grantedrefuge in Niger based on humanitarian grounds.

Also, BBC reports that over 100 Kenyans were killed when a gas pipeline exploded in Nairobisindustrial district.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame makes his first trip to Paris since the genocide in 1994 on areconciliation visit, as reported by AFP.

U.S. Africa Command Public AffairsPlease send questions or comments to:[email protected] (+497117292687)

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Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa

U.S. Boots on the Ground in Libya, Pentagon Confirms (FOX)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewsBy: Justin Fishel13 September - Despite repeated assurances from President Obama and military leaders that theU.S. would not send uniformed military personnel into Libya, four U.S. service members arrivedon the ground in Tripoli over the weekend.

U.S.: 4 troops on the ground in Libya (AP)
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewsmailto:[email protected]


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http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newsBy: Unattributed author13 September - Four U.S. military members are part of a State Department team that is restoringand securing the U.S. Embassy in the Libyan capital, in part out of concern that it may have been

booby-trapped during the fighting between rebel and pro-government forces, officials saidMonday.

U.S. sees Libya embassy reopening within weeks (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912By: Unattributed author12 September - The United States hopes to reopen its embassy in Libya within weeks, the StateDepartment said on Monday after a U.S. assessment team including four military personnelsurveyed the damaged Tripoli facility.

Libya's new leader calls for civil state (Al Jazeera)http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011912214219388500.htmlBy: Unattributed Author12 September - The chief of Libya's revolutionary movement has urged a cheering crowd inTripoli to strive for a civil, democratic state, while loyalists of fugitive dictator MuammarGaddafi killed at least 15 opposition fighters in an attack on a key oil town in Libya's east.

Jalil speaks in Tripoli, Gaddafi men attack refinery (Reuters)http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jalil-speaks-in-tripoli-gaddafi-men-attack-refinery/By: Sherine El Madany and Alexander Dziadosz13 September - Libya's interim leader has made his first public speech in Tripoli, warningagainst reprisals after loyalists of the ousted Muammar Gaddafi struck out at the revolutionariespursuing them.

Twin blasts hit Nigerian city (Al Jazeera)http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011911215842821897.htmlBy: Unattributed Author11 September - Two explosions have been heard in the central Nigerian city of Jos, a flashpointof sectarian and ethnic clashes, security officials and witnesses said, but details were unclear.

Libya conflict: Gaddafi son Saadi given refuge in Niger (BBC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14877908?print=trueBy: Unattributed Author12 September - One of the sons of fugitive Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been givenrefuge in neighbouring Niger.

Kenya fire: Nairobi pipeline blaze 'kills 100'(BBC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14879401 By: Unattributed Author12 September - Scores of people have died after a petrol pipeline explosion and fire in Kenya'scapital, Nairobi.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011912214219388500.htmlhttp://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011912214219388500.htmlhttp://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jalil-speaks-in-tripoli-gaddafi-men-attack-refinery/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jalil-speaks-in-tripoli-gaddafi-men-attack-refinery/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011911215842821897.htmlhttp://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011911215842821897.htmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14877908?print=truehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14877908?print=truehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14877908?print=truehttp://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011911215842821897.htmlhttp://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jalil-speaks-in-tripoli-gaddafi-men-attack-refinery/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011912214219388500.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34news


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Rwandan leader comes to France for reconciliation visit (AFP)

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/By: Unattributed Author

12 September - President Paul Kagame of Rwanda began his first visit to France since the 1994genocide on Sunday, looking to repair ties despite controversy over Paris' role in his country'stroubled past.

African migrants take deadly gamble in Libya (Reuters)http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/african-migrants-take-deadly-gamble-in-libya/By: Abdoulaye Massalatchi12 September - A steady stream of Africans seeking a better life in Europe is weaving by truckand pack animal through Niger's mountain passes toward Libya -- hoping the chaos there willease their flight to the boats awaiting them on the Mediterranean.

U.S. May Cut Billions in Health Aid to Kenya (The Nation)http://allafrica.com/stories/201109120024.htmlBy: Gatonye Gathura12 September - American lawmakers might block Sh195 billion ($2.1 billion) three-year aidpackage to fight Aids and malaria in Kenya budgeted for by President Barack Obama'sgovernment.

S.Africa court finds Malema guilty of hate speech (Reuters)http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78B08J20110912?sp=trueBy: By Peroshni Govender12 September - A South African court on Monday ruled that ANC Youth League leader JuliusMalema was guilty of hate speech for singing an apartheid-era song that advocated the killing thewhite farmers.

Can we blame the Horn of Africa drought on lack of rain? (News Day)http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainBy: Tapiwa Gomo12 September - Somalia is faced with what has been described as the worst drought in 60 years.Reports suggest that thousands of lives have already been lost and millions more will die unlessthe begging bowls are filled up with cash.

Africas Friend China Finances $9.3 Billion of Hydropower (Bloomberg)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlBy: Randall Hackley and Lauren van der Westhuizen9 September 2011- When completed in 2013, Gibe III on Ethiopias Omo River will be Africastallest dam, a $2.2 billion project that conservationists say will deprive birds and hippos of vitalhabitat.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/african-migrants-take-deadly-gamble-in-libya/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/african-migrants-take-deadly-gamble-in-libya/http://allafrica.com/stories/201109120024.htmlhttp://allafrica.com/stories/201109120024.htmlhttp://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78B08J20110912?sp=truehttp://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78B08J20110912?sp=truehttp://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainhttp://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainhttp://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainhttp://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainhttp://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78B08J20110912?sp=truehttp://allafrica.com/stories/201109120024.htmlhttp://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/african-migrants-take-deadly-gamble-in-libya/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/


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UN News Service Africa Briefs

http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA

(Full Articles on UN Website)

Sierra Leone: UN envoy praises stability and urges calm ahead of polls next year12 SeptemberSierra Leone remains on track to become a stable democracy with a viableeconomy, but recent violent incidents between rival political groups have highlighted thepotential for unrest, the United Nations envoy for the West African country told the SecurityCouncil today.

UN chief voices sadness after deadly pipeline explosion in Kenyan capital12 SeptemberSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his sorrow and sympathy for thefamilies of the victims of todays petrol pipeline explosion in Nairobi, Kenya, that has reportedly

killed at least 75 people and injured hundreds more.

UN maritime agency chief offers assistance to Tanzania after boat disaster12 SeptemberThe head of the United Nations maritime agency today offered to help Tanzaniainvestigate the cause of the weekend ferry disaster in which nearly 200 people died when theboat sank off the coast of Zanzibar, and find ways of preventing such accidents.

Darfur: UN-AU envoy says enduring peace is a realistic objective11 SeptemberA permanent ceasefire and lasting peace in Darfur is an achievable goal, the topUnited Nations-African Union official in the troubled Sudanese region stressed today, urging allsides to the conflict to build on a recent peace agreement between the Government and one of therebel groups.

Ban expresses sadness after hundreds die in Tanzanian ferry disaster11 SeptemberSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his profound sadness after a ferrysank yesterday off the coast off Zanzibar, Tanzania, killing almost 200 people.

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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

13 SEPT 2011

WHEN: 10:00 a.m.WHAT: U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Confirmation Hearing on the nomination ofAshton B. Carter to be Deputy Secretary of Defense.WHERE: Room 106 Dirksen Senate BuildingCONTACT: 202-224-3871; web site: http://armed-services.senate.gov/
http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA


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SOURCE: U.S. Senate Armed Services Committeehearing announcement at: http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=5249

WHEN: 10:00 a.m.

WHAT: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Hearing onTen Years after 9/11: Are We Safer? Witnesses: Janet Napolitano, Secretary, U.S. Departmentof Homeland Security; Robert S. Mueller III, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),U.S. Department of Justice; and Mathew G. Olsen, Director, National Counterterrorism Center,Office of the Director of National Intelligence.WHERE: Room SD-342 Dirksen Senate BuildingCONTACT: 202-224-2627; web site: http://hsgac.senate.govSOURCE: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairshearingannouncement at:http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=dcd53af6-b21b-42cb-b52b-387efd6e6ca8

WHEN: 6:307:30 p.m.WHAT: Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University (GWU)Discussion on Future of U.S. Military Relations. Speaker: Lawrence J. Korb, senior Fellow,Center for American Progress (CAP).WHERE: GWU, Marvin Center, Room 223, 800 21st Street, NWCONTACT: RSVP at: www.gwusir.org;web site:http://elliott.gwu.eduSOURCE: GWUevent announcement at:http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=9#1586

14 SEPT 2011

WHEN: 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.WHAT: Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC) Discussion on "Foreign Relations of the United StatesSeries - Volume on Southern Africa, 1969-1976. Speakers: Anna-Mart Van Wyk, Public PolicyScholar, WWC, Senior Lecturer and Head, International Studies, School of Arts, MonashUniversity, South Africa; Myra Burton, Historian, Office of the Historian, U.S. Department ofState; and Steve McDonald, Director, Africa Program and Project on Leadership and BuildingState Capacity, WWC.WHERE: WWC, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 6th floorCONTACT: 202-691-4000; web site: www.wilsoncenter.orgNOTE: RSVP to: [email protected]: WWCevent announcement at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/changing-north-korea-trip-report20 SEPT 2011

WHEN: September 20, 2011, at noon
http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=5249http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=5249http://hsgac.senate.gov/http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=dcd53af6-b21b-42cb-b52b-387efd6e6ca8http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=dcd53af6-b21b-42cb-b52b-387efd6e6ca8http://www.gwusir.org/http://www.gwusir.org/http://elliott.gwu.edu/http://elliott.gwu.edu/http://elliott.gwu.edu/http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=9#1586http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=9#1586http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=9#1586http://www.wilsoncenter.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/changing-north-korea-trip-reporthttp://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/changing-north-korea-trip-reporthttp://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/changing-north-korea-trip-reporthttp://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/changing-north-korea-trip-reporthttp://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/changing-north-korea-trip-reportmailto:[email protected]://www.wilsoncenter.org/http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=9#1586http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2011&mon=9#1586http://elliott.gwu.edu/http://www.gwusir.org/http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=dcd53af6-b21b-42cb-b52b-387efd6e6ca8http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=dcd53af6-b21b-42cb-b52b-387efd6e6ca8http://hsgac.senate.gov/http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=5249http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=5249


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WHAT: Pakistan, the U.S. and Public Diplomacy with Consul General Riffat Masood CPDConversations in Public DiplomacyWHO: Riffat Masood, the Consul General of PakistanWHERE: USC; SOS B40CONTACT :[email protected]

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U.S. Boots on the Ground in Libya, Pentagon Confirms (FOX)http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewsBy: Justin Fishel12 September 2011Despite repeated assurances from President Obama and military leaders that the U.S. would notsend uniformed military personnel into Libya, four U.S. service members arrived on the ground

in Tripoli over the weekend.

According to Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby, the four unidentified troops are thereworking under the State Department's chief of mission to assist in rebuilding the U.S. Embassy.

A U.S. embassy emblem is seen on a broken door during a visit for the press in the vandalizedU.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, Sept. 12.

Kirby noted the embassy in Tripoli was badly damaged during the conflict between MuammarQaddafi's forces and the rebels.

Two of the military personnel are explosive-ordnance experts who will be used to disable anyexplosives traps left in the embassy. The other two are "general security," according to Kirby.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland assured reporters Monday that the fourindividuals are not in Libya to fight.

"When the president made his commitment to 'no boots on ground' ... obviously that had to dowith entering into the fray between the Qaddafi forces and the Libyan freedom fighters, andthat's not what these guys are engaged in," Nuland said.

Kirby also made clear these troops are in no way part of a military operation on the ground. Theyare armed, however, if for some reason they need to protect themselves.

The troops are only expected to be there for a short while. After the assessment of the embassy iscomplete, they are expected to leave.

Obama assured Americans in March when the bombing campaign over Libya began that therewould be no boots on the ground. From the East Room of the White House on March 18, he said:"The United States is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya."
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/?test=latestnewsmailto:[email protected]


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Several days later at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., he said: "I said thatAmerica's role would be limited, that we would not put ground troops into Libya, that we wouldfocus our unique capabilities on the front end of the operation and that we would transferresponsibility to our allies and partners. Tonight, we are fulfilling that pledge."

Since then, U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity have acknowledged the CIAhas had a small number of so-called "spotters" on the ground to assist in the NATO mission. It'salso well known that other foreign governments have sent special operations forces to fight onthe ground with the rebels.

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News the fact that fourtroops are on the ground is "no big deal," considering the embassy had been trashed."You need this kind of expertise to make it safe for diplomats to return," Bolton said.

Kirby wouldn't say if there were plans to send more U.S. troops in the future.

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U.S.: 4 troops on the ground in Libya (AP)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newsBy: Unattributed author13 SeptemberFour U.S. military members are part of a State Department team that is restoring and securing theU.S. Embassy in the Libyan capital, in part out of concern that it may have been booby-trappedduring the fighting between rebel and pro-government forces, officials said Monday.

A U.S. Embassy emblem is seen on a broken door in Tripoli. Vandalized in May, a unit of U.S.troops is now tasked with helping to reopen the building.

A U.S. Embassy emblem is seen on a broken door in Tripoli. Vandalized in May, a unit of U.S.troops is now tasked with helping to reopen the building.

The arrival of the U.S. team in Tripoli on Saturday marks only the second time since the U.S.became involved there that it has acknowledged having any military personnel on the ground.The first time was in March when Marines rescued an Air Force pilot who had ejected overeastern Libya.

Navy Capt. John Kirby, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the four military membersof the State Department group include two who specialize in disposing of explosives. He says thefour are not there in any offensive or defensive military capacity, but only to help the StateDepartment.

In explaining the rationale for putting military personnel on the State Department team,department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland cited the explosives threat.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34newshttp://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-12/us-troops-libya/50371144/1?csp=34news


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"Folks had to go in and check and make sure that there weren't any booby traps in our oldbuilding," she told reporters.

President Barack Obama has said since the start of U.S. involvement in Libya that he would not

commit ground forces. U.S. pilots have flown thousands of missions over Libya since March, butthe only known troop presence on the ground was the brief rescue mission by Marines. Somehave suggested a need to get more directly involved on the ground in order to secure anti-aircraftweapons and chemical weapons stockpiles.

"When the president made his commitment, 'no boots on the ground,' that obviously had to dowith entering into the fray between the Gadhafi forces and the Libyan freedom fighters," Nulandsaid. "And that's not what these guys are engaged in," referring to the four troops now in TripoliKirby said the military personnel, in addition to dealing with the explosive threat, are helping theState Department determine what it will take to ensure security at the facility, which wassignificantly vandalized during the conflict. "They are assisting in an assessment of the facility,"

Kirby said. "They are equipped and prepared to provide for their own defense. This is not anoffensive or even a defensive mission."

Nuland said the head of the State Department team, Joan Polaschik, met with the NationalTransitional Council's national security adviser and deputy foreign minister to discuss securityrequirements of the U.S. diplomatic mission as well as political developments. She said the U.S.team found that water, electricity and other basic services are returning to normal in Tripoli."But we still have quite a bit of work to do to security appropriate facilities for our folks," shesaid.

The State Department also issued a statement Monday expressing concerns about black Africanmigrants and refugees in Libya being arbitrarily detained and abused because of their perceivedlinks to the Gadhafi regime.

"Nobody should be detained or harassed due to the color of their skin or their nationality, andmeasures must be taken to protect individuals from acts of violence," the statement said.The U.S. is offering to help foreigners leave Libya for their own safety.

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U.S. sees Libya embassy reopening within weeks (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-libya-usa-embassy-military-idUSTRE78B52Z20110912By: David Alexander and Andrew Quinn12 September 2011The United States hopes to reopen its embassy in Libya within weeks, the State Department saidon Monday after a U.S. assessment team including four military personnel surveyed the damagedTripoli facility.
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The U.S. team, led by the embassy's second-in-command Joan Polaschik, arrived in Tripoli onSaturday to look at ways to get formal embassy operations up and running, State Departmentspokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"I think we're not talking months, we're talking weeks at this stage," Nuland said, adding that

while the embassy building had been cleared it remained to be seen whether it could still beoperational.

U.S. officials said the four military members of the U.S. forward team were there underdiplomatic direction and were focused on security for the diplomatic personnel.

"As I understand it the embassy ... was pretty well trashed and they're trying to go back in andsee if that facility is still usable and if it is what needs to be done to bring it back online. If it'snot, then what are the options beyond that," Navy Captain John Kirby, a military spokesman,said.

He said two of the U.S. military personnel were explosive ordnance experts "because one of theconcerns was ... whether there was a presence of any kind of munitions at the site or any kind ofhazards in that regard."

U.S. officials dismissed suggestions that the presence of U.S. military personnel in Libya shouldnot be interpreted as a shift in the overall role the United States has had as part of the NATOmission for Libya.

President Barack Obama has ruled out sending U.S. ground forces into Libya, where a rebelforce ousted longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi with the help of NATO air power.

"When the president made his commitment no boots on the ground, that obviously had to do withentering into the fray between the Gaddafi forces and the Libyan freedom fighters and that's notwhat these guys are engaged in," Nuland said.

She added that the U.S. personnel were seeking to expand the range of diplomatic functions inpreparation for the expected return of U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz and the formal reopening ofthe embassy.

"We still have quite a bit of work to do to secure appropriate facilities for our folks. Some of themembers of that team are sleeping three and four to a room at the moment as we try to establish apermanent place to be until we can get our facilities back together," she said.

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Libya's new leader calls for civil state (Al Jazeera)

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011912214219388500.htmlBy: Unattributed Author12 September 2011
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The chief of Libya's revolutionary movement has urged a cheering crowd in Tripoli to strive fora civil, democratic state, while loyalists of fugitive dictator Muammar Gaddafi killed at least 15opposition fighters in an attack on a key oil town in Libya's east.

From hiding, Gaddafi urged his remaining followers to keep up the fight, a sign that Libya's six-

month civil is not over even though revolutionary forces now control most of the country andhave begun setting up a new government in the capital.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil addressed a crowd of thousands in Martyr's Square in central Tripoli, a sitethat until recently was famous for pro-Gaddafi rallies. Flanked by a few dozen revolutionaryleaders in their largest public gathering since their forces stormed the capital on August 21, hecalled on Libyans to build a state based on the rule of law.

"No retribution, no taking matters into your own hands and no oppression. I hope that therevolution will not stumble because of any of these things," he said.

As he spoke, thousands waved flags, cheered and chanted, "Hold your head high, you're a freeLibyan!" Some wept openly as fireworks exploded overhead.

Abdul-Jalil heads the National Transitional Council, founded in the eastern city of Benghaziearly in the six-month civil war to guide the rebel movement. Its leaders have been arriving inthe capital since it fell into rebel hands last month to start building a new government.

Abdul-Jalil, who served as Gaddafi's justice minister before joining the rebels at the uprising'sstart, defined the government he says the NTC hopes to create.

"We strive for a state of the law, for a state of prosperity, for a state that will have Islamic sharialaw the basis of legislation," he said.

'Saadi detained in Niger'

Hours after the attack by Gaddafi loyalists on an oil refinery outside the coastal town of RasLanuf, the government of Niger confirmed to the United States that it had detained Gaddafi'sson, Saadi, and is studying what to do with him, the US State Department said on Monday.

"We have confirmed with the government of Niger that Saadi crossed over [and] that they areeither in the process or have already brought him to the capital of Naimey and intend to detainhim," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told the Reuters news agency.

Niger's prime minister said dozens of members of Gaddafi's inner circle had arrived in Nigersince September 2.

"A total of 32 people are now here, including one of [Gaddafi's] sons, Saadi, as well as threegenerals," said Brigi Rafini, during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Niamey, the AFP newsagency reported.


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The arrivals had crossed the border in four separate groups over the last 10 days and had beentaken in by Niger for "humanitarian reasons", the prime minister added.

A Syrian-based television station that has broadcast messages from Gaddafi in the past said theformer leader was still in Libya, but it was unable to air a televised appearance for security

reasons.

"It was meant to show the leader among his fighters and people, leading the struggle fromLibyan lands, and not from Venezuela or Niger or anywhere else," Mishan Jabouri, owner of theArrai channel, told viewers.

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Tripoli, said: "This statement is considered adesperate PR stunt by Gaddafi saying that he is still in Libya and he still has suporters who willfight for him ... The feeling here among the NTC is that Gaddafi has lost the battle".

Fighting continues

Despite Gaddafi's defiance, battles continued on the outskirts of Bani Walid, one of the lastbastions of support for Gaddafi, as NTC fighters massed there for another day.

The continued advance on Bani Walid, and elsewhere on Sirte on Monday, came as Chinaofficially recognised the interim leadership.

"Revolutionary fighters, from where I am, are firing grad rockets while other people, defendingBani Walid, are firing back in the name of Colonel Gaddafi with artillery and mortar shells," saidAl Jazeera correspondent Anita McNaught, reporting from the southeast of the city on Monday.

She continued: "There was the hope perhaps that today the big push to take us into Bani Walidfrom the south would have happened by now. But the entire battle seems to be intriguinglydysfunctional at the moment, with not ideal co-ordination either between fighting groups orbetween the north and south frontier."

McNaught said there was still resistance inside the town, with pro-Gaddafi fighters thereestimated to number from 150 to 600.

Citing NTC fighters present during the attack on Ras Lanuf, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamidsaid a column of vehicles carrying armed Gaddafi loyalists drove up to the refinery's checkpointon Monday morning.

"It was a very bold attack ... From what we understand there was an exchange of gunfire, doctorshere at the hospital told us that some of the dead were shot point blank," he said.

Ras Lanuf is located approximately 600km east of the capital, Tripoli, and 80km away from thecurrent frontline of the fighting, Hamid said.

China recognises NTC


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On the diplomatic front, China formally recognised the NTCa s Libya's government, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Beijing "officially recognised the ... NTC of Libya as the ruling authority and representative of

the Libyan people", the English service of the official newswire reported.

China is the last member of the UN Security Council to recognise the NTC. It had previouslycriticised the NATO-led air campaign against Gaddafi's forces and refused to condemn thedictator.

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Jalil speaks in Tripoli, Gaddafi men attack refineryhttp://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jalil-speaks-in-tripoli-gaddafi-men-attack-refinery/By: Sherine El Madany and Alexander Dziadosz

13 September 2011RAS LANUF/,Tripoli, Libya - Libya's interim leader has made his first public speech in Tripoli,warning against reprisals after loyalists of the ousted Muammar Gaddafi struck out at therevolutionaries pursuing them.

In an apparent attempt to disrupt a drive by the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) toseize the ousted leaders' last bastions and revive the oil-based economy, the pro-Gaddafi fighterskilled 15 guards at an oil refinery on Monday.

Despite the attack, NTC chairman, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, felt confident enough to address a crowdof about 10,000 people and used the speech to call for restraint.

"We seek a state of law, prosperity and one where sharia (Islamic law) is the main source forlegislation, and this requires many things and conditions," he said, adding that "extremistideology" would not be tolerated.

A Syrian-based television station said on Monday it had received a new message from thefugitive Gaddafi, who has issued regular battle calls to his followers in the three weeks sinceTripoli was overrun, but could not broadcast it for security reasons.

It quoted the ousted leader, who it said was still in Libya, as saying: "We cannot give up Libya tocolonisation one more time ... There is nothing more to do except fight till victory."

Witnesses to the refinery attack said the assailants damaged the front gate of the facility, 20 km(13 miles) from the coastal town of Ras Lanuf, but not the plant itself, which is not fullyoperational.

Refinery worker Ramadan Abdel Qader, who had been shot in the foot, told Reuters that gunmenin 14 or 15 trucks had come from the direction of the Gaddafi-held coastal city of Sirte.
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The assault occurred only hours after the NTC announced it had resumed some oil production,which had been all but halted since anti-Gaddafi protests turned into civil war in March.

The interim council is struggling to assert its control over the entire country and capture ahandful of stubbornly defended pro-Gaddafi towns.

Human rights group Amnesty International warned on Tuesday that the security vacuum riskedsending Libya spiralling into a bloody cycle of attacks and reprisals.

Abdel Jalil used his first public Tripoli speech to warn NTC forces against reprisals.

"We need to open the courts to anyone who harmed the Libyan people in any way. The judicialsystem will decide," he said, calling on NTC fighters to respect that.

GADDAFI CLAN HUNTED

Many senior NTC officials also see scooping up Gaddafi and the members of his family who arestill on the run as crucial to finally declaring victory in the seven-month old war.

Gaddafi' son Saadi arrived in neighbouring Niger on Sunday after crossing the remote Saharadesert frontier. On Monday the U.S. State Department said that the government of Niger hadconfirmed to it that it intended to detain the former soccer player.

But a Nigerien government spokesman told Reuters that Saadi Gaddafi was only being watchedfor now.

"Nothing has changed in the government's position. There is no international search for him.Like the others he is just under surveillance," the spokesman said, referring to other Gaddadfiloyalists who have recently fled to Niger.

Two other sons and Gaddafi's only biological daughter have fled to Algeria. One son isreported to have died in the war and three others are still on the run.

The NTC has said it will send a delegation to Niger to seek the return of anyone wanted forcrimes.

Niger, like Algeria, has cited humanitarian reasons for accepting fugitives of the formergovernment, but has promised to respect its commitments to the International Criminal Court,which wants to try Gaddafi, son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi for warcrimes.

NTC forces, which seized Tripoli on Aug. 23, said they were meeting fierce resistance on thefourth day of fighting for the Gaddafi-held desert town of Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles)southeast of the capital, and were edging towards Sirte.


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Libya's economy is almost entirely dependent on oil, and restarting production is crucial torestoring the economy. Interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said on Sunday some oilproduction had resumed, but would not say where or how much.

Libya holds Africa's largest crude oil reserves and sold about 85 percent of its exports to Europe

under Gaddafi. Western oil firms, including Italy's Eni and Austria's OMV , are keen to restoreproduction.

STREET FIGHTING

In Bani Walid, fleeing residents reported intense street fighting while NATO warplanes could beheard overhead.

Families trapped there for weeks escaped after Gaddafi forces abandoned some checkpoints onthe outskirts. Dozens of cars packed with civilians streamed out of the area.

"We are leaving because of the rockets. They are falling near civilian homes," said one resident,Ali Hussain.

The United Nations says it is worried about the fate of civilians trapped inside besieged pro-Gaddafi towns.

"Our big concern right now is Sirte, where we are receiving reports that there's no waterand no electricity," U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told Reuters in Dubai.

The NTC has sent extra units to Bani Walid, but some fighters said this only worsened tribaltensions between fighters from other areas and those from the town.

"Our fighters are from all over Libya. There was little control over them yesterday. Today wewill control them better," said NTC commander Mohamed el-Fassi.

He said five NTC fighters were killed and 14 wounded in Sunday's clashes.

Some NTC combatants said they suspected local fighters of the Warfalla tribe, Libya's largest, ofpassing tips to Gaddafi forces in Bani Walid. "We believe there are traitors among them," saidMohammed el Gahdi, from the coastal city of Khoms.

NTC military spokesman Ahmed Bani told reporters the plan for Bani Walid for now was towait.

"When our forces entered Bani Walid they found the brigades of Gaddafi using citizens asshields," he said, adding that missile launchers had been placed on the roofs of homes, making itimpossible for NTC forces or NATO warplanes to strike.

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Twin blasts hit Nigerian city (Al Jazeera)

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011911215842821897.htmlBy: Unattributed Author11 September 2011

Two explosions have been heard in the central Nigerian city of Jos, a flashpoint of se Witnessesto the Sunday night blasts, however, said two explosions occurred at a packed outdoor eatery.

"Yes there were minor explosions, nothing serious," Emmanuel Ayeni, police chief for theregion, told the AFP news agency.

One person was reportedly wounded in the blast - the latest to hit Nigeria, Africa's mostpopulous country, in recent months.

"One person was injured and taken to hospital," a resident of the area, Steve Aluko-Daniel, saidby phone.

A spokesperson for a special military task force deployed in the city, Charles Ekeocha, alsoconfirmed hearing of explosions, but gave no details.

"I was in my room, when I heard a blast that sounded like dynamite, the kind used in blastingrocks," said a resident in the neighbourhood, who identified herself only as Pauline.

She said before she could establish what had happened, "we heard another blast and we sawpeople running away from the area saying there were blasts. They said there were two explosivesthrown from a moving vehicle."

Jos has been hit by waves of violence between Christian and Muslim groups that have lefthundreds dead in recent years.

The area lies between the predominantly Christian south and mainly Muslim north.

###

Libya conflict: Gaddafi son Saadi given refuge in Niger (BBC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14877908?print=trueBy: Unattributed Author12 September 2011One of the sons of fugitive Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been given refuge inneighbouring Niger.

Saadi Gaddafi had been let into Niger on humanitarian grounds and was due in its capitalNiamey later, said Niger's Justice Minister Marou Amadou.Col Gaddafi's whereabouts are unknown. He has said he will die in Libya.
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Anti-Gaddafi troops now control most of Libya, including the capital Tripoli. Loyalists areholding out in several cities including Bani Walid and Sirte.

On Sunday, anti-Gaddafi forces resumed their attack on Bani Walid, 180km (110 miles) fromTripoli, supported by Nato air strikes. Officials say their forces are now within reach of the

centre of the town.

They also moved closer to the Mediterranean city of Sirte, Col Gaddafi's birthplace.

Guinnea Bissau offer

Some of Col Gaddafi's family have fled to Algeria.

Several convoys of former Gaddafi loyalists are also said to have streamed over Libya's southernborder with Niger recently.

The Niger government has recognised the NTC's authority, but said it had not yet decidedwhether it would allow Col Gaddafi to enter the country.

The US has urged Niger to detain any individuals who may be sought for prosecution by the newauthorities in Tripoli and confiscate their weapons and money.

Meanwhile, the poor West African nation of Guinea Bissau has said it would welcome ColGaddafi if he sought refuge there."With all the investment that Gaddafi has put into Guinea Bissau he deserves the respect andgood treatment by the authorities and people of Guinea Bissau," said Prime Minister CarlosGomes Junior over the weekend.

At the beginning of September, Saadi Gaddafi reportedly made contact with the interimauthorities, offering to negotiate an end to fighting in Libya. Nothing came of the offer.

Saadi Gaddafi is a former footballer who had a very brief career in Italy, and he ran the LibyanFootball Federation after being national team captain. Since retiring from football, he hasbecome involved in the film industry, apparently investing $100m (60m) in a film fund.

New government

The chairman of the NTC has moved to Tripoli from the eastern city of Benghazi as the interimauthorities try to establish their presence.

And Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the NTC cabinet who serves as interim prime minister, hasannounced that an interim government will be formed within 10 days. All areas of Tripoli wouldbe represented, including those where fighting was continuing, he told reporters on Sunday.

He also announced that Libya had resumed producing oil, saying more would be on stream in thenear future.


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Also on Sunday, the spokesman for the military council in Tripoli, Anes Sharif, said ColonelGaddafi's head of foreign intelligence, Abuzeid Dorda, had been arrested in the city.

A long-time associate of the former Libya leader, Mr Dorda served as prime minister in the

1990s, was Libyan ambassador at the UN until 2003 and took over from Moussa Koussa as headof intelligence in 2009.###

Kenya fire: Nairobi pipeline blaze 'kills 100'(BBC)http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14879401?print=trueBy: Unattributed Author12 September 2011

Scores of people have died after a petrol pipeline explosion and fire in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The blast took place in the city's Lunga Lunga industrial area, and police and troops cordoned offthe district as firefighters battled fierce flames in a nearby shanty town. The pipeline runsthrough a densely populated slum area between Nairobi's city centre and the airport.

More than 80 casualties have been taken to hospitals, officials said.

The BBC's Hassan Lali describes a horrific scene littered with charred bodies - some so badlyburned that only their skeletons remained.

Floating bodies

Reports suggest Monday's blast may have been sparked by a cigarette butt being thrown into anopen sewer that was filling with fuel.

The fuel had leaked from a tank in a depot belonging to the Kenya Pipeline Company, policespokesman Charles Owino told Reuters news agency.

Residents said the earlier spill had prompted many people to rush and collect leaking fuel.

"Then there was a loud bang, a big explosion, and smoke and fire burst up high," resident JosephMwego told Agence France-Presse.

Parts of bodies littered the remains of burning shacks for some 300m (1,000ft) around the site ofthe blast, locals said.

Bodies were also seen floating in a nearby river, into which burn victims had reportedly leaptafter catching fire.

Tin-roofed huts were built directly adjacent to the pipeline in the area, residents say.
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There have been other deaths involving people collecting leaking fuel: More than 100 peopledied in Molo, western Kenya, in 2009 after a fire on an overturned tanker.

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Rwandan leader comes to France for reconciliation visit (AFP)http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10235268/rwandan-leader-in-france-for-reconciliation-visit/By: Unattributed Author12 SeptemberPARIS, France - President Paul Kagame of Rwanda began his first visit to France since the 1994genocide on Sunday, looking to repair ties despite controversy over Paris' role in his country'stroubled past. Kagame's visit is set to include meetings with Rwandan expats, French academicsand businessmen as well as President Nicolas Sarkozy, who visited Rwanda in 2009 to kickstarta delicate reconciliation process.

Many French generals and statesmen are still smarting after being accused by Kagame and hisallies of collaborating with Rwanda's previous genocidal regime in its massacre of around800,000 mainly ethnic Tutsis.

After arriving he attended a gathering of Rwandan expats in Paris and expressed his pleasure atvisiting France.

"We are working together to see how we can leave history behind, to move ahead," Kagame saidtold the gathering.

The Rwandan leader said "there are people who are against this evolution" in French-Rwandanrelations.

"We have gone beyond this type of politics (of hostility), which is contemptible," he said.

"The people who adhere to it are contemptible. And what is contemptible is a waste of time forus," he said.

Meanwhile, opposition and human rights groups accuse Kagame -- whose Tutsi rebel armyoverthrew the murderous Hutu government and brought the killing to an end -- of himselfbecoming more authoritarian in his 17 years of rule.

"We are well aware that this visit won't please some people, but the president has decided to turnthe page on France's painful relations with Rwanda," a senior official in Sarkozy's office toldAFP.

One sign of the tension is the absence of French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who was accusedof complicity in the genocide by a Rwandan inquiry and has departed on a tour of the Pacificrim.
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French generals have called Kagame's visit an insult to the honour of the French armed forces,and demanded that he withdraw the inquiry report, which they brand a lie, and which implicatesseveral senior officers.

Rwanda is a former Belgian colony and its formerly French-speaking regime once had close ties

with Paris. Kagame speaks English, and his Tutsi-led FPR government has closer ties to Londonand Washington.

These connections have suffered in recent years, however, amid criticism of his treatment ofopposition dissent and allegations of rights abuses."This visit comes at a time when both sides are in a position of weakness," said Rwanda expertAndre Guichaoua, noting that Paris has seen its influence in the Great Lakes region collapse, andRwanda is more and more isolated.

When Rwanda is in difficulty, and its powerful friends (in London and Washington) distancethemselves, he rediscovers France," said Guichaoua.

Kagame's first engagement on Sunday was with the Rwandan diaspora in Europe, with busloadsof supporters being brought down from Belgium, Britain and Scandinavia for the meeting in thesuburbs of Paris.

"We must devote our time to activities to rebuild Rwanda, to fight poverty, to send our childrento school," he told the 2,500 strong crowd.

Kagame is also expected to face protests during the trip from Rwandan opponents in exile,notably on Monday and Tuesday in Paris during his working meetings.

On Monday, he is to lunch with Sarkozy in the Elysee Palace, to "develop a partnership betweenour two countries and deepen our cooperation" in the words of Sarkozy's adviser.

Unlike Belgium, France has never apologised for failing to halt the killings, but Sarkozy cameclose during his visit to Kigali in 2009, admitting Paris had a "kind of blindness" to the genocidalstreak in the former regime.

The controversial Mucyo inquiry report, firmly and furiously denied by Paris, alleges that Frenchcomplicity went further than this, with French forces training and arming Hutu militia and takingpart in murder and rape.

Several senior French officials from former governments of both right and left have neverforgiven what they see as a slur, but since coming to power in 2007 Sarkozy has tried to turn thepage and rebuild normal relations.

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African migrants take deadly gamble in Libya (Reuters)

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By: Abdoulaye Massalatchi12 September 2011AGADEZ, Niger - A steady stream of Africans seeking a better life in Europe is weaving bytruck and pack animal through Niger's mountain passes toward Libya -- hoping the chaos therewill ease their flight to the boats awaiting them on the Mediterranean.

These desperate migrants have heard the stories of Africans tortured and executed in Libya onsuspicion of fighting as mercenaries alongside Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

But for them, the risks from gunmen are an acceptable alternative to being turned back by aborder patrol.

"They say blacks are being killed as suspected Gaddafi fighters, but I say we all have a destiny,"said Sule, a 25-year-old Nigerian migrant who did not want to give his last name.

"I see this war as an opportunity that I cannot let pass if I want to make it to Europe."

Lured by the seductive mirage of a better life in the West, tens of thousands of Africans trekevery year across deserts or risk perilous sea crossings in try to slip illegally into Europe viaSpain or Italy.

But for Sule and his companions -- and the dozens of others arriving in northern Niger each day -- that gamble means passing through what may be the most dangerous place in the world rightnow for an African.

Refugee camps within Libya and sprouting along its land borders contain thousands of fleeingAfricans telling tales of horror at the hands of rebel fighters suspicious they are pro-Gaddafimercenaries.

Identity cards of nationals from Chad, Niger, Mali, Sudan and other African states have beenfound on the bodies of gunmen who anti-Gaddafi fighters say were paid to confront them.

"We are risking our lives but we have been assured by our guide that we'll be alright betweenhere and the Libyan border. The rest is our affair," Sule said.

"If things become dangerous, we can always head to a refugee camp," said Obasi, one of Sule'scompanions.

PACKED LIKE SARDINES

Sule's group travelled 700 km from their homes in Kano, Nigeria, to Agadez, a city in Niger'snorthern desert just below the Air mountain range.

In this bustling town, once a popular destination for European tourists seeking a taste of theSahara before a Tuareg uprising in 2007 and a string of Al Qaeda-linked kidnappings made it ano-go zone, Sule's group waits for the signal to complete the 3,000 km journey north.
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"The smuggler said he'll bring us to Libya via the mountain trails through Agadez. There areothers coming and even if we become impatient, the timing is his responsibility. There arepreparations to complete and it is important that we have enough water," said Serin, one of Sule'scompanions.

Agadez burst onto world headlines this month after convoys containing top officials fromGaddafi's former regime passed through it on the way to the capital Niamey. But the traffic goingthe other way has gotten less attention.

"These people will stop at nothing," said a police official outside Agadez who routinely checkspaperwork of the West African migrants. He said dozens of mostly Nigerian and Ghanaianmigrants have been arriving daily.

Sule's group paid 300,000 CFA francs ($625) each to be smuggled to the Libyan border, aboutdouble what they would have paid before the war, they said.

They said they had been encouraged to try the route when Gaddafi threatened Europe with adeluge of illegal immigration early on in the uprising against him.

Italy's government said last month it has proof Gaddafi planned to turn its tiny island ofLampedusa, off the southern coast of Siciliy, into an "inferno" by sending thousands of desperateAfrican migrants there.A deal between Gaddafi and Italy to send migrants back before they entered Italian waters hadcurbed the flow of migrants until the Libyan uprising brought strict border controls.

Abdul Rachid is a driver in Agadez, paid to run the smuggling routes to Libya's border with acargo of humans.

He said migrants were given choices between riding in the back of a powerful 4X4 pickup truck-- the "fast and comfortable option" but more expensive -- or being packed into a larger, slowertruck.

"If you take a truck you will be 50 people or 60 people, packed in like sardines. It takes at least10 days if all goes well," he said.

Sule's group said pack animals were another option.

"They will not travel along the marked roadways, but over the Air Mountains," said anotherdriver, who did not give his name. "There are many trails and they will make it to Libya in a fewdays. As for Gaddafi supporters, only God knows how many have made it into our country."

###

U.S. May Cut Billions in Health Aid to Kenya (The Nation)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201109120024.html By: Unattributed Author
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12 SeptemberAmerican lawmakers might block Sh195 billion ($2.1 billion) three-year aid package to fightAids and malaria in Kenya budgeted for by President Barack Obama's government.

The US Congress has demanded cuts in foreign aid to address domestic shortfalls and the health

aid package, under which Kenya's health sector was to be supported with Sh65 billion a year forthree years, could be one of the casualties.

Kenya is among eight developing countries participating in the six-year $93 billion (Sh8.6trillion) Global Health Initiative (GHI) programme that seeks to improve access to, and improvethe quality of, medical services.

The programme focuses on malaria, tuberculosis, Aids, maternal health, child mortality, nutritionand strengthening of health systems and is run by USAID, America's agency for internationaldevelopment.The project was intended to build on former US President George Bush's malaria and HIV

programmes that have been credited with providing anti-retroviral medicines and bed nets tothousands of Kenyans.

Duplication of roles

Initiated in 2009, it was meant to put all American-funded health programmes in the countryunder one stream to eliminate duplication of roles and improve efficiency.

It was also expected to respond to criticism that American projects in the country provided forlittle government involvement. But the takeoff has been slow.

For example, it was only in March this year that the US embassy in Nairobi managed to launchthe Kenya Strategic Plan 2011-2014 to guide use of the kitty.The initiative received $576 million (Sh54 billion) in 2009 and $600 million (Sh56 billion) in2010.

Funding for this year is now in doubt following a deficit-cutting deal struck by President Obamaand the Congress last month.

The alarm was first raised by about 100 American international development agencies in apetition to Congress warning that the cuts would hurt American interests in Africa.

"It is important that US efforts to defend our national security be augmented by health anddevelopment policies and programmes that prevent inequity and unrest," says the petition signedon August 25th.

In sentiments shared by the American Chamber of Commerce, Dr Christopher J. Elias, presidentof PATH, an international development organisation with several projects in Kenya, said themove could hurt American exports to developing countries.
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"Choosing to cut investment now to countries that have the potential to become America's nextbig trading partner is not only myopic, but fiscally imprudent," he says.

Deep cuts in foreign aid could also affect the deployment of thousands of Americans who workin these programmes.

In Kenya, most US funds for development are channelled through USAID, the Centres forDisease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defence and the Peace Corps. According tothe American embassy in Nairobi, there are about 15,000 registered US citizens in Kenya.

On Sunday, however, President Obama expressed optimism in a message to mark the tenthanniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York.

"Around the world, we will continue the hard work of pursuing peace, promoting thedevelopment that lifts people from poverty, and advancing the food security, health and goodgovernance that unleashes the potential of citizens and societies," he said.

Mothers queue at a health centre for child immunisation (file photo).On Wednesday, Reuters news agency warned President Obama's policy of focusing ondevelopment rather than aggression faces tough times ahead.

"President Barack Obama's pledge to boost America's global standing by ramping up USdiplomacy and development aid faces death by a thousand cuts as lawmakers prepare to carvehuge chunks out of US overseas spending to address budget shortfalls," said the report.

The cuts will also affect the global fight against hunger which was banking on Americangenerosity.

"The Kenya GHI strategy will move us toward sustaining a health system that ensures we havean independent, healthy, and thriving future for our citizens," said Dr SK Sharif, the director ofPublic Health and Sanitation, recently.

###

S.Africa court finds Malema guilty of hate speech (Reuters)

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE78B08J20110912?sp=trueBy: By Peroshni Govender12 September 2011

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - A South African court on Monday ruled that ANC YouthLeague leader Julius Malema was guilty of hate speech for singing an apartheid-era song thatadvocated the killing the white farmers.

"I find the words uttered by Malema constitute hate speech," said Judge Collin Lamont. Malemawas ordered to pay court costs in the civil case that did not carry a criminal penalty.
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The verdict against Malema, a vocal proponent for the nationalisation of mines, comes as he isfighting for his political survival in a separate disciplinary case brought by the ruling AfricanNational Congress, which has charged him with bringing the party into disrepute.

The 30-year-old Malema, who is seen as a future leader of the ANC, was not present in court.

The case was brought to the South Gauteng High Court by the Afrikaner civil rights groupAfriforum, which claimed white farmers felt vulnerable because of the song.

###

Can we blame the Horn of Africa drought on lack of rain?

http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-09-12-develop-me-can-we-blame-the-horn-of-africa-drought-on-lack-rainBy: Tapiwa Gomo12 September

Somalia is faced with what has been described as the worst drought in 60 years.

Reports suggest that thousand of lives have already been lost and millions more will die unlessthe begging bowls are filled up with cash.

Indeed the pictures coming out of the Horn of Africa are quite harrowing and money is reallyneeded to avert a human catastrophe.

Assessment reports from the Horn of Africa suggest that the drought in Somalia is a result offailed rains, but Steve McDowell, a food security expert based in East Africa offers aninteresting view that seem, to have evaded many, especially those involved in development andhumanitarian work in Somalia.

He argues that pastoral communities have lived and flourished in the Horn of Africa forhundreds of years. During that time, rainfall has fluctuated. It is unlikely that rainfall alone canexplain the current humanitarian crisis.

In fact, if we examine rainfall patterns over the last 100 years, there are peaks and troughs spreadover 10 or 20-year periods.

Current rainfall levels are the same as 60 years ago, with a period of very high rainfall inbetween. As with the current crisis, rainfall fluctuation alone may not explain vulnerability todrought.

As modernisation crept in, population figures started to grow faster.

The natural resource base, which was mainly and perhaps naturally meant to sustain pastoral life,started depleting fast.
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25/28


Modern methods of farming, though not always sustainable, became their livelihoods backbone.For the past 60 years, erratic rains have meant drought, which spells doom for so many. The useof charcoal gave way to deforestation an accomplice to desertification.

When one examines these increasing, changes in livelihoods and resource needs, McDowell

implores us to reflect if we are not placing unrealistic demands on the rain that did not exist 60years ago.

On close inspection, most of the problems for pastoralists today lie not in the levels of rainfall,but in the new demands imposed on peoples lives by modernisation, growing the gap betweenchanging demands and the ability to meet those demands.

Today, when pastoralism is facing unprecedented challenges to provide even a subsistencelivelihood, the modern world is presenting opportunities that decades ago were unimaginable.

When I was in Kunene region in Namibia a few weeks ago, I drew comparisons between the

pastoralists in Somalia and the Himba tribe in the northern part of Namibia.

Like the Somalis, the Himbas are pastoralists and survive on beef and milk alone.Unlike the Somalis, they have resisted and still resist to be transformed into modern life and forthat they have been called primitive for their stance.

But others like me prefer to leave them alone. They are rarely affected by droughts like theirSomali counterparts because they live their own lives based on their natural capacity.

They have become one of the key tourist attraction features in Namibia contributing 14,5% of theGross Domestic Product.

Kunene is generally very dry as it lies in the semi-dessert terrain in what was previously calledKaokoland.

The Himbas are still nomadic, they and their cattle look quite healthy even when I didnt see anygreen leaf in the thorny semi-desert forests. I could only assume that their cattle belong to thedrought resistant breeds.

The Himbas still live on meat, mainly beef and milk, and somewhere somehow you get the sensesomeone is pushing them to grow maize and other cereals despite the geographical and climaticenvironment not being conducive for such ventures.

They grow them anyway, perhaps just to be part of the mainstream.

Some harvest while others dont but still it doesnt matter because it is not the absence of maizethat worry them most but the death of their livestock should the water run dry.

Over the years they have survived on their livestock, digging precariously very deep wells alongthe dry sandy rivers just to ensure their cattle can drink water.


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By their definition, drought is not the lack of rain to feed their crops, but the scarcity of water fortheir cattle and a little bit of grazing.

Fortunately for them, there are springs scattered all over the mountains perennially oozing water.

And once again, their priority is getting water into the bowels of their cattle before they take ahuman sip. In fact, they get the water value from their milk. And for that they have been sparedby the emaciating droughts like those faced in the horn of Africa today.

Now, should the push for crop farming succeed in Kunene, should we blame the rains when thereis a drought? Perhaps this is one of the inconvenient truths about development planningespecially in the presence of limited knowledge about a local environment.

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Africas Friend China Finances $9.3 Billion of Hydropower

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlBy: Randall Hackley and Lauren van der Westhuizen12 September 2011When completed in 2013, Gibe III on Ethiopias Omo River will be Africas tallest dam, a $2.2billion project that conservationists say will deprive birds and hippos of vital habitat.

Some 600 miles (965 kilometers) to the north, Sudan is preparing to build the $705 millionKajbar dam on the Nile, which would inundate historic towns and tombs of the Nubian people,descendants of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The $729 million Bui project on the Black VoltaRiver, tobe finished in 2013, will boost Ghanas hydropower capacity by a third -- and flood aquarter of Bui National Park while displacing 2,600 people.

What these megaprojects have in common is Chinese money and know-how. Companies such asSinohydro Corp. and Dongfang Electric Corp. are key players in their construction, and theyrefinanced by Chinese banks with support from the government in Beijing, BloombergBusinessweek reports in its Sept. 12 issue.

The countrys engineering and manufacturing giants have recently completed or are participatingin at least $9.3 billion of hydropower projects in Zambia, Gabon, the Democratic Republic ofCongo, and elsewhere on the continent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg andInternational Rivers, a Berkeley, California-based environmental group.

A similar, if smaller, push is happening in newer renewable technologies. Chinese enterprises arenow the top investors in African solar power,and Chinas government in June earmarked $100million for solar projects in 40 African nations.

Street Lights, Refugee CampsChinese photovoltaic panels already power street lights in Sudan, sit atop schools and hospitalselsewhere and can be found in United Nations-supported refugee camps in the Sahara.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billi

AFRICOM Related News Clips 13 Sep 2011

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