IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Ethiopia Military Ready to Defend Giant Dam

    {{Egypt’s armed forces are not yet involved in a dispute with Ethiopia over a giant dam on the Nile, a spokesman for the general staff said on Wednesday, playing down bellicose rhetoric between Cairo and Addis Ababa.}}

    “This is not a military issue at this stage,” Ahmed Mohamed Ali told media after days of irate exchanges between Africa’s second and third most populous nations over a new hydroelectric plant that Egypt fears will reduce its vital water supply.

    On Monday, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said he did not want “war” but would keep “all options open”, prompting Ethiopia to say it was ready to defend the Great Renaissance Dam.

    Egypt’s previous military rulers had warned against such projects in the past and last week Egyptian politicians were caught on camera discussing air strikes or offering support to Ethiopian rebels.

    “It’s too early to involve the army in this problem at the moment,” Ali said.

    Earlier on Wednesday, the commander-in-chief of Egypt’s armed forces issued a statement saying that the military was “ready and able to protect the nation and preserve its sacred sites”.

    General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is also the defense minister, made the comments during a training exercise that included special forces paratroopers, according to a statement on his Facebook page.

    The spokesman said Sisi’s words were aimed at giving soldiers at the training exercise “a message about their role in defending the interests of Egypt”. Analysts said Sisi’s comments appeared directed more at groups planning street protests for and against Mursi’s administration at the end of this month.

    Ethiopia has dismissed talk of military action as “psychological warfare”.

    Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr is expected to travel to Addis Ababa on Sunday for talks about the dam, but Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday the country had no intention of suspending construction.

    Dina Mufti, spokesman at Ethiopia’s foreign affairs ministry, told reporters that talks with Egypt were “in the spirit of Ethiopian interest”.

    “Ethiopia has always been open and we’ve always been interested in discussions,” he said, speaking in English.

    Dina added “in the strongest possible terms” that Ethiopia would not accept any proposal to halt or delay construction.

    The African Union urged both sides to hold talks to resolve the row.

    “It would be important to just have discussions that are open, that look at how we can have a win-win situation in a new context, not in the context of the colonial powers, but in the context of pan-Africanism and African renaissance,” the bloc’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told a news conference.

    With its 84-million population dependent on the Nile, Egypt cites colonial-era treaties guaranteeing it the lion’s share of the water.

    Ethiopia and other upstream neighbors, including Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, say those claims are outdated.

  • Russia faces security challenges at Sochi Olympics

    {{ Drones hovering overhead, robotic vehicles roaming Olympic venues to search for explosives, high-speed patrol boats sweeping the Black Sea coast — Russian officials say they will be using cutting-edge technology to make sure the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi will be “the safest Olympics in history.”}}

    But intelligence analysts and regional experts say an Islamic insurgency raging across the North Caucasus mountains that tower over the seaside resort of Sochi presents daunting threats.

    Despite the deployment of tens of thousands of Russian troops, police officers and private guards equipped with high-tech gadgetry, the simmering unrest in the Caucasus could put President Vladimir Putin’s pet project at risk.

    The Sochi games are the first Olympics in history that are almost on the doorstep of an active insurgency whose members could potentially try to “upstage the games with some kind of attack, which would provide a kind of bad PR for the Russian government,” said Matthew Henman, a senior analyst at Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center in London.

    Potential assailants could disrupt the games even with scarce resources, he said, pointing at the recent Boston Marathon explosions, where two shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs killed three people and injured more than 260 in April.

    “You don’t need an awful lot of expertise to create primitive but largely effective explosive devices,” Henman said.

    The elder of the two ethnic Chechen brothers from Russia who are accused of staging the Boston bombings spent six months last year in the restive Russian province of Dagestan, which lies about 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Sochi, about the distance between Boston and Philadelphia. Russian investigators have been trying to determine whether he had contact with local Islamic militants.

    Dagestan has become the center of the insurgency that spread across Russia’s North Caucasus region after two separatist wars in the 1990s in neighboring Chechnya. Rebels seeking to carve out a caliphate, or Islamic state, in the region have targeted police and other officials in near-daily shootings and bombings.

    “The Caucasus poses a threat because the situation there isn’t fully controlled,” said Alexei Malashenko, a Caucasus expert with the Carnegie Endowment’s Moscow office. “It’s unclear who could deal a blow, and how and where.”

    Police, security and medical personnel in Sochi have conducted dozens of drills to train for potential threats. In the most recent exercise at the end of May hundreds of police officers, rescue workers and ambulance crews responded to various emergency scenarios.

  • Kenya Court Sentences Somali Pirates to 5 years in Prison

    {The nine Somali men, who have been charged with piracy related activities, stand at the dock during their sentencing at a Kenyan law court in the coastal town of Mombasa June 10, 2013.}

    A Kenyan court sentenced nine Somali citizens each to five years in prison on Monday after finding them guilty of violently hijacking a vessel, MV Magellan Star, in the Gulf of Aden in September 2010.

    The nine were captured by international anti-piracy forces before being handed over to Kenya to be prosecuted, because Somalia was not considered able to try them properly.

    Although the number of attacks has fallen markedly since 2011 thanks to tougher security aboard ships and increased Western naval patrols, piracy emanating from the Horn of Africa nation may still cost the world economy about $18 billion a year, the World Bank said in April.

    Prosecutors told the court the men attacked the ship armed with three AK-47 rifles, a G3 rifle, one SAR rifle and other crude weapons.

    “They hijacked the vessel, using violence against its crew by firing at them, and took control of the … vessel, thus endangering the lives of the crew,” they said in the charge sheet.

    All nine had denied the accusations, and were held in custody at one of Kenya’s maximum security prisons during the trial.

    While handing out the sentence, the court noted that the accused had already served a long term in jail while the trial was in progress, and therefore were given shorter prison terms.

    “Such charges would ordinarily attract a jail term of up to 20 years,” magistrate Richard Odenyo said in his ruling, which was translated for the suspects who did not understand English.

    A lawyer representing the accused termed the ruling “fairly reasonable”, saying his clients had not yet decided whether to lodge an appeal.

    reuters

  • ICC Prosecutor Opposes bid to Defer Kenya President’s trial

    {{The ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has opposed fresh attempts by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta’s lawyers to postpone the trial to January.}}

    Even if the International Criminal Court Trial Chamber judges found merit in the request by the President’s legal team, Ms Bensouda stated, the new date should not go beyond September.

    In her latest response to the application — adjournment submission — to push the case backward, she cited what she described as the defence team’s demand for “superfluous amounts of time”, victims’ cry for swift justice, risk to witnesses and unwarranted delays to the case for her position.

    “The adjournment submission fails to demonstrate that the requested delay is warranted. The defence fails to provide a justification for such a lengthy postponement. At most, the Adjournment Submission provides a basis for an incremental delay in the trial schedule — weeks, not months,” she stated.

    The prosecutor instead urged the judges not to vacate the July 9 date and ensure that the case begins as scheduled.

    Ms Bensouda argued that President Kenyatta’s lawyers were given adequate time to prepare for the case when the Trial Chamber vacated the April 11 date.

    The June 5 application to oppose the postponement of the trial date comes a week after Trial Chamber judges Kuniko Ozaki, Robert Fremr and Chile Oboe-Osuji pushed the start date for a similar case facing Deputy President William Ruto to September 10.

    They also left the decision on whether the beginning of the trial of Mr Ruto and former broadcaster Joshua arap Sang could be held in Kenya or Tanzania to the ICC presidency and a vote by judges of The Hague court.

    President Kenyatta and his deputy are facing charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the 2007/08 post-election violence.

    Mr Sang is the third accused in the cases before the ICC.

    NMG

  • UN chief in S. Sudan to Continue Outsourcing Security Guards

    {Hilde Johnson, speaking to reporters in Yambio, Western Equatoria state, July 17, 2012. }

    {{The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Hilde F. Johnson said Monday that she cannot change global body’s policy of hiring contractors to protect UN buildings.}}

    ohnson was reacting to a strike by local staff members, which the mission employed as security guards against outsourcing security services. She said that according to a resolution of the General Assembly of the UN, the current policy is to outsource the protection of UN premises.

    She said in the case of South Sudan, at the request of UN headquarters in New York and following the budget decisions of member states, the decision to outsource security to a private company was taken a long time ago.

    However, following the oil shutdown and subsequent economic difficulties, implementation of this decision was delayed by a year and a half in the interest of the South Sudanese employees and the individual contractors themselves.

    The new contract, which will enter into force shortly, will absorb all guards and individual contractors currently employed by the mission.

    “Subject to satisfactory performance, everyone will be employed. There will be no loss of jobs. The guards on strike are individual contractors who were hired on short term contracts and on an interim basis,” an UNMISS statement reads in part.

    As their contracts expire, they will be absorbed by the company that has been given the overall contract. The company is fully registered in South Sudan and is partly owned by South Sudanese nationals.

    With these new arrangements, the individual concerned will have better job security, while their salaries will remain above the average in South Sudan, it added.

    ST

  • U.N. chief Appoints Germany’s Martin Kobler as Congo Envoy

    {{U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed former German diplomat Martin Kobler on Monday as his special envoy to the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo, succeeding former U.S. diplomat Roger Meece in July.}}

    Kobler – currently U.N. special envoy in Iraq and previously deputy U.N. representative in Afghanistan – will head a 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, which will shortly include a special intervention brigade of 3,000 troops tasked with neutralizing armed groups in the eastern border region.

    Congo has been battling a year-long insurgency by M23 rebels. U.N. experts accused Rwanda of sending troops and weapons across the border to support the M23 last year. Rwanda denies the accusation.

    Peace talks between the M23 and the Congolese government in Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda, have stalled. M23 is mainly made up of a previous Tutsi-dominated rebel group which integrated into the army following a 2009 peace deal.

    But they deserted en masse last year and have stepped up training in their strongholds in preparation for the deployment of the U.N. intervention brigade.

    The U.N. mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, will also begin using surveillance drones in August to monitor the eastern border – a thickly forested area of rugged terrain with few roads, the United Nations has said.

    Countries in the region signed a peace deal brokered by the United Nations in February to try to end two decades of conflict in eastern Congo.

    reuters

  • Kenya to Deport Foreigners involved in illegal Activities

    President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed Kenya Police to immidiately deport any foreigners involved in illegal activities especially drug trafficking.

    He made the remarks while opening the the 2nd National Conference on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Nairobi.

    Kenyatta also challenged parents to consistently be involved in the day-to-day lives of their children.

    He also said that the the National Authority for Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) should formulate concrete measures to roll back issues of drug abuse.

    “Indeed, looking at our society, it is clear that the use of alcohol and other substances is a deeply rooted practice that would take more than Nacada to control,” he said.

    {NMG}

  • M23 Rebels Back to Negotiating Table

    {{The Congolese M23 rebels have returned to the negotiation table in Uganda’s capital Kampala saying they want to resume talks with the Kinshasa Government.}}

    The rebels delegation of 7 members say, the recent meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon gave them hope because he recognised that they are a movement with genuine issues and seeking political answers to from the Congolese government.

    The M23 delegation is led by Rene Abandi, who is in charge of the group’s foreign affairs.

    “We have decided to return even without knowing whether the Kinshasa government will come… This shows our political will. We want to dialogue even if the Kinshasa regime is pressing for a military solution,” Abandi told journalists.

    “That the UN Secretary General came to visit us gave hope to the Congolese people because he gave us a new vision, saying that Kampala was very important to a political solution to our problems…,” he added.

    Abandi asked the international community to press the DRC to stop being a haven for armed groups from different countries which destabilise the eastern DRC as well as the entire region. He said many armed groups are using it as a base to fight their governments, while others are helping the Kinshasa government.

    NV

  • Ban Ki-moon Criticises Burundi Media Law

    {{UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday slammed a new law passed by Burundi’s government that he said would have a “negative impact” on press freedom.}}

    President Pierre Nkurunziza approved the law, widely condemned by media watchdogs and rights groups, on Tuesday.

    “The secretary general regrets that a new media law in Burundi was promulgated with provisions that may have a negative impact on the freedom of the press,” said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

    “He emphasises that the right to freedom of expression and pluralistic and free media are essential components of a healthy democracy.”

    {Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza }

    {AFP}

  • Rebels Urge Sudanese to Overthrow Gen. Bashir

    {{The alliance of the rebel Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) urged the Sudanese people to rise up against the regime of president Omer Al-Bashir, saying it is weakened by its internal divisions.}}

    The SRF launched its call after a meeting held on Sunday by its crisis management committee to assess the situation in the country after Bashir’s decision to shut down the flow of South Sudanese oil and accused Juba of supporting rebel groups.

    SRF rebels who fight against Khartoum in the southern and western Sudanese states said Bashir “reckless decision” to stop oil flow reveals the deep crisis of a regime which manages to maintain itself in power by fabricating perpetual crises.

    “The regime is impotent and experiencing a deep crisis and internal divisions”, said the SRF statement, adding that “Sudanese have to bring down the regime as it is in its weakest conditions”.

    The rebels further called to intensify struggle by “all means” stressing that “the fall down of the regime will open a new page for peace, liberty, justice and democracy”.

    The opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) said Saturday they endorsed a 100-day plan to bring down the regime, and called on the Sudanese people to take the street peacefully against the regime.

    NCF chairmen, Faroul Abu Essa, pointed out that the SRF remains an “strategic ally” in their struggle against the regime, despite their position against the use of arms in their struggle for democracy.

    The SRF rebels vowed to support the efforts of political opposition forces to overthrow the regime through peaceful action and called on their supporters to participate actively in any no-violent protest to topple the regime.

    The rebels also called to unify all the efforts under one banner reminding the role of the Sudanese street to bring down the two military regimes of Aboud in October 1964 and Neimiri in April 1985.

    The insurgents intend to control different provinces before to attack Khartoum, but the opposition parties said they are not supportive of this military plan.

    Also the two sides failed to reach a compromise over the future of the country in term of constitutional principles and regional administrative system but agreed to hold a constitutional conference to discuss all these matters.

    The SRF also asked the African Union and the international community to support regime change in Sudan as the only viable solution for a sustainable peace in the country and good relations with South Sudan.

    The Sudanese opposition and the rebel groups are close to the ruling party in Juba which was their ally in the past before to vote for an independent state.

    However the opposition and rebel forces did not define a clear position on how to settle Abyei issue and other border disputed areas.

    They only call for peaceful coexistence and a confederal system between the two nations.

    The regional and international communities announced their support to negotiated agreements with the rebel groups and another process to ensure a democratic transition to implemented by an AU panel chaired by the former South African president Thabo Mbeki.

    ST