africom related news clips 30 august 2011

8/4/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips 30 August 2011

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Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and upcoming events of

interest for August 30, 2011.

Of interest in today's news clips: CNN reports on the excesses and brutality within the Qadhafi family

compound and that his family members are reportedly in Algeria. According to the LA Times Qadhafis

son Kahmis is reported killed in an air strike. In other news a UPI article on the bombing of an Algerian

Military Academy quotes General Ham and his concern over Boko Haram linking up with AQIM.

Provided in text format for remote reading. Links work more effectively when this message is viewed as

in HTML format.

Compiled by Petty Officer 1st Class Steve Owsley

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

Moammar Kadafis Son Khamis Reportedly Killed in Air Strike (LA Times)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/08/kadafi-son-reportedly-killed.html

29 August 2011 - Khamis Kadafi, the youngest son of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, has been

killed in a NATO airstrike, Sky News reported.


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Luxury, Horror Lurk in Gadhafi Family Compound (CNN)

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/28/libya.gadhafi.nanny/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

29 August 2011 - Tripoli, Libya -- Moammar Gadhafi told his people he lived modestly during his nearly

42-year rule over Libya, often sleeping in a Bedouin tent.

Gadhafi Family Members in Algeria, Ambassador Says (CNN)

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/29/libya.algeria.gadhafi/

29 August 2011 - The wife of fugitive Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, three of his children andsome of his grandchildren arrived in Algeria on Monday morning, Algerian diplomats said

Africa Bombs Fuel Fears of Jihadist Spread (UPI)

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/08/29/Africa-bombs-fuel-fears-of-jihadist-spread/UPI-

71891314638438/

29 August 2011 - ABUJA, Nigeria, -- Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb killed 18 people in the suicide

bombing of an Algerian military academy Friday while two days later an increasingly aggressive jihadistgroup blew up U.N. headquarters in Nigeria in another suicide attack, killing 23 people.

Squadron Established to Train Air Forces in Africa (Stars and Stripes)

http://www.stripes.com/news/squadron-established-to-train-air-forces-in-africa-1.153604

29 August 2011 - STUTTGART, Germany A squadron of airmen with key skill sets, including air traffic

control and civil engineering, is preparing for a mission to train air forces in Africa to deliver supplies and

large numbers of troops into conflict zones.

UN Condemns South Sudan Police Assault on Top Official (Sudan Tribune)

http://www.sudantribune.com/UN-condemns-South-Sudan-police,39981


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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

1 SEPT 2011

WHEN: September 1, 2011, 5:45 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

WHAT: The Long Shadow of 9/11: Americas Response to Terrorism

WHO: Brian Michael Jenkins, Senior Adviser to the President of RAND

WHERE: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main St., Santa Monica, CA

CONTACT: [email protected]. Media contact:http://www.rand.org/events/2011/09/01.html

8 SEPT 2011

WHEN: September 8, 2011, 12:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m.

WHAT: Ten Years Later Public Diplomacy and the Arab World, Center on Public Diplomacy at theAnnenberg School, Conversations in Public Diplomacy

WHO: Several Panelists (see website)

WHERE: USC; Tutor Campus Center Forum

CONTACT: [email protected] Media contact:

http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/events/events_detail/16973/

20 SEPT 2011

WHEN: September 20, 2011, 12:00 p.m.


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WHAT: Pakistan, the U.S. and Public Diplomacy with Consul General Riffat Masood CPD Conversations in

Public Diplomacy

WHO: Riffat Masood, the Consul General of Pakistan

WHERE: USC; SOS B40

CONTACT : [email protected] Media contact:

http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/events/events_detail/17070/

###

Mommar Kadafis Son Khamis Reportedly Killed in Airstrike (LA Times)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/08/kadafi-son-reportedly-killed.html

By: Molly Hennessy-Fiske

29 August 2011

Khamis Kadafi, the youngest son of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, has been killed in a NATOairstrike, Sky News reported.

The British network said a man claiming to be Khamis Kadafis bodyguard said the younger Kadafi was in

a Toyota Land Cruiser that was hit by a missile fired from a NATO Apache helicopter. A rebel official told

the network that they were close to confirming that Khamis Kadafi died Saturday during fighting with

rebels near Tarhuna, about 50 miles southeast of Tripoli.

Khamis Kadafi, a Russian-trained military officer, commanded an elite battalion dedicated to protecting

his father.

Human Rights Watch said Monday that his Khamis Brigade executed detainees last week at a warehouse

near Tripoli, which later burned down.


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The first house we entered was apparently the "party" beach condo with an oversized door that led into

sleek, modern, black-and-white rooms. It had been ransacked by the rebels, but still it was spectacular,

with panoramic ocean views and plenty of evidence of the hedonism for which Hannibal Gadhafi -- one

of Moammar Gadhafi's sons -- is famous.

Discarded bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch and Laurent Perrier pink champagne cases

littered the floor. Much of the electronic equipment had been plundered, but instruction manuals

remained for high end Harman/Kardon stereo components. Cabinets designed to hold two huge TV

screens could still be seen.

The bedroom held a circular bed, while the in-suite bathroom was complete with sunken Jacuzzi tublined with plastic white flowers. Outside, a hot tub, a bar and a barbecue area adjoined the private

beach.

Another villa contained a white baby grand piano and more expensive stereo equipment. Next door was

a huge swimming pool and diving complex, a gym, a steam room and a sauna faced in white marble.

We came upon rebels furtively dividing up a huge stash of alcohol. They seemed edgy and tense -- this isthe Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and alcohol was supposedly banned under the Gadhafi regime.

We filmed them studying the labels of Cristal champagne and fine St. Emilion Bordeaux, apparently not

realizing each bottle is worth hundreds of dollars.

As we were about to leave, one of the staff told us there was a nanny who worked for Hannibal Gadhafi

who might speak to us. He said she'd been burnt by Hannibal's wife, Aline.

I thought he meant perhaps a cigarette stubbed out on her arm. Nothing prepared me for the moment I

walked into the room to see Shweyga Mullah.


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At first I thought she was wearing a hat and something over her face. Then the awful realization dawned

that her entire scalp and face were covered in red wounds and scabs, a mosaic of injuries that rendered

her face into a grotesque patchwork.

Even though the burns were inflicted three months ago, she was clearly still in considerable pain. But

she told us her story calmly.

She'd been the nanny to Hannibal's little son and daughter.

The 30-year-old came to Libya from her native Ethiopia a year ago. At first things seemed OK, but then

six months into her employment she said she was burned by Aline.

Three months later the same thing happened again, this time much more seriously.

In soft tones, she explained how Aline lost her temper when her daughter wouldn't stop crying and

Mullah refused to beat the child.

"She took me to a bathroom. She tied my hands behind my back, and tied my feet. She taped my mouth,

and she started pouring the boiling water on my head like this," she said, imitating the vessel of scalding

hot water being poured over her head.

She peeled back the garment draped carefully over her body. Her chest, torso and legs are all mottled

with scars -- some old, some still red, raw and weeping. As she spoke, clear liquid oozed from one nasty

open wound on her head.

After one attack, "There were maggots coming out of my head, because she had hidden me, and no one

had seen me," Mullah said.

Eventually, a guard found her and took her to a hospital, where she received some treatment.


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But when Aline Gadhafi found out about the kind actions of her co-worker, he was threatened with

imprisonment, if he dared to help her again.

"When she did all this to me, for three days, she wouldn't let me sleep," Mullah said. "I stood outside in

the cold, with no food. She would say to staff, 'If anyone gives her food, I'll do the same to you.' I had no

water -- nothing."

Her colleague, a man from Bangladesh who didn't want to give his name, says he was also regularly

beaten and slashed with knives. He corroborated Mullah's account and says the family's dogs were

treated considerably better than the staff.

Mullah was forced to watch as the dogs ate and she was left to go hungry, he said.

It seems to sum up how the workers at the beachside complex were viewed by the Gadhafi family.

"I worked a whole year they didn't give me one penny," Mullah said. "Now I want to go to the hospital. I

have no money. I have nothing."

She starts sobbing gently -- an utterly pitiful scene.

###

Gadhafi Family Members in Algeria, Ambassador Says (CNN)

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/29/libya.algeria.gadhafi/

By: CNN Wire Staff

29 August 2011


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The wife of fugitive Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, three of his children and some of his

grandchildren arrived in Algeria on Monday morning, Algerian diplomats said

Mourad Benmehidi, the Algerian ambassador to the United Nations, said he relayed the news to

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier Monday. Benmehidi said his country granted entrance to

Gadhafi's wife, Safia, his daughter, Aisha, sons Hannibal and Mohamed and their children on

"humanitarian grounds."

The ambassador said none of the Gadhafis were on a list of people under Security Council sanctions and

did not know whether Moammar Gadhafi was expected to seek entry into Algeria.

News on Monday of the Gadhafi relatives' departure from Libya came the same day that a senior rebel

commander reported that Khamis Gadhafi, a son of the Libyan leader and military commander in his

regime, had been killed Sunday night.

Mahdi al-Harati, the vice chairman of the rebels' Military Council, the military wing of the National

Transitional Council, said Khamis Gadhafi died in a battle with rebel forces between the villages of

Tarunah and Bani Walid in northwest Libya.

Khamis Gadhafi, who was a senior military commander under his father, was taken to a hospital where

he died from his injuries, said al-Harati. He was then buried in the area by rebel forces, al-Harati said.

His father, Moammar Gadhafi, meanwhile, is still wanted by the International Criminal Court in The

Hague on charges of war crimes. So, too, is Moammar's son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and his brother-in-law

and intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Sanussi.

But should any of those three get to Algeria, there is no guarantee they would face trial. Algeria is not a

signatory of the Rome Treaty that established the International Criminal Court.


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The longtime ruler's whereabouts have been a mystery since the rebels overran Tripoli last week. Rebel

commanders said Gadhafi was not found in the network of tunnels beneath his Bab al-Aziziya

compound, and reports that he had been holed up in an apartment block nearby or at a farm near

Tripoli's airport didn't pan out.

The National Transitional Council, which is forming a provisional government in Tripoli since overrunning

the city last week, has not yet confirmed the news about Gadhafi's family members, spokesman

Mahmoud al-Shammam told CNN. But he said that if true, the NTC would demand the return of the

family members. He promised they would receive a fair trial.

The rebels had previously speculated that Gadhafi could be trying to reach Algeria or Libya's southern

neighbor Chad, both countries with which his government had close ties.

"Those are the only two neighboring countries that have been showing support for him," Guma El-

Gamaty, an NTC official based in Britain, said last week.

In London, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the fate of Gadhafi's relatives "is a matter

for the NTC." In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the United States has

no indication Gadhafi has left Libya.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland added that what's important is that Gadhafi and

his relatives, wherever they are, are held accountable.

"We want to see justice and accountability for Gadhafi and those members of his family with blood on

their hands and those members of his regime with blood on their hands," Nuland said. "But it'll be a

decision of the Libyan people, (as to) how that goes forward."

Of the family members now in Algeria, Aisha Gadhafi was a good will ambassador for the U.N.

Development Program and has kept a low profile during the six-month revolt against her father. She had

been named to the position in 2009 to address HIV/AIDS and violence against women in Libya, but U.N.

officials terminated her position as Gadhafi unleashed his military on anti-government protesters early

in the conflict.


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She is due to give birth in early September, sources close to her family told CNN.

Hannibal Gadhafi is a headline maker. He has reportedly paid millions of dollars for private parties

featuring big-name entertainers including Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Usher. Several of the artists now

say they have given the money back.

Rebels who picked through his seaside villa on Sunday also introduced CNN's Dan Rivers to his family's

badly burned former nanny, who said she had been doused with boiling water by his wife, model Aline

Skaf, when she refused to beat one of their crying toddlers.

The nanny, Shweyga Mullah, is covered with scars from the abuse, which was corroborated by anothermember of the household staff.

Hannibal was also accused of a string of violent incidents in Europe, including beating his staff and his

wife. Charges were dropped in the case of his staff, and Skaf later said her broken nose was the result of

an accident.

In a spectacular episode, Hannibal was stopped after driving his Ferrari 90 mph the wrong way on theChamps-Elysees in Paris. He invoked diplomatic immunity.

Mohamed Gadhafi, meanwhile, was one of three Gadhafi sons who had been reported captured as the

rebels overran Tripoli last week, but the rebels said he had escaped the next day.

###

Africa Bombs Fuel Fears of Jihadist Spread (UPI)

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/08/29/Africa-bombs-fuel-fears-of-jihadist-spread/UPI-

71891314638438/

By: Non-Attributed Author


14/27

29 August 2011

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb killed 18 people in the suicide bombing

of an Algerian military academy Friday while two days later an increasingly aggressive jihadist group

blew up U.N. headquarters in Nigeria in another suicide attack, killing 23 people.

It was the first suicide bombing attributed to the Nigerian group known as Boko Haram as it steps up

what has been a low-level insurgency against the oil-rich country's federal government.

In both cases, Islamist militants used vehicles packed with high explosives. For the Algerian jihadists,

who've been fighting the government since 1992, the attack on the academy east of Algiers, was almosta routine operation.

But for the Nigerian militants, the attack on the U.N. building in Abuja's diplomatic district, a half-mile

from the U.S. Embassy, marked a deadly breakthrough in their operational learning curve that indicates

they may have had some help from veteran terrorists.

This has raised suspicions that AQIM, al-Qaida's seasoned North African affiliate, is moving south toinfiltrate sub-Saharan Africa, whose vast reserves of oil is making it a strategically important region.

Security analysts say Nigeria faces a growing threat as its Muslim population, the largest in sub-Saharan

Africa, becomes more extremist. Nigeria, Africa's most population nation, is roughly split between

Muslims in the largely neglected north and Christians in the more developed south.

Boko Haram -- in the northern Hausa language it means "Western education is sinful" -- emerged several

years ago in northeastern state of Borno demanding the introduction of Islamic religious law in the

north.

The group, sometimes called the "Nigerian jihad," gained infamy in sectarian violence that broke out the

central region in 2009.


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More than 800 people were killed in eye-for-an-eye massacres, often conducted by machete-wielding

militants.

The army claimed to have exterminated the group in a major sweep after the mass killings but it has re-

emerged in recent months, vowing to avenge the military's killing of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf.

It has carried out a campaign of assassination against the security forces and displayed a greater grasp of

terrorist tactics.

Until June, its attacks were confined to the remote northeast, on the southern fringe of the SaharaDesert, where AQIM operates. More than 150 people have been killed in bombings and shootings this

year.

But Friday's attack was the first to target foreigners as well as being its first suicide operation, lending

some weight to the growing suspicions of links with AQIM.

The bombing was the second by Boko Haram using car bombs in three months. On June 16 they hitNigeria's national police headquarters in Abuja, the militants' first operation in the capital.

Intelligence officials say they have evidence that some Boko Haram cadres have been trained in Niger

under AQIM tutelage.

Earlier this month, U.S. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, who recently took over the U.S. Africa Command,

warned there were grounds to believe that Boko Haram was trying to link up with AQIM.

He said the Nigerians had also sought contacts with the al-Shabaab group based in Somalia, in East

Africa, which has links to al Qaida, to step up its operations in Nigeria.


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STUTTGART, Germany A squadron of airmen with key skill sets, including air traffic control and civil

engineering, is preparing for a mission to train air forces in Africa to deliver supplies and large numbers

of troops into conflict zones.

The New Jersey-based 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron was established in April and is

expected to become operational later this year in support of U.S. Africa Command, according to Air

Force officials.

The squadron, which operates under the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-

Lakehurst, will provide training in loading peacekeepers onto aircraft, setting up air traffic control and

using aerial intelligence gathering tactics, officials said.

It is going to be very useful. Weve struggled in the past a little bit by not having assigned forces, said

Col. David Poage, director of plans and strategy for the 17th Air Force, based in Ramstein, Germany. Its

a step in the right direction.

While not formally assigned to AFRICOM, the squadron has been formed to conduct missions primarily

in Africa, with a focus on building the air mobility capacity of African militaries, Poage said. The training,

which doesnt involve flight instruction, covers the support skills required to deliver resources and

personnel to remote locations.

Though missions have yet to be doled out, the main focus will likely be on lending assistance to nations

that have militaries taking part in United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions, such as the

current AU mission in Somalia, Poage said.

Since April, the 818th squadron unit has been developing skills as teachers and mentors; learning

French, spoken in many African countries; and getting crash courses in the cultures of the region,

according to its commander, Lt. Col. Thom Adkins.

In addition, the squadron is getting training in high-threat driving techniques and self-defense.

When all is said and done well have 76 trained airmen, Adkins said.


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The formation of an Africa-focused squadron is yet another sign that the military is looking to do more in

Africa. In recent months, AFRICOM has added an Africa-focused Navy Special Warfare Unit, and the

Marines have authorized a task force focused on training militaries to counterterrorist groups across the

northern part of the continent and around the Horn of Africa.

We see value in the development of units and organizations that have institutional familiarity with

Africas unique regional issues, as well as an ability to develop relationships with partners, Ken Fidler,

an AFRICOM spokesman, said in a prepared statement.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey airmen are looking forward to getting their orders, Adkins said.

The environment in my squadron is definitely of high enthusiasm, Adkins said. We cant wait to get

started.

###

UN Condemns South Sudan Police Assault on Top Official (Sudan Tribune)

http://www.sudantribune.com/UN-condemns-South-Sudan-police,39981

By Julius N. Uma

August 28, 2011

(AWEIL) - The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has strongly condemned the alleged

assault of one of its senior officials by police officers, less than two months after the Republic of South

Sudan became the UNs 193rd member state.

The UN said this week that its human rights chief in South Sudan Benedict Sannoh was assaulted on

Saturday at a hotel in Juba, the countrys capital, by around 12 South Sudan police officers who beat,

kicked and punched him while he laid on the floor.


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After being held for five hours without charge he was taken to a UN hospital.

UNMISS spokesperson, Aleem Siddique said the behavior of the police was unacceptable and

contravenes the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the UN and South Sudan.

The police act on the UN staff was totally uncalled for. In any case, it was contrary to the agreement

between the mission and the South Sudan government as well as international treaties governing UN

privileges and immunities, Siddique told Sudan Tribune by phone.

The spokesman did not say why Sannoh was attacked and instead deferred these inquiries to the police.

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that Sannoh, a

Liberian national had rejected a police request to enter his hotel room.

According to the UMISS spokesperson, a staff member cannot be arrested and detained on the basis of

an arrest warrant, without approval from the office of the Special Representative of the UN SecretaryGeneral (SRSG).

In principal, if an arrest warrant is issued to a UN staff member, the matter is brought to the attention

of the special representative who conducts an investigation in consultation with the government of

South Sudan before appropriate actions are taken, he said.

Hilde Johnson, the SRSG reportedly raised the matter with South Sudans president, Salva Kiir Mayardit

and the countrys foreign affairs ministry, while investigations by the police are said to be ongoing.

When contacted on Sunday, Biar Mading Biar, South Sudans police spokesman would neither confirm

nor deny the incident.


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On July 9th, South Sudan officially separated from North Sudan as a result of the referendum held

earlier this year in which Southerners voted almost unanimously in favor of independence.

The incident so soon after independence will raise questions as to the commitment of South Sudans

authorities to upholding human rights and rule of law in the fledgling country.

###

Libya: A Small War With Big Consequences (New York Times) (Opinion)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/30iht-edheisbourg30.html?_r=1

By: FRANOIS HEISBOURG

29 August 2011

PARIS Compared to the Wests military interventions in the Gulf, Afghanistan or the Balkans, the war

in Libya was a modest affair, with the engagement of about 100 combat aircraft and a bakers dozen of

attack helicopters.

Yet this small and successful war will have major strategic consequences for both NATO and the

European Union, as a result of President Barack Obamas decision to lead from behind, and Chancellor

Angela Merkels refusal to get involved.

After the first days of the conflict, Obama signaled that U.S. strike aircraft would no longer be put in the

firing line, and that the United States would not lead the coalitions operations. This was the first time

since the Cold War that the U.S. decided to neither exercise leadership nor fully share risks in a war in

which it was otherwise participating.

The positive consequences were that the French president and the British prime minister got the

opportunity to lead a successful coalition, and that the war was not conducted along the familiar

American lines of overwhelming force or shock and awe.


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Power plants, water purification facilities, telecommunication sites and other critical infrastructure were

left largely unscathed by the air war. Provided that large-scale looting is prevented, the daily life of most

Libyans should thus go back to normal fairly quickly.

At the same time, the leading-from-behind policy will have negative consequences for allied defense in

general and NATO in particular.

Until the Libya campaign, Western force planners assumed that in any coalition operation certain

military tasks would be undertaken largely by U.S. forces in order to avoid useless duplication of efforts.

Suppression of enemy air defenses and close air support are in effect American monopolies. Yet in Libya,

the absence of American A-10 close air support aircraft may have lengthened the war.

If leading from behind becomes the rule rather than the exception a plausible assumption given the

current inward-looking mood in the United States and cuts in defense spending European force

planners will have to invest in some of these areas. Given the debt crisis, such spending will come at the

expense of other defense investments.

More generally, France and Britain (which account for some 60 percent of Europes military purchases)

will presumably put a higher value on their ability to manage close-to-home operations, like the Libyanwar, over playing second fiddle in far-from-home operations, like the one in Afghanistan.

The bottom line will presumably be that the Europeans will focus more on their near-abroad, with NATO

becoming more regional and less global.

That trend will be worsened by the consequences of the division among Europeans toward the Libyan

campaign. A majority of NATO and European Union members, led by countries as important as

Germany, Poland and Turkey, refused to support the war, notwithstanding an explicit U.N. Security

Council resolution.

In the case of Germany, 20 years of progress toward supporting participation in U.N.-backed and NATO-

run wars were reversed. Even jointly-owned assets such as NATOs fleet of AWACS radar aircraft were

deprived of German personnel, although these were not strike aircraft.


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Given these deep divisions, NATO was in no position to conduct the war in political and strategic terms:

that was done by a half-dozen coalition partners in Europe and North America. The role of the alliance

was that of a service provider, choreographing the intricate ballet of combat aircraft, in-flight refueling

planes, information-gathering assets and warships.

Without NATOs enabling machinery and the formidable American capabilities on which it rests, the war

would have been a much-more fraught affair. But that is damning with faint praise. NATO as a political

organization is a casualty of the Libyan war.

The same, and worse, can be said of the European Union, which played no identifiable part in the war. In

the arena of defense, the war exposed the same structural insufficiencies and flaws that have beenhighlighted by the E.U.s handling of the crisis of the euro.

Such a Union is unlikely to summon the political will to sustain a level of defense spending

commensurate with the strategic uncertainties lying at its doorstep as America is set to lead from the

rear. Nor can Britain and France be expected to pull a greater load than they did, to their credit, in Libya,

and which they continue to do in Afghanistan.

###

Somalia: Border Town Feels the Refugee Pressure (All Africa)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201108292121.html


29 August 2011

Liboi As Somali refugees continue to pour into Kenya, pressure is mounting on the government to

quickly re-open a transit centre to not only ease their hardship but to take pressure off residents of

Liboi, a border town closest to Dadaab, the world's largest refugee complex.


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Kenyans hosting the new arrivals, donors, human rights organizations and aid agencies have been

leaning on the Kenyan authorities to assist the refugees with food and medical help, and to resume

screening them for security threats.

The drought-triggered crisis that has affected both countries has left the local host community in Liboi

feeling less hospitable, as they are obliged to share limited food and water resources with the new

arrivals.

Another concern is the lack of screening of refugees, leaving locals worried about security threats from

Al-Shabab insurgents, as well as disease. Outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea and measles have been

reported in Somalia's capital.

Until Kenya officially closed its border with Somalia in January 2007 as a security measure, Liboi, a dusty

town about 18km from the frontier and 80km from Dadaab, was the major transit and screening centre

for refugees. At least 200,000 Somalis passed through the town during the early 1990s. Transport to

Daadab saved refugees a difficult trek through the desert.

The suspension of screening proved unpopular with NGOs and UN agencies as it effectively trapped

refugees in the nearby town of Dobley.

But refugees have continued to stream in, vulnerable to abuse either by bandits or Kenyan law

enforcement officials, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Neela Ghosal, a researcher with HRW, said Somalis cited police extortion, violence, arbitrary arrest and

detention, and unlawful deportation to Somalia during their trek to Dadaab.

Last year, Dadaab received an average of 6,000 to 8,000 Somalis every month, according to the UN

Refugee Agency (UNHCR). In 2011, the monthly average increased to 10,000, with more than 55,000

new arrivals since the beginning of the year, dropping to 700-800 daily in the past few weeks, according

to some agencies.


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Benedicte Goderiaux, an Africa researcher with Amnesty, said the Kenyan government had failed to

respond to the protection needs of the refugees.

The Kenyan government has been divided over the need to provide protection for the refugees or deter

the influx that could also include Al-Shabab militants by keeping the borders officially closed.

Since famine was declared in Somalia in July, refugee numbers have soared, leading to increased

concern among Kenyans living near the border.

"It is not that we don't want to share our food - how can we not help women and children sitting under

the tree in the open and hungry?" asked Dekow Mohammed, chair of Leboi's water and sanitation

committee, when IRIN visited the town.

"We share the same faith, we are all [ethnically] Somalis but we are also affected by the drought - we

pay for our water which we share with them," he said.

"But these people have been sitting here for two days now - what if they are carrying some weapons in

their bags? What if they have a disease? We have to think about our people as well," added

Mohammed.

When IRIN visited Liboi on 14 August, 262 Somalis, mostly women and children, sat under trees - the

largest number to arrive in recent weeks.

Liboi is only of the several border towns; the others are Mandera and El Wak. Despite the border

closure, local authorities have allowed local trade and movement in most instances at their own

discretion.

Security concerns


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Badu Katelo, Kenya's acting commissioner for refugees, maintained that the borders had never been

closed for refugees.

Katelo told IRIN the government was poised to re-open the reception centre and resume screening

Somali refugees in Liboi. He said the situation had improved along the border, where the Somali

Transitional Federal Government was in control.

The centre and screening facilities could be operational again within a few weeks. "The modalities are

still being worked out but we will have a small registration process [at the new centre] - where we will

do short profiles of people." The screening will include a medical examination and a security check. The

centre will be run by UNHCR, he said.

Emmanuel Nyabera, UNHCR spokesman, said the agency was in negotiations with the government and

the "centre and screening facilities will open soon". He said they hoped to provide medical assistance

and some food to the new arrivals.

After the official screening the refugees can now be transported to Dadaab. A small accommodation

area is also in the works, said Katelo, for refugees who cannot be moved within 24 hours.

But some aid workers regard the announcement with some apprehension, saying some government

officials feel the re-opening would encourage more people to come to Kenya.

"We are not going to open transit centres in other border towns - we will only limit it to Liboi,"

maintained Katelo.

###

U.S. Department of State Sends NBA and WNBA Legends to Africa as Sports Diplomats (U.S. Department

of State Official Web Site)

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/08/171126.htm



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26 August 2011

Using sports as a means to build stronger people-to-people connections and empower young people

worldwide, the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the National

Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that NBA legends Bo Outlaw and Dee Brown and

Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) legends Edna Campbell and Tamika Raymond will

travel to Africa as sports envoys.

Sports diplomacy builds on Secretary Clintons vision of smart power diplomacy. It embraces the use

of a full range of diplomatic tools, including sports, to bring people together for greater understanding.

From August 25-31, Outlaw and Campbell will be in Brazzaville, Congo, where they will lead basketballclinics on the court and teambuilding exercises for young people ages 12-25. The legends will meet with

more than 100 Congolese youth who participate in a U.S. Embassy English-speaking initiative, which

provides these young people an opportunity to learn and practice their English on a weekly basis.

Outlaw and Campbell also will lead a community service project, where they will help renovate a local

orphanage called Sainte Claire. They will also participate in a water distribution program led by the Ebina

Foundation at Moukoundo Junior High School, located in a neighborhood whose people do not have

regular access to clean drinking water.

Sports envoys Outlaw and Campbell will take part in a press conference slated for 4:00 p.m. (local time)

on Tuesday, August 30. Media interested in covering this press availability should contact Embassy

Brazzavilles Public Affairs Officer Wesley Jeffers at +242 06 612 2115.

NBA legend Dee Brown and former WNBA standout Tamika Raymond will travel to Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania from September 5 9, where they will meet with primary and secondary school students and

lead basketball clinics and teambuilding exercises with Tanzanian youth.

On September 5, Brown and Raymond are scheduled to participate in a press conference. Interested

media should contact Embassy Dar es Salaams Public Affairs Officer Roberto Quiroz at +255-22-229-

4158 for more details.


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Sports Envoys are current and retired professional athletes and coaches that travel overseas to conduct

drills and team building activities, as well as engage youth in a dialogue on the importance of education,

positive health practices and respect for diversity. Previous sports envoys include: Willie Green of the

New Orleans Hornets; Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra; former NBA player and Olympic gold

medalist Sam Perkins; NBA Hall of Famer George The Iceman Gervin, and WNBA basketball greats

Cynthia Cooper and Sue Wicks. In partnership with SportsUnited, 42 NBA and WNBA players and

coaches have visited 19 different countries since 2004, where they have conducted basketball clinics for

thousands of young boys, girls and coaches.

SportsUnited is the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs premier sports exchange program at the

U.S. Department of State. Athletes and coaches from a range of sports are chosen to conduct clinics,

visit schools, and engage with youth overseas in a dialogue on the importance of an education, positive

health practices, and respect for diversity. Since 2003, SportsUnited has brought more than 600 athletes

from 44 countries to the U.S. to participate in Sport Visitor programs. Since 2005, SportsUnited has sent

more than 100 U.S. athletes to 40 countries to participate in Sport Envoy programs.

END OF REPORT

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