Vol. II Issue. 23
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Egypt, Sudan boosting cooperation
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08 June 2012
NORTH
Egypt's Prime Minister, Mr. Kamal el-Ganzouri, met with Sudanese presidential political advisor Mustafa Othman Ismail on June 05 to discuss means of boosting cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting also tackled all means of integration between the two countries in economic and agricultural fields as well as the situation in the Middle East and Sudan. The first joint committee meeting is set to be held as soon as a new government is formed in Egypt.
Source(S): All Africa, June 06, 2012.
WEST
Angolan troops to withdraw from Guinea Bissau
Angola has begun withdrawing its troops and military equipment from Guinea-Bissau ending a year-long mission in the country. The Angolan mission had been in Guinea-Bissau since early 2011 and was charged with helping reform the country's military after a string of coups and army uprisings since independence from Portugal in 1974.
Angola had announced it would withdraw its force days before the April coup that derailed an election process. The removal of Angolan forces is being looked upon positively as it could ease tensions in the country after Bissau soldiers seized power on April 12 and accused Angola of having had a secret pact with the ousted government to destroy its military. A 600-strong ECOWAS force is replacing the Angolan mission.
Source(s): Reuters Africa, June 07, 2012.
Niger: Afghan, Pak jihadis in N. Mali
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou has claimed that Afghan and Pakistani jihadis were training recruits for Islamist groups in northern Mali. "We have information of the presence of Afghans, Pakistanis in northern Mali operating as trainers," President Issoufou told a French TV network.
President Issoufou said Niger had evidence that Boko Haram, an Islamist group that has become a security threat in Nigeria's north and fostered links with al Qaeda's North African wing (AQIM), was running training camps in the Malian town of Gao. Residents and security experts say senior AQIM figures are appearing openly in the major towns in Mali's north, having previously been limited to remote desert regions.
Source(s): Reuters, June 07, 2012.
SOUTH
Malawi might receive IMF grant
The International Monetary Fund will be considering granting Malawi about US$157 million. During a visit of the IMF team to Malawi, Mr. Tsidi Tsikata, mission chief for Malawi stated, "The mission has reached staff-level understandings with the authorities on an economic program for the fiscal years 2012/13?2014/15 that could be supported by a new Extended Credit Facility arrangement in the amount of SDR104 million (about US$157 million). The new arrangement is subject to approval by the IMF's Executive Board which is expected to consider the authorities' request in July 2012."
Source(s): All Africa, June 06, 2012.
Malawi: no Bashir at AU summit
The African Union will not host its summit in Malawi in July if the country continues to take a stand against Sudan's President attending the summit. As an International Criminal Court member state, Malawi is supposed to arrest President Bashir if he enters its territory and the global court's chief prosecutor has said that countries that failed to detain him should have their aid cut.
"The African Union has written us a letter informing us that if we don't allow al-Bashir to come to Malawi, then they will move the summit to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia," Malawi's Vice President Khumbo Kachale said. The summit was originally scheduled for July 9-16 in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city.
Source(s): Reuters Africa, June 08, 2012.
EAST
Clashes in Darfur
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), part of a rebel alliance that wants to topple the government in Khartoum has launched an attack on government troops. Army spokesman, al-Sawarmi Khalid, confirmed the attack but said the rebels had been defeated.
Violence in Darfur, where the United Nations and the African Union maintain a huge joint peacekeeping operation, has subsided since its peak in 2003 and 2004, but rebel and tribal fighting has continued. In April, the head of the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) expressed concern that the region's rebels were exploiting tensions between Sudan and South Sudan along their disputed frontier.
Khartoum has accused South Sudan of supporting JEM and other rebels, a charge the Southern government denies and in turn accuses Sudan of supporting insurgents south of the border.
Source(s): Al Jazeera, June 03, 2012.
Sudan, S. Sudan: no agreement
Sudan and South Sudan delegations at the level of the Joint Political and security Mechanism (JSPM) ended the first round of talks without any agreement to endorse a map to establish a buffer zone between the two countries.
The Sudan delegation rejected a map proposed by the South Sudanese delegation including new disputed areas, like 14 miles and Heglig. The mediation proposed a new map aiming to reconcile the position of the two parties but the South Sudanese delegation rejected it.
After the meeting, Sudan's defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Hussein, held a press conference in Addis Ababa where he announced the failure of the talks and accused Juba of lacking a serious desire to reach a prompt and fair agreement. He said the South Sudan made new land claims raising the number of contested border areas to nine. Sudan initially said the number of border disputed areas is limited to four.
Source(s): Al Jazeera, All Africa, June 07, 2012.
CENTRAL
DR Congo: 19 killed in clashes
Congolese soldiers and rebels clashed at an army base in eastern Congo on June 06, the government said, killing at least 19 people. The government said the attack had been carried out by Mai Mai fighters, linked to ex-rebels who were at one point integrated into the army but deserted in recent weeks to protest Kinshasa's decision to arrest a renegade general, Bosco Ntaganda.
The attack targeted an army base in the Lubero territory of North Kivu province, government spokesman Lambert Mende said. The ongoing clashes in the region since the last two months have forced over 100,000 people to flee their homes.
Source(s): Reuters Africa, June 06, 2012.
The report has been prepared by Priyanka Mehrotra, Research Assistant at Observer Research Foundation.
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