Africa Week in Review - June 13, 2014 Share This /

This week the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organization held a hearing on “The Ongoing Struggle against Boko Haram” and the Department of Defense' Africa Center for Strategic Studies launched the 15th Annual Senior Leaders Seminar in Washington, DC. Read more on these stories and other news highlights from the African region below. 

• In efforts to assist Nigeria in countering extremist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, the U.S. Department of State is financing a 24-hour satellite television channel. This channel will not only be a source of information but will also provide training for journalists in the region to produce their own video content. The U.S. will not advertise their sponsorship, but hopes to delegate the creative and production liberties to Nigerians.

• The Africa Center for Strategic Studies is hosting over 30 African senior military and civilian leaders for the 15^th Annual Senior Leaders Seminar in Washington, DC. This program aims to support the U.S. Department of Defense’ large scale security initiatives for the African continent. The two-week seminar will cover topics regarding security and strategy in Africa, areas of security studies and critical issues that will likely be addressed at the upcoming summit of African Head of States hosted by President Obama in August.

• Eight nations, including the U.S., Nigeria, Benin, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and the U.K. have established an External Intelligence Response Unit (EIRU) as a platform for counterterrorism training and response. These countries are committed to sharing security related intelligence in order to address increasing acts of terrorism on the African continent.

• The House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organization held a hearing titled, “The Ongoing Struggle against Boko Haram.” Amongst the witnesses was Robin Renee Sanders, former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Sanders stated, “There is no easy fix and every attack in response to Boko Haram cannot be viewed a death knell blow to it- a long range security framework to terrorist threat is what is needed.” The human rights leaders who testified at the hearing urged for reform in the security structures of Nigeria in order to effectively address these ongoing terrorist threats.

• The International Criminal Court has gathered enough evidence to put Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda, also know as “the Terminator” on trial. Ntaganda will be facing 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in grave acts of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This trial is considered the first step towards justice for the eastern Congolese people who have been victims of horrific crimes for almost two decades.

• The eleven crew members of the cargo vessel MV Albebo kidnapped by Somali pirates in November 2010 while sailing from the United Emirates to Kenya were released this past week. As the men are being sent back to their respective countries, NATO is extending its counter-piracy mission until 2016. Defence Web news noted that though the mission has proven to be successful in tracking and decreasing piracy attacks in the Horn of Africa, more efforts need to be put forth in detecting piracy attempts and finding the root causes of piracy in Somalia.

• Sheik Mohamed Said Atom, a senior al-Shabaab militant commander surrendered to the Somali government in exchange for an amnesty offer. Once an active commander in the extremist group, Atom denounced al-Shabaab for their un-Islamic ways, misleading of the youth and killing. The Somali government is hoping that this will be the first step towards eradicating the terrorist group and “embracing peace and unity in the country.”