Africa Week in Review - June 6, 2014

06/06/14
Grace Beya
Africa
Terrorism, Foreign Policy

This week the Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman announced that the U.S. plans to nominate a U.S. Ambassador to Somalia for the first time in over 20 years. You can read this story and other news highlights from the region below.

 

  • USAID urged the South Sudanese government to assist international agencies providing humanitarian relief to help in the recovery of health, food security, and education affected from recent conflicts in the country.
  • Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman announced that the U.S. plans to nominate a U.S. Ambassador to Somalia for the first time in over 20 years. The U.S. embassy closed its doors in Somalia after the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre and the collapse of the central government.
  • Following the car bomb explosion opposite City Plaza Hotel in Mogadishu on May 30, 2014, there has been over 70 people killed in the confrontation with Al-Shaabab occurring in the border between Somalia and Ethiopia. Witnesses describe it as the “bloodiest battle that Ethiopian troops have been involved in since they crossed the border.”
  • Cameroonian military operatives clashed with members of Boko Haram in the town Kouserri, near the border between Nigeria and Chad resulting in the death of 40 Boko Haram militants. Following a security summit in Paris two weeks ago, Cameroon revealed that it deployed 1,000 troops to help combat the militant group.
  • In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, over 100-armed Rwandan rebels linked to the Rwandan 1994 genocide turned themselves into authorities at a grammar school in Kateku, 220 kilometers north of Goma. The Rwandan rebels are members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The UN mission in DRC (MONUSCO) welcomed the decision and suggested more can be done. This act is a result of the call made by the UN to grant the ex-rebels a chance to return to their country or ask for political asylum.
  • Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that African Union (AU) peacekeepers from the Republic of Congo operating in the Central African Republic have been involved in abuses including torture, killings and detentions. The allegations stem from witnesses, residents, and local officials interviewed by HRW. Approximately 6,000 AU peacekeepers, known as MISCA, are working alongside European Union and French forces.
  • The US Embassy in Addis Ababa issued a safety advisory to American citizens residing or travelling to Ethiopia as they continue, “to receive credible threat reports of al-Shabaab’s intent and capability to attack Ethiopia and western interests in Ethiopia.” Also this week, Ethiopian police announced that they had arrested 25 people accused of plotting attacks and officials suspect that they had received training from al-Shabaab.
  • In Nairobi, Kenya the U.S. embassy has increased security around the embassy and are likely to scale back the number of personnel stationed in Kenya. U.S. Ambassador Robert Godec told 400 Americans at a town hall meeting in Nairobi that “there’s a threat and we know it’s serious.”