GENERAL NEWS

Future, survival of African militaries lie in joint operations, arms purchases

OPINION

Source: The East African

By TREVOR ANALO

6 September 2015 -

7 September 2015 - With African militaries increasingly working together to fight extremist groups and other destabilising forces, experts say joint purchases of arms and sharing of capabilities should be next.

African nations have been spending more on their armed forces - despite the continent being mostly peaceful - due to the emergence of insurgents and armed non-state actors, including terrorist groups like Al Shabaab and Boko Haram and rebel groups like M23, LRA, the White Army and FDLR.

Last year, African nations collectively spent $47 billion on defence, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

But as the continent continues to face rising existential threats amid funding shortfalls, the London-based Think Security Africa research firm is urging African nations to “pool and share” their military resources.

As governments expand the operational remit of their militaries — from hunting down poachers to suppressing street protests — national treasuries across the continent will have to become innovative in how they plug gaps in their military budgets.

Speaking to The EastAfrican, Think Security Africa founder Adunola Abiola said her report is informed by the “rising regional trend towards threat-centric military cooperation, which has propelled militaries across the region to engage in joint operations (sometimes reluctantly) in order to defend against mutual threats.”

African militaries are working together on border security issues, anti-poaching operations and counter-insurgency.

According to the report, this kind of co-operation “presents an opportunity for African militaries to exercise collective bargaining power… to acquire tactical capabilities… at a reduced cost.”

“If the rise in military operations in Africa continues, alongside rising budgetary uncertainties, militaries and donors will have to change funding priorities to enhance the sustainability of operations,” said Ms Abiola.

“In addition, militaries will have to co-operate more closely on the administrative and operational levels, and defence contractors will have to amend the way they market and supply.”

Besides funding shortfalls, African militaries could also be limited by sanctions, aid cuts and arms embargoes. For “African militaries to retain and develop the capacity to guarantee national defence,” they may have to look for new funding approaches, said Ms Abiola.

Currently, Think Security Africa says 18 per cent of African militaries are being rebuilt or restructured, while 35 per cent are engaged in operations beyond normal peacetime activity.

In East Africa, Uganda has the biggest military deployments in the region, having 2,000 troops in CAR, 6,700 in Somalia, and 850 in South Sudan. Ethiopia has an unknown number of troops in Somalia but 2,600 troops in Sudan and 4,000 in the disputed Abyei region.

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DRC

Congo-Kinshasa: Monusco's New Chief Should Come With New Ideas

OPINION

Source: The New Times

6 September 2015 - Martin Kobler's tenure as the head of the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) comes to an end at the end of October.

To say that he will not be missed by many in the region would be an understatement. As the head of a more than 20,000 force, Kobler failed dismally in one of his core task; neutralizing the FDLR militia that are the primary source of instability in eastern DRC for two decades.

MONUSCO never failed to come up with an excuse as to why it had not embarked on disarming the FDLR despite the robust mandate from the Security Council. Instead, it was caught up in a series of scandals that should have been warning signal that the UN force was on a course of failure of tremendous proportions.

Kobler might not be the source of MONUSCO's debacle, but he had the power to influence things at UN headquarters, after all, he was the Secretary General's Special Representative in DRC, so the buck stops at his desk.

In sourcing for Kobler's replacement, the UN should also revisit its priorities regarding the armed groups in the DRC. They should not be hinged on selective course of actions; neither should it be seen to be favouring some sides of the conflict.

Otherwise, contributors to the $1.4 billion annual budget should sincerely raise questions as to whether it is money worth spent.

At least 7 civilians killed in eastern DR Congo

NEWS STORY

Source: AFP

Goma, 6 September 2015 - At least seven civilians were killed in a weekend attack by Ugandan rebels in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a regional official told AFP on Sunday.

But a local NGO put the toll at nine dead, saying most of them had been killed with machetes.

Officials said the attack took place on Saturday near Mbau in the northern sector of the troubled North Kivu province in an area where there were no government troops.

"Last night we found three bodies and today four more, which makes seven dead," Amisi Kalonda, a top official in the regional capital of Beni, told AFP.

The violence took place in an area from which many people had been evacuated because of the threat from the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), he said.

The ADF has been accused of killing more than 400 villagers over the last 10 months, most of whom were slaughtered with machetes and farm implements.

In a statement issued late on Sunday, the Beni-based Study Centre for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights said a total of nine people had been killed.

Most of them had been killed with machetes, and either had their throats slit or had been decapitated, it said.

Officials could not immediately confirm the higher toll.

The mostly Muslim rebels, who are said to number around 400, have been active in the region since being driven out of their homeland in 1995.

DR Congo humanitarian crisis must not ‘fall off’ world’s radar – UN deputy relief chief

NEWS STORY

Source: UN News Centre

4 September 2015 - Wrapping up a four-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, called strongly today for creative ways to reignite donor engagement and ensure that one of the world’s most protracted crises does not “fall off the humanitarian radar.”

Ms. Kang, who is also the UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, travelled to the DRC to assess the scope of the humanitarian crisis, better understand the challenges faced by humanitarian actors in the response, and ensure the DRC crisis remains on the agenda of donors and the greater international community.

Ms. Kang’s trip included a visit to the Mugunga 3 camp for internally displaced people (IDPs), in the outskirts of Goma in North Kivu, one of the oldest in the country. The camp, “home” to some 5,000 displaced people, is a symbol of the impact of the dwindling support for and attention to the DRC humanitarian crisis.

Although needs for all residents in the camps remain significant, only the most vulnerable among them receive food rations, and this is only 50 per cent of the required amounts. Moreover, the camp’s only health facility has been closed for months, given the shortage of funds to keep it operational.

“I’ve seen many IDP camps during my many missions around the world, but Mugunga is one of the worst because the environment and living conditions are so harsh. UN agencies and NGOs [non-governmental organizations] are doing their best to provide the much needed assistance but, in order to enhance the response, they require additional financial resources,” Ms. Kang said.

She added that Mugunga 3 was also a strong symbol of resilience and hope due to the determination of the IDPs to improve their living conditions, as shown by the 100 women benefiting from an income-generating soap-making project that she visited on the site.

While in the eastern city of Goma, the senior humanitarian official also held discussions with the Governor of North Kivu, notably on the issue of IDP camp closures. They agreed that closer dialogue would be held regularly between the authorities and the humanitarian community to ensure that any camp closure be carried out in line with international principles, including the Kampala Convention ratified by DRC, and in full respect of the wish of the people to be affected.

The need to work together on durable solutions for IDP returns was also raised, and the necessity to better link humanitarian and development programming in specific areas and contexts.

Ms. Kang also travelled to the neighbouring province of South Kivu where she visited Lusenda, the newly established camp for refugees from Burundi, home to 8,000 out of the 15,000 people who have crossed into the DRC since the beginning of the Burundi crisis. The other 7,000 have been living with host families who very generously share their limited resources with the refugees. However, capacity is overstretched and the spectre of financial constraints is looming. While the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has given $6.8 million to provide an emergency multi-sectoral response, if additional resources are not made available soon, many of the operations in Lusenda would have to close down, Ms. Kang said.

In Kinshasa, Goma and Bukavu, Ms. Kang, who last visited DRC two years ago, held very productive discussions with the Congolese authorities who expressed their willingness to move the country forward on the path to economic growth and development.

In that framework, Ms. Kang stressed the necessity to ensure that “no Congolese is left behind” in the efforts to advance the country, as development cannot be sustainable unless the needs of the most vulnerable people are adequately addressed.

“We need new creative ways – a new compelling narrative to ensure continued support by the donors and international community, to what remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted emergencies.”

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RWANDA

US warns Paul Kagame not to seek third term as Rwandan president

NEWS STORY

Source: The Telegraph (UK)

African leader was once hailed as a new hope for a continent riddled with corrupt dictators but now appears intent on changing constitution to run again

5 September 2015 - The US has warned President Paul Kagame that he faces instability and uncertainty if he presses ahead with plans to change the constitution of Rwanda to allow him to stay on for a third term.

Mr Kagame was once hailed as part of a new generation of African leaders, helping usher in democracy after taking de facto power at the end of the country's bloody civil war in 1994.

However, he has been criticised repeatedly for stifling opposition, interfering in neighbouring countries affairs – including the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo where more than five million people have died – and trying to cling to power.

In July, parliamentarians voted in favour of changing the constitution to allow Mr Kagame to stay on for a third term. He has now set up a constitutional commission to review the country's two-term limit.

John Kirby, spokesman for the State Department, called on Mr Kagame to honour his previous commitment to respect term limits.

“We do not support those in positions of power changing constitutions solely for their political self-interest,” he said.

Mr Kagame has fallen from international favour since the days when he was seen as the hero who led Rwanda's Tutsis to victory over the genocidal Hutu onslaught.

In June General Karenzi Karake, his head of security, was arrested in the UK over alleged war crimes in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. He was eventually released after a court decided he could not be extradited to Spain.

Now he is the latest African leader to be accused of "stayism".

It follows unrest in Burundi where President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term earlier this year. More than 100 people have died in the violence amid protests that his run was unconstitutional.

Barack Obama seized on the issue during his African visit in July.

“When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office, it risks instability and strife, as we’ve seen in Burundi,” he said in Ethiopia. “And this is often just a first step down a perilous path.”

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BURUNDI

Insecurity returns in several neighbourhoods of Burundi capital

NEWS STORY

Source: Xinhua

7 September 2015 - Heavy gunshots and grenade explosions were heard Tuesday and Wednesday in neighborhoods of the Burundian capital Bujumbura where protests against the third term bid of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza took place since late April.

Residents in neighborhoods including Ngagara, Jabe, Cibitoke and Musaga told Xinhua that they were unable to sleep during the last two nights because of "heavy gunshots and grenade explosions".

Some avenues leading to Ngagara neighborhoods were still barricaded Thursday morning with stones and wood or other objects like dumped automobile spare parts.

Residents in Ngagara told Xinhua that they have barricaded avenues "for security reasons", arguing that those who open fire at night or detonate grenades come from outside their neighborhood.

In Jabe, residents said they have been unable to get out of their neighborhood for the past two days after police sealed off the neighborhood in an arms search and no one is allowed to enter or get out of Jabe without a "special" permission.