South African troops headed to embattled Central African Republic

(CNN) -- Hundreds of South African troops are headed to the embattled Central African Republic, where they will work alongside members of that nation's military who are trying to quash a rebellion.

South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday announced the deployment of 400 troops "to render support in fulfillment of an international obligation of the Republic of South Africa towards the CAR."

Despite fits and starts in the peace process, the insurgency in the Central African Republic remains an active and real threat to the government of President Francois Bozize. On Saturday, rebels attacked two more towns -- having already seized several others, as well as threatening to head to the capital of Bangui -- according to a government official.

Zuma's directive does not indicate South African troops will fight rebels directly. Rather, the statement says they "will assist with capacity building of the CAR Defense Force and will also assist CAR with the planning and implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes.""The employment of members of (South Africa's military) to CAR is one of the efforts that South Africa is making to bring about peace and stability in the region," said the South African statement, which was released through government spokesman Mac Maharaj.

The crisis started in December, when the Seleka rebel coalition accused Bozize of reneging on a peace deal and demanded he step down. They seized towns in the northern part of the landlocked country and threatened to march on Bangui.

Bozize has called on the international community, including the United States and France, to help stave off the rebellion.

The foreign ministers from the Economic Community of Central African States will meet Tuesday in Gabon's capital, Libreville, to set an agency for peace talks, said Placide Ibouanga Ndinga, a spokesman for the group.

By Thursday, the talks were expected to include the Seleka, opposition party officials, private sector representatives, U.N. officials and Bozize, according to Ndinga.

Still, some in the Central African Republic questioned the utility of such talks, if they occur as rebels continue to wage attacks.

"How can there be peace if the rebels are looting, raping and abducting our civilians?" said Jules Gauthier Ngbapo, a spokesman for Josue Binoua, minister of decentralization and territorial administration.

Ngbapo said that around 1 a.m. Saturday, rebels attacked the towns of Alindao and Kouango, which lie between Bangui and Bambari, a town it already had seized.

The rebels yelled to civilians, asking them to come out and promising that they'd protect them, the spokesman said. He accused the opposition fighters of "shooting randomly, destroying properties and ... raping civilians."

"Civilians are afraid, and most of them have fled the town and are now hiding in the forests," he added. "But the rebels are still patrolling the towns, waiting for the innocent people to come out."

CNN was unable to confirm the government claims about the occupation of the towns.

As the government scrambles to put down the rebellion, alarm is growing as children are separated from their relatives.

"Reliable sources have informed us that children are newly being recruited among their ranks. These reports are of serious concern," said Souleymane Diabate, the U.N. children agency's representative in the nation.

Armed groups are forcing people younger than 18 to fight, carry supplies and serve as sex slaves, the agency said last Friday.

Before the conflict started last month, 2,500 children were linked to various armed groups. That number is expected to rise as the recent conflict continues, officials said.

About 300,000 children have been affected by the rebellion, including family separation, sexual violence, displacement and lack of access to education and health facilities.

Nigerian forces kill 13 Boko Haram militants after church attacks

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

updated 4:51 AM EST, Wed January 2, 2013

Who are Boko Haram?

(CNN) -- Islamist militants in Nigeria's restive north have taken the lives of 34 people since Christmas, including 27 Christians attending church services.

On Tuesday, the country's military took the fight to Boko Haram's stronghold, killing 13 suspected combatants.

Joint Task Force Operation Restore Order lost one soldier during the afternoon gunfight in the isolated town of Maiduguri in Nigeria's far northwest corner, said spokesman Sagir Musa.

The task force condemned alleged Boko Haram attacks going back to July 2012 in a statement, calling them "incessant callous, brutal, barbaric and impious killings." These included attacks on mosques, churches and businesses.

 

Human Rights Watch said the militant group has killed more than 2,800 people in all.

On Christmas Eve, attackers raided two churches, killing 12 people and setting one of the churches alight. Six days later, suspected Boko Haram fighters killed at least 15 Christian worshipers, slitting some of their throats, according to Nigerian authorities.

Boko Haram carried out its largest known massacre in January 2012 killing 211 through coordinated bombings and gun assaults in the northern city of Kano, a popular target. The group often attacks Nigerian police stations.

The name Boko Haram means "Western education is sacrilege."

In the past, they have attacked other Muslims they felt were on an immoral path but have increasingly killed Christians.

The U.S. State Department has accused Boko Haram of attacking mosques and churches to incite tensions between the two religious groups, hoping to drive a wedge between them.

It has condemned some of the group's leaders for alleged ties to al Qaeda.

Somali troops 'free' pirate-held hostages

Twenty-two hostages held for nearly three years are released after two-week long siege by Puntland maritime police.

One pirate leader said the ship was released after long negotiations with Puntland officials and local elders [AFP]

A ship and its crew of 22 sailors held by Somali pirates for almost three years have been freed after a two-week-long siege by maritime police, the government of the breakaway region of Puntland said. "After two years and nine months in captivity, the hostages have suffered signs of physical torture and illness. The hostages are now receiving nutrition and medical care," the president's office of the northern Somali enclave said on Sunday in a statement. The sailors aboard Panama-flagged MV Iceberg 1, from the Philippines, India, Yemen, Sudan, Ghana and Pakistan, were held for longer than any other hostages by the pirates who prey on shipping in the region. Maritime police began to lay siege to the vessel on December 10 near the coastal village of Garaad in the region of Mudug. The ship originally had a crew of 24, but two have died since the roll-on roll-off cargo vessel was seized on March 29, 2010, some 16km from Aden, the pirates said. Release 'kindly requested' One of the pirate leaders said they only released the ship after negotiations with Puntland officials and local elders. Farah did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid for the crew and the ship, owned by Azal Shipping in Dubai."They kindly requested the release of the ship we held for three years. Puntland forces had attacked us and tried to release the ship by force but they failed. We fought back and defeated them," a pirate known as Farah told the Reuters news agency. Pirates rarely release ships without ransom, and usually raise their demands the longer they hold a vessel - because they charge for their expenses. Close to 120 seafarers are still held by Somali pirates, though that number is considerably down from the height of the piracy crisis two years ago, when more than 600 hostages were held at any given time. Hijackings by Somali pirates have been significantly reduced in the last couple of years because many ships now carry armed guards and there is an international naval armada that carries out onshore raids. In 2012, pirates seized 47 vessels. So far this year, they have taken five, a decrease that could signify the scourge is ending, though experts say it is too early to declare a victory.

Rwanda genocide: ICTR jails Augustin Ngirabatware

A UN war crimes court has sentenced a key organiser of the 1994 Rwandan genocide to 35 years in prison.

The sentence was imposed on Augustin Ngirabatware, a former government minister in Rwanda.

He is the last person to be tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which will now only hear appeals.
About 800,000 people - ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus - were killed in 100 days in Rwanda in 1994.
The ICTR convicted Ngirabatware of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity, the AFP news agency reports.
"For these crimes the court sentences you to 35 years in prison," Judge William Hussein Sekule told Ngirabatware.
He was planning minister in the militant Hutu-led government at the time of the genocide.
Ngirabatware was arrested in Germany in September 2007 and was transferred more than a year later to the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania.
The ICTR says on its website that it has completed 71 cases since it was set up under a UN Security Council resolution in November 1994 to try the ringleaders of the genocide.
Ten accused were acquitted while 32 convicts are serving sentences, it says.
It is due to close in 2014 after it has finalised 16 appeal cases.

Congo militia boss Ngudjolo acquitted of war crimes at Hague

 

DR Congo Seeks Democracy 

Former Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui has been acquitted by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The case related to the 2003 killings of 200 residents of Bogoro village in the mineral-rich Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The court in the Hague heard reports of victims being burned alive, babies smashed against walls and women raped.
Mr Ngudjolo denied ordering the attack, saying he learned of it days later.
He had been charged with seven counts of war crimes and three of crimes against humanity. Prosecutors said he had enlisted child soldiers to carry out the killings. Some of the killings were carried out with machetes.
But presiding Judge Bruno Cotte said the court acquitted Mr Ngudjolo of all charges, saying the prosecution had "not proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was responsible" for the crimes committed.

Mali's prime minister abruptly resigns after arrest

(CNN) -- Mali's prime minister abruptly resigned Tuesday on state television, a day after he was arrested by a group of soldiers loyal to a former coup leader.

The development is another blow to the stability of a country once hailed as a model of democracy in Africa, but one derailed by a coup and an uprising of Islamist militants.

Cheick Modibo Diarra, a former NASA engineer, who holds U.S. citizenship, was set to fly to Paris for medical care Monday, when he received notice that his bags had been removed from the plane, said a close aide, who did not want to be named.

Somali army captures key town from Al-Shabaab rebels

This photo released by the African Union-United Nations on November 18 shows soldiers of the Somali National Army.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- The Somali National Army, along with African Union troops, on Sunday launched a long-awaited offensive against al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels and captured the town of Jowhar, the AU and residents said.

The joint forces faced little resistance, the African Union Mission for Somalia said in a press release, adding that Jowhar had been a major base for Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.

Second blast in 3 days hits Somali neighborhood in Kenya

Smoke billows from a fire in a street, on December 7, 2012, following a large explosion outside a mosque in Nairobi. Three people were killed and eight wounded in the blast, the Kenyan Red Cross and police said. The blast followed one in the same neighborhood earlier in the week.

(CNN) -- A blast ripped through a neighborhood in Kenya's capital, killing three people in the second attack in three days targeting the predominantly Somali area.

At least 16 others were injured in the Friday explosion near a mosque in Eastleigh, according to the Kenya Red Cross.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's mother: Nigeria manhunt for kidnappers

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an internationally respected economist, has tried to tackle corruption in Nigeria

Nigeria's police have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's mother, a spokesman has said.

Kamene Okonjo, a professor, was taken from her home in Delta State on Sunday.
A finance ministry spokesman said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala had been threatened recently but did not know whether this was linked to the kidnapping.

Armed men attack camp in eastern Congo after rebels pullout from captured city

Colonel Sultani Makenga (C), head of the rebel M23 group, pictured in July.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• It is unclear whether anyone was killed in the attack, a U.N. official says
• Attackers looted a displaced persons camp and raped women there, the official says
• The attack comes after U.N. monitors confirm that rebels have withdrawn from Goma
• The rebels were told by regional leaders to withdraw at least 12 miles from the city

(CNN) -- Armed men attacked a displaced persons camp in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early Sunday, raping women and looting at a facility where tens of thousands of people have taken refuge, a U.N. official said.

Simplice Kpandji, a spokesman for the United Nations' refugee agency, said it was unclear whether anyone had been killed at the camp, which is about 10 kilometers from Goma, the border city that has been a flashpoint for fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group.

The Mugunga III camp houses more than 30,000 displaced people, many of whom fled to the camp when rebels advanced on Goma, Kpandji said. The attackers' identity was unknown, he said, and officials were working on gathering more information.

Word of the attack came as U.N. monitors confirmed that rebels had withdrawn from Goma, more than a week after they seized the city from government forces.

Labour strikes hit several Tunisian regions

The threat of a nationwide general strike could plunge economically struggling Tunisia back into chaos [Reuters]

Strikes and protests have hit volatile areas of Tunisia, including Sidi Bouzid where the Arab Spring started, as tensions rose between powerful unions and Ennahdha, the centre-right Islamist party that is the largest member of the ruling coalition. Workers went on strike on Thursday in Kasserine, Gafsa and Sfax, Tunisia's second largest city, as well as Sidi Bouzid, where the 2010 uprising that unseated former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali began. The closure of the largest private and public employers in those areas was called by regional branches of the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), with only small shops and cafes open for business. Hundreds of protesters in Gafsa and Sidi Bouzid took part in marches, chanting slogans denouncing Ennahdha. "We demand the resignation of the government," "Ennahdha has sold Tunisia," and "Long live the UGTT, the country's biggest force," the activists shouted. The UGTT, Tunisia's main labour union with a membership of 500,000, which was the only legal union under the previous regime, said the strike achieved a 95-per cent observance rate in Gafsa, a mining region prone to social unrest. The action was seen as a prelude to a nationwide general strike called for December 13 by the UGTT to denounce an attack on its headquarters this week that it says was carried out by armed men close to Ennahdha. The call for next Thursday's national strike is only the third by the UGTT since its foundation in the 1940s. Tunisia at 'crossroads' Weeks of escalating tensions between the union and Ennahdha, culminated on Tuesday when UGTT members demonstrating at their head office were attacked by pro-government activists. Ennahdha in turn accused the UGTT of orchestrating the confrontation. The General Tunisian Confederation of Workers, a smaller trade union formed after the revolution and claiming some 50,000 members, said on Thursday it was in "full solidarity" with the UGTT. The union denounced "all the hostile actions against the UGTT," and condemned those behind them, urging Ennahdha to respect "trade union freedoms". Last week, intense clashes between police and disaffected youths in the town of Siliana, southwest of Tunis, left about 300 people wounded, after a strike and protests over poor living conditions degenerated into violence. Ennahdha's veteran leader Rachid Ghannouchi strongly criticised the UGTT, calling it a "radical opposition" group, and charging that its calls to strike had "political and not social motives". Clashes, strikes and attacks have multiplied across Tunisia in the run-up to the second anniversary of the revolution, plunging the country into a political impasse. Many Tunisians feel bitterly disappointed by the failure of the revolution to improve their lives, especially in the country's marginalised interior which suffers from a chronic lack of development and high unemployment. During last week's violence, President Moncef Marzouki said the coalition government was not meeting the expectations of its people and called for a cabinet reshuffle, but Jebali did not respond. He warned that Tunisia was at a crossroads between "the road to ruin and the road to recovery".

Kenya grenade attack: Somalis attacked in Nairobi

Kenyan police have fired tear gas to end riots that broke out in the capital, Nairobi, after a grenade blast killed at least seven people.

Shops were looted in the Eastleigh neighbourhood, as angry youths blamed ethnic Somalis for Sunday's explosion, a businessman said.
Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group has been blamed for a spate of attacks in Kenya in recent years.
Meanwhile, two Kenyan soldiers have been shot dead near the Somali border.
The two were part of the African Union mission in Somalia but crossed back into Kenya to repair their truck in the town of Garissa when they were attacked, an army spokesman said.
Kenya sent troops across the border last year to fight al-Shabab but its forces have since been merged with the AU force in Somalia.

Nigeria's Boko Haram battle: Army rejects 'killing' video

The man pleaded for his life before apparently being shot

Nigeria's military has dismissed as fake a video said to show a soldier shooting dead a captive at close range in the northern city of Maiduguri.

A soldier who said he filmed the killing two weeks ago passed the recording to the Reuters news agency.
Nigeria's security forces have repeatedly been accused of summary executions while fighting the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram.
The BBC has not been able to verify the video's authenticity.
BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says the video shows a man being pushed to the ground by a soldier, kicked in the head and then shot dead.

Uganda to pass anti-gay law as 'Christmas gift'

Ugandan gay people often fear living openly

 

Uganda will pass a new law against homosexuality by the end of 2012 as a "Christmas gift" to its advocates, the speaker of parliament has said.

The AP news agency quoted Rebecca Kadaga as saying that Ugandans were "demanding" the law.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, but the bill which is before parliament proposes tougher sentences for people convicted.
Foreign donors have threatened to cut aid if gay rights are not respected.
The bill, tabled by MP David Bahati, proposes jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain circumstances.

West Africa bloc Ecowas agrees to deploy troops to Mali

Militant Islamists in northern Mali are imposing strict Sharia law despite opposition from the local Muslim population

West African regional leaders have agreed to deploy 3,300 soldiers to Mali to retake the north from Islamist extremists.

At a summit of Ecowas, the group's chairman said it was ready to use force to "dismantle terrorist and transnational criminal networks".
The soldiers would be provided mainly by Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Islamist groups and Tuareg rebels took control of the north after Mali's president was overthrown in March.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Outtara told reporters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that the soldiers could be deployed as soon as the UN approved the military plan.