African Union Special Representative to Somalia, along with the UN Special Representative and IGAD Facilitator for Somalia, have threatened sanctions on a peaceful democratic Somali movement [REUTERS] Minneapolis, MN - On May 1, 2012, the UN Special Representative (SR), The African Union Special Representative (AUSR), and IGAD Facilitator for Somalia (IGADF) distributed a press release threatening [...]
War talk on both side has raised international fears of a full blown war [Reuters] The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution giving Sudan and South Sudan only 48 hours to halt hostilities or face potential sanctions. With Russia and China joining the growing calls for a halt to the growing border conflict, the 15-member [...]
The intentional misreading of UN security council resolution 1973 resulted in Nato’s predictably violent Operation Odyssey in Libya last year. The Logic of Unintended Consequences: The ‘Mess in Mali’ by Ramzy Baroud People from northern Mali march against the seizure or their home region by Tuareg and Islamist rebels, in the capital Bamako, April 10, 2012. [...]
Saving Somalia: A wasted effort? We ask how serious world leaders at the London conference are in tackling problems facing the war-torn African state. An international conference on Somalia has taken place in London on Thursday, with representatives from 40 countries attending. “We cannot exclude any kind of an attempt at [...]
Recognizing the “Unpeople” By Noam Chomsky January 08, 2012 “Information Clearing House” — On June 15, three months after the NATO bombing of Libya began, the African Union presented to the U.N. Security Council the African position on the attack – in reality, bombing by their [...]
video at http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/19/noam_chomsky_on_the_legality_of As the manhunt for Col. Muammar Gaddafi continues, MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky questions the legality of the continued NATObombing campaign. “My own feeling was that you could have made a case for a no-fly zone and protection of civilians, but I think it’s much harder to make a case for direct participation in a civil [...]
Kenya’s army chief said his troops will withdraw when Kenyans ‘feel that they are safe enough from al-Shabab‘ [AFP] A Kenyan air strike on a camp packed with displaced women and children has killed at least five and wounded 45, mostly women and children, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), an aid agency, said. “I can confirm five dead and [...]
Sudan‘s Omar al-Bashir in Malawi: ICC wants answers African leaders have called for the ICC to suspend President Omar al-Bashir’s arrest warrant Continue reading the main story Deadly Darfur Darfur: World’s favourite war? In pictures: Portraits of Darfur Q&A: Darfur conflict Who are Sudan’s Darfur rebels? The International Criminal Court has asked Malawi to explain [...]
THE ROVING EYE Obama, the king of Africa By Pepe Escobar If United States President Barack Obama really wanted to get rid of the new bogeyman du jour, Uganda’s Joseph Kony – a former altar boy turned mystical Christian prophet/politico, sporting at least 60 wives – he would order US Attorney General Eric “The Fast [...]
National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters battle loyalist forces in Sirte. (AFP/Aris Messinis) Red Cross warns of medical emergency in Sirte, Libya Published yesterday (updated) 02/10/2011 12:08 MISRATA, Libya (AFP) — The international Red Cross warned of a medical emergency in Moammar Gadhafi‘s hometown Sirte as the battle for the fugitive Libyan strongman’s largest remaining [...]
AU: 3,000 More Troops Headed to Somalia Troops Expected to Come From Djibouti, Sierra Leone by Jason Ditz, September 27, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum According to Lt. Col. Ankunda, the spokesman for African Union (AU) troops in Somalia, an additional 3,000 troops are expected to be dispatched to the [...]
Black Women Report Rape by Rebel Forces in Libya Refugee Camps Local officials, US ambassador shrug off reports by Jeremy Sapienza, September 09, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum The news doesn’t get better for thousands of black Africans trapped in Libya, besieged by racist rebel fighters. In addition to chronic [...]
NATO Kills Six Civilians in Afghan Air Strike Overnight Air Strike Called in After Taliban Clash by Jason Ditz, August 26, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Another NATO air strike has killed a number of civilians today in the Logar Province. The attack, which took place shortly after midnight, came after [...]
Displaced people and Somali Transitional Government forces in Dhobley, Somalia, July 2011 © 2010 AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam Somalia: End War Crimes to Help Tackle Famine Abuses by All Sides Contribute to Current Crisis AUGUST 14, 2011 RELATED MATERIALS: “You Don’t Know Who to Blame” MORE COVERAGE: Guardian: Somalia’s humanitarian crisis worsened by violations of [...]
Britain’s development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, steps down from an African Union armoured vehicle in Mogadishu. Photograph: Pool/Reuters Britain’s international development secretary on Wednesday warned that up to 400,000 children could die through starvation if urgent action is not taken to help Somalia and its neighbours in the Horn of Africa. Andrew Mitchell’s grim warning came as he saw [...]
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) The famine in the Horn of Africa is spreading and may soon engulf as many as six more regions of the lawless nation of Somalia, the U.N. humanitarian aid chief said Monday. Some “12.4 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are in dire need of help and the situation is [...]
A Somali government spokesman has said the famine response from aid agencies ‘is too slow’ [Reuters] An appeal for more famine relief by Somalia‘s president has been echoed by US President Barack Obama who has called for an “international response” to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. President Sharif Sheik Ahmed said on Friday [...]
Libyan Rebels’ Contradictory Statements 5 July 2011 Mustafa Abd-al-Jalil, chairman of the provisional Libyan National Transitional Council [NTC], said the day before yesterday that he would welcome Libyan leader Col Mu’ammar Gaddafi to stay in Libya under international supervisions if he decides to step down. However, less than 24 hours later, he made [...]
Libya Govt: NATO Undermining Rebel Talks Insists NATO Trying to Block Peace Deal by Jason Ditz, July 04, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Speaking just one day after the East Libyan rebels publicly condemned the notion of the African Union ceasefire and peace talks, the Libyan government accused NATO of undermining its [...]
Libya Rebels Reject Another Peace Plan, Vow New Offensive Calls for Peace a ‘Non-Starter’ for NATO-Backed Rebels by Jason Ditz, July 03, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum The East Libyan rebel governemnt has again rejected an international attempt at brokering a ceasefire in the war-torn nation, saying any peace talks were [...]
In Benghazi on Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu offered the rebels official recognition [AFP] Turkey has extended official recognition to Libya‘s rebels and offered at least $200 million in aid as part of a diplomatic shift away from the regime of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, met with rebel leaders [...]
THE ROVING EYE What’s really at stake in Libya By Pepe Escobar To follow Pepe’s articles on the Great Arab Revolt, please clickhere. Way beyond the impenetrable fog of war, the ongoing tragedy in Libya is morphing into a war of acronyms that graphically depicts the tortuous “birth pangs” of a possibly new world order. [...]
There is no war so bad that it cannot be made worse by the intervention of the ICC The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Colonel Gaddafi (Photo: EPA) Brendan Behan once said there is no situation so bad that it cannot be made worse by the arrival of a policeman. Well today there [...]
Zuma, centre, met Gaddafi last month, securing a deal that was later rejected by Libya‘s rebels [Reuters] Libya’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has agreed to stay out of negotiations to end the four-month old conflict in his country, African Union (AU) leaders said. AU leaders announced the agreement in a statement on Sunday following talks in the South African capital, Pretoria, aimed at [...]
Half a million displaced as Khartoum moves to crush Sudan‘s Nuba people Fierce fighting raises fears the country’s 22-year civil war will be reignited as the government turns on the north’s Africans, sidelined in the south’s peace dea New fighting has increased the chances that a north-south war will reignite, ending hopes of peaceful [...]
Italy renews call for Gaddafi to leave Italian foreign minister declares Libyan leader’s rule “finished”, while NATO forces resume attacks in the capital. Last Modified: 31 May 2011 16:42 Italy has joined international calls led by Britain, France and the US for the Libyan leader to go [Reuters] Italy’s foreign minister has declared the government of Libyan leader [...]
Al-Jazeera footage captures ‘western troops on the ground’ in Libya Five of Gaddafi’s generals are among latest defectors to rebels as South African president seeks to broker ceasefire Share914 Julian Borger and Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 May 2011 15.33 BST Article history Armed westerners have been filmed on the front line with rebels near Misrata [...]
Obama Commits to US Backing for Pro-Democracy Movements Despite Costs, Insists US Has ‘Obligation’ to Back Protesters by Jason Ditz, May 28, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum In a speech which also included insistences that he is still concerned about the struggling US economy, President Barack Obama declared total support for [...]
US Rejects Libya Ceasefire, Vows War Will Continue Gadhafi Regime Reiterates Support for AU ‘Road Map‘ by Jason Ditz, May 27, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Libyan officials have directed phone calls to a number of NATO member nations urging a ceasefire in a ongoing NATO war. The call was immediately [...]
China’s interests in Gaddafi Huge oil and financial deals play major part in Beijing’s support for Libya‘s despot and halt to foreign intervention. Pepe Escobar Last Modified: 14 Apr 2011 15:06 Moussa Koussa meets Hu Jintao. Western intervention in Libya came after Gaddafi pledged to give major contracts to Chinese countries, replacing deals with Western companies [...]
Experts Warn of Balkanization of Libya by Simba Russeau, May 14, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum CAIRO—As the battle for Libya rages on—with the country’s economic heartland, Misrata, being the scene of some of the uprising’s fiercest fighting—experts are warning that a “Balkanization” of Libya is possible if the U.S. and NATO [...]
Official: Libya Won’t Try to Reclaim Eastern Cities Deputy FM Terms Initial Crackdown ‘a Big Failure’ by Jason Ditz, May 12, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Comments today from Libya’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim, one of the Gadhafi regime’s most high profile spokesmen since the start of the civil war, [...]
UN Security Council Clashes Over Libya War China Warns Over Worsening Crisis by Jason Ditz, May 04, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum The United Nations Security Council today entered into contentious debate over the ongoing war in Libya. A number of the nations expressed concern that the war, which began on [...]
China’s interests in Gaddafi Huge oil and financial deals play major part in Beijing’s support for Libya‘s despot and halt to foreign intervention. Pepe Escobar Last Modified: 14 Apr 2011 15:06 Email Print Share Send Feedback Moussa Koussa meets Hu Jintao. Western intervention in Libya came after Gaddafi pledged to give major contracts to Chinese countries, [...]
Libya foreign minister says free elections could be held Abdul Ati al-Obeidi says regime prepared to consider interim government before elections six months after conflict ends Share136 Harriet Sherwood in Tripoli guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 April 2011 08.05 BST Article history Libyan foreign minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi struck a more conciliatory tone than his colleagues [...]
Alain Le Roy, Cote d’Ivore‘s UN peacekeeping chief, has told the UN Security Council that forces loyal to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo have gained ground in Abidjan, and are in full control of some important parts of the city. Le Roy also said that Gbagbo’s forces – battling those of his rival Alassane Outtara – had [...]
The conflict in Libya has approached a stalemate. The opposing armies continue to move back and forth along the coastal road, capturing and relinquishing the same territory in an increasingly futile military ebb and flow. NATO’s intervention has been unable to resolve the issue, and the African Union‘s (AU) attempt to broker a deal was similarly [...]
There are growing concerns in Libya that the battle has reached a stalemate, and many are calling for NATO to do more. As the fighting continues, African Union (AU) leaders say they are determined to end the fighting and have met with both Muammar Gaddafi and rebel leaders. The European Union has sent out an appeal [...]
African Union: Gadhafi Agrees to Peace Plan AU Team Heads to Benghazi to Talk With Rebels by Jason Ditz, April 10, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum According to South African President Jacob Zuma, the Libyan government has accepted the African Union (AU) peace plan to end the civil war in the [...]
