Russian Envoy

SUNA News Agency reports that Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining Al-Zubair Ahmed Al-Hassan Thursday received the Russian envoy for Sudan, Mikhail Margelov.

Both discussed ways of enhancing the economic co-operation between Sudan and Russia in the fields of energy, mining, petroleum and infrastructures in the field of processing industry and petro-chemicals. Present at the meeting were representatives of a number of Russian companies.

The minister welcomed the desire of the Russian side to consolidate its economic relations with Sudan, affirming Sudan’s readiness to engage in real partnership with Russia and to enable the Russian companies to operate in Sudan.

Meanwhile, representative of the Russian companies expressed their desire to establish investment projects in the oil, mining, gold and electricity power sectors in Sudan.

Both countries reviewed means for boosting the Sudanese – Russian bilateral relations and to consolidate them further.

The meeting, which was attended by the Russian Ambassador to Sudan, and a number of the representatives of the Russian companies in Sudan discussed horizons of investment in the fields of energy, oil, electricity, petro-chemical industries and heavy industry.

President Yar’Adua

Nigeria is very important to the region, the continent, and to the United States, yet it remains unsettled as a result of President Yar’Adua’s uncertain medical condition.

Since his return home from Saudi Arabia, President Yar’Adua has not been seen publicly or met with members of his cabinet or any of his country’s key political leaders, generating additional unease about the stability of the country and physical capacity of the president to lead the government.

In a modern democracy, senior cabinet members and legislative leaders have a right to know the health status of their president and so do Nigeria’s citizens.

In President Yar’Adua’s absence, we applaud the Nigerian leaders who have taken steps to restore confidence in the country’s political system while adhering to democratic principles.

We welcome Acting President Jonathan’s commitments on electoral reform, anti-corruption, post-Amnesty programs in the Niger Delta, and justice for the perpetrators of sectarian violence and extra-judicial killings.

As Nigeria deals with its current political crisis, it is essential for the country’s leaders to avoid any actions that will imperil Nigeria’s last ten years of democratic progress as well as the accomplishments that have been achieved under civilian rule.

Nigerians have a right to expect their civilian and military leaders to work through their country’s democratic institutions, ensuring that the good of the many triumphs over the ambitions of the few. Source: (U.S. Department of State)

Doha

DOHA, Feb 24 (SUNA) — The Grand Hall of the Sheraton Hotel in Doha on Tuesday evening was thevenue for the signing of the framework agreement for a ceasefire in Dafur in western Sudan between the government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The signing took place amidst a high-level regional and international presence led by the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, President Idress Debby of Chad, President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Dr Khalil Ibrahim, the JEM Chairman.

It was also attended by Djibril Bassoule, the joint mediator for Dafur, and Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Special Representative of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to UNAMID, and representatives of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and other countries as well as representatives of the Arab League and the AU.

Dr Amin Hassan Omar signed on behalf of the government of the Sudan while Ahmad Tagad signed for the JEM, a rebel group involved in the Dafur conflict. The two sides shook hands and exchanged documents following the signing of the framework agreement.

The framework agreement is considered the first step towards the achievement of comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur and it was well received by the international and regional communities as well as international organizations and relevant bodies concerned with peace in the region.

The Qatari government, its people and leadership played an important role, as mediator in the peace talks, a role highly appreciated by all concerned parties to the deal, with all parties nodding to the wise intelligent and informed role they played in the negotiations.

Chad’s President Idress Debby equally played an important role through his hosting of the initial signing and also showed the transformation in the Sudanese-Chadian relationship.

The government delegation to the event included a number of senior officials, representatives of the parties to Sudan’s government of national unity, civil society representatives, leaders from Darfur and members of the Sudan People’s Forum.

On the side of Justice and Equality Movement, those who attended the ceremony included the senior leaders of the movement who flew to Doha for the event.

The JEM declared a cease-fire as of the midnight of Tuesday as part of the implementation of the framework agreement.

JEM Chairman Dr. Khalil Ibrahim said at the signing ceremony that the agreement wais a step forward in the peace process and paved the way for negotiations for realizing peace in Darfur.

He added that the JEM was committed to the implementation of all items of the agreement, stating that the path for peace still needed great efforts, and that both parties should be ready to make concessions so that comprehensive peace in Darfur could be achieved.

Dr. Ibrahim called on the armed groups to establish a unity and partnership among them for the interest of the people and the homeland, a partnership of no loser or winner.

He called on the Emir of Qatar to sponsor the implementation of the agreement, expressing his appreciation of the great efforts being exerted by Qatar and its leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani.

He also thanked the Emir of Qatar for his generous donation for the rehabilitation and development in Darfur.

Dr. Khalil Ibrahim also praised the role being played by Chad, Libya, the Arab League, the African Union and the joint mediation team, led by Qatar, for realizing peace in Darfur.

Djibril Bassole welcomed the framework agreement and described it as a positive step for the comprehensive solution for Darfur issue. He appreciated the efforts exerted by all parties for the signing of the agreement by the government and the JEM.

Bassole said that the agreement paves the way for beginning the negotiations in Doha for realization of comprehensive peace in Darfur.

AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping reiterated the commitment of the African Union to help Sudan and all parties to implement all clauses of the framework agreement to bolster peace and development all over Sudan.

Ping, who described the agreement as a landmark step in peace process and a real addition to the accomplishments in this regard, urged parties in the agreement to be committed to the implementation of all clauses of the agreement.

This accomplishment would be added to the accomplishments of Africa and assured the capability of the African people to overcome their differences without foreign intervention, he added.

President Deby affirmed the commitment of Chad to co-operate with the concerned parties to boost the implementation all the items of the agreement and said that Chad would work out a plan to guarantee implementation of the agreement.

He said Chad would exert efforts toward making all the Darfurian movements and Sudan’s government sign similar agreements. He said the role of Chad was a duty that was necessitated by the fact that Chad and Sudan are neighbours.

He referred to the suffering of Chad and Sudan from the armed movements and the clashes at the joint border area, adding that there would be no return to that past.

Sudan – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched an information campaign in Sudan on the risks of irregular migration as part of a broader effort to tackle key migration issues in East Africa and the Horn of Africa.

The campaign, which will target seven states in eastern Sudan, will be implemented as part of an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) programme to address gaps in migration management in the IGAD region. It aims to inform irregular migrants and potential migrants of the risks they face on their journey to Europe and the Middle East.

With more than 7,600 kms of land borders, 853 kms of coastline and nine neighbours, Sudan lies in the middle of the East African route to the Mediterranean. It is one of the three main routes used by mainly Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali irregular migrants en route to Europe via Libya and Egypt as they seek to escape poverty, conflict and increasing environmental degradation at home.

Sudan is also a country of origin and destination for irregular migrants. More than 100,000 refugees from the Horn of Africa are currently being hosted in camps in Khartoum, Gedaref, Red Sea, Kassala, El Gezira, Sennar and Blue Nile states, with the camps recognized as a source and transit point for flows of both asylum-seekers and economic migrants to, within and through Sudan.

Sudanese nationals seeking a new life abroad using irregular means can often become stranded in transit. All irregular migrants are vulnerable to human trafficking and abuse during their journey, often because of a lack of knowledge about what the journey will actually entail.

Posters and flyers with information and advice are being distributed in Arabic, Amharic and Tigrinya in the seven states. Dialogues are also being held with community leaders in the camps. The campaign, funded by the European Commission, is also using radio and other means to reach irregular migrants and potential Sudanese migrants with materials based on true-life stories designed to target specific ethnic groups, cultures and motives for migrating.

As well as highlighting the risks of irregular migration, campaign materials will inform migrants and potential migrants on the requirements and opportunities for regular migration. This will include information about how to obtain travel documents, work permits and visas, and and about the immigration laws of host countries.

Implemented in collaboration with the Immigration and Passport Department of the Ministry of Interior and the Sudanese Commission for Refugees, the campaign is a step towards a more established response to combating human smuggling and human trafficking in the country by building the government’s capacities on migration issues.

By: K Ssangalyambogo

The American founding fathers were great men. They had their faults but the one thing that no one can criticize about them is that they left power at the right time.

They must have believed or dreamed that America would someday become a powerful influential democracy that could be an example for all nations. Did they step down because they understood their historical significance or were there too many powerful like minded leaders that wouldn’t allow dictatorship to flourish in our new fragile democracy?

Africa also had honorable leaders but few of them willingly left power when their terms were up. There were a few that may have left power when they were supposed to but one can argue that they weren’t remarkable men like the founding fathers. Like George Washington, Uganda’s Museveni, Eritrea’s Isaias, and Zimbabwe’s Mugabe were all great military leaders that liberated their countries through a grassroots effort.

All were tremendously popular and strove to create a foundation of democracy in their country. Like the American founding fathers, many great African leaders were not fans of dictators, yet they have failed their people and have become exactly what they liberated their people from (in some cases even more oppressive).

Uganda is one of the more pleasant African countries to live in. With its beautiful fertile countryside, vast resources, hospitable people and richness in culture, the sky is the limit for this amazing country. They could achieve economic success through tourism, exporting various commodities, including flowers, and are slowing developing their service industry, which is a result of the investments they have made in education.

The US spends less than 2% of its budget on education and in past years Uganda has spent up to 15% of its annual budget on education. In 1986, Museveni liberated this country from oppressive, corrupt Ugandan rulers through a guerrilla war where he won the support of his people. Communities in southern Uganda came together to help him take over the country.

Once in power he preached democracy and created a local district system where local communities had more power than ever before. Justice and rule of law was promoted and a constitution was enacted in 1995. The constitution put in place several checks and balances and ensured equal representation for women, youth, and interest groups in the government. It was truly an extraordinary document.

However, Museveni destroyed the very institutions he had worked so hard to create in 2005 when he bribed parliament to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. The strongest aspects of Uganda’s democracy are that the courts are independent and they have a high level of freedom of press compared to other African countries.

People are free to criticize the president on the thousands of independent radio stations throughout the country. Museveni also allowed political parties to be formed for the first time in 2005 to appear more legitimate, but it is impossible to develop a viable opposition within the system Museveni has created.

Museveni has become increasingly corrupt, filling top positions with people from his ethnic group and other close allies. His close friends are leaders in all aspects of society, which discourages people from running against him.

They are not officially restricted but he has not created the open democratic society that he promised. With the ethnic hatred that was revealed during the riots in September, it is becoming apparent that there is great animosity towards those perceived to hail from Museveni’s ethnic group.

The challenges that Uganda faces are not simple and cannot be fully addressed here; however, Museveni’s apparent blindness to the nepotism within his system has fueled this ethnic hatred that could destroy Ugandan society.

Museveni may be considered one of the least oppressive dictators on the continent but the tragedy of the Ugandan story is the opportunity lost. It was within his grasp to become the father of Uganda and create a legacy of democracy that would live on for generations. Instead he has developed a system which enriches him and his cronies to the point that his inner circle probably won’t allow him to leave office even if he wanted to.

Eritrea is a unique country with a history like no other African country. Like Uganda, there are good and bad elements to the Eritrean story. In 1991, Eritrea won independence after a brutal 30 year war with Ethiopia. The war hero and leader of the EPLF, Isaias Afewerki, became the country’s first president.

He was extremely popular and the Eritrean people were elated to have their own nation. Developed through their tremendous struggle, Eritreans have strong sense of nationalism that is the envy of the continent.

No other African country has the unity across ethnic groups and religions that Eritreans have achieved. Eritrea also has low levels of corruption and built a lot of infrastructure since independence. In 1997, the constitution was adopted setting up the the foundation of democracy and established a multi-party system, but the constitution was never implemented.

Also, Isaias has not allowed other parties to organize and has not held a presidential election. Eritreans have been patient with their leader and understand that their country is in its infancy; however, the reality for Eritreans has gotten dramatically worse in the last two years. One major challenge to assessing the level of democracy in Eritrea is that it is a very closed society with no freedom of press.

The government shut down the independent media in 2001 and last year Eritrea ranked dead last below North Korea in freedom of press. Since there is virtually no truthful information about the daily lives of Eritreans outside the country, I must rely on blogs and first hand horror stories from friends and family who recently lived in Eritrea.

A very good friend of mine who spent much of 2009 in Asmara described how Eritreans cannot get basic supplies due to government rations. Gasoline, cooking oil, sugar, bread, and many other household basics are strictly limited per person. My friend told me a story about whenever they have other Eritreans visit, they take them to the gas station and other stores a bunch of times to collect their rations so they can survive.

Eritrea is quickly becoming one of the worst Marxist oppressive societies to ever exist on the continent. The saddest tragedy of all is the forced military service. The government is currently forcing men to serve in the military and not allowing them to leave. My friend’s brother was forced to be in the military for 15 years and he had to pretend to be crazy to get out. It is said that several Eritreans are trying to escape the military by fleeing through the desert to Sudan and dying.

Eritreans are not allowed to bring printers into the country because the government is worried people will print letters that will dismiss men from the military. Isaias has no incentive to end the border war with Ethiopia since it creates a great excuse for him to have a free source of labor through the military. We had another friend who was forced to be a spy against his will since he spoke fluent Amharic and he was terrified of being caught and tortured by the Ethiopians.

There is very limited information about the realities of this brutality but the horror stories are there. The major supporters of Isaias seem to be some people in diaspora that really have no idea what is going on in Eritrea. Issaias was once beloved by his people and he has sourly disappointed them.

Parade magazine ranks him as one of the world’s worst dictators. To make things worse, now the international community is threatening sanctions since Issaias is supporting the Muslim extremists in Somalia, when Eritreans are already struggling to get by. It is impossible to understand Issaias’ reasoning and how he justifies such oppression when he and his people sacrificed so much for freedom.

Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for ten years in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974, he joined the Rhodesia bush war and “emerged as a hero in the minds of many Africans”. Mugabe became Zimbabwe’s first prime minster in 1980 and then head of state in 1987.

As the sole political force in Zimbabwe since independence, his government has been marked with violent oppression, massacres, and lack of political freedom. Despite Mugabe’s flaws, his people and Africans all over the continent continued to view him an African hero for liberating his country from white oppressors. However, due to Mugabe’s greed and misguided policies, Zimbabweans have suffered tremendously in the last few years and he is increasingly viewed as a tyrannical old man.

The state of the Zimbabwean economy has been a major factor in his decline. The economy started to struggle with Zimbabwe’s participation in the second Congo war and was magnified by his land reform program where he confiscated the majority white owned farms and redistributed them.

The general concepts of his land reform plans were not bad, but Mugabe foolishly gave the land to his political cronies rather than the black Zimbabweans who had always worked the land under white ownership. Zimbabwe was always an exporter of food in the past and now 11 million Zimbabweans are on the brink of starvation. Since the farms were confiscated violently, the UK and several other countries imposed economic sanctions. In addition, he printed hundreds of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars resulting in hyperinflation of 10,500,000% in 2008, which is unheard of anywhere else.

By 2008, it was clear that Mugabe had lost of the support his people and Mr. Tsvangirai gained more votes than Mugabe in the election. Officially no candidate received the required 50% of the votes to win the election but it was obvious that opposition supporters were jailed, harassed, beaten, and tortured.

The runoff election was not free and fair and marred by violence. At the end of 2008 due to international pressure, Mugabe and Tsvangirai entered into a power sharing agreement; however, it was clear that Mugabe had no intention of loosening his control over the government. Mugabe’s greed for power and blind selfishness has brought his country to its knees and its a prime example of the last thing that any great man would ever want to become.

These dictators have not only tarnished their own legacies, but they have robbed their people of the great leaders they long for. I was personally struck by Museveni’s unjust third term. Before he decided to wrongfully run again, I was advocating Museveni and his party to other students (probably future leaders) at the public university, Makerere, explaining that his democratic model was much better for Uganda than a western style democracy.

His one party system acted as a two party system with competition between his supporters and the reformists. I was crushed when he decided to run again and I’m sure there were a lot of other young Ugandans saddened also.

The Eritrean people have undergone tremendous sacrifice for the independence of their country, only to suffer under Isaias’ oppression and do everything they can to flee the country they fought so hard for. Every Eritrean no matter what country they live in, has had relatives or friends die in the war or border conflicts with Ethiopia. And for what? Isaias’ greed?

The most tragic story of them all is Mugabe. He wins the prize for the most horrible African dictator currently in power. The suffering and hardship experienced by the Zimbabwean people in the last two years has been unimaginable. Some would argue that Zimababweans were doing better during colonial times, which is difficult to imagine.

The longer these dictators stay in power, the more they will be hated and destroy the prospects of their nations becoming great democracies someday. The people of their countries deserve better and so do their generations to come. Source (Ezine)

January 31, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said he will name Haile Menkerios, a former Eritrean diplomat as his special envoy to Sudan making him the third head of the UN Mission in Sudan.

“I have the intention to appoint Haile Menkerios as head of UNMIS as of the end of February with a view to facilitate the political process,” disclosed Ban Ki Moon during remarks delivered at special meeting on Sudan at the sidelines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa.

Menkerios, is currently the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

At the UN, he was Director of the Africa I Division in the Department of Political Affairs from June 2003 to June 2005. On September 26, 2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced his appointment as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo; he assumed this post in October 2005. Subsequently, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced his appointment as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs on May 16, 2007, and he assumed this post on July 1, 2007.

From 1991 to 2000, Menkerios was Eritrea’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and the Organisation of African Unity, and was Eritrea’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Ban Ki-Moon said yesterday he would work with the African Union to maintain united Sudan and avoid southern Sudan secession.

The UN Secretary General reiterated during the special meeting his call for the Sudanese parties signatories of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to make unity attractive. He also urged them to reach an agreement on the key post referendum arrangement.

“To the CPA parties, I urge an acceleration of efforts to make unity attractive. I call on them to ensure an environment in which candidates can campaign freely and the people of Sudan can vote without any interference,” he said.

“The referenda in Southern Sudan and Abyei need to be held without hindrance and the results duly respected, he added.

In a recent report to the UN Security Council, Ban said a new civil war in Sudan could break out, given the atmosphere of deep mistrust between various key players in the country.

Also, Sudan Rice, US envoy to the UN, expressed concerns about arms flowing to South Sudan saying “We heard today from the U.N. that it is not just small arms but some heavier munitions that seem to be flowing in,” adding Washington believes some were coming from northern Sudan.

But Khartoum denied the accusations. Source:(Sudantribune)

A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) met on Tuesday with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita on ways to enhance ties between the two nations, according to reports from its capital Djibouti.

China and Djibouti have strengthened their political trust and conducted mutually beneficial cooperation since they forged diplomatic ties in 1979, said Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The two countries have maintained close coordination on international affairs, Wang said, adding that relationship between the CPC and Djibouti Popular Rally for Progress (RPP) has become an important part of bilateral ties.

China is willing to work together with Djibouti to boost mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and strengthen exchanges between the two parties and two countries, he said.

President Guelleh, who is also RPP chairman, said Djibouti is ready to promote its pragmatic cooperation with China, a major partner of the African nation, so as to benefit the two peoples.

Prime Minister and RPP Vice Chairman Dileita spoke highly of China’s Africa policy and the Djibouti-China relations, and reaffirmed his country’s adherence to the one-China policy.

Wang arrived in Djibouti Tuesday, the last leg of his six-nation Africa tour. He has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Benin, Mali and Senegal. Source: (Xinhua)

Cen-Sad

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, Osman Mohammed Saleh, arrived in Tripoli on Sunday to take part in the consultative meeting of (CEN-SAD ) Executive Council on 25-26 January.

According to the Libyan news agency JANA the minister was received at Tripoli International Airport by delegate of General Protocol and Ambassador of Eritrea to Libya.

The Community of Sahel-Saharan States was established on 4th February 1998 in Tripoli, Libya. CEN-SAD became a Regional Economic Community during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, held in Lomé (Republic of Togo) on 4-12 July 2000.

The regional body was formed to create an economic union of Sahel-Saharan States representing socio-economic interests of its members in agriculture, industry, energy, social culture and health.

It’s not clear whether all member states are attending the ongoing summit in Tripoli. Tensions arose between Djibouti and Libya after the the latter voted against imposing sanctions on Eritrea in December 2009.

As a result, Djibouti threatened to suspend its membership of CEN-SAD, whose Secretary General is the Libyan diplomat Mohammed Al-Madani El Azahri, and to boycott the Arab League Summit scheduled for March 27 in Libya.

Cen-Sad

CHERRY POINT — The Hammerheads are headed for the Horn.

About 70 Marines from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366 left Cherry Point air station Tuesday morning in route to the Horn of Africa.

It is the first full-term, seven-month deployment for HMH-366, called the Hammerheads, since it was reactivated in September 2008, according to the commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jim Harp.

The Marines boarded two buses and headed for Norfolk, Va., where they will fly on a chartered jet to the small African nation of Djibouti, located at the juncture of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Yemen is about 20 miles across the Strait of Bab el Mandeb from Djibouti.

Harp said the personnel would be providing heavy-lift capability for contingency operations in the region as part of a mission that has been ongoing for some time there.

HMH-366 has CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters based at Hangar 250 at Cherry Point, but the detachment is not taking any of the choppers there. There are four Super Stallions already at the base in Djibouti. “Once we fall in on them, the helicopters that are there will become ours,” Harp said.

Harp said that since the standup of the squadron, the Marines have been working hard to attain full operational capability. A small group of Marines from the HMH-366 started a short, three-month deployment in Iraq in November.

The duties around the Horn of Africa will be varied, he said.

“There are a whole slew of different missions they could do over there. Humanitarian assistance may be one of them,” Harp said.

Capt. Doug Given, a CH-53E pilot, said that there would be two basic types of personnel on the mission: air crew and maintainers.

“Aircrews break the birds and the maintainers fix them,” Given said.

Though their exact role has not been determined, Given said the heavy-lifting capabilities of the Super Stallions will likely be used to transport supplies and aid if needed and to support operations by the Navy SeaBees, who are constructing buildings and drilling water wells in remote villages.

“Driving there just takes days and days and days where we can get there in an hour or two,” Given said of flying the helicopters. Given will be leaving behind a wife and 3-month-old baby boy during the deployment. “It’s not fun. It was tough to leave this morning,” Given said.

Staff Sgt. Joe Barkhurst, the crew chief for the flightline shop, was leaving his 6-year-old son Josh and wife Lisa on Tuesday morning. It is Barkhurst’s first deployment in his 13-year Marine career. “It’s going to be tough, especially since it’s the first time,” he said. Josh clung to his dad in the minutes leading up to the departure.

“We spend a lot of time together,” Barkhurst said. “The communication lines are already open, so we should be able to e-mail and talk on the phone.” Source: (SunJournal)

A contingent of Indian Air Force on Wednesday departed for Sudan to provide mobility and logistical support to UN Peace Keeping Mission in the African country.

The agreement, which encourages wealth and power sharing in the oil-rich nation, ended a civil war between northern and southern Sudan that lasted for 21 years. The contingent, led by Group Captain T A Dayasagar comprises 196 personnel and includes six Mi-17 utility helicopters.

The departing contingent is to replace the Indian Aviation Contingent headquartered at Kadugali, situated in the South-Central region of Sudan.

“Their role will be peacekeeping under UN charter 6, to carry troops and supplies from one place to another. We also have a medical detachment to help the casualties,” said Air Marshal T S Randhawa Director General (Inspection and Safety), IAF, who flagged off the contingent.

The United Nations Security Council had established United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in March 2005 to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed by the Sudanese government and the former rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation movement/Army in January in Nairobi.

UNMIS’ mandate also includes monitoring and verifying the ceasefire agreement, helping to set up the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme for ex-combatants, as well as promoting national reconciliation and human rights. Source: (ANI)

London – Band members from Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Snow Patrol have teamed up to call an end to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Drummers from the groups are taking part in the Beat for Peace campaign, a film which calls for an end to conflict in the African country after millions died in the civil war there, which ended in 2005.

The documentary, which is part of the wider Sudan 365 campaign, features other artists from Sudan, Australia and Japan as well.

“I wanted to be involved in this project because I think music is such a powerful way of bringing people together,” the Daily Express quoted Radiohead’s Phil Selway as saying of the drive created by Faithless drummer Jamie Catto.

“Of course, I’m biased in thinking that what’s underpinning it all is always the beat – always drummers!

“Hopefully this film will show that together people can make a huge noise and through this film I hope people’s focus will be brought back to what is happening in the Sudan over this very important next year,” he added.

A referendum is due to be held next January (11) on independence for the south of the country, but campaigners fear there could be a return to conflict this year. Source: (ANI)

The African Union is urging the United Nations to boost its support for Somalia’s fragile government in view of the rise of terrorist activity in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping calls the overall security situation in the Horn of Africa nation “unstable, volatile and challenging’.

In a report to the AU Peace and Security Council Friday, Ping notes several tragic security breakdowns in the past few months. The most recent was a suicide attack December 3 on a medical school graduation in Mogadishu that killed 25, including three government ministers. Another suicide attack in September on the headquarters of the AU peacekeeping mission, AMISOM, killed 20 people, mostly peacekeepers, including the deputy force commander.

Acting on Ping’s recommendation, the Council extended AMISOM’s mandate for another 12 months. The U.N. Security Council approved $210 million to fund the 5,200 AMISOM peacekeepers for the past seven months. But as the Council meets next week to review AMISOM funding levels, AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra is calling for Somalia to be seen not just as a breeding ground for terrorists, but as part of a region dotted with troubled states such as Eritrea and Yemen.

“We look forward to more bold decisions within the UN Security Council so that engagement of the international community would be commensurate with the challenges. These are not limited to local challenges, they go beyond, to include piracy, international terrorism, and these are of a global nature,” said Lamamra.

U.N. Special Representative to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says several recent events have highlighted the Horn of Africa ’s growing significance as a hub in the global terror network.

“It is today becoming…a global crisis, and the latest developments in Mogadishu with killing of students by a Somali coming from Denmark, or an attempt against a journalist in Denmark, and before that in Kenya is showing that Somalia is a global crisis,” said Ould-Abdallah. “Note the importance British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has attached to Somalia, linking it clearly to developments coming from Afghanistan or Yemen,” he added.

The latest AU report notes security in Somalia is complicated by a fight between two rival insurgent groups for control of a lucrative port city. Both groups, al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam are said to have links with al-Qaida.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Nigerian man accused of trying to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound airliner Christmas Day had met a radical U.S. Muslim cleric in Yemen after being recruited by al-Qaida in London.

Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, is 250 kilometers from the northern coast of Somalia across the Gulf of Aden, the busy waterway that has been the scene of hijackings by Somali pirates. Source: (Voice of America)