Tristan McConnellFebruary 22, 2012 13:48

Somalia's Al Shabaab losing ground in Africa

Al Shabaab faces a stronger military onslaught in Ethiopia and Kenya.

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African Union soldiers fire off during a heavy firefight with Al Shabaab near Bakara main market in Mogadishu on May 22, 2011. (Abdurashid Abikar/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Somalia's Islamist militants, Al Shabaab, which recently announced its formal incorporation into Al Qaeda, seems to be losing ground.

On Wednesday Ethiopian and Somali soldiers took the central town of Baidoa which is a key strategic city that had once served as a seat of government.

More from GlobalPost: Kenyan and AMISOM forces aim to expel Al Shabaab

Ethiopian soldiers backed by government-aligned militia have pushed Al Shabaab out of other towns and villages along Somalia's western border in recent months adding to the pressure Al Shabaab is under elsewhere in the country.

In the south Kenya's army is making slow progress in its advance on Kismayo, a port town and militant stronghold, while in the capital Mogadishu African Union peacekeepers are forcing Al Shabaab ever further from the center of the city.

It is too early to count Al Shabaab out but they are facing a stronger military onslaught than at any time since their insurgency began five years ago.

More from GlobalPost: Somalia News: Schools raided for child soldiers

Tristan McConnellFebruary 17, 2012 16:40

Malawi slides toward autocracy

Malawian president holds predecessor, a dictator, in high esteem.

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Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika gives an interview with AFP on July 18, 2011 in Lilongwe. Malawi will not apologize for expelling Britain's top diplomat, Mutharika said, insisting the former colonial power's aid suspension would not create a budget gap. 'It's certainly not a possibility. What do we apologize for? Here is an envoy who insulted our country,' Mutharika told AFP. Britain last week suspended budgetary aid over Malawi's failure to address concerns over economic management and governance in the latest worsening of ties since a diplomatic spat in April. (Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya – Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has plenty of respect for one of his predecessors, Hastings Banda. So much in fact that he's built a grand mausoleum to house the remains of the country's late founding father, a man remembered more for his brutal rule and bizarre dictats than his independence leadership. Banda ruled for 30-years until he was finally forced out. He was 96.

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Speaking to Britain's Guardian newspaper this week Mutharika said Banda had been misunderstood:

"I don't know whether you can change the minds of those who regard him as a dictator, because it depends upon the definition of what a dictator is.

"Sometimes discipline can be mistaken for dictatorship. Many people believe that, without discipline, you really can't go anywhere. So to what extent he was a dictator, or to what extent he was a strict disciplinarian, I really do not know."

I imagine the scores of political opponents jailed by Banda would be able to tell dictatorship from discipline but Mutharika is showing signs of heading the same way. This week a prominent opponent and former attorney general Ralph Kasambara was arrested without charge, twice. A few days earlier he had reportedly described Mutharika's rule as "dictatorial" and said he should resign.

Amnesty International said Kasambara's detention "indicates the Malawian authorities are willing blatantly to flout the law when it comes to dissenting voices."

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Kasamabara's is not a lone voice. Increasingly tales of repression leak out of Malawi. Mutharika is touchy - he expelled Britain's ambassador last year over a leaked diplomatic cable that was critical of his rule - has deployed his security forces to violently quell anti-government protests and has suffered damaging foreign aid cuts that have helped tip Malawi's weak economy into a tailspin.

All of these are bad signs for the democracy and development of one of the world's poorest countries.

Tristan McConnellFebruary 17, 2012 16:42

Cameroon: 200 elephants killed

Cameroon elephants casualty of Sudan and Central African Republic conflicts.

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On Dec. 22, 2011, officers from Kenya's Revenue Authority and Wildlife Services stand over elephant tusks seized at the main port of Mombasa. The illegal trade in ivory is fueled by demand in Asia and the Middle East where elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns are used to make ornaments and traditional medicines. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

A staggering 200 elephants have been slaughtered by poachers in northern Cameroon since mid-January, activists say.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) blamed "an armed gang of Sudanese poachers" for the killing spree in Bouba Ndjida National Park.

"At least 100 elephant carcasses have been found in the park in the past month and ongoing shooting is making it impossible to conduct a further, detailed assessment of the situation," IFAW said in a statement.

Speaking on a local radio show Gambo Haman, the regional governor, also blamed foreigners.

"We are talking about a very serious case of trans-frontier poaching, involving well-armed poachers with modern weapons from Sudan and Chad who are decimating this wildlife species to make quick money from the international ivory trade," he said.

IFAW's Celine Sissle-Bienvenu said the killing of elephants was part of a cycle of poaching and conflict fueled by ivory demand:

"The ivory is smuggled out of West and Central Africa for markets in Asia and Europe, and the money it raises funds arms purchases for use in regional conflicts, particularly ongoing unrest in Sudan and in the Central African Republic.”

Many experts blame the surge in poaching across Africa on rising demand from the Far East.

The wildlife trade monitoring group, TRAFFIC, described last year as an "annus horribilis" for elephants, saying the rising number of large ivory seizures indicated poaching was on the rise, again.

Tristan McConnellFebruary 16, 2012 15:02

London conference communique on Somalia is leaked

The London conference leak has been a propaganda gift to Al Shabaab.

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Prime Minister David Cameron gives a speech at the Apex Hotel on Feb. 16, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Oh dear, this is embarrassing for the British government.

A number of Somali-run websites have got their hands on a leaked copy of a draft communique to be issued after the London conference on Somalia.

The international summit has been convened by Prime Minister David Cameron and will address piracy, terrorism and the root causes of Somalia's state collapse. This is a tall order for a five-hour meeting with more than 40 countries represented.

The problem with the communique is that the conference hasn't happened yet: It is due to take place on Feb. 23.

Here is the leaked version.

The leak has been a propaganda gift to Al Shabaab and its allies who have already been busy accusing the London conference of having a "colonial" agenda aimed at a carving up of Somalia by foreign powers.

Now they are crowing that the conference, far from being a "Somali-led" initiative as Britain insists, is in fact a done deal even before the Somali representatives turn up next week.

On their Twitter feeds the Al Shabaab (@HSMPress) and its allied Muslim Youth Center (@MYC_Press) have attacked the conference and poked fun at the leak.

Tristan McConnellFebruary 16, 2012 13:10

Somalia News: African Union peacekeeping force gets troop boost

The AMISOM peacekeeping force is going to get a much-needed boost with more than 5,000 new troops.

Au peacekeeping force troop boost 2012 2 16

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African Union peacekeeping force and Somali government forces are pictured in Afgoye Rd. on the Mogadishu outskirts, Somalia on Feb. 14, 2012. (Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — It's been a long time coming but now it looks as if the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), a peacekeeping force that is only now approaching its long-mandated strength of 12,000 is going to get a much-needed boost with more than 5,000 new troops.

The new cap of 17,700 has been requested by the African Union but has to be approved by the UN Security Council. Diplomats here in Nairobi have been indicating that this would happen and now Reuters is reporting the same.

The expectation is that there will be announcement next week ahead of an international conference on Somalia, convened by British Prime Minister David Cameron, to be held on Feb. 23.

More from GlobalPost: Somalia has 2 parliaments, no unity

If the new troops numbers are given the nod it should allow AMISOM to move outside Mogadishu, placing detachments in regional towns and putting extra pressure on Al Shabaab.

Kenyan troops in the south of Somalia will "re-hat" as AU soldiers but there is no expectation that Ethiopian troops in the west will do the same.

The bigger force will necessarily require extra resources and AU officials talk of air support — transport as well as, perhaps, attack helicopters — something that would give AMISOM the upper hand in battles with Al Shabaab and reduce casualties: many of the hundreds of AMISOM soldier who have died could have been saved if there had been effective medevacs available rather than just slow-moving armored vehicles.

More from GlobalPost: Kenya War: Counting the cost of the Somalia conflict

Since August when Al Shabaab withdrew from Mogadishu under pressure from AMISOM, the force's commanders have been keen to show their efficacy.

This week they have, for the first time, pushed down the Afgoye Corridor, a road leading south from the capital into the Al Shabaab heartland.

AMISOM has the upper hand, but it still has a long way to go to rid Somalia of the Islamist extremists.

More from GlobalPost: Kenyan and AMISOM forces aim to expel Al Shabaab

Tristan McConnellFebruary 15, 2012 14:28

Famine being used as a weapon of war

Sudan creates food shortages to reduce rebels and supporters in South Kordofan.

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Two-year-old Dhoal's bones show as he sits in his mother's lap in a ward for children suffering from severe malnutririon at a local hospital in the southeast Sudanese town of Akobo on Apr. 10, 2010. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI — The places where malnutrition is most likely to reach famine levels are where there is ongoing conflict: South Kordofan and Blue Nile states on the border areas of Sudan and South Sudan.

Tristan McConnellFebruary 15, 2012 13:36

Somalia News: Turkish Airlines to fly to Mogadishu

Turkish Airlines will start flights to Mogadishu next month.

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Indian airport authority officials gather for the recovery operation of a Turkish Airlines plane near the tarmac of Mumbai airport on Sept. 2, 2011. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Turkish Airlines is due to start flights to Mogadishu next month.

The idea was first mooted in October when the national carrier announced it would soon begin flights "subject to aircraft availability and flight safety evaluation."

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The announcement came two months after Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited the Somali capital kicking off an impressive diplomatic, humanitarian and investment drive in the chaotic country.

Prime Minister Erdogan outlined his country's support to Somalia in an article on the Foreign Policy website last year.

The flights will go twice a week via Khartoum, Sudan, and signal a further uptick in Turkish interest in Somalia.

There is already a working embassy in Mogadishu and the ambassador is a regular fixture up at Villa Somalia, the seat of government.

More from GlobalPost: Al Shabaab bans Red Cross in Somalia

Tristan McConnellFebruary 15, 2012 13:08

Uganda: Government minister Simon Lokodo leads charge against gay activists

Uganda's government minister Simon Lokodo threatens to have activists arrested.

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Members of the Ugandan gay community mourn at the funeral of murdured activist David Kato near Mataba on Jan. 28, 2011. (Marc Hofer/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Homosexuals in Uganda — and in much of the rest of Africa — have plenty to fear from security forces, from conservative fellow citizens and from your garden variety homophobes, but it's a rare day when the politicians leave the arena of rhetoric and actually get their hands dirty.

More from GlobalPost: Homophobia continues in Uganda

Displaying rare zeal for a government minister Simon Lokodo, Uganda's junior minister for ethics and integrity, led the charge on a group of lesbian and gay activists, disrupting their meeting about — yes — gay rights and threatening to have them all arrested.

It is, of course, no surprise at all that Lokodo is also known as a serving Catholic priest when he is not moonlighting in politics.

Imagine what Uganda could be like if only other ministers would show such alacrity in delivering on their portfolios.

More from GlobalPost: Uganda: Anti-gay bill reintroduced in parliament

Tristan McConnellFebruary 14, 2012 13:10

For Senegal, it's always the economy stupid

Senegal's presidential election is a week away. Many are taking a closer look at President Wade and his economic decisions.

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Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade (R) waves to his supporters during a rally in the capital of the Casamance region Ziguinchor on February 11, 2012, ahead of February 26 presidential election. (Seyllou/AFP/Getty Images)

Senegal's election is a little over a week away. According to critics, the aging but determined President Abdoulaye Wade, 85, hopes to hold on to power just long enough to hand it to his son.

But recent street protests are only about politics as a symptom of the underlying economic malaise, or at least that's what economist Sanou Mbaye argues, convincingly, in this article for the African Arguments website.

Tristan McConnellFebruary 14, 2012 12:16

Richer countries, poorer people in Africa

Recent Afro-optimism regarding economic growth might be misleading.

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LAGOS, NIGERIA: Make-shift homes are erected by the poor under a Lagos fly-over overlooking the skyscrapers that dot central Lagos 02 April, 2004. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)

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NAIROBI, Kenya — Nigeria is booming yet new, official figures from the country's National Bureau of Statistics show that its people are getting poorer: poverty and inequality are on the rise.

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