United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

11 May 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

Naval special operations forces unit added to AFRICOM (Stars and Stripes)
(Germany) A special forces unit, newly commissioned at U.S. Africa Command, has
expertise in African security matters and will be available for crisis response missions
and counter-terrorism operations on the continent, where insurgent groups in Somalia
and North Africa threaten regional stability.

Libyan Rebels Gain Ground in Coordinated Attack (WSJ)

(Libya) A series of air strikes by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Tuesday hit
command centers in Tripoli, while the alliance stepped up its campaign to halt Col.
Moammar Gadhafi's advance on rebel-held areas by pounding government forces near
the town of Ajdabiya.

U.S. Aid Efforts in Libya (VOA)

(Libya) The United States continues to provide much needed aid to the Libyan people
and to those affected by the conflict in Libya. To date, the U.S. has committed $53.5
million in humanitarian assistance.

Rebels exist but hiding in Gadhafi's capital (CNN)

(Libya) The Libyan regime is confining international journalists to a five star hotel in
Tripoli called the Rixos. When reporters want to leave they need to take a government
minder and a government translator.

Lessons from Libya and Ivory Coast (AlJazeera)

(Libya/Ivory Coast) In the past two months the United Nations Security Council has
authorised military intervention in Libya and also in the Ivory Coast. On both
occasions, it justified its decision on the basis of protecting civilians and preventing
further civilian deaths.

U.S. Lawmaker Calls for Tougher Action Against Pirates as Threat Escalates (Fox)
By Amy Kellogg
May 10, 2011
Pirate attacks quadrupled in the first three months of this year, as compared to the same
time last year, several piracy experts said, and there have been four attacks in the last
few days, prompting calls for Western powers to take a tougher stand against the
threat.

Crisis Group: Sudan at 'Tipping Point' Over Abyei Clashes (VOA)

(Sudan) As north and south Sudan agree to a troop withdrawal in the disputed region
of Abyei, the International Crisis Group is warning that rising tensions in the region
could threaten the broader peace as Sudan prepares for its July split.

Deby Wins Disputed Election by Landslide (AllAfrica)

(Chad) Chad's incumbent president, Idriss Deby, has been returned to power in an
election boycotted by the opposition, according to preliminary results published by the
country's election commission.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Stronger cross-border economic ties will boost Africa, UN report finds
 Four UN peacekeepers wounded in shooting in Sudan’s Abyei area
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, May 13th; CSIS 1800 K Street, NW, WDC 20006
WHAT: U.S. Trade Relations with Africa and Outlook for the AGOA Forum
WHO: Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, Deputy United States Trade Representative;
Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic of Kenya; Jack
Edlow, President of Edlow International, Co-Chair, Trade Advisory Committee on
Africa
Info: http://csis.org/event/us-trade-relations-africa-and-outlook-agoa-forum
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Naval special operations forces unit added to AFRICOM (Stars and Stripes)
By John Vandiver
May 10, 2011
STUTTGART, Germany − A special forces unit, newly commissioned at U.S. Africa
Command, has expertise in African security matters and will be available for crisis
response missions and counter-terrorism operations on the continent, where insurgent
groups in Somalia and North Africa threaten regional stability.

Naval Special Warfare Unit-10, with its focus on Africa, “will ensure our national
interests are protected, violent extremists organizations are placed in check and key
partner nations start controlling their own security posture,” said Cmdr. Joseph Geary,
the unit’s leader, during a recent commissioning ceremony at Panzer Kaserne in
Stuttgart.
The unit is the only force Special Operations Command Africa “can use to quickly
respond to crises or contingencies on the continent,” Geary said.

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The primary focus of the command is to support training missions with African
militaries, according to SOCAFRICA, according to a command news release issued on
the unit’s commissioning last month. However, Naval Special Warfare forces, which
include SEALS, also are experts in reconnaissance. The forces are capable of conducting
a range of security and counterterrorism operations and can launch assaults from
forward-deployed Navy ships, submarines and aircraft.

Among groups that threaten regional security are the al-Qaida-inspired al-Shabab,
which has been waging war for several years against a weak, Western-backed
government in Somalia and has claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks beyond that
country’s borders. In northern Africa, the group known as al-Qaida in the Islamic
Maghreb could have jihadist ambitions beyond the remote desert terrain where it now
operates, according to some terrorism experts.

Whether conducting counterterrorism operations or traditional military-to-military

training, Special Forces units are best suited for work in places such as Africa, where the
U.S. wants to maintain a light footprint, according to Jim Gavrilis, a security consultant
and former U.S. Army Special Forces officer.

“There is no question, Special Forces are an economy of force,” Gavrilis said. “You
create better battlefield effects from these smaller units. I think the potential for Special
Forces to get deeper into Africa is high.”

After AFRICOM was established in 2008, Rear Adm. Edward G. Winters III,
commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, “considered it logical to establish
NSWU-10 since he believed Africa would require greater attention from U.S. Special
Operations Command,” according to SOCAFRICA.

The process of commissioning NSWU-10 began in the spring of 2009 and required
coordination between the secretary of defense, two combatant commands, the host
nation government and garrison officials, according to SOCAFRICA.
---------------------------------
Libyan Rebels Gain Ground in Coordinated Attack (WSF)
By MUNEEF HALAWA
May 10, 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya–A series of air strikes by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Tuesday hit command centers in Tripoli, while the alliance stepped up its campaign to
halt Col. Moammar Gadhafi's advance on rebel-held areas by pounding government
forces near the town of Ajdabiya.
In an operation that rebel commanders said was coordinated with NATO, rebel units
equipped with Grad rocket launchers launched an attack westwards from Ajdabiya
toward the oil town of Brega.

The rebels claimed to have destroyed 14 pick-up trucks belonging to Col. Gadhfai
loyalists in the attack, but said that instead of advancing west following the battle, they
immediately retreated to bait pro-Gadhafi forces into a trap.

A rebel commander said that NATO had told the rebels to pull back for about 12 miles
after making the preliminary assault, in order to provide a zone in which NATO
bombers could hit any target they could see.

"There was a really large force of Gadhafi forces heading towards Adjabiya," said Col.
Ahmed Omar Bani, the spokesman for the rebel army. "As they moved on Adjabiya
they were hit by NATO forces."

Abdul Jawad, commander of Omar Mokhtar Brigade who took part in the rebel assault,
said that after attacking the pro-Gadhafi positions the rebel forces under his command
retreated.

"NATO gave us strict instructions to withdraw 20 kilometers," he said. Mr. Jawad said
he was unsure how many tanks were struck by the NATO raids.

Mr. Jawad said that with the NATO bombings, he was confident that rebel units could
hold the line west of Ajdabiya. However, he cautioned that the rebels lacked tanks and
heavy artillery which would allow an advance on the key oil town of Brega.

"We expect to be able to capture Brega but it will take time. Our training is improving,"
he said.

In Brussels, NATO said its air strikes overnight included attacks on command and
control centers around Tripoli, including an intelligence bunker, which was hit for the
first time. NATO officials said earlier strikes on military command and control bunkers
had forced commanders to move sites.
----------------------
U.S. Aid Efforts in Libya (VOA)
By Unattributed Author
May 10, 2011
The United States continues to provide much needed aid to the Libyan people and to
those affected by the conflict in Libya. To date, the U.S. has committed $53.5 million in
humanitarian assistance.

Over 600,000 people have fled Libya as of April 26th. Most of the people who are
leaving are foreign nationals who had been working in Libya, but there are also Libyan
nationals among them who fear for their safety, as well as refugees from conflicts in
places including Sudan and Eritrea who had previously been given shelter by Libya. In
response, the international community, through the International Organization of
Migration and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has
launched one of the largest humanitarian airlifts in history. Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State Reuben Brigety noted that as of April 25th, 117,000 people have been airlifted
home to countries as distant as Bangladesh and Vietnam.

There have been some optimistic changes in Libya recently, in terms of humanitarian
access, but conditions continue to be difficult to assess in many areas due to security
concerns, said Mark Bartolini, Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
at the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.

Mr. Bartolini said USAID and its international and non-governmental organization
partners, including the World Food Program, the Red Cross, and other groups are
positioning food and other supplies in the region while seeking more access to western
parts of Libya, especially to Misrata, the port city that has seen some of the most intense
fighting of the conflict.

"We know there are some medical needs in Misrata, in particular doctors who are
operating in these surgical theaters are quite exhausted, so we're rotating doctors with
some of our partners. . .and we continue however to get supplies in," said Mr. Bartolini.
With regard to food aid, a large U.S. shipment to the World Food Program consisting of
560 metric tons of vegetable oil and 270 metric tons of pinto beans arrived in
Alexandria, Egypt, with more to follow, part of an effort to reach up to 600,000
beneficiaries. "There are concerns that supply chains will start breaking down if the
conflict continues," said Mr. Bartolini. "And so we want to make sure that we've been
able to stockpile enough food in order to give, say two to three months leeway in order
to continue a pipeline."

The United States is deeply concerned about the safety of civilians caught up in the
Libyan crisis, and calls for complete humanitarian access to meet emergency relief
needs inside Libya.
----------------------
Rebels exist but hiding in Gadhafi's capital (CNN)
By Frederik Pleitgen and Kareem Khadder
May 10, 2011
Berlin, Germany - The Libyan regime is confining international journalists to a five star
hotel in Tripoli called the Rixos.

When reporters want to leave they need to take a government minder and a
government translator.
"This is important so that you do not get hurt," one official told CNN when we
requested to drive around town on our own. He insisted angry Gadhafi supporters
might harm journalists because of the rage caused by NATO's bombing campaign over
Libya.

This policy tries to create a sentiment of fear among the reporters and instill in them the
notion that Tripoli is a Gadhafi stronghold where any journalist who tries to move on
his own and ask questions will be turned in and arrested, and possibly held for weeks
like several western reporters who remain in custody in Libya.

The government minders like to take western reporters to raucous pro-Gadhafi

demonstrations in Tripoli where loud protesters scream: "Down, down Sarkozy."

They vow to fight to the death for Moammar Gadhafi. The mood is threatening and the
people taking part are pumped up and seem emotional.

But we regularly managed to sneak out of the Rixos in recent weeks and discovered
that the notion of Tripoli as a bastion of Gadhafi support is little more then a charade.

In one neighborhood we managed to contact the rebels. They brought us to a secret

location where the refrain is: "We are the youth of 17th of February in Tripoli. We
declare our total support to the free Libyan people. We also declare our full and total
support to the Transitional National Council (the de facto rebel government) and
believe only it and no one else is the legitimate representative of the Libyan people."

Those simple words can easily land young people in jail if they are caught shouting
them in public and certainly if they are talking to international journalists.

So the young men wore masks. They were kind and well-educated and strongly denied
the notion of a fanatical anti-Western public in Tripoli.

"Do not fear the Libyan people," a young rebel leader told us. "We want to be friends
with the world. Gadhafi is just trying to scare you to think people will fight for him."

Some of the young men are even members of the Libyan security forces, and some say
they were arrested in the early days of the uprising in Libya in late-February and
tortured by pro-Gadhafi forces. "I did not know where the beating was coming from,"
one young man said. "I was deprived of sleep and even food and water."

The rebels say they believe that about 75 percent of Tripoli residents are against
Gadhafi.
They also say that most are afraid to take to the streets and speak their minds because
Gadhafi has put armed gangs into the neighborhoods and established checkpoints to
suppress dissent.

It is impossible to verify these claims and, naturally, Libyan government officials

strongly deny the assertions.

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. There is no doubt that Gadhafi has
supporters in Tripoli and around Western Libya.

People we have spoken to without government minders around say they have benefited
economically from Gadhafi's rule, especially since 2004, when a lot of the international
sanctions against Libya were lifted as Gadhafi attempted to align himself with the West.

There are many construction sites in Tripoli and Gadhafi's supporters speak highly of
subsidized housing programs and other benefits.

"I think we also have one of the best health care systems in the world," one Gadhafi
supporter told us. "I can just go to the hospital anytime and get care and we never have
to pay a penny."

The young rebels, however, say to them it is not about money, or political power. They
say they want freedom to speak their mind and take their country's destiny into their
own hands.

"Gadhafi and his sons have only brought the Libyan people destruction and depression.
They have squandered our natural resources and stolen money and killed their people
in the past 42 years," the rebel leader told us, reading from a statement when we visited
the group in their secret hideout.

They told us they are too weak to start an all out uprising for the time being.

They say they try to distribute pamphlets, spray anti-Gadhafi slogans on walls in town,
organize smaller demonstrations and sometimes attack Gadhafi checkpoints.

After government forces opened fire on previous demonstrations the rebels say it is too
dangerous to try anything more.

The opposition in Tripoli remains oppressed, but it is alive.

Another sign that people are not so fanatical about the "Brother Leader," comes every
time we go out in downtown Tripoli without government minders present.
The mobs of would-be demonstrators vanish and people take very little notice of us,
they are friendly and have never harassed us or even criticized NATO or the West.
------------------------
Lessons from Libya and Ivory Coast (AlJazeera)
By Yves Daccord
May 10, 2011
In the past two months the United Nations Security Council has authorised military
intervention in Libya and also in the Ivory Coast. On both occasions, it justified its
decision on the basis of protecting civilians and preventing further civilian deaths.

On May 10, the UN Security Council meets in New York to discuss the protection of
civilians. Perhaps never before will the gap between progress on the political, military
and policy levels and the humanitarian reality on the ground have been so stark.

Despite – or because of – these initiatives to protect civilians, the challenge of providing

impartial and neutral humanitarian aid to the people in the midst of these armed
conflicts has become even more difficult. The international humanitarian community
has been severely put to the test in both Libya and Ivory Coast.

The humanitarian situation in Libya is dire and continuing to get worse – especially in
the besieged city of Misrata, where water supply, health care and other basic services
are severely disrupted, if functioning at all. Hospitals are under extreme pressure. The
recent shelling of a ship carrying humanitarian aid and wounded people out of Misrata
– the second such incident in the last few weeks – caused yet more death and suffering.

In other areas affected by fighting, such as Ajdabiya, tens of thousands of people have
fled their homes. Return is hampered not only by the rampant insecurity but also by the
constant danger of unexploded munitions. In many areas, particularly in Tripoli and
western Libya, access for humanitarian organisations has been extremely problematic,
and very few have been able to operate effectively and reach people in need.

At the same time, the humanitarian situation in western Ivory Coast, near the border
with Liberia, remains critical. Entire villages have been devastated by the conflict, and
the needs of residents and displaced people – for food, water, shelter and health care –
are particularly acute. The destruction and looting of many hospitals and health-care
centres has resulted in an urgent need for medicines and medical supplies. Yet the
overall humanitarian response has been woefully inadequate. In this area of the
country, the International Committee of the Red Cross together with the national Red
Cross Society are still among the only humanitarian organisations able to reach people
in need without military escorts.

So with all the fine statements and resolutions about protection of civilians on the
political level, why has the humanitarian effort to protect and assist civilians on the
ground been so constrained?
Beyond the blatant lack of respect for international humanitarian law by states and non-
state actors, which lies at the heart of large-scale suffering we are witnessing, a key
reason is the increasing politicisation and militarisation of humanitarian aid. This
includes the exploitation of aid by states as a tool for conflict management and as an
instrument to promote their own interests. In the case of both Libya and Ivory Coast,
the political, military and humanitarian agendas of the key international players may be
difficult to separate clearly, at least in the public perception. This can become a
particularly thorny issue where a UN integrated mission simultaneously plays military
and humanitarian roles, and effectively becomes a party to the conflict, as was the case
in the Ivory Coast. Such blurring of roles ultimately complicates or hinders impartial
humanitarian access to people on both sides of a conflict, not just for UN agencies and
their implementing partners, but for others too.

Another important reason lies with the performance and behaviour of humanitarian
actors themselves. While many humanitarian organisations claim to adhere to the
fundamental principles not only of impartiality (which is the minimum), but also of
neutrality and independence, few actually do so in practice. Principles tend to cede to
pragmatism when it is convenient to do so. This ultimately constrains the delivery of
truly principled humanitarian aid.

With a proliferation of actors claiming to carry out protection work, effective and
meaningful coordination must be based more on genuine respect of certain basic
principles than on ever-more refined mechanisms and procedures of coordination. In
the interests of transparency and accountability, we must all be realistic and
unambiguous about our available capacities in situations of emergency, including about
where we have humanitarian access and where we do not, and about where we
implement activities ourselves and to what extent we work through implementing
partners. In the case where we delegate activities to partners, to what extent do we
monitor these activities? Are we effectively outsourcing risks that we are unwilling to
take ourselves?

The challenge of protecting civilians – in all its various dimensions – is a daunting one.
States, non-state actors, donors and humanitarian organisations all have their own
particular role to play. It is all too easy to pass the blame for failure to someone else.

States and non-state actors must show the political will and good faith needed to turn
legal provisions into reality, to take seriously their obligations to protect civilians. Aid
must be prioritised and allocated strictly on the basis of humanitarian needs, not on
political, military or economic objectives. And humanitarian organisations, including
the ICRC, can begin with an honest self-appraisal of their capacities and limitations, and
a genuine commitment to match fine words and good intentions with reality on the
ground. The lives of countless men, women and children caught up in armed conflict
depend on it.
--------------------
U.S. Lawmaker Calls for Tougher Action Against Pirates as Threat Escalates (Fox)
By Amy Kellogg
May 10, 2011
Pirate attacks quadrupled in the first three months of this year, as compared to the same
time last year, several piracy experts said, and there have been four attacks in the last
few days, prompting calls for Western powers to take a tougher stand against the
threat.

The most recent attacks were unsuccessful, but they shows the pirates still pose a
serious threat despite improved patrols in the Gulf of Yemen.

Pirates are now using hijacked “motherships” to do their dirty work, the European
Union Naval Force in Somalia said. This makes them more powerful in two ways: They
can travel much farther out to sea, to areas where seamen used to feel safe, and they do
their hijacking with hostages on board —human shields—which makes international
navies reluctant to use fire.

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., just returned from a fact-finding trip to the Horn of Africa. He
thinks the U.S. Navy should put a total blockade on pirate ports.

“We should recall our Jeffersonian past and blockade main pirate port locations," he
said. "That means they will not be able to meet their payrolls, and the number
operatives and expeditions leaving Somalia will be reduced. And once you put a U.S.
frigate or a naval destroyer off a pirate anchorage, with comprehensive rules of
engagement to engage and sink pirate controlled vessels you’ll see a lot less piracy.”

Kirk claims the cost of piracy to the world economy is $12 billion a year—in terms of
ransoms paid and the cost of policing the waters. He says the disruption to energy
supply is significant, and it translates into higher oil prices at the pump. Furthermore,
piracy funds the terrorist group Al Shabaab, based in Somalia.

Cutting off piracy will aid in the fight against terrorism, Kirk argued.

“If we collapse Al Shabaab entirely, we accomplish two critical objectives. One, wiping
out the largest terror training camps on Earth, and two, ending this scourge of piracy,
which now causes gas prices to go higher, funds terror.”

Piracy expert J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, claims
that with Yemen on the verge of collapse, the situation becomes more dire.

“The pirates already operate out of several Yemeni ports, the motherships go there to be
refueled, to resupply and then head out because they know that the Somali coasts are
being watched," Pham said. "And now, as the Yemeni government loses control, there is
more scope for operation with the pirates, and we also know that the pirates have been
serving as intermediaries between Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Shabaab,
the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist organization operating in Somalia, so we expect an
increase in the traffic of men, material and terrorists between the two countries.”

Pham thinks international bodies also need to target the money.

“There are people who are literally investing in piracy as a business opportunity, and
we have to go after that money -- both stopping the ransoms, because that cuts off
incentive to be a pirate, and stopping the investors who invest in Somali piracy," Pham
said. "We’re talking about big businessmen and others who, through a number of
Islamic banking institutions, funnel money to finance piracy operations and reap
tremendous rewards when these ransoms are paid.”

Paddy O’Kennedy, wing commander and spokesman for the EU Naval Force in
Somalia, explains another problem: As many as 90 percent of the suspected pirates
picked up at sea are simply disarmed and sent back to Somalia, because few courts
around the world are interested in trying any suspects not caught actually hijacking a
ship.

EU Naval Force in Somalia does not think a blockade of Somali ports will necessarily
deter pirates, suggesting the pirates will simply skirt the blockades and deploy from
other points. Rather Somalis, who value family life, might be deterred if more pirates
were thrown in prison.

All pirate watchers agree that the scourge of piracy will continue as long as Somalia
lacks a stable government. In the meantime, debate continues about how best to prevail
in this deadly cat-and-mouse game at sea.
-----------------------
Crisis Group: Sudan at 'Tipping Point' Over Abyei Clashes (VOA)
Michael Onyiego
May 10, 2011
Nairobi - As north and south Sudan agree to a troop withdrawal in the disputed region
of Abyei, the International Crisis Group is warning that rising tensions in the region
could threaten the broader peace as Sudan prepares for its July split.

In an effort to quell clashes between armed groups and security forces in Sudan’s oil-
producing Abyei region, the governments of north and south Sudan began to withdraw
forces from the area Tuesday, turning control over to a jointly operated force.

A statement released late Sunday by the United Nations said representatives from the
two sides had agreed to remove "all unauthorized forces" from the region.
Abyei straddles the border between north and south Sudan and has been a hotly
contested region ever since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which
ended more than 20 years of civil war.

The CPA called for a referendum to be held in Abyei to determine its status, alongside
the January referendum which created an independent south Sudan. But disputes over
border demarcation and voter eligibility have postponed the process indefinitely,
further inflaming tensions.

With south Sudan preparing to officially secede from Khartoum on July 9, the
International Crisis Group’s Zach Vertin says the Abyei issue will be crucial in ensuring
a smooth transition.

"There are definitely broader implications as further deterioration in Abyei presents not
only grave risks for the people in Abyei but could inflame north-south proxy conflicts
elsewhere, threaten peaceful secession of the south in July and undermine efforts
toward a constructive north-south relationship beyond July 2011," Vertin said.

Abyei is inhabited by members of the Ngok Dinka, a group affiliated with the south.
But the region is also claimed by the northern-affiliated Misseriya tribe as a traditional
grazing area. Clashes between the two groups in the lead-up to the referendum led both
north and south Sudan to build up their troop deployments in the area.

Last week, 14 people were killed when fighting broke out between the two sides. The
Brussels-based Crisis Group warns that the clashes have pushed north and south Sudan
to the brink of war.

Both sides have also laid unilateral claims to the region, with north Sudan even
threatening to withhold recognition of the south come July.

With tensions running high, the prospects of an actual referendum to decide the fate of
Abyei look dim.

According to Vertin, there is momentum for a political settlement fueled by progress in

broader post referendum talks over oil, citizenship and borders.

"There certainly have been put forward solutions that could solve the Abyei issue
among political elites in Khartoum and Juba," Vertin said. "But what’s necessary for
sustainable peace is selling that on the ground to the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya
communities."

For now, security in the Abyei region will be maintained by the Joint Integrated Unit, a
force created by the CPA with elements of both the north's Sudanese Armed Forces and
the south's Sudan People’s Liberation Army. The joint force is considered a largely
failed component of the peace agreement but was seen as the only viable and
immediate solution to the escalating violence.
----------------------
Deby Wins Disputed Election by Landslide (AllAfrica)
By Unattributed Author
10 May 2011
Chad's incumbent president, Idriss Deby, has been returned to power in an election
boycotted by the opposition, according to preliminary results published by the
country's election commission.

Radio France Internationale reports that the commission said Deby won the April 25
presidential election with 88.66 percent of the vote - preparing the way for him to serve
a fourth term.

It reported that challengers Albert Pahimi Padacké had secured 6.03 percent of the vote
and Nadji Madou 5.32 percent. Both rejected the announced result.

The election commission said 64.22 percent of voters had gone to the polls, but Madou
alleged that only between 19 and 24 percent of the electorate had voted.

Madou and Padacké say they will consult with each other on the possibility of
challenging the results. However, a presidential spokesperson attributed the high
turnout to successful campaigning.

The result is subject to confirmation by Chad's Constitutional Court.

--------------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Stronger cross-border economic ties will boost Africa, UN report finds

10 May – Greater cross-border investments within Africa and more policies that serve
the interests of the poor could boost the continent’s overall standard of living by as
much as 10 per cent by the end of the decade, according to a United Nations report
released today.

Four UN peacekeepers wounded in shooting in Sudan’s Abyei area

10 May – Unidentified assailants have shot and wounded four United Nations
peacekeepers while they were on patrol in the disputed Abyei area of Sudan today.