Niger and Burkina Faso Resolve Territorial Dispute

26 April, 2013

 By Evan Centanni

Border Dispute Settled
Last week, a territorial dispute between the West African countries of Niger and Burkina Faso was resolved peacefully with a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Both countries' governments agreed to respect the court's ruling on where their border should lie, a question which had persisted ever since they both achieved independence in 1960.

In the ruling, the court drew an official border based on a careful analysis of a 1927 document establishing the pre-independence boundary between the two former French colonies, also turning to a 1960 French map which both countries had agreed to use as a secondary reference. The new border splits the disputed area between Burkina Faso and Niger, and will help put an end to confusion regarding policing and tax collection in the border area.

The ICJ, or World Court, is a part of the U.N., and is tasked mainly with arbitrating disagreements between U.N. member countries. It should not be confused with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes individuals for war crimes. Niger and Burkina Faso had agreed by treaty to send the case of their disputed border to the ICJ for settlement, and both have expressed satisfaction with the result.

Autoproclaman la creación de un Estado islámico en el norte de Malí

Los dos grupos rebeldes que tomaron el control de la mitad del norte de Malí anunciaron que habían acordado unir formalmente sus movimientos.

 

Notimex
 

Publicado: 27/05/2012 08:46

Londres. El norte de Malí será un estado islámico independiente, donde regirá la senda del Islam o Sharia, la severa ley musulmana, señaló el líder de la milicia extremista Ansar Dine, Iyad Ag Ghal.

El jefe rebelde confirmó que su organización se une con el Movimiento Nacional para la Liberación del Azawad, un grupo armado secular liderado por los separatistas tuareg, lo que dejó abierta la formación de un estado islámico.

Los dos grupos rebeldes que tomaron el control de la mitad del norte de Malí anunciaron que habían acordado unir formalmente sus movimientos.

Las dos fuerzas tomaron el norte de Mali en marzo pasado, cuando en la capital Bamako, mandos de ejército protagonizaron un golpe de Estado acusando al gobierno del presidente Amadou Toumani Toure, de no hacer lo suficiente para contrarrestar a los grupos rebeldes.

"Acabo de firmar el acuerdo que verá un Estado independiente e islámico, donde regirá la ley islámica", señaló Ag Ghal, reportó el canal qatarí de noticias Al Yazera.

El grupo está acusado de estar vinculado a Al-Qaeda en el Magreb Islámico, un grupo del norte de África responsable de decenas de ataques suicidas, así como los secuestros de extranjeros, algunos de los cuales fueron ejecutados más tarde.

El acuerdo fue firmado la noche del sábado en la ciudad norteña de Gao, con disparos de celebración.

Los dos grupos habían estado en desacuerdo desde marzo, cuando tomaron el norte de Malí y obligaron a las tropas del gobierno a huir hacia el sur, porque Ansar Dine quería imponer la Sharia, algo a lo cual los nómadas tuareg, que son laicos, se resistían.

El portavoz del Movimiento Nacional para la Liberación del Azawad (MLNA), Mohamed Ag Attaher, señaló por su parte que su grupo y los milicianos islamistas del Ansar Dine se unieron en torno a un bloque único y la creación de un Estado islámico independiente.

El Estado independiente estaría compuesto por las regiones del norte de Malí de Kidal, Gao y Timbuctu.

Por otra parte, la situación en el país del norte de Africa es muy confusa, luego que la Coordinación de las Organizaciones Patrióticas de Mali (COPAM, que reúne a los partidarios del golpe de estado) nombraron a un presidente interino.

El capitán Amadou Haya Sanogo, el jefe de la Junta Militar que tomo el poder con el golpe de estado del pasado 22 de marzo, fue designado para ocupar la Presidencia desde el pasado 24 de mayo, luego que el anterior fue víctima de un atentado.

La Comunidad Económica de Estados de África Occidental (CEDEAO) había acordado con la junta militar que Dioncounda Traore estuviera a cargo por un año durante el periodo de transición, pero viajó a Francia para recibir tratamiento médico.

Traore fue atacado en el palacio presidencial por parte de algunos partidarios de la COPAM el pasado 21 de mayo y se desconoce si regresará mientras Haya Sanogo no ha decidico si tomará las riendas del poder.

A esta situación se suman enfrentamientos entre agricultores de la etnia Peuls, procedentes de Burkina Faso, con un grupo étnico del centro de Mali, conocido como Dogon, que han dejado más de cien muertos.

Fuente: La Jornada.

Mali's Tuareg Rebels

Mali's Tuareg Rebels
April 6, 2012 | 1608 GMT

Read more: Mali's Tuareg Rebels | Stratfor

 

Analysis

The National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad (MNLA), one of the Tuareg rebel groups in Mali that has forcibly taken control of the country's northeast, has announced a cease-fire. A spokesman for the group said it had reached the boundary of the traditional Tuareg homeland, known as Azawad, stopping just short of the central town of Mopti after having seized Gao and Timbuktu on March 31 and April 1. The MNLA will not continue its offensive southeast toward the capital of Bamako, according to the spokesman. Fighting against the Tuaregs was one of the main reasons cited by those who participated in the March 21 coup. The ensuing confusion presented an opportunity to the Tuaregs. With the army splintered -- some soldiers were fighting Tuaregs, some displacing government officials in Bamako and others deserting their ranks -- the MNLA was able to launch a strategic offensive and quickly assume control of key cities against minimal military opposition. Control of these cities, particularly Gao and Timbuktu, awards the Tuaregs control of northern Mali entirely -- and with that control, time to consolidate power and entrench themselves in the region. Given the apparent ruinous state of the military, dislodging the Tuaregs appears to be extremely difficult in the near term, particularly without third-party assistance. But foreign intervention seems highly unlikely; the removal of the junta or the establishment of a legitimate government capable of leading an offensive against the Tuaregs would make intervention possible, but not inevitable. As a result, Tuareg control of the northeast will endure for the foreseeable future as long as the current circumstances persist.

Sudan, South Sudan: Border Dispute a Protracted but Limited Conflict

Sudan, South Sudan: Border Dispute a Protracted but Limited Conflict
April 7, 2012 | 1404 GMT

Sudan and South Sudan agreed to a cease-fire during African Union-led negotiations in Ethiopia on April 4. The agreement follows cross-border attacks between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a South Sudanese militia group, on March 25-27 and on April 1. The attacks took place along the oil-rich border between South Sudan's Unity state and Sudan's South Kordofan state. 

The two countries have been working to negotiate cooperation agreements since South Sudan became an independent state in July 2011. But deeply contentious issues, including border demarcation, continue to provoke intermittent conflict. While the border issue may trigger renewed conflict in the future, military, economic and political constraints will prevent this issue from evolving into a larger conflict.

Kenya's incursion into Somalia raises the stakes

 By Will Ross East Africa correspondent, BBC News  

17 October 2011

Kenya has in the past trained Somali troops for deployment near the border to create a buffer zone in an effort to keep al-Shabab militants away, but the presence of Kenyan soldiers inside Somalia has always been played down or even flatly denied.

The very public announcement of this incursion into Somalia by the Kenyan army and air force is a significant change of policy, which seems at least partly aimed at sending a message to the Kenyan people and the rest of the world that the issue of security is being taken seriously.

"Our territorial integrity is threatened with serious security threats of terrorism. We cannot allow this to happen at all," Kenya's Internal Security Minister George Saitoti told the media.

"It means we are now going to pursue the enemy, who are the al-Shabab, to wherever they will be, even in their country."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

    Mujahudeen fighters will force them to taste the pain of the bullets”

End Quote Al-Shabab official

The operation - unprecedented for Kenya's largely inexperienced military - appears to have been triggered by the recent kidnappings of four foreign nationals and one Kenyan.

Two of them were taken on the north Kenyan coast and the others in the Dadaab refugee camp near the border.

There is, however, no concrete proof that these kidnappings were carried out by the Islamist insurgent group.

In an area plagued by guns and Somali bandits, blaming al-Shabab could be jumping to a convenient conclusion.

Some analysts think the military operation is not about rescuing the hostages but is actually about securing the border

Going after a group linked to al-Qaeda and which is on the US terror list is an easier sell to the public than chasing bandits inside Somalia.


Excuse they need'

The verbal response from al-Shabab was swift.


"Mujahideen fighters will force them to taste the pain of the bullets," an al-Shabab official said, after the Kenyan incursion was made public.

For ordinary Kenyans there is some concern that, should the military get embroiled deeper in Somalia's complicated war, it could make Kenya more of a target for groups like al-Shabab.

The fact that Uganda fell victim to deadly bombings last year for the role it has played with the African Union force in Somalia has not gone unnoticed.

"This Kenyan action may give the al-Shabab hardliners the excuse they needed to justify a strike against Kenya," said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst with the International Crisis Group.

Clearly the Kenyan government could not sit back and do nothing after the kidnappings but Kenyans hope this is a very short-term operation lasting maybe just a few days.

Somalia's government troops, some trained by Kenya, have also been battling al-Shabab near the Kenyan Somali border and they do not want to be portrayed as impotent forces in need of foreign help.

With Ugandan and Burundian soldiers propping up the Somali government in the capital, Mogadishu, it is perhaps not surprising that Somali officials have been reluctant to admit that Kenyan troops have crossed the border to fight.

Another reason for disquiet among Somali officials is that Kenya has been assisting Somali efforts to establish a semi-autonomous region known as Jubaland or Azania.

The idea is that if a secure area can be established near the border, Kenya will be safer.

"The presence of foreign troops in that area will not go down well with some elements in Somalia who will not want the Azania project to be seen as a foreign initiative," said Rashid Abdi.

The fighting will of course have an impact on Somali people trying to flee their country and seek refuge in Kenya from hunger and bullets.

Already facing terrifying journeys to make it over the border, the presence of more firepower from above and on the ground will only make those journeys harder.

Last week, 800 Somalis were reaching Dadaab every day.

(Fuente)

Sudán del Sur: los retos de un país nuevo

Jesús Aldabi Olvera, 22 de julio de 2011.

MÉXICO, D.F. (apro).- A pesar del optimismo generalizado que causó la independencia de Sudán del Sur, el recién formado país tiene todavía difíciles pendientes derivados de sus dos guerras civiles.
 

El documental Sudán del Sur, la pelea por el corazón del sur, producido por Clover Films y transmitido por la cadena de noticias Al-Jazeera, muestra a ministros de Estado, artistas, periodistas y activistas que reflexionan sobre el problema:
 

“Sudán del Sur es un animal que camina sobre cuatro patas rotas”, dijo ante las cámaras el Secretario de Cultura sur-sudanés vuelto del exilio, Jok Madut Juk.
 

“La primera es el problema con los militares, el gasto de seguridad; la segunda es la débil sociedad civil que sólo puede dedicarse a cuestiones asistenciales.
 

“La tercera es la falta de infraestructura: es muy difícil dar escuela, agua y desarrollar mercados, y la cuarta es la falta de unidad política que tuvimos antes del referéndum pero que ahora se ha esfumado”.
 

Laura Jones, analista de Enough Project, una ONG dedicada a erradicar el genocidio y los crímenes contra la humanidad, reveló a Apro que todos los problemas del país están entrelazados: