Guinea junta blames Toumba Diakite for massacre from the BBC

A renegade Guinean soldier was solely responsible for massacring protesters at a rally last September, an inquiry backed by the ruling junta has said.

The probe blamed Lt Aboubakar Toumba Diakite - a soldier who shot and wounded junta leader Capt Moussa Dadis Camara last December.

It cleared Capt Camara of involvement - contradicting the findings of an earlier UN inquiry.

Capt Camara is still recovering from the shooting in Burkina Faso.

The BBC's West Africa correspondent Caspar Leighton says with so many other inquiries arriving at conclusions contrary to this one, many people will not take it seriously.

Leader absolved

Human rights groups say that at least 157 activists were killed and dozens of women raped during a pro-democracy rally at football stadium on 28 September last year.

ANALYSIS

Caspar Leighton

BBC News

With so much recorded testimony that runs counter to this latest assessment, it is unlikely that many will take it too seriously.

The United Nations sent an investigation team which said more than 150 people were killed, with dozens raped and assaulted. It judged that Capt Camara and two others - Lt Diakite and Major Moussa Tiegboro Camara - bore responsibility for the killings.

The Guinean military commission says of the three, only Lt Diakite is responsible, along with an unidentified number of the presidential guard and others. The commission says 63 people died, far fewer than other Guinean and international findings.

Analysis: Army loses its swagger

Lt Diakite, in hiding since the shooting, previously told French radio that he shot Capt Camara because he feared the military leader was trying to blame him for the massacre.

Prosecutor Siriman Kouyate, head of the Guinean commission of inquiry, laid the blame squarely on the renegade soldier.

"Lt Toumba Diakite and a group of red berets from the presidential guard were responsible for the rapes, murders, injuries and mysterious disappearance of bodies," he said.

Mr Kouyate said Lt Diakite should face justice because he had disobeyed orders that the army should stay in the barracks.

He added that Capt Camara was "responsible for nothing".

"It has been established that the president did not go to the stadium."

The Guinean commission said that 58 people had died at the stadium and another five in hospital, according to the AFP news agency.

The commission also called for an amnesty for the opposition leaders who called for the pro-democracy protest.

These include veteran opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore, who was last month sworn in as prime minister, tasked with steering the country towards an election in six months' time.

Sudan: Kenya 'Conduit' of Weapons As South 'Arms Race' Begins from allAfrica.com

Nairobi — Kenya has been named in a report by a Swiss research institute as the conduit for many of the weapons transferred to Southern Sudan government forces in violation of a peace agreement strongly backed by the United States.

The Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment, which is a multi-year research project administered by the Small Arms Survey - an independent research project of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies - reported that satellite imagery has confirmed the presence at Southern Sudan military headquarters of tanks that arrived at the port of Mombasa in 2008.

These T-72 tanks were part of three weapons shipments from Ukraine "ostensibly consigned to the Kenyan Ministry of Defence" but that were in fact under contract to the Government of Southern Sudan, according to the Small Arms Survey. In addition to tanks, the three shipments in 2007 and 2008 are said to include 122 mm vehicle-mounted rocket launchers, 14.5 mm machine guns, 23 mm anti-aircraft cannon, RPG-7 rocket launchers and AKM assault rifles.

Some of these arms transfers to South Sudan forces were facilitated by a Mombasa-based shipping agency run by a British national, the survey says. It does not name the agency.

The researchers warn that an "arms race" is underway in Sudan, with the national government in Khartoum and the SPLM-led government in the South both acquiring large quantities of weapons.

The East African

Insecurity

The United States is meanwhile warning that shipments of arms into Southern Sudan are heightening insecurity there in the run-up to a referendum that could result in the region's secession.

US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice did not directly answer a reporter's question last week about Kenya's reported involvement in this illicit arms trade. "In a region where you have porous borders," Ms Rice said in response, "there are undoubtedly weapons coming from all directions."

The US envoy added that the task now is to identify the principal source of the shipments and to answer the question, "Is this simply small arms trafficking of the sort that we see throughout the continent or is it actually a deliberate effort to sow instability?"

Ms Rice spoke with reporters following a January 26 UN Security Council meeting on developments in Sudan. She said UN officials had indicated that heavier weapons now appear to be reaching the South. Specific information on the shipments has not been provided, Ms Rice added.

Violence is escalating in Southern Sudan, which had been at war with Khartoum for 20 years. The UN reports that more than 2000 people were killed in clashes among tribal militias last year. Some of the incidents involved thousands of heavily armed attackers, the UN says.

International monitors worry that the 2005 peace agreement could break down in the coming months, leading to a resumption of the war that killed an estimated two million Sudanese. Tensions are growing as the antagonists prepare for a scheduled 2011 referendum in the South on the question of whether the region should claim independence."The international community appears completely unprepared to put out the fire that is likely to start in the event of a [peace treaty] breakdown," the Small Arms Survey says. "It has singularly failed to prevent ongoing weapons flows into this highly volatile environment to date."

The US government under George W Bush invested considerable diplomatic effort to bring about the peace agreement. And the Obama administration appears determined to prevent that achievement from coming undone.

The State Department has meanwhile contracted with private companies to help train South Sudan's armed forces. The US says that arrangement does not contravene the peace treaty, which forbids arms shipments to the South without the joint approval of its government and the Khartoum government.

Courtesy call

The Small Arms Survey report was made public as President Mwai Kibaki last week met Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir, who paid him a courtesy call at his Harambee House office in Nairobi.

At their meeting, President Kibaki said Kenya was committed to enhanced security along the two countries' common border through regular cross border meetings and other forms of security co-operation.

During the meeting which was also attended by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Presidential Press Service reports, President Kiir briefed President Kibaki on the progress in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which was signed in Nairobi in January 2005.

President Kiir appreciated the role Kenya has continued to play during the entire peace process in Southern Sudan through immense support in various forms.

President Kibaki reassured the Southern Sudan delegation that Kenya, Igad and the AU would remain actively engaged in the successful implementation of the CPA due to the far reaching implications for the region's security.

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang'ula was not available for comment but Assistant Minister for Internal Security Joshua Orua Ojode dismissed the report as "rumours" and demanded evidence. "The Kenya government does not trade in arms and respects the territorial integrity of other countries. But if there is evidence, we are ready to investigate," he said.

Nigeria: National Fuel Stock Runs Out in Seven Days - Major Crisis Looms from allAfrica.com

Lagos — A mega fuel scarcity, which could make the current and past ones look like a child's play, is looming following disclosure at the weekend that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the lone importer of the product, is running short of it.

Investigation showed that the national fuel stock will be depleted in seven days' time.

NNPC Spokesperson, Levi Ajuonuma, did not pick calls to his mobile telephone at the weekend.

A text message sent to the line was also not answered, but a source at the NNPC said an order has been placed, which would take not less than two weeks to arrive.

"Yes, they just gave out an order for February deliveries for 24 cargoes, which would start arriving from February 8. Current stock level/sufficiency is two weeks," the source said.

For the first time since the scarcity started over six weeks ago, the government has admitted that there is a wide gap in supply which the NNPC cannot fill.
Minister of State for Finance, Remi Babalola, disclosed at the weekend that the NNPC, which owes the government N450 billion, has cash flow hiccup.

He explained that the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) does not have a problem with the NNPC.

"There would be a problem if the debtor said it does not agree it was owing. But this is a debtor that has owned up, and has even spoken that there is no debate about the fact that it is owing N450 billion.


"The problem now, however, is the cash flow situation, and how it would be able to pay back the money," he stated.

Babalola was speaking to journalists at a workshop organised by the NNPC for members of the FAAC.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, said in Lagos that since marketers stopped importation, the NNPC has tried hard to fill the gap without success.

He spoke at a meeting with oil marketers, depot owners, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

Somalia: Influx of IDPs And Refugees in Yemen Strains Local Economies from allAfrica.com

As Yemen faces increasing movement of refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs), local host communities are struggling to maintain their already fragile economic stability.

Refugees have been migrating to Yemen from Somalia and the horn of Africa since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in Somalia in 1991. Somalis make up the greatest proportion of refugees in Yemen with a population of 158,180 according the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Agency (UNHCR) in Yemen.

Meanwhile, IDPs have been fleeing the conflict between the Yemeni government and the Shia al-Houti rebels in the Sa'ada province in Northern Yemen since 2004. A recent spike in violence beginning in August 2009 has led to an increase in the IDP population, which UNHCR now estimates at 250,000.

Yemen is the only state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention in the Arabian Peninsula. The Refugee Convention defines refugees as people forced to leave their home country or country of residence for fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, or membership in a specific social or political group. The Convention mandates the recognition of rights of refugees including the right to education and work and travel documents. It also forbids refoulement, or the forceful repatriation of refugees to a country where they face threats to their safety or security. Yemen's location on the Gulf of Adan and the Red Sea, directly across from the Horn of Africa makes it a prime entry point for east African refugees.

Yet the high numbers of refugees are straining Yemen's already fragile economy. Rocco Nuri, Associate Reporting and External Relations Officer for UNHCR in Aden, Yemen described to MediaGlobal the enormity of the economic problem Yemen faces with the influx of refugees and IDPs. "Yemen, the poorest of the Arab states, with around 40 percent unemployment and 16 percent of the population living on less than one USD per day would have found itself in a more difficult position if the international community had not intervened with the provision of humanitarian assistance."

Andrej Mahecic, Senior Communications Officer for UNHCR in Geneva for East Asia and Pacific, Eastern Europe, Horn of Africa and Yemen, further elaborated to MediaGlobal on the conditions exacerbating the Yemeni government's difficulties dealing with the IDP and refugee populations. "Severe drought and food shortages, combined with the effects of the global financial downturn, have limited the government's ability to absorb the growing tide of refugees and migrants coming from the Horn of Africa as well as to meet all the needs of more than 200,000 internally displaced people affected by the conflict since 2004."

With an already unstable economy, Yemeni communities have struggled to accommodate displaced people into local systems. While some displaced people are living in camps, many have moved into towns individually or with family and friends. This creates housing instability as Marie Marullaz, UNHCR's Associate External Relations Officer for IDPs in Sana'a Yemen explained to MediaGlobal "In Amran Governorate, the situation is worrying where most of the IDPs reaching the area are seeking shelter with host communities or trying to rent houses. Faced with these challenges UNHCR and its implementing partners are providing tents to the displaced civilians in host communities to increase living space within housing compounds."

This influx of people has joined the economies of these communities, competing with locals for scarce jobs. Many refugees have responded to the job shortage by participating in income generating activities in the informal sector. Nuri told MediaGlobal, "The major challenge for refugees in Yemen is the very limited opportunity to engage in formal self reliance activities, with the vast majority of refugees working in the informal sector, as car washers, masons, electricians, cleaners, etcetera."

UNHCR has struggled to meet the needs of the growing population. Mahecic told MediaGlobal that UNHCR's budget, which floundered in 2007 at $4 million has increased to $28 million for 2010. But with budget increases aimed primarily at filling the gaps in basic services, such as food and shelter, more sustainable programs such as vocational training are only in the planning stages. UNHCR's work has also been hindered by increasing violence surrounding and aimed at international aid intervention. Many hurdles remain to securing stability and livelihoods for displaced people in Yemen and the Yemeni communities affected by their presence.

Kenya: Kibaki Asks UN to Help Address Refugee Crisis from allAfrica.com

Nairobi — The conflict in Somalia is posing a major security threat to Kenya, President Kibaki said on Sunday.

Speaking on the sidelines at the ongoing African Union meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President said the influx of refugees from the war-torn country had overstretched the country's limited resources.

The President called for greater cooperation between the government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in addressing the refugee situation in the country.

The Head of State reassured the UN secretary-general, Mr Ban Ki-moon, that the security and safety of Nairobi-based UN personnel and offices remained a top priority for the government.

He also updated the UN secretary-general on the progress made in ushering in a new constitutional dispensation.

The President said the consensus reached by the Parliamentary Select Committee members showed that the country was on the verge of acquiring a new law.

He, however, acknowledged concerns raised by Mr Ban, saying there were outstanding issues that needed to be addressed, among them, the referendum law, the disputed 2008 census results, the national elections and the sharing of wealth.

The UN boss welcomed the progress made in the implementation of reforms and expressed optimism that the country would get a new constitution after the referendum scheduled for April this year.

The President assured Mr Ban of the government's commitment to the attainment of lasting peace in Sudan, saying Kenya was a guarantor of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Call for Central African Republic rebel torture probe from the BBC

Rights groups, opposition leaders and France have urged the Central African Republic to investigate claims that a rebel leader was tortured to death.

Charles Massi was apparently arrested in Chad in December and taken to CAR, where he died in custody in January.

His family have alleged he was tortured to death, but the government has denied the claims.

Former President Ange-Felix Patasse said the government must "shed light on this alarming case".

In a statement quoted by the AFP news agency, Mr Patasse said his call for an investigation did not mean he endorsed the rebels' cause.

He said he wanted to ensure the nation returned to peace before an election due in April.

Cause celebre

The BBC's Chris Simpson in the CAR capital Bangui says the government has attempted to dismiss Massi as a marginal figure who has taken no part in peace talks.

But in death, Massi has become something of a cause celebre among the opposition and has put the government in an awkward position, says our correspondent.

Massi was a senior political figure in the CAR and had two spells as a cabinet minister - including under Mr Patasse.

But in his mid-50s he turned to the rebel movement, surprising many of his friends and colleagues, our correspondent says.

His group, known as the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), had been blamed for several killings.

Government troops were also accused of rights abuses in the northern town of Sokumba last year, where they allegedly killed a number of civilians in an attempt to suppress the rebels.

In a statement last week, former colonial power France said it wanted clarity on Massi's death, arguing that nothing would justify his mistreatment.

Somali Islamists al-Shabab 'join al-Qaeda fight' from the BBC

Somali Islamist rebel group al-Shabab has confirmed for the first time that its fighters are aligned with al-Qaeda's global militant campaign.

The group said in a statement that the "jihad of Horn of Africa must be combined with the international jihad led by the al-Qaeda network".

Meanwhile, several people have died in fighting in Mogadishu after government troops shelled militant positions.

Islamist insurgents control much of southern and central Somalia.

The government, which is backed by the UN and African Union, holds sway only in a small part of Mogadishu.

Despite repeated accusations by the US that al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaeda, the group denied the connection in a recent interview with the BBC.

The BBC Somali service's Mohamed Mohamed says it is the first time the group has officially confirmed its fight is linked to al-Qaeda.

'Financer of terrorism'

The group's statement also announced that its militants had joined forces with a smaller insurgent group called Kamboni.

The group, based in the southern town of Ras Kamboni, was previously allied to Hizbul-Islam - another militant group fighting the government.

Kamboni is led by Hassan Turki, a militant the US accuses of being a "financer of terrorism".

Al-Shabab said it was trying to unite all Islamist forces to create a Muslim state under its hard-line interpretation of Sharia law.

The group, which controls swathes of Somalia, has carried out public beheadings and stonings.

'Human shields'

Meanwhile in Mogadishu reports said at least eight civilians were killed in fighting overnight.

"Our team collected eight bodies of civilians who were killed in the shelling and 55 others who were injured, some of them seriously," health official Ali Musa told the AFP news agency.

Militants had launched an artillery attack on the presidential compound, and government and African Union forces responded with several mortar shells.

AFP quoted an unnamed police official accusing the rebels of hiding in civilian areas and using "human shields".

Somalia has been wracked by violence for much of the past 20 years. It has not had a functioning central government since 1991.

ICC 'must probe Nigeria religious violence in Jos' from the BBC

A Nigerian rights group has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate violence between Muslims and Christians in the city of Jos.

The group, known as Serap, wrote to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asking him to open an inquiry into the deaths of 326 people in the riots.

The activists also want the army and police investigated over claims they used excessive force to restore order.

Muslims and Christians fought with each other for several days in January.

The official death toll was given by police as 326 - although other estimates are much higher, with Muslim officials saying that 364 Muslims were killed.

Christian leaders have not yet confirmed a death toll - although earlier estimates said around 65 Christians had died.

More than 300 people have been arrested.

'Too weak'

Lawyer Femi Falana wrote the letter to Mr Moreno-Ocampo, arguing that the ICC should step in because the government was unlikely to take action.

'Our homes were razed'

"Those who are suspected to be responsible for the latest violence and previous outbreaks of deadly violence in Jos have not been arrested let alone brought to justice," Mr Falana's letter stated.

"The government has shown itself to be too weak to act, contrary to its international legal obligations, including under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court."

Hundreds of people were killed in similar outbreaks of violence in Jos in both 2008 and 2001.

Meanwhile, the violence has soured relations between Plateau state, where Jos is located, and neighbouring Bauchi state.

Some MPs in the Bauchi legislature want all people from Plateau state to be sent back home.

Bauchi is mainly Muslim, while Plateau has a Christian majority.

The Bauchi MPs argue that the violence shows Plateau indigenes do not respect a Nigerian's constitutional right to live and work in anywhere in the country - therefore they should not enjoy such rights in other states.

The Plateau state government has called the move "childish" and "unfortunate".

Violence erupted in Jos on 17 January and rapidly spread to nearby villages.

Several thousand people remain displaced, having abandoned their homes to escape the violence.

Jos, the capital of Plateau state, lies between Nigeria's mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south and has seen sectarian riots in the recent past.

But analysts say the real cause of the violence is a struggle for political superiority in the city.