Uganda ADF school attack. How Islamic State has expanded into Central Africa -BBC News

Report at BBC News Africa
By Ashley Lime & Anne Okumu
BBC News, Mpondwe
Dated Sunday 18 June 2023 - full copy:

Uganda ADF school attack: 'Gospel songs interrupted by screaming'

Image caption,

Mary Masika, who lives opposite the school says she would often hear the students singing before bedtime

Pupils in Uganda were singing gospel songs before a deadly attack by Islamist militants on Friday, a woman who lives opposite the school says.

"Then I heard screaming," Mary Masika told the BBC. The vicious attack in Mpondwe left about 40 people dead.

Islamic State-linked militants have been blamed for the attack.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was created in the 1990s and took up arms against President Yoweri Museveni, alleging persecution of Muslims.

They are now largely based in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School attacked on Friday is close to the border.

Ms Masika says she and other residents have been left terrified by the attack which lasted about 90 minutes.

Warning: Contains details some readers may find distressing

"I have been unable to eat or sleep since then," she told the BBC in Swahili.

The students usually sing before bedtime - and at first she and her daughter thought the noise that interrupted their songs at around 22:00 (20:00 GMT) suggested that they were having a bit of fun.

But it soon became clear that something horrific was under way at the school, which had around 60 boarders living in a small compound.

ADF rebels had entered dormitories, setting fire to them and using machetes to kill and maim students.

One family in Mpondwe held the funerals on Sunday for a father and son killed in the attack - 47-year-old security guard Elphanas Mbusa and 17-year-old Masereka Elton.

Image caption,

Hurubana Kimadi Onesmus lost his son, a school watchman, and at least one of his grandsons - it is not clear if the other has been kidnapped

Their other son, 15-year-old Brian Muhindo who was also attending the school, is missing. They do not know if he is among the six boys kidnapped or one of those whose bodies cannot be identified because they have been so badly burned.

Hurubana Kimadi Onesmus told the BBC he found it difficult to understand how the attackers were able to infiltrate the school where his son, the security guard, worked and where his grandsons were studying.

"There is a very heavy military presence in the area," the 69-year-old said.

Image caption,

The BBC team were given a few minutes to photograph the scene at school in Mpondwe

Now there is a lot of security at the school - and the BBC team was given only a few minutes to take some photos of the burnt buildings.

It was a devastating and upsetting scene.

Lots of dried blood is still on the ground outside the girls' dormitory - they had been attacked with machetes and others shot dead as they ran away.

The boys' dormitory had been locked - they had either refused to open it to the rebels or they were locked inside by them. The militants poured fuel on the building and set it alight.

Inside, the smell of death is unmistakeable - beds have been reduced to wire mesh with pieces of flesh still stuck to them.

Image caption,

It is not clear if the doors of the boys' dormitory was locked by those inside or the rebels

Ms Masika said towards the end of the attack, at around 23:30, she heard one of the assailants talking at her gate and asking a fellow fighter if "the job was done".

They were talking in Swahili - the lingua franca in the region - and afterwards began shouting "Allahu Akbar", meaning "God is greatest".

She said after these chants one of them added: "We have succeeded in destabilising Museveni's country."

IMAGE SOURCE, 

AFP

Image caption,

Several funerals were held on Sunday for those killed in the attack

In response, President Museveni vowed to send more troops to Rwenzori Mountains, which are along the border between Uganda and the DR Congo, saying: "Their action... the desperate, cowardly, terrorist action... will not save them."

The area around Mpondwe seems to be a mix of Christians and Muslims. Some of those attending the funerals on Sunday were dressed in traditional Muslim attire.

Other funerals for the pupils killed in the attack were held in villages across the region, with most people dumbfounded and pained by the brutality of the assault.

Related Topics

Uganda

More on this story

How Islamic State has expanded into Central Africa
Published
14 June 2021

Inside view of IS rebels behind Uganda suicide attacks
Published
24 November 2021

View original: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65945814

[Ends]

Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda: Playing Americans for suckers - Clooney Falling Into Bin Laden’s Sudan Trap

Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda: Playing Americans for suckers
Source: Michael Scheuer's Non-Intervention.com
Author: Michael Scheuer
Published: 15 July, 2010. Full copy (excluding 4 Comments):

The suicide bombing in Uganda’s capital of Kampala by the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab serves several agendas. While the facile and clueless Western media call it an “anti-World Cup attack” and the lame Obama White House says it proves al-Qaeda’s “racism” toward Africans, the reality is that from al-Sahbab’s perspective the attack is a logical and necessary response to the prolonged U.S.- and Western-backed intervention in Somalia. (How long, one wonders, will it take U.S. and Western officials to learn people don’t like being occupied?) The Kampala attack also is another episode in al-Qaeda’s ongoing campaign to lure the United States into more interventions in the Muslim world.

At the most basic level, there would be no al-Shabab in Somalia — at least not at its present strength, reach, and popularity — if Washington had not panicked several years ago at the thought of an Islamist organization known as the “Islamic Courts” taking power in Somalia. The Islamic Courts’ had all but displaced a feckless, corruption-ridden UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and was beginning to bring a harsh but effective law-and-order system to Somalia for the first time in decades. Under President Bush, however, Washington could not stand the thought of a working Islamic government and so labored overtly and covertly for its demise.

Ultimately, Washington supported Ethiopia’s late-2006 invasion of Somalia without thinking through that it would henceforth be seen as the sponsor of Christian Ethiopia’s invasion of Muslim Somalia. The invasion turned Somalis of most factions against the interloping Christian occupiers. The large and better-armed Ethiopian conventional forces prevailed, broke up what was left of the Islamic Courts, and protected the UN-backed TFG, which now appeared even more as the imposed creature of hostile Christian countries. The Ethiopians fought a growing guerrilla war against the Somali militias and insurgents until casualties became too heavy and Addis Ababa decided to withdraw its forces. The African Union then acted to supply the 5,000 military personnel from Uganda and Burundi who now are the peacekeepers and TFG-protectors in the capital of Mogadishu.

The sum of this complicated story is that al-Shabab was born, developed quickly, and now appears to have the manpower, political savvy, and military wherewithal to compete for control of much of the central and southern portions of Somalia. Al-Shabab’s quick evolution is the result of several factors, including foreign occupation, which historically radicalizes Somalia’s usually moderate form of Islam, and the availability of help from al-Qaeda, especially in the form of veteran fighters, who offer training and a leaven of combat experience, and media operatives whose expertise has dramatically improved the quality of al-Shabab media capabilities during the past two years. In addition, a substantial inflow of aid from Arab Peninsula countries who are nominally U.S. “allies” has allowed al-Shabab and other Somali Islamists to deliver food and health services to destitute Somalis and improve their weaponry.

Having helped destroy the less radical Islamic Courts regime and still backing the moribund TFG, Washington now confronts the potential of al-Shabab controlling two thirds of Somalia and — after the Uganda bombing — the specter of the group slowly destabilizing heretofore reliably pro-U.S. regimes in Ethiopia, Kenya, and elsewhere in East Africa.

Neither Ethiopia nor Kenya is as stable as it was before the Islamic Courts were destroyed. Ethiopia paid a high price for its invasion and occupation of Somalia not only in terms of funds and lives, but in earning the durable enmity of Somali Muslims and their Islamist allies in Africa and overseas. Kenya has likewise earned al-Shabab’s wrath for supporting the corrupt TFG regime and for its willingness to host the dozen or more UN agencies and multiple Western NGOs who are operating in Somalia with intentions that are perceived by many Somalis as anti-Islamic.

And here is where al-Qaeda is luring the United States into another potentially disastrous intervention. Even though it has expended a minimum and mainly media-focused effort to support al-Shabab, Washington’s abject fear of al-Qaeda — notwithstanding Obama’s cocky and denigrating words about the group — has made bin Laden’s al-Shabab ally a primary U.S. target and therefore yet another vehicle for luring America into an expensive fight on Muslim territory.

Even before all the causalities from the bombing were counted, for example, the FBI had sent investigators to the “crime scene” in Kampala — as if the Ugandans need help from the helpless — and yesterday Rudyard Obama said he would “redouble” U.S. efforts in Somalia, which certainly means more U.S. military involvement there and the pouring of more taxpayer money into the maw of the corrupt-to-the-bone TFG. And as it becomes clear that Ethiopian and Kenyan security are also threatened by al-Shabab, those countries too will be the recipients of Mr. Obama’s resolute eagerness to dig us ever deeper into expensive, Bush-like foreign adventures.

Overall, Bush and Obama took a problem that was on the periphery of top U.S. security issues and through mindlessness and intervention made it an agent of destabilization in East Africa and a growing drain on U.S. resources. Renewed U.S. efforts against al-Shabab, together with Washington’s efforts to undermine the Muslim government of Sudan and get U.S. military forces involved in the irrelevant-to-America Darfur civil war, will again do al-Qaeda’s work for it by validating for Muslims bin Laden’s claim that Washington intends to destroy all Muslim regimes except those of the Arab tyrants who supply oil to the United States and its allies.

Years ago Osama bin Laden said something akin to: “All we need to do is send two mujahedin anywhere on earth to wave a flag that has ‘al-Qaeda’ on it and the Americans will arrive the next day with their troops and an open wallet.” As Obama hungrily gobbles down this latest lure from al-Qaeda, one can only think that there truly is a sucker born every minute.
[End of copy]

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Further Reading

Clooney Falling Into Bin Laden’s Sudan Trap
Source: FOX News - http://nation.foxnews.com
Date: Monday, 03 January 2011. Full copy (excluding 271 Comments):

With the U.S. government and such scintillating strategic thinkers as George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Angelina Jolie, and Mia Farrow in the lead, the West is about to help rip Darfur and the rest of Muslim Sudan's oil-rich southern territories out of the country and create an independent, largely Christian state.

Under the guise of a "referendum" (set for 9 January 2011) that will be observed by a 110-person European Union team of imperial busybodies, Sudan's primarily Christian south will be severed from the Sudanese nation-state, setting the stage for a continuation of the decades old Muslim-Christian Sudanese civil war. The difference will be that henceforth - as is occurring in Somalia - the U.S. and the West will be obliged to protect the new nation they created by theft and oil lust with diplomacy, funding, arms, military training, and eventually troops.

And what is America's interest in becoming involved to the hilt and inextricably in Sudan? What is so vital to the United States in Sudan that President Obama is pressing the leaders of Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and the other states of the African Union to support "our intense interest in having a successful referendum" - read that as "our intense interest in carving up Sudan to suit our imperial purposes and corner access to Sudanese oil." (As an aside, one must admit Rudyard Obama is nothing if not an aggressive proponent of improving - that is, "Westernizing" - the lives of "our little brown brothers," although the blatant theft of Islamic land is a rather odd component for the kinder and more gentle "Muslim outreach program" Obama announced in Cairo and Jakarta.)

The answer is that Obama, our bipartisan political elite, the mainstream media, and the rich, immature, libertine, and anti-U.S. Hollywood set lead by Clooney, et al, want to feel good about themselves by doing "good" for foreigners. For these elite U.S. citizens-of-the-world, ordinary Americans and their kids can starve, freeze, live on the streets, fail to find work, and remain illiterate forever. In essence, they can rot while Washington spends their taxes on Darfur - a place where absolutely no genuine U.S. interest is at stake.

Now, that's a bit harsh and in one aspect even wrong. The Democrats and Republicans must ensure that ordinary Americans are kept well-off enough to keep having children who will join the U.S. military that will be used to fight the wars their interventionism start. And there can be no doubt that Washington's leading role in championing Darfur's secession from Sudan will intensify America's war with Islam and the evolving Islam-vs-Christianity war in Africa. And, not surprisingly, the ever-adept Osama bin Laden began setting this trap for the United States over the course of the last decade.

Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Abu Yaha al-Libi, one of al-Qaeda's leading theologians, have spoken publicly and on multiple occasions about Washington's intention to intervene in Somalia and Sudan to halt the spread of Sunni Islam in the Horn of Africa; to eliminate the Islamic regime in Sudan; to champion the spread of Christianity in Africa; and to ensure Sudan's massive oil reserves are in pro-U.S. hands. Obama's administration, with full Republican support, is about to make these three al-Qaeda leaders appear omniscient to the Muslim world.

READ THE FULL STORY AT NON-INTERVENTION.COM [By Michael Scheuer entitled "U.S. intervention in Sudan and Somalia: Sowing war’s whirlwind for Americans" published Wednesday, 29 December 2010]

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Postscript from Uganda Watch editor
Note the following copy of two quotations published in the sidebar of Michael Scheuer's Non-Intervention.com:

My policy has been and will continue to be ... to be on friendly terms with, but independent of, all nations on earth. To share in the broils of none. To supply their wants, and be carriers for them all; being thoroughly convinced that it is our policy and interest to do so; and that nothing short of self-respect, and that justice which is essential to a national character, ought to involve us in war.
George Washington

Don't patronize the enemy. They mean business. They mean every word they say. They're killing us now. Their will is not broken, They mean it. ... If they're there, your job is to kill them all. I did not want to have them just retreat and have to fight them all over again.
Maj. Gen. James Mattis, USMC

Also, note that according to Michael Scheuer's About page, he resigned from the CIA in November, 2004 and since that date has written for Antiwar.com and LewRockwell.com.
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Follow news from Sudan at this site's parent blog, Sudan Watch http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com

IGAD Summit: Uganda president attends - S. Sudan's Salva Kiir Mayardit's Statement - Sudanese leaders hailed for agreeing 'soft border' solution

ON Tuesday, 23 November 2010, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni joined other Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State and Government in the Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa for a one day summit that centred on the progress of the implementation of the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was initialed between the Southern Sudanese People’s Liberation Army.

Full story below, followed by several related reports including a copy of Salva Kiir Mayardit's address to the Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government on Sudan. Excerpt:

"In a nutshell, Sudan requires a lot of help from IGAD, the AU, UN and the international community. The country has myriads of problems – it is yet to implement fully Popular Consultations in the two areas of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. Being an integral part of the CPA, the people of these areas must also conduct the popular consultations as agreed. Similarly, Sudan needs help in order to peacefully resolve the conflict in Darfur. No new strategy can work for Darfur until all parties are brought to the negotiating table to agree for peaceful settlement.

In conclusion, the CPA is the roadmap for success in the Sudan, particularly when the referendum is peacefully implemented. Now, as the greatest moment of our history approaches, it is up to all of us to ensure that the referendum is conducted peacefully and without delay."

President Attends IGAD Summit
Source: Office of the President / Uganda Media Centre www.mediacentre.go.ug
Date: Wednesday, 24 November 2010. Copy in full:

President Yoweri Museveni today joined other Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State and Government in the Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa for a one day summit that centred on the progress of the implementation of the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was initialed between the Southern Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Government in Khartoum in January 2005 in Nairobi.

The CPA was meant to end the 2nd Sudanese Civil War, develop democratic governance countrywide and share oil revenues. The Agreement further set a timetable by which Southern Sudan would have a referendum on its independence. The referendum in scheduled to place in 2 months time in January next year.

Today’s summit that took place at Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa was also attended by host Premier Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, Sudanese President Omar Hassan el Bashir, President Ismael Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya while the Transitional Federal government of Somalia President was represented by H.E. Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim.

The Summit, in a communiqué issued at the end of its deliberations, reaffirmed its commitment to not only continue the support for the full implementation of the CPA but also for the post referendum period for the sake of peace, stability and democracy.

The communiqué also said that the Assembly of the IGAD leaders took note of their summit coming at a critical time in the history of the Sudan as that country, in just less than 2 months before the referendum on self-determination for the people of Southern Sudan, and a few days after the start of registration of voters for that referendum, represents a significant milestone in the implementation of the CPA between the government of the Sudan and the SPLM.

The IGAD Heads of State commended the efforts of the AU’s group of eminent African personalities, comprising former South African President Thabo Mbeki as the group’s Chairman, President Abdulsalami Abubaker and former Burundi President Pierre Buyoya, for facilitating the Sudanese parties in the implementation of the CPA paying attention to outstanding issues in the Agreement and post referendum time.

The Summit requested the AU group of eminent personalities to keep IGAD updated on the progress of the negotiations including the ongoing discussion between the two parties to the CPA.

On Somalia, the IGAD leaders called upon the Presidency and Parliament in Mogadishu not only to work together for the greater cohesion for the Somali nation but also to provide political and ideological leadership so as to ensure total harmony among the leadership.

The leaders of the IGAD member countries affirmed their unswerving and continued support to the Transitional Federal Institutions of Somalia in their endeavour to create peace, security and stability in the country and put in place institutions of governance that will deliver basic services to the people of Somalia.

President Museveni, who was accompanied by State Minister for Regional Affairs, Mr. Isaac Musumba, Uganda’s envoys to Khartoum and Ethiopia Betty Akech and Mull Katende respectively, among others, later returned home this evening.
ENDS

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Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit, Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - Address to the 16th Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government on Sudan
Source: Press Release reprinted at Sudan Tribune - www.sudantribune.com
Date: Wednesday, 23 November 2010 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Your Excellency, Ato Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chair of IGAD,

Excellencies, Heads of States and Government of IGAD,

Your Excellency, Mr. Jean Ping, Chair of the African Union Commission,

Your Excellency, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, Chair of the AU High-Level Implementation Panel, and colleagues former Presidents Pierre Buyoya and Abdulsalami Abubakar,

Excellencies, Foreign Ministers,

Representatives of the AEC and the UN,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I take this opportunity to thank you IGAD Heads of State and Government for convening this Extraordinary Summit on the Sudan in order to be briefed about the implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which is your own baby. This gathering comes indeed at a critical moment of the history of our country. We are now left with just less than two month before the referendum in Southern Sudan takes place on January 9th, 2011. This auspicious meeting is to us another display of IGAD unwavering commitment to ensure full implementation of the CPA and to also reaffirm its commitment to regional peace and stability.

From our side, I would like to equally reassure you that the SPLM, the Government and people of Southern Sudan and peace loving Sudanese in general commend your efforts most sincerely. We are very grateful for your continued interest and attention, and we need your support now more than ever before to peacefully complete the implementation of the CPA.

As you are all aware and I am happy to brief you today that the registrations are going on smoothly and peacefully. Preliminary information shows that the turnout is quite encouraging particularly throughout Southern Sudan. There is a lot of enthusiasm and anxiety amongst our people not to miss the golden opportunity to express their rightful desire to either vote for the continued unity of the Sudan or to secede to become a country of their own.

Distinguished Delegates, This exercise of the right to self-determination is critical and it remains a formula for maintaining peace today and in the future. That is why we are doing all we can to ensure that the referendum takes place as scheduled. We are also cognizant that any delays risk a return to instability and violence and my message to you today is that every effort must be exerted to achieve a timely conduct of the referendum.

At this juncture, I would also like to commend the efforts of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) and the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau (SSRB), who are working around the clock to ensure that the exercise take place as scheduled.

As far as funding is concerned, it is important to admit that there are still difficulties particularly with the National Government in Khartoum, which has deliberately failed to fulfill its obligation to contribute money to the SSRC. The Government of Southern Sudan has so far released SDG 100 million out of the SDG 150 million it has pledged. The donors are also struggling to meet their target may the SRSG and the AEC can later on shed more light on the contributions of the international community.

Politically, the atmosphere is not good particularly in Northern Sudan. Instead of preaching peace some senior members from the National Government and the National Congress Party (NCP) have been raising tempers in the public by issuing statements that are likely to instigate violence. I appeal to this august gathering to discourage the Sudanese parties from provocative behavior. The records are documented that IGAD and the international community should seriously note because should violence erupt there are people to be held responsible.

In Southern Sudan the platform for campaigns is leveled for both those who would like to propagate for unity and separation. Regional and international observers are allowed to move freely and they can speak the truth for themselves. We are desirous and committed to ensure that the referendum in Southern Sudan occurs smoothly and peacefully in order to produce credible results that represent the will of the people. This is our goal and I wish to reiterate to you that we will make certain that all opinions and campaigns for unity or separation are given equal opportunity to be heard. We are exerting all efforts to ensure that the credibility of this referendum is beyond question.

What is badly required of IGAD and other guarantors of the CPA is to mobilize support for the outcome of the referendum in Southern Sudan and the rest of the international community to ensure a peaceful transition.

We are also deeply concerned by the lack of progress in resolving the outstanding issues of the CPA: 1. Abyei 2. North-South border demarcation 3. Post-referendum arrangements

Meantime, we are genuinely willing to negotiate with our brothers and sisters in the North. We are committed to work in a spirit of partnership to create peaceful and sustainable good relations between Northern and Southern Sudan regardless of the outcome of the referendum. I have said it time and again that it is in our interest to see to it that the North remains a viable state, just as it should be in the interest of the North to see Southern Sudan emerge as a viable state too. There should be no room for fear about the future because I have also reiterated several times that even if Southern Sudan separates from the North it will not shift to the Indian Ocean or to the Atlantic Coast. Instead we will be sharing the longest border between us and I would like to reassure you that the security of Northern Sudanese in the South will remain our priority and we request our Northern partners to do the same for Southern Sudanese in the North. Thus, we are committed to sustainable peace and stability irrespective of the outcome of the referendum. We have achieved a lot in the past few years since the CPA was signed and we still have a lot of work ahead of us to improve the lives of our people.

There has been a lot of talk and propaganda about the viability of Southern Sudan as a state if its people chose independence? Let me assure you that Southern Sudan will contribute immensely to peace and the well being of our region of the horn of Africa and our continent as a whole. We have got potentials that, in a free and peaceful environment, can be exploited not just for the development and sustenance of the new state but also for the benefit of the neighboring countries. In order to achieve that we have been reaching out to Southern Sudanese of all walks of life on the referendum and the future of Southern Sudan irrespective of the expected outcome of the exercise. We have been holding successful meetings of ‘All-Southern Sudanese Political Parties' in Juba and most of you may have already come across the resolutions. We are also engaging leaders of Other Armed Groups (OAGs) to discuss the transition in case of secession outcome.

In a nutshell, Sudan requires a lot of help from IGAD, the AU, UN and the international community. The country has myriads of problems – it is yet to implement fully Popular Consultations in the two areas of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. Being an integral part of the CPA, the people of these areas must also conduct the popular consultations as agreed. Similarly, Sudan needs help in order to peacefully resolve the conflict in Darfur. No new strategy can work for Darfur until all parties are brought to the negotiating table to agree for peaceful settlement.

In conclusion, the CPA is the roadmap for success in the Sudan, particularly when the referendum is peacefully implemented. Now, as the greatest moment of our history approaches, it is up to all of us to ensure that the referendum is conducted peacefully and without delay.

Once again, we commend the efforts of IGAD, the AU, the UN and the International Community for the continued support for peace in our country and our people. On our part we will do our utmost best not only to reciprocate your efforts but to work for a favorable environment for economic development and sustainable peace in the region. We are optimistic about the future and with your efforts we will make it together.

May God continue to bless us and grant us the patience required to achieve the desired goals and objectives for posterity!

Thank you.

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Sudan's Ruling Party Welcomes IGAD Summit Recommendations‎
Source: Voice of America (VOA) - www.voanews.com - by Peter Clottey
Date: Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Photo: Dr. Rabie Abdelati Obeid is a prominent member of Sudan's dominant National Congress Party (NCP)

A senior member of Sudan’s ruling party has expressed confidence that both his ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) will resolve all outstanding issues ahead of the 9th January referendum.

Rabie Abdelati Obeid welcomed the recommendation by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit on Sudan saying both the NCP and the SPLM will solve the problems and disagreements between them.

“The two partners have shown their readiness to follow what (has) been recommended (by IGAD), and I think the coming days will show the seriousness of the two partners to implement the Referendum Act and also all outstanding points from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).”

East African leaders met Tuesday [23 Nov] in Addis Ababa to discuss tension in Sudan, where a referendum on independence for the country's south is now less than seven weeks away.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir were among those who attended the summit.

Participants urged northern and southern Sudan to avoid reigniting the civil war that ravaged the country for 21 years ending in 2005.

Obeid said the NCP is satisfied with the recommendations from the IGAD heads of state and government.

“The NCP has shown their full satisfaction and they also thank IGAD member states for their efforts to narrow the differences, or to remove the differences, between the two partners. We also thank IGAD for their work and their facilitation, and it is very clear for the NCP that IGAD member states are very keen to establish security and peace in Sudan,” Obeid said.

“This will also be reflected in the coming days between NCP and SPLM to resolve the majority of the points that are still outstanding between the two partners before the conduct of the referendum.”

Meanwhile, state media in Sudan quote Mr. Bashir as telling the summit there will be “no return to war,” and that his government will work for strong relations with the south in the event of separation.

In a statement, summit participants said they are confident Mr. Bashir and Mr. Kiir can lead Sudan into a new era of peace, but also expressed concern over issues that continue to divide the north and south.

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Arab League Delegation to Conduct Talks in Khartoum on Referendum‎
Source: Sudan Vision - www.sudanvisiondaily.com - by Staff writer
Date: Wednesday, 24 November 2010

A delegation from the Arab League is expected to conduct talks in Khartoum to-day and get briefed on preparations for southern Sudan self-determination referendum. The delegation will be headed by Ambassador Sameer Hosni, the director of Arab-African Cooperation Department at the League.

In statement to reporters, Ambassador Hisham Youssef, head of the AL Secretary General's office said the delegation will prepare for the forthcoming visit to Sudan by AL Secretary-General, Amro Mousa. The delegation will also discuss with officials in the Sudan numerous issues, particularly those related to relief and the re-construction works in the Darfur region.

Ambassador Hisham Youssef said AL Secretary-General's office will participate in the East of Sudan Development Conference to be held in Kuwait on this coming December. He further said that the AL Secretary-General will head a high-level delegation to the conference which will provide opportunity for consultation on development of the situations in the Sudan. He added that a meeting to be held at AL permanent members' level this coming Saturday will discuss developments in the Sudan, current preparations for the referendum and the role that could be carried out by AL and Arab countries in following up this matter for achieving the interests of the Sudanese people.

"The Arab League will also follow up the southern Sudan self-determination referendum through a delegation that will include a group of officials from the secretariat-general and who might be joined by some Arab Parliament members," he said.

On the probability of the postponement of the referendum, Ambassador Hisham Youssef said this matter is connected to arrangements and preparations. "There are some who believe the forthcoming period is sufficient for conducting the referendum while some others think that there are some organizational difficulties," he said. He added that if the referendum is postponed that would be for a very short period of time, and for organizational and not other reasons.

As regards the situation in Darfur and talks by the Qatari sponsor of that peace talks could be achieved before the end of the year, Ambassador Hisham Youssef said he hoped that peace could be achieved within such a period. "There is a tremendous effort being exerted by the Qatari side and by many Arab countries for achieving peace in Darfur before the end of the year," he said.

On a related development, the joint mechanism for the follow up of Arab undertaking for supporting and addressing humanitarian situations in Darfur will hold a meeting at the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development premises to-day Wednesday and tomorrow Thursday.

The meeting will discuss the comprehensive peace strategy, the development of Darfur in addition to the performance of AL projects in Darfur, the projects proposed by the Reconstruction Commission for 2011 as well as replicating the experiment of constructing humanitarian services complexes centers to which IDPs return.

The meeting will also discuss the means of earning living projects for IDPs who have returned to their homes, and for those who will soon settle in their homes and the nomads.

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IGAD Summit: Sudanese leaders hailed for agreeing on 'soft-border solution
Source: (PANA) / Afrique en Ligue - www.afriquejet.com
Date: Wednesday, 24 November 2010

(Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) - East African leaders have hailed Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir and his Southern Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir for agreeing on a 'soft-border' solution as well as to limit tension around possible north-South separation. In a communique issued Tuesday after a meeting to fashion out a solution to the pending issues, the East African leaders also requested the Sudanese leaders to demarcate the north-south border within the time allocated in their peace deal.

'The Summit was particularly encouraged by the parties' commitment in achieving in the event of the secession of Southern Sudan, two viable states living as peaceful and cooperative neighbors,' said the commu nique, issued after the meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) here.

The two states will maintain common security as well as a 'soft border' that forges cooperation without disruption to the livelihoods of the people, the IGAD leaders announced.

South Sudan is headed for a decisive referendum which could see the region declare independence from the larger Sudan on 9 January 2011, in according with a peace agreement reached in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2005.

The six East African leaders, meeting under the IGAD, emphasised that political tensions arising from the planned referendum be managed in the context of the of Sudan as a melting pot of cultures.

The use of the term, Sudan, the melting pot of cultures, is a reference to the north-south divide in Sudan. It is often offered as an explanation to the diversity of the Sudanese citizenry, which combines a largely Arab North and a b lack population in the South.

The Summit welcomed the dedication of Presidents Al-Bashir and Kiir to resolve the outstanding issues, in particular the issue of Abyei, and called upon the parties to approach the next round of negotiations with a sp irit of compromise.

African Union's High-Level Panel leader Thabo Mbeki has been meeting the two Sudanese leaders to address the issue of Abyei, claimed by both north and South.

Abyei lies in Southern Sudan but has been administered from the North since the British rule in the Sudan. The Southerners want the region to revert to their region, but this has to be done through a referendum.

The current deadlock over the Abyei issue centres on complaints from Southern Su danese tribes that a northern Sudan tribe, the Missiriyah, should not be allowed to vote in the Abyei referendum because they are not local residents.

The IGAD leaders said the two Sudanese parties must take cognizant of the need to guarantee the rights and livelihoods of the affected people.

The leaders welcomed the commitment of the Sudanese Parties to the timely and credible conduct of free and fair referendum and the respect for its outcome.

They noted in particular the commitment by the parties to never return to war but instead to seek peaceful resolution of issues that may divide them.

- - -

IGAD Presidency Meeting On Abyei Scheduled For November 27th
Source: SRS - Sudan Radio Service - www.sudanradio.org
Date: Wednesday, 24 November 2010

(Juba) – The Intergovernmental Agency for Development or IGAD member states have rescheduled the meeting on Abyei referendum to November 27th.

A delegation led by the GOSS President returned to Juba on Wednesday from the 16th IGAD summit where they discussed the progress on the implementation of the CPA.

Pagan Amum, the GOSS Minister for Peace and CPA implementation addressed the press in Juba on Wednesday.

[Pagan Amum]: “The summit was a success and we are happy with the results of the summit. The presidency is going to meet on the 27th, next Saturday to discuss Abyei and to find a lasting solution to the impulse that we have been facing. As you all know the National Congress Party has taken Abyei literally as a hostage and they are using it as a bargaining chip to extort concessions from the south as well as from other actors from the international community, particularly the government of the United States of America. We are hopeful that with the forward leaning position taken by the government of the United States of America and the readiness of the SPLM to discuss what the National Congress really wants to let free the process of Abyei.”

Pagan Amum said the meeting of the Presidency on Abyei will be mediated by the AU High Implementation Panel. He also said the popular consultations for Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states will be discussed in the next meeting.

[Pagan Amum]: “There is also going to be a meeting on the 28th and 29th of this month focused on the completing discussions on the framework agreement. Hopefully if Abyei and border issues are resolved, then we will have a situation of agreement on the total issues that we have on the CPA and we will be able to close the chapter of conflict in Sudan, especially between the north and the south. The meeting is also going to look at the preparations for the conduct of the popular consultations in the two areas of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile state. As you all know, the process in Southern Kordofan is delayed because of the delay in the conduct of elections.”

Pagan Amum, the GOSS Minister for Peace and CPA implementation addressed the press on Wednesday in Juba after his arrival from the IGAD Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Somali-based terror group al Shabaab behind triple bombing that killed 76 in Kampala, Uganda is funded by al Qaeda

• Al Shabaab, the Somalia-based terror group that has claimed responsibility for July 11's triple suicide blasts that killed 76 people in Uganda's capital, Kampala, has in recent months built up Pakistan-style terror training camps.

• Intelligence officials say they believe al Qaeda is using al Shabaab as a symbiotic host body, allowing its operatives access to other African countries. "As much as we're looking at al Shabaab, they are riding on the back of a more experienced player," said Col. Herbert Mbonye, the director of counterterrorism for Uganda's military intelligence body.

• A U.S. intelligence official said information gleaned from militant communications shows links between al Shabaab and al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and Yemen.

From The Wall Street Journal
By WILL CONNORS in Kampala, Uganda, SIOBHAN GORMAN in Washington, D.C., and SARAH CHILDRESS
Somali Militant Group Built Training Camps, al Qaeda Links

The terror group behind last weekend's deadly Uganda blasts recruited a local man to coordinate the attacks and received funds from al Qaeda, say investigators, as it extends its reach beyond lawless Somalia.

Al Shabaab, the Somalia-based group that has claimed responsibility for July 11's triple suicide blasts that killed 76 people in Uganda's capital, Kampala, has in recent months built up Pakistan-style terror training camps. One top leader, Sheikh Muktar Robow, has helped to transform the group from a local insurgency into a global jihadist organization modeled on, and swearing allegiance to, al Qaeda.

That picture of the group, and its development under Mr. Robow, emerged from interviews with Ugandan, Kenyan and U.S. investigators; current and former U.S. intelligence officials; and Somalis, including a member of the militant group.

A U.S. intelligence official said information gleaned from militant communications shows links between al Shabaab and al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and Yemen. U.S. officials also see evidence of overlap in training and membership and say their working assumption is that al Shabaab has several hundred core members, similar to the numbers in al Qaeda in Pakistan and in al Qaeda's Yemeni outpost.

Intelligence officials say they believe al Qaeda is using the Somali group as a symbiotic host body, allowing its operatives access to other African countries. "As much as we're looking at al Shabaab, they are riding on the back of a more experienced player," said Col. Herbert Mbonye, the director of counterterrorism for Uganda's military intelligence body.

That relationship has raised red flags at U.S. intelligence agencies. In the past 18 months, militant training camps have emerged in Somalia similar to those that developed in Pakistan's tribal areas, a U.S. intelligence official said. Intelligence officials are now following about two dozen individuals from the U.S. and other Western countries who may have been affiliated with al Shabaab, or gone through these camps.

"It's quite an alarming story," the U.S. intelligence official said.

Al Shabaab's relationship with al Qaeda appears to have been cultivated in part by Mr. Robow, a top commander. Also known as Abu Mansur, he is among the U.S. government's most wanted terrorists.

Mr. Robow offered a warning of sorts ahead of Sunday's blasts, which hit a restaurant and a sports club where people had gathered to watch the final match of the World Cup. Speaking during a public address at Friday prayers earlier this month, Mr. Robow called for attacks against countries that had sent some 6,000 troops under African Union auspices to support the Somali government's offensive against al Shabaab. "We tell the Muslim youths and Mujahedeen, wherever they are in the Muslim world, to attack, explode and burn the embassies of Burundi and Uganda," Mr. Robow said, according to local media reports.

Mr. Robow grew up in southern Mogadishu as a devoted student of the Quran, according to public speeches he has made. He studied law at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, and then returned to Mogadishu to teach Arabic for several years. He is about 40, U.S. officials believe, based on a birth date on an Eritrean passport he used.

In 2000, Mr. Robow traveled to Afghanistan to train with the Taliban and al Qaeda, which used the strife-torn South Asian country to plot the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. In Afghanistan, Mr. Robow learned to fight, fire a sniper rifle and conceal roadside bombs, an al Shabaab official in Somalia said. He stayed less than a year, leaving before U.S.-led forces swept into Afghanistan.

Back in Somalia, Mr. Robow became a member of the Union of Islamic Courts, which aimed to establish strict Shariah law in the country, which had been largely lawless for a decade. The group came to power in 2006. Mr. Robow helped to establish an Islamist government and founded al Shabaab, a youth brigade that would serve as the union's armed wing.

The Islamist government soon collapsed. Al Shabaab endured. Mr. Robow, a skilled orator, became an al Shabaab spokesman and eventually deputy commander.

Al Shabaab, which controls vast territory in Somalia, has been engaged in a running battle with Somalia's transitional federal government. The group has pinned the government to a strip of the capital, Mogadishu, and largely prevented officials and parliament from meeting.

Beyond his ambition to overthrow Somalia's government, Mr. Robow has advocated linking the group's ambitions to global jihad. Through media interviews and in videos posted online, he sought to attract fighters in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Iraq, largely because foreign recruits could replenish al Shabaab's ranks and aid its finances. In a 2008 interview, he lamented that there "are not enough non-Somali brothers."

The same year, the U.S. Treasury Department declared al Shabaab a terrorist group and named Mr. Robow its "spiritual leader." Mr. Robow later released a statement saying the group was "honored" to be included on the list but expressed disappointment al Shabaab wasn't ranked higher.

Senior U.S. administration officials said some foreign fighters who answered Mr. Robow's calls—some of whom have "close links" with al Qaeda—came with experience, funding and the agenda of establishing Somalia as a base from which to attack Western targets.

The foreigners also brought new tactics. Roadside bombs and suicide blasts, once unheard-of in Somalia, are now part of al Shabaab's armory. The group's commanders have banned dancing, mustaches and, most recently, watching World Cup games on television. Fighters punish offenders with floggings or public amputations.

On Wednesday, armed al Shabaab fighters drove through towns in southern Somalia, blaring a warning to residents through megaphones mounted on their vehicles, according to witnesses contacted by telephone. "You must collaborate with [us] and allow your sons to fight the enemy of Allah," Abu Maryama, a senior al Shabaab official told crowds in the southwestern town of Baidoa. "If you pay no heed to this … you will be considered as another enemy and face punishment."

Harsh retribution and indiscriminate deaths have sapped public support for the group, and created rifts within it. Mr. Robow has been caught between those who want to focus the insurgency in Somali—and retain a measure of popular support— and the global jihadists who don't care about local backing, according the al Shabaab colleague. Mr. Robow, a Somali who has long opposed foreign intervention in his country, may not be considered radical enough for the new agenda, according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group, a Brussels based think tank.In the Uganda attack, the group's two factions apparently found middle ground.

The blasts have presented U.S. officials with a quandary. They see a need to step up support and involvement in the region, but they haven't determined the best course. "Violence always breeds urgency," the U.S. intelligence official said. "The question is: What [to do]?"The U.S. has been tracking al Shabaab and al Qaeda in Somalia for years, officials say. The Central Intelligence Agency works with military special forces units to collect intelligence and pinpoint targets, a former senior intelligence official said. The U.S. also works closely with the Ethiopian and Kenyan governments on counterterrorism operations.

Those efforts have grown in recent years as U.S. officials discovered as many as 20 Americans from Minnesota making their way to Somalia, including one who was determined to have been among five suicide bombers in an October 2008 attack in northern Somalia.

The intelligence-gathering paid off last year when U.S. Special Forces killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a top operative linked to both al Qaeda and al Shabaab who was believed to be linked to 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

But U.S. Special Forces units and intelligence officials have been grappling with a broader response to the growing terror threat from Somalia. Calling in airstrikes could fuel retaliatory measures against a weak Somali government. It could also stir up anti-U.S. sentiment that would advance the group's agenda, said the U.S. intelligence official.

"If you strike a camp, it makes you feel good, but what do you do the next day?" the official said. "You don't effectively eliminate the threat."

On Thursday, an al Shabaab leader underscored that point, delivering a message on the radio in Mogadishu congratulating what he called the Martyr Saleh Nabhan Brigade for the Kampala attacks.

Intelligence agencies have warned about al Shabaab's growing ambition to attack other countries—particularly Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya—as well as the West, the U.S. intelligence official said.U.S. intelligence hadn't picked up many direct threats against Uganda, but there has been a general concern about attacks targeting countries that supply troops to A.U. forces.

Investigators in Uganda say they are questioning a Ugandan man, Ali Isa Ssenkumba, who they say has confessed to helping plan the attacks.

Mr. Ssenkumba, who is in his late thirties and hails from a farming community outside Kampala, told investigators he was recruited by Somali men who persuaded him that he could have success in business in Somalia, according to a Ugandan military official close to the investigation.

Posing as a businessman, Mr. Ssenkumba made frequent trips to Somalia, where he attended an al Shabaab training camp, the Ugandan official said. Mr. Ssenkumba told investigators many other Ugandans are at al Shabaab's Somalia training facilities.

This person says Mr. Ssenkumba become familiar with guards at the borders between Uganda and Sudan and Uganda and Kenya, and received money and coordinated logistics for roughly two dozen al Shabaab members in Uganda who are suspected of plotting the triple suicide blast. Mr. Ssenkumba said, and investigators say they separately determined, that the attack was partially funded by informal money transfers from al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Police in Kenya said they arrested Mr. Ssenkumba last week, before the attack, and handed him over to Ugandan investigators Tuesday, after the bombings.

According to Nicholas Kamwende, the commanding officer of Kenya's anti-terrorism police unit, Mr. Ssenkumba walked up to an immigration officer on the Kenya-Somalia border some time before the Kampala attacks and turned himself in.

"He said he didn't want to stay any longer with al Shabaab, that he wanted to go home," Mr. Kamwende said. "We didn't have anything to hold him on and we thought the Ugandans would be in a better position to exploit what he knew."

Mr. Ssenkumba wasn't made available to comment and it wasn't immediately apparent whether he was represented by a lawyer. Neither Mr. Kamwende nor Ugandan officials would say whether Mr. Ssenkumba provided information before the impending attack.Ugandan officials say Mr. Ssenkumba didn't turn himself in voluntarily.

—Nicholas Baryio in Kampala and Keith Johnson
in Washington contributed to this article.
Write to Siobhan Gorman at siobhan.gorman@wsj.com

Over 50 dead as three bomb blasts rock Ugandan capital Kampala, terrorist attack possible: official

Photo from Daily Monitor: Some of those injured in the bomb blast at Kyaddondo Rugby grounds in Kampala – Photo by Wandera Ouma

50 die in Kampala bomb blasts
From Daily Monitor by Alex B. Atuhaire & Andrew Bagala
Monday, July 12 2010 at 02:06:

(Kampala) - More than 50 people have been killed in three separate bomb blasts in the Ugandan capital – Kampala as the residents watched the 2010 World Cup final on giant screens.

Police confirmed that 13 people, more than half of them foreigners were killed at Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala, a Kampala suburb, while Daily Monitor reporters counted about 40 bodies at Kyaddondo rugby grounds where a huge crowd was watching the Spain Vs Netherlands Word Cup final.

Another blast was reported to have gone off in Ntinda, another Kampala surburb, as more than 100 were reported admitted in hospitals and clinics in the capital including the national referral hospital - Mulago.

Over 40 dead as two bomb blasts rock Ugandan capital, terrorist attack possible: official
From xinhuanet.com:

KAMPALA, 12 July 2010 (Xinhua) -- More than 40 people are feared dead after two bomb explosions rocked Kampala, Uganda's capital, on Sunday night, according to a local official.

"Over 40 people could have been killed in the blasts," said Moses Sakira, deputy director of Criminal Investigation Department. He said almost all of the victims were adults.

Uganda's New Vision website put the death toll at at least 33.

"We cannot rule out the terrorist attack possibility now," said Sakira. "It might be possible."

The Somali militia warned to launch attacks targeting civilians in Uganda, which had sent peacekeeping troops to the war-battered Somalia.

But the country's army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said it is still too early to know whether Somali militia were behind the bomb attacks as security forces just started the investigation at the scene.

According to the New Vision website, one explosion targeted the Kyadondo Rugby Club. The blasts occurred minutes after 11 p.m..

Blood, broken chairs, clothes and shoes were seen on the ground at the scene. Security soldiers and rescuers were evacuating and saving the wounded.

The scene has been cordoned off.

A witness who gave his name as Klaus told Xinhua that hundreds of local people were watching the World Cup final in front of a big projector at the club as the blast occurred.

The other blast was reported at the Ethiopian village, in the Kabalagala. The New Vision said a third blast was reported in Ntinda, which the local police did not confirm.

Uganda blasts 'deplorable, cowardly,' says Obama
(AFP) – 35 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama called the deadly explosions that ripped through two restaurants in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday "deplorable and cowardly," a spokesman said.

"The president is deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks, and sends his condolences to the people of Uganda and the loved ones of those who have been killed or injured," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement.

"The United States is ready to provide any assistance requested by the Ugandan government."

A senior administration official said the United States was in contact with its embassy in Kampala and was in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding requests for assistance from Uganda's government.

At least 23 people were killed in the explosions as crowds watched the World Cup football final, police said.

One blast hit an Ethiopian restaurant in the south of the capital and the other was at a rugby sports club in the east of Kampala, police chief Kale Kayihura told reporters.

"These bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds," Kayihura said.

FURTHER REPORTS

Bombs explode at sites in Uganda, 20 deaths feared

Atlanta Journal Constitution - Godfrey Olukya - ‎1 hour ago‎

At Least 23 Killed in Uganda Blasts

Voice of America - ‎1 hour ago‎

AF APNewsAlert

The Associated Press - ‎1 hour ago‎

Deadly blasts hit Ugandan capital

Aljazeera.net - ‎1 hour ago‎

Uganda capital blasts 'kill 23'

BBC News - ‎2 hours ago‎

Explosions rock Ugandan capital, 23 dead: police

Reuters Canada - Richard Lough, Angus MacSwan - ‎2 hours ago‎

Somalia: AU wants country declared no fly zone

World Food Programme has reported that Al Shabaab militants are stopping convoys of food reaching more than 360,000 displaced people in Somalia.

Al Shabaab says World Food Programme is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports. But the UN says Somali farmers cannot supply enough food.

Source: Somalia: AU wants country declared no fly zone
From New Vision (Uganda) -March 1, 2010 (via Afrika.no)

Kampala (Uganda) - The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has asked the UN to impose a no-fly zone on Somalia and block sea ports through which foreign groups supply logistics to the insurgents.

Eritrea, in particular, has been accused of serving as a conduit for arms, logistics and foreign fighters to the Islamist group Al Shabaab in Somalia.

On December 23 last year, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea and vowed to slap financial and travel restrictions on its leaders for arming Al Shabaab.

The resolution, which was introduced by Uganda, passed by a vote of 13 to 1 in the 15-nation council, with Libya voting "no" and China abstaining.

At its meeting held in Addis Ababa on Thursday, the council hailed all the countries and institutions providing support to the AU peace keeping mission, especially Uganda and Burundi, calling on other member states to join.

Uganda and Burundi are the only countries that have contributed soldiers to the AU peace keeping force, known as AMISOM, but the 5,000 strong force falls short of the 8,000 soldiers required to secure the capital Mogadishu alone.

The AU council stressed that the deterioration of the situation in Somalia is proof of the increased internationalisation of the conflict.

It, therefore, called for the deployment of UN staff to help stabilise the situation and support the reconstruction of the country.

"The council noted that the current support remains below what is required on the ground and called for more mobilisation of the international community," an AU release said over the weekend.

The group reiterated its support to the Somali government and asked for more support, including military, to enable the government neutralise the armed element and deliver basic services.

In that respect, it welcomed the recent commissioning of eight battalions of the Somali security forces, who had been trained by AMISOM.

It also welcomed the completion of the induction course for the AMISOM police trainers from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda who will in turn train the Somali police.

The council again condemned the acts of violence and terrorism by Islamist militant groups Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam "with the active support of foreign elements in defiance of the peace overtures of the government and the international community".

It reiterated its call to all the Somali parties to join the peace process without any precondition and delay.

It also demanded that armed opposition groups ensure unrestricted access and assistance to needy civilians in areas under their control.

Meanwhile, World Food Programme has reported that Al Shabaab militants are stopping convoys of food reaching more than 360,000 displaced people.

Al Shabaab says World Food Programme is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports. But the UN says Somali farmers cannot supply enough food.

Al-Shabab: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya

A militant Islamic group associated with al Qaeda has threatened to attack Israel, far from its normal base of operations in Somalia. CNN writes that Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of “starting to destroy” the Al Aqsa mosque, where standoffs have recently been taking place between Israeli police and Palestinians.

The mosque is part of the complex that Jews called the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. The group also threatened other African nations on Friday, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

Source: Afrik.com Monday 2 November 2009 - Somalia: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya

Suicide bomber from Somalia may have slipped into Uganda

10 Oct 2008 The Monitor (Kampala) report by Tabu Butagira, Kololo - Uganda: Terrorism Threat is Real, Says Museveni - excerpt:

President Yoweri Museveni yesterday confirmed reports that security organisations are on high alert to tackle terrorist groups believed to be planning attacks in urban areas.

"Groups of urban terrorists may try to disturb (Uganda)," Mr Museveni said at celebrations to mark 46 years of Independence at Kololo. "But we shall deal with them using the vast security networks that we used during the (November 2007) Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and other occasions."

"Our involvement in peacekeeping operations in Somalia has made some characters there unhappy. Osama bin Laden and his group may try to cause trouble, and there is a possibility that some of them would want to disturb us," Maj. Gen. Kayihura said.

Uganda has provided troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia to help restore normalcy in the volatile Mogadishu city, but the forces have lately become targets of attack by Islamic Courts militia who once controlled large parts of the country a few years ago.

Daily Monitor has learnt that Ugandan intelligence agencies are frantically following a tip from their Kenyan counterparts that a man believed to be a suicide bomber from Somalia could have slipped into the country through Entebbe Airport at the end of last month.