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Peacekeepers targeted in Somalia
Renewed fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with African Union peacekeepers coming under attack from Islamist insurgents.
At least 15 civilians have died since clashes erupted late on Tuesday and people are fleeing the city.
Insurgents attacked Ugandan peacekeepers, who responded with tank and artillery fire.
On Monday about 30 people were killed and dozens wounded in some of the worst violence Mogadishu has seen in months.
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says Islamist insurgents have been gaining ground in the city in their fight against the Ethiopian-backed government.
Observers say there has been a change in tactics, with Islamists switching from hit-and-run raids to sustained attacks against peacekeepers.
Peacekeepers have generally been considered friendly since their arrival last year, and residents have been upset by the scale of their retaliation, our reporter says.
Maj Bahoku Barigye, an spokesman for the African Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom), said the peacekeepers had not suffered any causalities nor had their moral been affected.
He denied that the attacks were getting worse.
"I have been here for about eight months and I have not seen any difference whatsoever," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
(more at link) Renewed fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with African Union peacekeepers coming under attack from Islamist in... more -
African Union to suspend Mauritania's membership
The announcement to suspend Mauritania's membership comes following a military coup that deposed the nation's democratically elected president. President Abdallhi was detained by renegade soldiers, lead by General Abdelaziz, after attempting to fire army officers. The president was put in power after the nation held its first free and fair elections in over two decades. The announcement to suspend Mauritania's membership comes following a military coup that deposed the nation's democratically... more
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Over 2,200 cases of rape show failure of a UN deal to deliver peace.
'More than 2,200 cases of rape' last month in DRC
More than 2,000 rape cases were recorded last month alone in Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) violent North Kivu province, a new report said on Tuesday, highlighting the failure of a United Nations-backed deal to deliver peace.
Many more women and girls were raped but did not report it, the document added, saying that, since the signing of a Jan 23 deal between rebels, militia and government, 150000 civilians had fled their homes amid continuing "horrendous violence".
The report by the Congo Advocacy Coalition, a collection of 64 international and local aid agencies and rights groups, is the latest damning indictment of an agreement meant to finally pacify North Kivu, a province in the mineral-rich east.
Although DRC held successful elections in 2006 aimed at drawing a line under a decade of war and chaos, violence simmers in much of the east, where rebel and chaotic army units roam, often looting and targeting civilians.
United Nations peacekeepers, European diplomats and the African Union helped broker the deal, but women and girls have been particularly affected by the failure to implement it.
"More than 2 200 cases of rape were recorded in June 2008 in North Kivu province alone, representing only a small portion of the total," the report said.
Staggering statistics
Stigma and the inability to reach doctors due to continuing violence often mean that many rapes are never recorded.
DRC's conflict has been the source of staggering statistics -- an estimated 5,4-million dead, mostly from war-related hunger and disease, since the last war began in 1998, sucking in six neighbouring countries.
And, according to the new report, this continues.
About 150,000 people have fled violence since the agreement, adding to the one million already displaced. According to the UN, the deal itself has been violated 200 times in 180 days.
"Acute malnutrition rates have reached an alarming 17% in some areas, well above emergency levels," the report said, adding that armed attacks on aid workers trying to help those displaced were also increasing.
DRC is home to the UN's largest peacekeeping mission and there are 10.000 blue helmets in North and South Kivu, the provinces worst affected by the violence.
But the operation is thinly stretched across remote and rugged terrain and peacekeepers are seldom able to stop attacks.
The report calls for more commitment from all sides to the deal. But those experiencing the reality are cynical.
"The leaders of the government and the armed groups met in Goma and said they would bring us peace, but instead they kept fighting," an elderly displaced man told the report's authors.
"We are losing hope. We just want peace so we can go home." -- Reuters 'More than 2,200 cases of rape' last month in DRC ... more -
Diplomats aid Mbeki with Zimbabwe
A group of senior diplomats are to help South African President Thabo Mbeki in his efforts to solve Zimbabwe's political crisis.
Envoys will be drawn from the UN, African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).
The move was welcomed by Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has been critical of Mr Mbeki.
Mr Tsvangirai is currently considering entering power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe.
Sydney Mufamadi, a close aide of Mr Mbeki, announced the creation of a "reference group" consisting of AU head Jean Ping, the UN's Zimbabwe envoy Haile Menkerios, and Sadc official George Chikoti. A group of senior diplomats are to help South African President Thabo Mbeki in his efforts to solve Zimbabwe's political crisis. ... more -
African Union says it can sort out Zimbabwe crisis
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, June 27 (Reuters) - The African Union is convinced it can sort out an election crisis in Zimbabwe, the organisation's top official said on Friday ahead of an African summit.
"The problem of Zimbabwe, I am convinced it will be solved in a credible way. But please give us time to solve it with our heads of state," Jean Ping, chairman of the AU Commission told a news conference on the sidelines of a meeting of African foreign ministers in Egypt.
"I am convinced we will sort it out and that our credibility will be maintained."
The crisis in Zimbabwe dominated closed-door talks in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh ahead of a summit on Monday and Tuesday meant to focus on solving the continent's water and sanitation problems.
Mugabe said on Thursday he would attend the summit but no solutions could be imposed on Zimbabwe from outside. He said he was ready to answer any challenge to the election from within the AU.
,,,,,,,,,So the AU likes to think it can sort this out and Mugabe is adament it is no one elses business and remains an internal matter. I dont see this going any further except a backroom pre summit deal where they agree not to mention any thing that may upset Mugabe. SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, June 27 (Reuters) - The African Union is convinced it can sort out an election crisis in Zimbabwe, the organis... more -
African Union
SpookyFish comments on "Bono Wants US of Africa".
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Bono wants United States of Africa
Pop star and activist Bono has called for the creation of a United States of Africa, saying that a pan-continental identity would serve as a catalyst for resolving its conflicts.
The U2 frontman, who was in Japan to take part in a major development conference last week, said that a United States of Africa "would be the dream" in the long term. "I think a kind of broader African identity is going to be very important to deal with tribal tensions,"
The Irish rock star said that developing a broader identity may seem largely "poetic," but has been proven successful. "Irish people used to always have a little giggle when they would see Americans saluting their flags in schools, and then the whole standing there, singing the flag thing," Bono said.
"But as you get to know a little bit more about things, you start to think, ah, there's so many different tribal groups in the United States, that to create a national identity of that size, they had to really work at this kind of patriotism," he said.
The African Union was created in 2002 with inspiration from the European Union, but critics say the body has lacked the funds and political will to take effective action on the continent's flashpoints. It intervened in 2004 in the strife-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur, but has relinquished leadership to the United Nations to form a joint peacekeeping force. Pop star and activist Bono has called for the creation of a United States of Africa, saying that a pan-continental identity would serv... more -
Leaders discuss African Union government
A meeting of African heads of states from South Africa, Uganda, Gabon, Botswana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Libya, Senegal and Tanzania, is underway in Tanzania for the leaders to discuss matters concerning the political and economic integration on the continent. The Arusha summit is the first meeting discussing the African Union government. A meeting of African heads of states from South Africa, Uganda, Gabon, Botswana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Libya, Senegal and T... more
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