SOMALIA: The Fight against Al-Shabab boosted
In the wake of the Westgate Mall attack, the UN Security Council passed a unanimous resolution on 12th November 2013 authorizing more than 4,000 new troops to join the AMISOM thereby increasing the number of existing troops to slightly more than 22,000. The Council also authorized the U.N. to supply Somalia's national army with food, water, fuel and other assets when it conducts joint operations with AMISOM.
The Westgate attack of September 21 was the largest and most sophisticated of any of the attacks orchestrated by the Al-Shabaab in terms of planning and execution outside Somalia since the Kampala bombings of 2010. This indicates that the group has changed its modes operandi after it was defeated by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces in 2011-2012. Kenyan troops played a major role in ejecting Al-Shabaab from its urban strongholds, notably the city of Kismayo in September 2012. Al-Shabaab used the port to export charcoal estimated to have earned the group $25 million a year. The razing of trees for this trade has turned lush areas of Somalia into deserts, which contributed to famine in 2010 and 2011 killing about 260,000 people, according to the UN estimate. Consequently, in 2012, the UN Security Council banned the import and export of Somali charcoal.
The well thought out plan and execution of the attack at the heart of Kenya’s capital city raised a number of questions regarding the group’s strength, the vulnerability of the region and the effectiveness of regional and international response to the crisis in Somalia.
MADAGASCAR: Presidential Election Goes To Run-Off Vote
Madagascar’s first presidential election since the 2009 coup will go to a run-off scheduled for next month since no candidate won an outright majority in last month's first round vote, provisional results showed on November 8th. Two weeks after polling day, results from polling stations accounting for 99.9% of the votes had been validated by the Electoral Commission.
The results revealed Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who is supported by coup-leader-turned-president Andry Rajoelina, with 15.9 percent of valid votes and Jean Louis Robinson, supported by Marc Ravalomanana, who Rajoelina ousted, with 21.1 percent. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Rajaonarimampianina were widely expected to win the most votes in the first round because each of them had the support of the two men who have dominated the recent fortunes of Madagascar.
Sahondra Rabenarivo, a corporate lawyer working in the capital, Antananarivo said that whoever wins next month, Madagascar's political order won't change much. She further stated that an orderly vote could at least draw crucial investment back to the island. Although the first round of voting last month was peaceful, analysts have warned of the potential partisan clashes. International observers urged officials in Madagascar to redouble voter-education efforts and maintain peace and order across the country ahead of the December runoff.
KENYA: Victims withdraw from the case against Deputy President
A group of 20 victims of post-election violence that rocked Kenya almost six years ago have withdrawn from the International Criminal Court case against Deputy President William Ruto. The Hague-based court said on Thursday November 14, that the group told their lawyer that they no longer wished to continue participating in the proceedings.
According to the judges, the decision to withdraw could have been motivated by a range of factors including security concerns. The court's confirmation comes after it received a letter in early June by 93 victims who allegedly said they wanted to stop participation in the two Kenyan cases before the ICC.
Ruto and Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta are both charged with crimes against humanity in connection with 2007-8 post-poll violence that left over 1,000 people dead and several hundred thousand displaced. Ruto went on trial in September, becoming the highest-ranking serving official to do so before the ICC. Kenyatta's trial was due to start on Tuesday November 12, but has now been postponed to February 2014.
The victims' withdrawal came as a new poll found that a majority of Kenyans want the ICC to try their President for alleged crimes against humanity. The poll, released on Thursday November 14, found that 67 percent of 2,060 Kenyans surveyed think Kenyatta should attend his trial at the ICC.
NIGERIA: U.S. Joins War Against Boko Haram
The United States, on Wednesday November 13, formally declared war on Boko Haram, classifying the Nigerian-based Al Qaeda affiliate, a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The declaration would make Washington mobilize resources and intelligence to combat the ninth deadliest terrorist group in the world. The US said Boko Haram had links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and was responsible for thousands of deaths in northeast and central Nigeria over the last several years, including targeted killings of civilians.
Boko Haram stepped up its attacks against civilians and government installations this year, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa last May. The group has since 2009 been fighting to create an Islamic state in the country's mainly Muslim north. Among its most lethal attacks, Boko Haram carried out indiscriminate attacks in Nigeria’s Benisheikh in September 2013, killing more than 160 innocent civilians, including women and children.