SOUTH SUDAN: Counting begins after Abyei’s unilateral referendum
Counting of ballots has begun in an unofficial referendum held in the flashpoint region of Abyei to decide whether the oil-rich district should join Sudan or South Sudan. Referendum organisers started the counting on Wednesday 30 October, just as the Arabic-speaking Misseriya tribe, loyal to Sudan, vowed to hold their own referendum. Sunday's referendum, which lasted three days, was unilaterally organised by the Ngok Dinka, a rival tribe closely connected to South Sudan. Results were expected later on or Thursday.
However, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU chief, said the vote was illegal and its organisers were risking starting a return to war between civil war foes in Juba and Khartoum. She said the organizers posed a threat to peace in the Abyei area, and have the potential to trigger an unprecedented escalation on the ground with far-reaching consequences for the region as a whole. Observers said the referendum was neither endorsed by Sudan nor South Sudan.
Abyei was meant to vote on whether to be part of Sudan or South Sudan in January 2011 - the same day as Juba voted overwhelmingly to split from the north - as part of the 2005 peace deal which ended Sudan's civil war. But a referendum to decide the region's fate has been repeatedly stalled, prompting the residents to attempt a vote to determine their fate.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Congo army enters last major rebel stronghold
Congolese government troops have entered the eastern border town of Bunagana as M23 rebels abandoned what was the last significant town they were holding. The town was first seized by the rebels last year and its loss is the latest success in an offensive by the Democratic Republic of Congo's UN-backed army, which is seeking to crush a 20-month rebellion. The town was deserted when government forces swept in because civilians and rebels had fled fearing the advance.
The Kampala peace talks between the Congolese government troops and the M23 since December last year mediating to bring to an end the 18-month rebellion failed again earlier this month and, within days, clashes erupted between Congolese forces and the rebels. The M23 emerged in April 2012, the latest incarnation of an ethnic Tutsi rebel group dissatisfied with the Congolese government. The rebels captured Goma - a city of 1 million people - last November but have been substantially weakened in the past year leading to their ultimate defeat.
SOMALIA: UN urges more troops to fight al-Shabab
The United Nations has said the war against al-Shabab in Somalia has "ground to a halt" and needs a surge of almost 4,400 more African Union troops to succeed. The deputy secretary-general, Jan Eliasson, told the Security Council on Wednesday 30 October, that an African Union contingent in Somalia needed boosting by 2,550 combat troops and 1,845 ground-support troops for the next 18 to 24 months.
Eliasson told the council that the current UN-endorsed AU force and the Somali military lacked "the capacity to push beyond areas already recovered" from al-Qaida linked group. According to Eliasson, without increased support, the UN present and indeed past investment in peace, and that of millions of Somalis, may be lost.
The AU mission in Somalia is meant to pave the way for an eventual UN force. It is led by Ugandan officers, and also has large Kenya and Burundi contingents. The Security Council is focused on the al-Shabab threat after the September attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya in which at least 67 people were killed.
MADAGASCAR: Madagascar’s first presidential elections since the 2009 coup.
Residents of the Island of Madagascar held their first presidential elections since the coup in 2009 on 25th October 2013. The coup plunged the mineral-rich Indian Ocean Island into a prolonged political and financial crisis. It is hoped that the elections is the first step towards ensuring the restoration of security, improvement of lives and mark the end of political and economic turmoil suffered since the coup.
The current leader Andry Rajoelina seized power from President Marc Ravalomanana with the help of the military in 2009. Both were barred from running in the presidential election. Their exclusion was a precondition for international recognition of the election results.
Thirty-three candidates contested the poll, which has been postponed three times this year. It could prove difficult for a clear winner to emerge in the first round, with the top two candidates expected to compete in a run-off scheduled for Dec. 20. 2013.
The two front-runners, Hery Martial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina and Richard Jean-Louis Robinson, are both pledging to rebuild Madagascar's economy.
The polls were organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission of the Transition (CENIT) - an independent electoral body funded by the United Nations.