Since seizing power in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, in June, the Islamic Courts Union has banned khat leaf, the mild stimulant which has been traditionally chewed by Somalis for centuries. Imports of khat from Kenya, a main supplier, are being intercepted… Read moreNext for Somalia: khat wars?
General Addeh Museh, president of Puntland, the autonomous region in northeastern Somalia, has vowed to resist any attack by fighters from the Islamic Courts Union, saying his administration would not accept “radicalism and extremism.” Gen. Museh said, “We will continue… Read moreSomalia: Puntland pledges to resist Islamists
No surer sign of creeping (or galloping) totalitarianism. From AP, Nov. 5: ASMARA, Eritrea — Gospel singer Helen Berhane, who belonged to a banned evangelical church in Eritrea, has been released after more than two years in detention, a human… Read moreFear of music in Eritrea
The election results from the Democratic Republic of Congo are in—and predictably contested. The incumbent Joseph Kabila (and son of the late Laurent Kabila, leader of the 1996 revolution) has been declared victor, while supporters of contender Jean-Pierre Bemba, a… Read moreAussie mining company implicated in Congo massacre
From the BBC, Nov. 2: A new Sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s 70m Muslims, has been announced. Colonel Muhammadu Sada Abubakar, 53, is the younger brother of Sultan Mohammadu Maccido, who was killed in a plane crash… Read moreNigeria’s Sokoto Caliphate gets new sultan
Which is more hilarious? The US warning regional powers against carrying out a “proxy war” in Somalia while Washington itself is openly backing the warlord alliance that opposes the Islamic Courts Union? Or Eritrea’s apparent backing of the Islamic Courts… Read moreSomalia: US warns of “proxy war”
Villagers seized three Shell Oil platforms in the Niger Delta region Oct. 25, forcing a halt of production at each. A nearby Chevron platform was also closed. Members of the Kula community invaded the facilities, accusing the company of not… Read moreNiger Delta oil war back on
From Agence-France Press, Oct. 10: Sudan government, eastern rebels eye peace deal in coming days KHARTOUM — The Sudanese government and eastern rebels are poised to sign a final peace deal ending years of fighting in the coming days, a… Read moreSudan: peace deal imminent with Eastern Front?
From BBC, Sept. 29: UN ‘must drop’ Darfur peace force Top UN officials say the world body must abandon efforts to pressure Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur. UN Sudan envoy Jan Pronk says the existing African Union force… Read moreUN officials: drop Darfur peacekeepers plan
From The Scotsman, Sept. 26: Somali Islamists put down a women’s protest against their capture of the port city of Kismayo yesterday. The rebel group has rapidly expanded its grip on Somalia since it captured the capital, Mogadishu, in June,… Read moreSomalia: Islamists crush women’s protest
Our one-time contributor Keith Harmon Snow has won an award from Project Censored for his article, co-written with David Barouski, “Behind the Numbers: Untold Suffering in the Congo” (ZNet, March 2006). Project Censored dubs the story “High-Tech Genocide in Congo,”… Read moreProject Censored v. WW4 Report: war of perceptions on African genocide
A little over a year ago, Mauritania’s long-ruling dictator Maoya Sidi Ahmed Ould Taya was overthrown in a coup d’etat led by Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, who promised to usher in democracy. This June, a popular referendum approved a… Read moreMauritania moves towards democracy …except for slaves
