Op PRESENCE/Mali (Cdn mission/s, sitreps, etc. - merged)

[Brad Sallows]

Isn't it past time for the NDP to demand a 6-month feel-good intervention to get some more snapshots of Canadian service members in blue hats for the Party's office walls?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Buried in the middle of this Backgrounder on the PM's visit to Japan (also attached in case link doesn't work) - emphasis mine:

To further advance Canada’s defence relations with Japan, while in Tokyo on March 25, Prime Minister Harper:

• Committed to pursue negotiations towards a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement.
• Committed to continued joint peace operations capacity building in Africa, based on the successful cross-dispatch of Canadian and Japanese trainers to Tanzania in February, 2012.

 

[Pieman]

KONY 2012 EVERYONE!!!.....Wait,.....where did everyone go?

 

[OldSolduer]

KONY 2012 EVERYONE!!!.....Wait,.....where did everyone go?

Excuse me but Ellen is on. Turn it down would ya?

 

[tomahawk6]

The Army Chief of Staff has announced that a brigade from the 10th Mountain Division will be tasked to AFRICOM next year.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/05/ap-ray-odierno-says-combat-brigade-heading-africa-051612/

Odierno: Brigade heading to Africa next year
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 16, 2012 16:50:26 EDT

WASHINGTON — Army leaders say a combat brigade will be assigned to the Pentagon’s Africa Command next year in a pilot program that will send small teams of soldiers to countries around the continent to do training and participate in military exercises.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff, says the plan is part of a new effort to provide U.S. commanders around the globe with troops on a rotational basis to meet the military needs of their regions.

This pilot program sends troops to an area that has become a greater priority for the Obama administration since it includes several nations where terrorist groups are an increasing threat to the U.S. and the region.

Odierno says a brigade from the 10th Mountain Division will take on the new task.

 

[GAP]

Somalia donor money 'goes missing'
1 June 2012
Article Link

Large sums of money donated to Somalia's UN-backed interim government have not been accounted for, a World Bank report says.

The report, seen by the BBC, is being circulated at talks in Turkey on how to end Somalia's decades of anarchy.

It alleges a discrepancy of about $130m (£85m) in the accounts over two years.

UK foreign minister William Hague told the BBC that an international board to oversee the distribution of aid funds needed to be established urgently.

Somalia's transitional government mandate expires in August when it is due to hand over to an elected president.

'Big question mark'

The revelations in the World Bank report come as several hundred Somali politicians meet representatives of more than 50 countries in Istanbul to try to win new funding for the long-term reconstruction of country.

The report stops short of making specific allegations, but does not rule out corruption as a possible explanation for the missing funds.

"There is a discrepancy in what comes in and there's a lack of accounting of how money has been spent," the report's author Joakim Gundel is quoted by US broadcaster Voice of America as saying.

"So that opens naturally a big question mark for sure."

The report, which looks at the years 2009 and 2010, also says the transitional government has no real accounting system nor does it publicly disclose financial statements.

Contacted by the BBC, Mr Gundel said he would not make any comment about the report until later on Friday.

But VOA reports him as saying that the missing millions could significantly bolster Somalia's security without relying on foreign donations.

The conference in Istanbul is the second major international gathering this year about Somalia's crisis.
More on link

 

[The Bread Guy]

From an Open Letter by the International Crisis Group (a think tank involving a number of former politicians and diplomats, and funded, in part, by CIDA):

.... The stabilisation strategy underpinned by MONUSCO was centred too heavily on an expectation that the 2008-2009 rapprochement between DRC and Rwanda was enough to contain the conflict in the Kivus. The bilateral agreement was based on President Kabila's willingness to integrate Rwanda's proxy CNDP forces into the army, but the strategy was short-sighted as it made no provisions for addressing the underlying causes of conflict beyond Rwanda's security objectives. The current mutiny underway in the Kivus is perhaps the clearest evidence to date of how little progress has been made in stabilisation. The 2008 and 2012 crises appear remarkably similar, including their ethnic dimension, reported support from Rwanda and the negative impact on civilians, including displacement and potential for increasing ethnic tensions at the community level. These crises are symptoms of unresolved regional and local conflicts over access to land and resources, as well as a failure to achieve structural reform within the security sector, poor governance and non-existent rule of law, and the inability to address the sources of financing for armed groups, end impunity and extend state authority, including through decentralisation.

In this context, it would be a mistake if the Security Council seeks to make only minor adjustments to the current course in renewing MONUSCO's mandate. Without a new approach and re-engagement by the Security Council, MONUSCO risks becoming a $1.5 billion empty shell ....

More here - more on the MONSUCO mission here

 

[The Bread Guy]

West African leaders are intensifying their plans for military intervention in Mali, mobilizing a force of nearly 3,300 soldiers to spearhead the mission, despite their failure to win approval from the United Nations.

Senior military officers are expected to arrive in Mali this week to begin detailed planning for the military intervention. One of their goals, according to Ivory Coast’s army chief, is the “re-conquest of the north” – where Islamists and separatist rebels have seized power.

If the West African troops enter Mali, their first task will be to protect and stabilize its fragile democratic institutions, which were badly weakened by an army coup in March.

But they would also aim to bolster Mali’s army and help it dislodge the rebels who have captured the northern two-thirds of Mali, turning it into a vast haven for Islamist terrorists.

At a meeting in Ivory Coast this weekend, West African military chiefs said they had secured commitments from Nigeria, Senegal and Niger to provide the bulk of the planned 3,270 troops in the intervention force. The African Union is also pushing hard for military action, asking the UN Security Council for its “urgent” support.

( .... )

Until recently, Mali was a favourite of Canada and other Western countries, widely seen as democratic and liberal. It received more than $100-million in aid annually from Canada alone, and Canadian mining companies have been heavily involved in Mali.

But the foreign aid was suspended after the military coup in March, and the country fell into turmoil when the north was captured by a loose coalition of Tuareg separatists and Islamist radicals, including AQIM and another Islamist group called Ansar Dine (Defenders of the Faith) ....

Globe & Mail, 17 Jun 12

 

[The Bread Guy]

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird on Thursday warned against letting the situation in Mali, sliced in two since a coup and partly controlled by Islamist radicals, go the way of Afghanistan.

"Terrorism is the great struggle of our generation," said Baird after holding talks with French counterpart Laurent Fabius.

"We must not allow the same problems that the world allowed to happen in Afghanistan to show their face in the Saharan region and Mali," he said.

"The territorial integrity... the humanitarian situation, the fight against terrorism must remain a priority," he said.

The European Union is planning to send military trainers to help Mali's army oust rebels and Islamic extremists controlling the north of the country, according to EU sources and a draft document obtained by AFP on Thursday.

France has drawn up a UN Security Council resolution seeking a detailed plan within 30 days on an international military intervention following a formal request from the authorities in Bamako ....

Agence France-Presse, 11 Oct 12

 

[The Bread Guy]

Just caught this ....

Citing the threat to regional peace from terrorists and Islamic militants in rebel-held northern Mali, the United Nations Security Council today held out the possibility of endorsing, within the next 45 days, an international military force to restore the unity of the West African country.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide, at once, military and security planners to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and other partners to help frame a response to a request by Mali’s transitional authorities for such a force, and to report back within 45 days.

Upon receipt of the report, and acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Council said it was ready “to respond to the request of the Transitional authorities of Mali regarding an international military force assisting the Malian Armed Forces in recovering the occupied regions in the north of Mali.”

Chapter VII of the Charter allows the Council to use force in the face of a threat to peace or aggression, taking “such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security,” including blockades and other operations by the forces of Member States ....

UN News Centre, 12 Oct 12

From the resolution:

".... The Security Council .... Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

“1.  Welcomes the appointment of a Government of National Unity in Mali, expresses its support to the work of the Interim president of Mali, Dioncounda Traoré and urges the Transitional authorities in Mali to present a detailed road map for transition with concrete steps and timelines and to accelerate efforts towards the strengthening of democratic institutions and the restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Mali through the holding of timely, peaceful, inclusive and credible elections by the end of the transition;

“2.  Reiterates its demand that no member of the Malian Armed Forces should interfere in the work of the Transitional authorities, takes note of the decisions and recommendation by ECOWAS to adopt targeted sanctions in Mali and expresses its readiness to consider appropriate measures as necessary;

“3.  Calls upon Malian rebel groups to cut off all ties to terrorist organizations, notably AQIM and affiliated groups, and expresses its readiness to adopt targeted sanctions against those rebel groups who do not cut off all ties to terrorist organizations, including AQIM and affiliated groups, recalls paragraphs 20 and 24 of resolution 2056 (2012)  and further decides that the 1267/1989 Committee shall take decisions on requests of Member States to add to the Al-Qaida sanctions list names of individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities in Mali that are associated with Al-Qaida, in accordance with resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011);

“4.  Urges the Transitional authorities of Mali, the Malian rebel groups and legitimate representatives of the local population in the north of Mali, to engage, as soon as possible, in a credible negotiation process in order to seek a sustainable political solution, mindful of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Mali and requests the Secretary-General, as well as neighbouring countries, countries of the region, international and regional organizations and other bilateral partners, to support this Malian political process;

“5.  Demands that all groups in the north of Mali cease all abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including targeted attacks against the civilian population, sexual violence, recruitments of child soldiers and forced displacements, and recalls in this regard all its relevant resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, on Children and armed conflicts and on Protection of civilians in armed conflicts;

“6.  Declares its readiness, upon receiving the Secretary-General’s report referred to in paragraph 7 below, to respond to the request of the Transitional authorities of Mali regarding an international military force assisting the Malian Armed Forces in recovering the occupied regions in the north of Mali;

“7.  Requests the Secretary-General to immediately provide military and security planners to assist ECOWAS and the African Union, in close consultation with Mali, the neighbouring countries of Mali, countries of the region and all other interested bilateral partners and international organizations, in the joint planning efforts to respond to the request of the Transitional authorities of Mali for such an international military force, and further requests the Secretary-General, in close consultation with the above-mentioned partners, to submit, no later than forty-five days after the adoption of this resolution, a written report on the implementation of this resolution, including support provided under paragraph 4 and this paragraph, and detailed and actionable recommendations to respond to the request of the Transitional authorities of Mali regarding an international military force, including means and modalities of the envisaged deployment, in particular the concept of operations, force generation capabilities strength and support financial costs;

“8.  Calls upon the Transitional authorities of Mali to take immediately all the appropriate measures to facilitate the regional and international preparation efforts taken in relation with the objective outlined in paragraph 6 above, calls upon Member States, regional and international organizations, to provide coordinated support to these regional and international preparation efforts, including through military training, provision of equipment and other forms of assistance in efforts to combat terrorist and affiliated extremist groups, and further invites those Member States and organizations to inform the Secretary-General of their contributions;

“9.  Calls upon, in this context, Member States, regional and international organizations, including the African Union and the European Union, to provide as soon as possible coordinated assistance, expertise, training and capacity-building support to the Armed and Security Forces of Mali, consistent with their domestic requirements, in order to restore the authority of the State of Mali over its entire national territory, to uphold the unity and territorial integrity of Mali and to reduce the threat posed by AQIM and affiliated groups;

“10.  Welcomes the appointment by the Secretary-General of a Special Envoy for the Sahel, who should mobilize international efforts for the Sahel, coordinate the implementation of the United Nations integrated strategy on the Sahel and engage actively in defining the parameters of a comprehensive solution to the Malian crisis;

“11.  Decides to remain actively seized of the matter ....

And what do the bad guys have to say?

Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Mali have threatened to "open the doors of hell" for French citizens if France kept pushing for armed intervention to retake the rebel-held north.

The renewed threats against French hostages and expatriates came on Saturday as French-speaking nations met in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where French President Francois Hollande was expected to urge the rapid deployment of an African-led force to rout the rebels.

Hollande said the threat would not deter France's determination to quash the rebels in Mali.

"If he continues to throw oil on the fire, we will send him the pictures of dead French hostages in the coming days," said Oumar Ould Hamaha, a spokesman for the armed group MUJWA, in apparent reference to the six French nationals still held by armed groups after being seized in the region.

"He will not be able to count the bodies of French expatriates across West Africa and elsewhere," Hamaha said by telephone.

Military intervention

MUJWA is among the groups which seized control of the northern two-thirds of Mali when fighters swept into the territory in April following a coup in the capital Bamako.

Regional and Western powers are now considering armed intervention to retake the area, with former colonial ruler France seeking swift military action by regional bloc ECOWAS ....

MWC News, 14 Oct 12

 

[Journeyman]

Just caught this ....UN News Centre, 12 Oct 12

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide, at once, military and security planners to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and other partners to help frame a response to a request by Mali’s transitional authorities for such a force, and to report back within 45 days.

OMG!!
Sending staff bureaucrats to help Mali write a memo seeking help.....insisting that they receive their own drafted memo within a month and a half!!


:surrender:  <----al Qaeda  :nod:

 

[Old Sweat]

I love a sense of urgency.  :facepalm:

 

[Edward Campbell]

I love a sense of urgency.  :facepalm:

I actually have some sympathy for the UN Secretary General. His peacekeeping directorate is incapable of mounting anything like a useful military operation; his political options are few and they are hamstrung by race ~ only black African soldiers may keep the peace in black Africa, for example; thus his only real options are: a) do nothing or b) put second rate troops into missions that are planned and managed by a third rate staff.

But since it all happens in a region which has neither political nor economic importance - yet - it simply doesn't matter.

 

[The Bread Guy]

OMG!!
Sending staff bureaucrats to help Mali write a memo seeking help.....insisting that they receive their own drafted memo within a month and a half!!


:surrender:  <----al Qaeda  :nod:

 

[cupper]

OMG!!
Sending staff bureaucrats to help Mali write a memo seeking help.....insisting that they receive their own drafted memo within a month and a half!!


:surrender:  <----al Qaeda  :nod:

Don't you mean

:rofl: <----al Qaeda

 

[a_majoor]

And some more on the Mali issue. Since this is a pretty direct fallout from Libya (which I feel we should never have participated in), we may end up getting sucked into this as well.

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/11/09/war-plans-for-mali-leaked/

War Plans for Mali Leaked

It sure looks like the US has some more leading from behind in Africa ahead of it. Reuters reports that plans are solidifying for what Theodore Roosevelt might have called a “splendid little war” in Mali:

    “International forces will not do the ground fighting, that role will belong to the Malian army,” a military officer familiar with the plan, who asked not to be named, said on Friday.

    “Air strikes will be the responsibility of the international force,” he said, adding foreign partners would also provide logistical and intelligence support and soldiers and police to secure areas captured by the Malian army.

    Military planners from Africa, the United Nations and Europe in Mali’s capital Bamako last week drew up a battle plan that would involve a foreign force of more than 4,000 personnel, mostly from West African countries. It remains unclear how much of the force would come from Western nations.

With the French already sending drones to the region, it’s possible—likely even if all goes well—that Western involvement will remain limited to air support and intelligence gathering, while foreign (but African) troops provide security and police forces. With any luck the jihadi groups will shatter and disperse on first contact and their local allies will turn on them.

Something must be done in Mali. Open sanctuaries for aggressive jihadis cannot be tolerated. But what’s the strategy? In Libya there’s an argument to be made that even though the United States ‘led from behind’ we were nevertheless used by French oil interests among others to increase French prestige and power in the neighborhood. The French are very good at getting other people to do their dirty jobs for them. Mali is part of France’s ghost empire in Africa; there’s a case to be made for remaining well in the rear and not even leading.

More broadly, where is our policy heading in Africa? Have we started playing whack-a-mole with terror groups across the Sahara? And, if we manage to whack the moles on the head in Mali, where do they pop up next? And what’s our fallback plan if the first push doesn’t work?

Via Meadia hopes the wizards in the State Department and National Security Council have thought these issues through more thoroughly than they did when we rushed into Libya. The ‘victory’ in Libya helped make the Mali war necessary; what new wars will another ‘victory’ in Mali bring?

The graphic o link has one other interesting bit of information; the area controlled by the Islamists in Mali is relatively close to the area controlled by the Boku Haram Islamist group in Nigeria. Attacks against one group might spur actions by the other group in support of the Islamist cause, which is related to the "whack a mole" argument in the article.

 

[Edward Campbell]

This Reuters report about Nigerian troops killing unarmed captives, as they battle a Muslim insurgency in the Northeast of the country, will be lost in the "noise" about the Gaza battle, but it reminds us that Africa has deep problems.

 

[larry Strong]

Things are not looking so good in the Congo either...in this column which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from CTV:




Rwanda-backed rebels press fight in eastern Congo toward Goma

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/rwanda-backed-rebels-press-fight-in-eastern-congo-toward-goma-1.1043047#ixzz2CatTvucj

GOMA, Congo -- A Rwandan-backed rebel group advanced to within 4 kilometres (2.4 miles) of Goma, a crucial provincial capital in eastern Congo, marking the first time that rebels have come this close since 2008.

Congolese army spokesman Col. Olivier Hamuli said the fighting has been going on since 6 a.m. Sunday and the frontline has moved to just a few kilometres outside the city. Contacted by telephone on the frontline, M23 rebel spokesman Col. Vianney Kazarama said the group will spend the night in Goma.

As the rebels moved in, the governor of North Kivu province, which Goma is the capital of, said he had been evacuated to the city of Bukavu.

The M23 rebel group is made-up of soldiers from a now-defunct rebel army the National Congress for the Defense of the People, known as the CNDP, which agreed to be integrated into the country's armed forces following a March 23, 2009 peace deal. That rebel group had been led by a Rwandan commando, Gen. Laurent Nkunda, who marched his soldiers to the doorstep of Goma in 2008, abruptly stopping his advance just before taking the city.

Starting in April of this year, the members of M23 began defecting from the regular army, claiming that the terms of the 2009 peace deal had not been observed. Numerous reports by human rights groups including by the United Nations Group of Experts have shown that M23 is actively being backed by Rwanda and the new rebellion is likely linked to the fight to control Congo's rich mineral wealth.

The latest fighting broke out Thursday, and on Saturday UN attack helicopters targeted M23 positions in eastern Congo killing two army officers and 151 rebels.

At UN headquarters in New York, peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said Saturday that the rebels were very well-equipped, including with night vision equipment. Also on Saturday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had called Rwandan President Paul Kagame "to request that he use his influence on the M23 to help calm the situation and restrain M23 from continuing their attack," Ladsous said.

North Kivu governor Paluku said Saturday that the Congolese army had earlier retreated from Kibumba, which is 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Goma, after thousands of Rwandans, who he says were backing the rebels, attacked early Saturday.

"Rwandan forces bombarded our positions in Kibumba since early this morning and an estimated 3,500 crossed the border to attack us," he said Saturday.

Reports by United Nations experts have accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the rebels. Both countries strongly deny any involvement and Uganda said if the charges continue it will pull its peacekeeping troops out of Somalia, where they are playing an important role in pushing out the Islamist extremist rebels.

The UN Security Council called for an immediate stop to the violence following a two-hour, closed-door emergency meeting. The council said it would add sanctions against M23 rebels and demanded that rebels immediately stop their advance toward the provincial capital of Goma.

"We must stop the M23" because Goma's fall "would, inevitably, turn into a humanitarian crisis," said France's UN Ambassador, Gerard Araud. He added that UN officials would decide in the coming days which M23 leaders to target for additional sanctions

 

[BrendenDias]

As much as it is hard to know, Africa will always be in a crisis...

 

[OldSolduer]

As much as it is hard to know, Africa will always be in a crisis...

Until we learn that handing out money and food is not the solution to Africa's problems.