Day: August 6, 2021

The Somali government has formally rejected African Union recommendations for a scaled-down peacekeeping presence in the Horn of Africa country, calling a report and its proposals “devoid of realities.”

 

“The experts who conducted the assessment didn’t sufficiently consult with the federal government of Somalia,” Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak told VOA Somali, saying the government informed the AU of its position last week. “The report and options are not good options at this point.”

 

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has provided peacekeepers in Somalia since March 2007, primarily to protect the Somali government, and subsequently helped Somali forces dislodge al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants from all major towns and cities. Five AU countries – Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti – contribute to the current force of 19,400 soldiers. The mission costs hundreds of millions a year, according to the IPI Global Observatory.

 

Reduce, reconfigure presence

 

But AU officials, concerned about funding, have sought to draw down and reconfigure the peacekeeping posture. In April, Somali officials agreed to take the lead in security responsibilities by year’s end.

 

In a report dated May 30, an AU assessment team proposed four options. Its first and preferred recommendation would be a hybrid mission of the African Union and United Nations, with a mix of police (50%), military personnel (35%) and civilians (15%). The AU report did not specify troop strength but recommended a gradual reduction.

 

The U.N., which conducted its own assessment earlier this year, did not call for a hybrid mission. Instead, it recommended that AMISOM reconfigure and modify its mission – the AU team’s second option.

The AU team’s remaining two options were deploying an East African standby force or having AMISOM exit the country. The report’s authors said the latter could be accomplished in six months, but they warned against a hasty exit.

 

Earlier this year, the United States pulled out most of its troops, repositioning them elsewhere in East Africa. It resumed military airstrikes against al-Shabab militants in Somalia on July 20, after a six-month lull.

 

The AU report criticized the Somali government and federal member states, saying their failure to resolve issues of constitutional review and the sharing of power and resources had contributed to challenges in stabilizing the country.

 

“Somali political actors do not respect their own agreements; political actors show deference to the clan rather than the federal constitutional order,” the report said.

 

Abdirizak, the foreign minister, said his government had devised a Somali transition plan (STP) “that eventually transfers security responsibilities to Somalis. It’s a plan where the leadership of security will be taking their views and orders from the Somali side. This is the best way to transition AMISOM security responsibilities to Somali security responsibilities.”

 

But, he complained, “none of the four [AU] options currently presented mentions STP.”

 

AMISOM did not respond to VOA’s request for an on-the-record interview.

 

Lack of coordination

 

The AU assessment came amid emerging accounts of miscommunication and poor coordination between Africa Union and Somali military leadership. But several AMISOM and Somali government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, cited tension between Somali Brigadier General Odawaa Yusuf Rageh and Lieutenant General Diomede Ndegeya, commander of the AU forces in Somalia.

 

“There is some bad blood between the two,” said a senior AU official in Mogadishu, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

 

The differences between Rageh and Ndegeya – who both declined VOA’s requests for interviews – reportedly stem from a military operation that the Somali National Army (SNA) conducted against al-Shabab in the Middle Shabelle region. The army reported that the six-week operation, which began May 23, accomplished its objectives by clearing al-Shabab from a vast rural area and killing more than 100 militants.

The senior AU official said that, though AMISOM soldiers operate in the area, Rageh did not inform them of the Somali military operation.

 

The senior AU official said there was no collaborative planning. He suggested that Rageh “wanted to showcase his ability to execute missions even without AMISOM, and this has backfired.”

 

The AU official said that midway through the operation, Rageh asked AMISOM for air support – and was refused.

 

Rageh “wanted choppers to be used to fire” at al-Shabab positions in a forested area but “they did not have area coordinates of the enemy; they had no clear intelligence about the enemy,” which has anti-aircraft guns, the AU official said.

 

Colonel Ali Hashi Abdinur, spokesperson for the Somali army, denied tensions between the commanders. “The cooperation is going very well. There is no dispute,” he said.

 

Contention over mobile forces

 

Abdirizak says his government wants AU forces to play a supporting role, with timely handover of security responsibilities to Somali forces. He is asking AMISOM to provide mobile forces to fight alongside Somali troops.

 

On Monday, Somali security forces captured two key areas in central Galmudug state. They were led by U.S.-trained commandos called the Danab Brigade – lightning-quick mobile forces capable of operating on multiple fronts. Somali government officials say AMISOM operations need to be modeled after Danab’s mobile operations.

 

But the senior AU official said AMISOM hasn’t been able to provide mobile support because it’s burdened by running several forward operating bases for which Somalia failed to take responsibility.

 

When the Somali army demanded a mobile force, “we said, ‘You are the same people who tied our hands,’ ” the senior AU official said.

 

Lack of coordination is not surprising, said Samira Gaid, a national security expert.

 

“Ultimately, we are on two different clocks,” said Gaid, who served as security adviser to former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.

 

Gaid warned that miscommunication could breed mistrust and undue tension between two entities expected to work together.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

Leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) fired three generals in the command of Upper Nile state this week, shortly after the generals declared First Vice President Riek Machar had been ousted as head of the SPLM-IO and as commander in chief of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO).

Machar’s spokesperson said the decision to fire the generals was made Wednesday during an SPLM/A-IO leadership meeting in Juba.

Those fired were former chief of staff General Simon Gatwech, General Johnson Olony of Sector One Command and General Thomas Mabor Dhoal of Sector Three Command.

The meeting of the party’s political bureau and military leaders was called after the declaration Tuesday by Gatwech and some party commanders in Upper Nile state to oust Machar, according to Machar spokesperson Puok Both Baluang.

“We believe the military command does not make any decision of the movement, but the political bureau or the national liberation council in the absence of the national convention,” Baluang told South Sudan in Focus.

Baluang said the declaration, which he called illegal, was intended to obstruct activities leading to the formation of unified forces.

“We are demolishing the moves of these three generals. Therefore, I would like to assure that the situation is in control,” Baluang told VOA. “The other two generals, Thomas Mabor and Johnson Olony, are to leave their positions and be replaced by other commanders” in Sector One and Sector Three.

Machar is still in control of SPLA-IO forces in Upper Nile that were being led by the three generals, said Baluang.

A letter seen by South Sudan In Focus and dated Tuesday indicates Gatwech met with several Upper Nile state party commanders in Maganis, where he declared Machar’s ouster. He also declared himself the party’s new leader and commander in chief.

Cheers for Gatwech

Unconfirmed videos and photos circulating on social media show Gatwech being cheered by senior military officers of the SPLM/A-IO during the declaration. Hundreds of officers and some top military officers can be seen in the photos and videos attending the meeting.

South Sudan policy analyst James Okuk said he was not surprised to hear about the party split, calling it confirmation of a long overdue move and defiance by the Gatwech group. He also said the SPLM-IO split highlighted the growing frustration over the slow implementation of the peace agreement among the signatories to the peace deal.

“The generals who are claiming to replace the chairman of the SPLM-IO, Dr. Riek Machar, have not been on good terms with him for almost two years and they have not reported to Juba since the signing of the revitalized peace agreement,” Okuk told South Sudan in Focus. “They have been appointed to the government and they have declined the appointment. For example, Gatwech Dual was recently appointed as presidential adviser, but he declined that position. Before, Johnson Olony was a nominee of the SPLM-IO for the governor of Upper Nile, but he also declined to come to Juba.”

The split within SPLM/A-IO would only weaken further implementation of the peace deal, said Okuk.

“The SPLM-IO is a strong partner in the implementation of the peace agreement, so if it becomes weak by [a] split within itself, it means they become a weak partner and [a] weak partner is not good in the implementation of the peace agreement. So already, both the generals are weakening themselves and they are weakening the political wing, and this will give the ITGoNU [Incumbent Transitional Government of National Unity], which is led by the SPLM, an upper hand now,” Okuk told VOA.

This marked the second time that some SPLM/A-IO members have attempted to oust Machar as leader of the party. In 2016, then-Vice President Taban Deng Gai failed to remove Machar as party leader, following renewed conflict in Juba.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

Ethiopia’s spreading Tigray conflict faced a dangerous escalation Friday as an Amhara regional official said Amhara forces would launch an offensive Saturday against Tigray forces who have entered the region and taken control of a town hosting a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“This is the time for the Amhara people to crush the terrorist group,” Sema Tiruneh, the Amhara region’s head of peace and security, told the regional state-affiliated Amhara Media Corp. “Everyone should come forward and defend themselves.”

In response, Tigray forces spokesman Getachew Reda told The Associated Press that “we’ll extend a warm welcome.” The conflict threatens to destabilize Africa’s second most populous country, where thousands of people have already been killed in the nine-month war.

In a phone interview, Getachew said Tigray forces have crossed into the Amhara region, and the Afar region, in recent weeks in an attempt to break the blockade that Ethiopia’s government has imposed on Tigray. Hundreds of thousands of people face famine, and the United Nations and United States this week sent high-level officials to Ethiopia to urge more access for aid.

“We have to deal with anyone who’s still shooting,” Getachew said. “If it takes marching to Addis to silence the guns, we will. But I hope we’ll not have to.” Civilians shouldn’t fear, he said in response to allegations by ethnic Amhara that the Tigray forces have carried out attacks.

“We’re not after Amhara territory or the people of Amhara. … As long as they are not shooting at our people, we have no problem,” Getachew said.

Separately, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry warned Friday that the Tigray forces’ incursion into the Amhara and Afar regions in recent weeks “is testing the federal government’s patience and pushing it to change its defensive mood which has been taken for the sake of the unilateral humanitarian cease-fire.” The incursions have displaced some 300,000 people, it said, accusing the Tigray forces of trying to destabilize Africa’s second most populous country.

Ethiopia’s government is “being pushed to mobilize and deploy the entire defensive capability of the state” if overtures for a peaceful resolution to the conflict are not reciprocated, the statement said.

A spokesman for the Tigray forces, Getachew Reda, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ethiopia’s government declared the cease-fire in late June during a stunning turn in the war, as its military retreated from Tigray and the resurgent Tigray forces retook key towns and walked into the regional capital, Mekele, to cheers.

The conflict erupted in Tigray in November after a falling-out between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray ruling party that had dominated Ethiopia’s government for nearly three decades. Since then, thousands of people have been killed.

A new offensive by the Amhara regional forces would go against the federal government’s command: “All federal and regional, civil and military institutions are ordered to respect the cease-fire,” Ethiopia said in its declaration in June.

While the United Nations and United States raise the alarm about the Ethiopian government’s continuing near-complete blockade of the Tigray region and its 6 million people, the Tigray forces have vowed to secure the region and chase its “enemies” even to the capital, Addis Ababa, if needed. They have said the prime minister needs to go as one of several preconditions for talks.

“I personally would want him to go, but it’s not for us to topple him,” the Tigray forces spokesman said of the prime minister. “We’re not interested in occupying the corridors of power in Addis.”

Despite international pressure for an immediate cease-fire by all parties, Getachew said the Tigray forces in talks with partners have rejected the idea of holding “discreet talks” with Ethiopia’s government.

“If Abiy wants peace, he has to come out in public. He has to lift the blockade,” the spokesman said.

Getachew also confirmed that the Tigray forces’ aim in the Afar region is to control a crucial supply line to the rest of Ethiopia from neighboring Djibouti, on a major shipping lane.

He said people in Tigray are starving.

“It’s not to spite the other parts of Ethiopia,” he said. “We’ll cut off supply lines but we’ll allow civilian supplies.”

In their most visible offensive yet, the Tigray forces on Thursday entered the Amhara town of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rock-hewn churches. While one resident told The Associated Press they arrived peacefully, Amhara regional spokesman Gizachew Muluneh on Friday said the “terror group” that entered the town is being “routed” by the public and the Ethiopian army.

“Several of them have now surrendered,” he added.

Ethiopia’s government earlier this year declared the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, a terrorist group instead of a political party.

Ethiopia’s prime minister repeated his commitment to the unilateral cease-fire just days ago, U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told reporters on Friday after his meeting with Abiy. “I have no reason to doubt that at all,” Griffiths said.

But regional forces vowing a new offensive could be another matter.

As the Tigray forces push on, they have become the focus of increasing warnings from the U.N. and U.S. amid pleas for an immediate cease-fire and peace talks without conditions.

 

 

 

Source: Voice of America