Nicolas Sarkozy

Zambia in Crisis

The Government of Zambia has declared the current food shortfall a disaster and appealed to the donor community for assistance with its relief efforts. The VAC has estimated food aid needs through March 2006. Major food aid distributions after this time are likely to compromise the harvest in April and May. New phytosanitary import regulations imposed on maize have delayed maize imports from South Africa. This has led to higher prices being offered by the large traders, and, consequently, higher maize meal prices for urban consumers. Although maize and meal prices are higher than last season, in real terms they have not reached the high levels of the 2002, the last food crisis year. Recorded informal imports from Tanzania have significantly increased in the last few months, while exports to the DRC have declined. - alertnet.org

KENYA: Drought-related deaths in the northeast

NAIROBI, 22 December (IRIN) - Several people have died of drought-related causes in Mandera district in Kenya's Northeastern Province, where a prolonged dry spell has led to high levels of malnutrition and livestock deaths, officials said on Thursday.

"The situation is getting worse. Several people have died not as a direct result of starvation but of complications related to malnutrition and the use of contaminated water," said Paul Chemutut, the district officer in charge of Mandera.

About 70 percent of Mandera's 300,000 population was in need of humanitarian assistance, he added. The arid district is largely inhabited by ethnic Somalis, most of whom are nomadic pastoralists.

James Kobia, the government officer in charge of Mandera's El Wak Division, said four people had died in his division. "Children and old people are very weak, and many of them are falling sick because they do not have enough to eat," he said. Kobia said the government was distributing rations of maize, beans and milk powder once a month to about 40 percent of El Wak's 50,000 people, but it was not enough because almost everybody was in need. "We are appealing to humanitarian agencies to come and help us because the situation is getting out of control," he added.

Ahmed Mohammed Abdi, a disaster response officer with the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), said most wells had dried up and people had congregated around the few working boreholes, which kept breaking down because of overuse. The government, he added, had provided seven water tankers but more were needed.

Abdi said the KRCS would embark on an exercise to "buy and slaughter" weakened livestock in Mandera on Friday, so that herders could earn some income. The meat would be distributed to the most vulnerable families. He said the worst affected areas were El Wak and Takaba divisions.

The Kenyan government has appealed for urgent food aid, saying hundreds of thousands of people in arid and semi-arid areas in the east and northeast will go hungry because of the failure of the short rains.

On 16 December, the UN World Food Programme warned that the number of people in need of food in Kenya could rise to 2.5 million in the first half of 2006 because the October-December short rains had failed in many eastern and northern districts. - alertnet.org

SOMALIA: Two million facing food crisis in the south

NAIROBI, 22 December (IRIN) - An estimated two million people in southern Somalia are facing an imminent humanitarian emergency and acute livelihood crisis over the next six months, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned.

"Somalia is experiencing a dangerous confluence of factors that almost certainly will lead to rapidly plummeting humanitarian conditions throughout southern regions," FAO said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nick Haan, the chief technical adviser for the Food Security and Analysis Unit (FSAU) Somalia, said that as the rainy season came to an end, it was clear that "the situation is going to evolve into a humanitarian emergency that could deteriorate as early as next month". Haan said a poor rainy season, localised resource-based conflict, market disruption and internal tensions had all combined to create the current situation. "Malnutrition levels as high as 20 percent in some areas of the south have reduced the resilience of the population to shocks," he added.

FSAU provides analysis of Somalia's food, nutrition and livelihood situation in order to promote food and livelihood security and is implemented by FAO.

"This year's main cereal harvest in July was the worst in a decade," FAO said.

The current projections, it noted, were in addition to ongoing humanitarian emergencies in Gedo and Lower Juba: "The failed Deyr (October-December rainy season) will both expand and make these crises more severe." "Humanitarian actors have limited access to some areas most critically in need of assistance," it added. "Further, the upsurge of piracy off the Somali coast limits food supply lines for both commercial and humanitarian imports."

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Somalia, said it was imperative that the international community beefed up its operational capacity, particularly in southcentral Somalia, where access is difficult.

"There is an urgency to mobilise partners to address the existing need and to better approach the additional need that has been forecast," he said. "We are on the eve of a new humanitarian crisis." - alertnet.org

Congo, UN troops battle militia in lawless east

By David Lewis - KINSHASA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.N. and Congolese forces launched a major operation against a local militia on Thursday to try to assert government control over the lawless east, days after a landmark vote on a post-war constitution, the U.N. said. A U.N. spokesman said a government soldier and seven militiamen were killed when hundreds of Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers and some 1,500 Congolese soldiers, backed up by helicopter gunships, clashed with militiamen near Fataki, around 75 km (50 miles) north of Bunia, in Ituri province. Another U.N. official said nine Congolese troops were killed in separate fighting on Wednesday with another ethnic militia near Boga, 80 km southwest of Bunia.

The clashes highlighted insecurity in the east days after millions voted in Congo's first free national poll in 40 years. U.N. military operations across the country ceased in the run-up to the poll to allow as many people as possible to vote.

Latest results released on Thursday showed that with nearly 60 percent of polling stations counted, the "yes" vote had just over 80 percent -- which appeared to guarantee the adoption of a constitution paving the way for elections in 2006.

"There is a major operation going on at the moment; 375 of our men and 1,500 Congolese soldiers are carrying out an operation to restore the rule of law," said Major Hans-Jakob Reichen, a military spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force. "Clashes are taking place and the U.N. is giving fire support," Reichen said. "So far one Congolese soldier has died and seven militiamen have been killed."

He said the militiamen were Lendu fighters who refused to join a U.N.-backed disarmament process and are accused of atrocities against civilians.

Near Boga, another local ethnic militia fought a bloody battle with government troops, a U.N. official said. "There was fighting between the Congolese army and other militia fighters near Boga yesterday. Nine government soldiers were killed and another 30 are injured, three of them seriously. We are told about 30 militiamen were killed," the official said.

MILITIAMEN REFUSE TO DISARM

The world's biggest U.N. peacekeeping force is trying to restore peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo after the five-year war, which is estimated to have killed nearly 4 million people, mainly through hunger and disease. The war officially ended in 2003, but bands of gunmen still terrorise civilians in large areas of the country, particularly eastern areas whose mineral riches are believed to have fuelled a conflict that at one point drew in six foreign armies.

Often accused of failing to protect civilians in Congo's eastern Ituri province, this year the U.N. force has carried out more robust operations with a new Congolese army drawn from the ranks of former rebel movements and existing government forces.

Some 15,000 fighters signed up to the disarmament process in Ituri but several thousand are believed to have remained in the bush, persecuting civilians and resisting efforts to re-establish central government authority.

The U.N. Security Council stepped up a drive on Wednesday to rid eastern Congo of Rwandan Hutu rebels who have hidden out in the area for over a decade and terrorised local civilians.

It authorised U.N. sanctions to be imposed on the leaders of armed groups in Congo who have failed to fulfil promises to disarm and leave the country or prevented others from doing so.

Hutu rebels fled to Congo after helping to carry out the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed. - alertnet.org

Flashback 2002: World Bank supports African pipeline

The World Bank is continuing to support a controversial oil pipeline project between Chad and Cameroon despite criticism by independent inspectors.

The inspectors claimed the project was harming the environment and failing to meet some objectives. But a report defending the Bank's role and rejecting the inspectors findings will be discussed on Thursday by its shareholders, including its biggest shareholder - the US.

"Management believes that the bank has made exceptional efforts to apply its policies and procedures and to pursue concretely its mission statement," said Reuters quoting the report. "Given these actions, management does not agree that, as a result, the requestors' rights or interests have been, or will be, directly and adversely affect by these projects," it added.

Non-governmental organizations and environmental groups have already criticized the Bank's response.

Credibility gap?

The Bank is providing $140m (£90.2m) of the $4bn needed to develop the oil fields in southern Chad and to build a 1,050 km pipeline to an offshore oil-loading facility off Cameroon's coast. It is the largest US investment project in Africa. The funding is critical to the credibility of the project, which is led by US oil company Exxon Mobil and includes ChevronTexaco and Malaysia's Petronas. The report rejected inspectors claims that the environmental impact study was inadequate and that allocating just 5% of revenues to Chad was too little. It would be unprecedented for the Bank to pull out at this stage of the project.

Pipeline progress

The state-owned Cameroon Tribune newspaper has reported that by 7 June, almost 20 months into the project, 425 km of pipe had been laid; 450 km of road had been renovated or built, including 11 bridges; and optic fibre cable has been laid alongside the pipe. The paper said £4m ($6.2m; 4bn CFA francs) had been paid out in individual compensation and 1bn CFA francs given to community projects. Six thousand people have been employed on the project, including 5,500 Cameroonians. - news.bbc.co.uk

THE PROJECT

The Chad Oil and Pipeline Project is a $3.7 billion development project comprising some 300 oil wells, which are expected to extract approximately one billion barrels of oil over twenty-five years. Located in Chad's southwestern region, it is one of Africa's largest public/private development projects. Once extracted, the oil will be transported by a 640 mile underground pipeline, through neighboring Cameroon, to an offshore export loading facility. Construction began in October 2000 and the oil is expected to flow in 2004. Project ownership is comprised of a three-company oil consortium (Exxon/Mobil 40%, Petronas Malaysia 35% and Chevron 25%) and the governments of Chad and Cameroon, which hold a combined 3% stake in the pipeline portion of the project. The funds used to secure the investment share of the two countries were provided in the form of a loan by the World Bank. Exxon/Mobil, operating under the name EssoChad, is the project's construction and operations manager.

THE COUNTRY

Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. It is among the world's poorest countries, a condition aggravated by various civil wars during thirty of its forty years of independence from France. Political stability has been hindered by tensions between the Muslim populations in the north and non-Muslim populations in the south, as well as by conflicts within each population. The political conflicts, coupled with its limited natural resources, have resulted in minimal private investment. The country is governed by an elected President, Idris Deby, a Muslim from the north who seized power in 1990 and was elected for a five-year term in June 2001. The current Constitution was passed by referendum in 1995 and a constitutional court began to hear cases in 2000. Chad's legal system is based on customary law, French civil law and now the provisions of the new Constitution. It has not accept compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction. 125 four year seats are available in the country's single-house legislature, which will held elections in late 2001.

THE ECONOMY

As one of the ten poorest countries in the world, Chad's economic development is challenged by its landlocked geography and the desert climate in the northern half of the state. In 2000, GDP was estimated at $8.1 billion with an expected real growth rate of 4% and an inflation rate of 3%. Per capita GDP was $1000. Most of the population (85%) worked in agriculture, often on the subsistence level. According to a 1995 estimate 64% of the population lives below the poverty line, receiving inadequate health care and educational opportunities. Economic factors undoubtedly contribute to the fact that Chad has 1:30,000 doctor to patient ratio and an adult illiteracy rate of 80% (people over the age of fifteen illiterate in French or Arabic). Life expectancy is approximately 50 years (48.86 years for males and 52.98 years for females) and the infant mortality rate is 95.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.).

Chad is said to be one of the few countries in the world never to have a railroad, and with less than 200 miles of paved roads in one of Africa's largest countries, its road infrastructure is poor. The communications system is also underdeveloped. A 1997 estimate by the CIA claims Chad has only 7000 main phone lines in use. Internet access is even worse: 1 server used by an estimated 1000 people out of a population of 8,707,078 (2000 estimate). The UNDP Human Development Report for 2000, ranks Chad eighth from the bottom of the 174 countries surveyed.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN CHAD PRIOR TO THE OIL PROJECT

Since receiving independence from France in 1960, nation-building in Chad has been hindered by civil wars largely stemming from competition among ethnically-defined groups seeking overall political power. There has also been external interference from Libya in the north. Traditionally in Chad political power holders governed local resources such as grazing rights, water, and land for agricultural cultivation.

Women in Chad and Cameroon often walk long distances to gather water for drinking, cooking, and other everyday activities. http://www.esso.com/eaff/essochad/

Today the group in control of the country administers all the nation's natural resources and designs and implements all social, economic and political policies, including the use of external aid. Competition for this power has undermined other efforts to unite disparate tribal cultures under a single state authority based on pluralism, rule of law, and a just distribution of resources, power and authority based on constitutional democracy. These political ideals have remained on the horizon as each successive president sought to centralize power in his office. Recent changes in communications and growth in the numbers of local NGOs have brought world attention to the country and to the oil project in particular.

In June 2000, the World Bank's Board of Directors gave the final approval for its loan to the Chadian and Cameroonian governments. This was the final component necessary to move the project forward. Many environmental and human rights international NGOs and activists opposed the Bank's approval. Their reasons included Chad's poor human rights record and environmentalists' concerns that proper legal and technical environmental safeguards did not exist in Chad, thus exonerating the oil consortium from any future liability or accountability with respect to its operations. Several international NGOs requested the World Bank to grant a two-year moratorium to its approval of the project. The Bank declined, http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/wbank/chad.htm

As a precondition to the two governments' loan request, the World Bank required the oil consortium to prepare a comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) and risk management plans. This resulted in a 13-volume package, six volumes of which were dedicated to issues in Chad. (While the primary focus of this assessment is an examination of environmental issues, the environmental issues are clearly related to the rights to physical well-being and survival of people in such marginal societies) [One section of the project's EA addresses issues related to human rights at, http://www.essochad.com/eaff/essochad/ documentation/english/summary/index.html (From the link, go to Chapter Nine, Section 9-41 (the last page of the Chapter)).]

The development of Chad's oil reserves is predicated on the goal that the revenues will be used to reduce poverty in Chad by investing in education, health and other basic infrastructure projects. Critics fear that little of the income will reach the poorest populations, much will be lost through incompetence and corruption and that a large part will finance military and political interests under the guise of national interest. Persistent civil unrest in Chad has left the government fighting a perpetual civil war in the north and occasional ones in the south. The concern that oil money will be used to purchase weapons to strengthen the government's force against rebel opposition movements proved valid in November 2000, when the government used $4.5 million of a $25 million oil contract bonus to purchase weapons from Taiwan. The President justified this action by stating that "development must be protected." - columbia.edu

Rights fear over giant oil scheme

Oil firms and African states have been accused of "contracting out" of their human rights obligations in Africa's biggest investment project.

The Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline contract may impair the countries' ability to protect farmers, fishermen and others affected, Amnesty International says. The governments face cash penalties if they interfere with the ExxonMobil-led project, according to Amnesty. The oil firm says it has not seen the report, but condemns rights violations. It also insists that formal mechanisms exist whereby credible allegations of potential wrong-doing are taken to the government of Chad - with a request that they be investigated.

But Amnesty claims in its report; Contracting out of human rights: The Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project, that the legal framework for the £2.6bn World Bank-backed scheme, means the oil company is "de facto unaccountable in the pipeline zone".

Rights responsibilities

Both Chad and Cameroon are obliged to regulate the conduct of third parties, including companies, to ensure they the respect human rights of the thousands of farmers and fishermen living in the zone being developed. But as they face financial penalties, even if they intervene to protect rights and enforce laws that apply elsewhere in their countries, Amnesty says it would make it very difficult for governments to proceed against the consortium for malpractice, for example.

Amnesty is particularly concerned because this type of "host government" or "state investment" agreements are used in many large-scale development projects. It says that although such agreements are ultimately designed to ensure projects run smoothly in troubled areas, they should not be interpreted to carve out "a corridor" where individuals enjoy lesser protection. It is calling on the World Bank not to support projects based on these contracts.

Professor of Law at Essex University Sheldon Leader said: "Disturbingly there may be hundreds of such agreements in existence around the world, drawn up to a similar template, weakening the capacity of states to protect human rights."

Andrea Shemberg, the report's author and Amnesty legal adviser, said tensions between the human rights obligations of Chad and Cameroon and their contractual obligations lie at the heart of the report.

"States' obligations under international human rights law cannot be superseded by the signing of a private agreement for an investment project. "However, in practice such agreements could be used to sidestep states' human rights obligations and companies' human rights responsibilities."

The report warns that human rights protection is already compromised in Chad and Cameroon and that these legal agreements may exacerbate the situation. It claims there is a prevailing climate of fear and intimidation around the pipeline, some of whose critics have already been arrested and intimidated. It is essential therefore that human rights protection is of the highest standard, Amnesty says.

According to the report: "Thousands of people across a wide area have been or will be affected by the pipeline project and oil development. "Individuals may be aggrieved because the land they use or own is expropriated, or because the pipeline is buried under large areas of land where they fish, farm or use forests."

The pipeline project has already been hit by allegations of human rights abuses, with farmers in the Doba region of Chad claiming they were denied access to their land or compensation.

And fishermen in the costal area of Kribi in Cameroon claimed fish stocks on which they depended were destroyed.

ExxonMobil said it could not comment on these claims, but did say in a statement that it condemned human rights violations in any form. It said it regretted that Amnesty International had not shared its report or consulted with it during its preparation, although Amnesty said it had held several meetings with the firm and given it a copy of its recommendations. An ExxonMobil spokeswoman said: "The government of Chad and the World Bank put in place an unprecedented Revenue Management Plan (RMP) for the allocation of oil revenues, including monitoring by representatives of civil society.

'Stringent policies'

"RMP sets in place a mechanism whereby a portion of the revenues generated from the oil development project are used for social development projects. "Since first oil in 2003, more than $270m of oil revenues have been managed in accordance with the Chad Revenue Management Plan. "No other country has established such a rigorous and transparent plan for managing the revenues from a natural resources project."

A spokeswoman for the World Bank said it was still reviewing the detail of recommendations but said it shared Amnesty's concerns about the human rights record in Chad and Cameroon. She said it had helped finance the project as a way of providing revenues to support economic development and reduce poverty in Chad.

"Under an agreement between the government of Chad and the World Bank, oil revenues are directed toward poverty reduction priorities such as health clinics and schools, and to communities living in the oil production area of the country."

The project is overseen by a formal body which incorporates civil society organisations including a representative of a major human rights group in Chad.

She added: "The World Bank, in collaboration with counterparts in the government and independent bodies, monitors the social and environmental impacts of the project and insists on adherence to stringent policies in these areas." BBC

World Bank warns Chad on oil law

Chad's oil pipeline is more than 1,000km long

The World Bank has warned that it could take action against Chad after the country's parliament changed a law governing the use of oil revenues.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said the law was a deciding factor in the bank's financial support for a massive oil pipeline project in 1999. It guaranteed that oil revenues were used to help reduce poverty in Chad. The new legislation gives the Chadian government more control over how it uses the money. It abolishes what was known as the "future generations fund", which had kept 10% of the country's oil revenues for use in tackling poverty in Chad.

The government wants to use the $36m (£21m) held in the fund to deal with some of the country's financial problems, which include months of unpaid salaries.

'Corruption and impunity'

The changes need to be approved by President Idriss Deby, but he has publicly supported them. Mr Wolfowitz said the new legislation was a "breach of contract" and could result in the World Bank suspending the payment of new credits and accelerating the repayment of loans it has made to Chad.

Gilbert Maoundonodji, head of Gramp-TC, a group that monitors the oil pipeline project, said that the World Bank needed to act. "It now has a choice between learning its lesson and taking certain measures, or effectively supporting bad governance, corruption and impunity, which are prevalent in our country," he said. - bbc.co.uk

Wolfowitz suspends World Bank loans to Chad

By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on Friday suspended all loans to Chad, including support for a high-profile oil pipeline project, saying the government had breached an agreement with the bank by altering an oil revenue law.

His decision is one of the most drastic steps the World Bank can take against a member country and shows Wolfowitz, nominated by President George W. Bush last year to head the development lender, is willing to wield the stick against governments who don't play by the rules.

"We've been trying for some time to open dialogue with the government of Chad to see if the concerns that they have expressed can be addressed and regrettably, instead of engaging in dialogue, they have proceeded unilaterally," Wolfowitz told Reuters. "We haven't given up on dialogue and hope in fact that perhaps if they stop and appreciate how serious the issue is from our point of view and not only from theirs, we can find some common ground," he added.

His decision follows telephone calls with President Idriss Deby who has the authority to send the law back to parliament.

Wolfowitz informed the World Bank's board of his decision early on Friday saying, "This is a suspension, not a termination," adding that he hoped for further discussion.

Chad's parliament on Dec 29 approved legislation that relaxes controls on the use of oil profits from the 1,070 km (620 mile) Chad-Cameroon pipeline, reversing a World Bank-backed law that would have saved the profits for programs that benefit the poor. It also abolished an oil fund that would have set aside 10 percent of the petrodollars for future projects.

MAJOR TEST CASE

The pipeline is the bank's biggest oil investment in Africa and was heralded as a major test case for how Africa's oil wealth can benefit the poor, if properly monitored. The bank agreed to finance 4 percent of the $3.7 billion pipeline developed by an Exxon Mobil-led consortium in exchange for the oil revenue law. Its backing mobilized over $3.5 billion in funding by private oil companies, commercial banks and export credit agencies for the project.

Deby -- facing increased security tensions with Sudan which he accuses of backing rebels trying to overthrow him -- has branded foreign efforts to prevent changes to the law as an attack on national sovereignty. The project, approved by Wolfowitz's predecessor James Wolfensohn, was expected to yield about $2 billion in revenues for Chad over 25 years of oil production.

"This agreement ... has been very important to this institution and whole development community and that's why we're making enormous efforts to try to see if there can be an agreed basis in which we can go forward and also why we can't accept that one side unilaterally alters the terms of the agreement," Wolfowitz said. Wolfowitz said he was willing to send World Bank staff to Chad to discuss proposals to help the country's budget crunch.

"I want to emphasize as many times as I can, our goal here is if at all possible is to find a way that ensures that people of Chad do benefit from the new resources that have been made available to the country through this new project," he added. It was "much too early" to call the project a failure, Wolfowitz noted.

"As important as this agreement was, and it was important, it's not the perfect case, it's a case, and we should take it seriously for that reason and learn whatever lessons there are, but I don't think from now you'll be able to say definitively how does that apply to other countries." - alertnet.org

UN - Millions risk starvation in E.Africa

By Silvia Aloisi ROME, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Six million people are on the brink of starvation in the Horn of Africa region due to severe drought, crop failure and depletion of livestock herds, the United Nations said on Friday.

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said about 2 million people needed urgent humanitarian help in Somalia. The situation was also very serious in south-eastern Ethiopia, with up to 1.5 million people affected, and Djibouti. An FAO statement also cited Kenyan government estimates that at least 2.5 million are facing famine there and poor rains are only expected to make things worse.

Kenyan medical officials believe the death toll from hunger is already much higher than the at least 30 fatalities reported by local media as many deaths go unreported in the desolate and arid north of the country.

"The Kenyan meteorological service says the chances that the March and April rains will be timely and sufficient is very low. That could create a very dangerous situation," Shukri Ahmed, a FAO economist specialising in Africa, told Reuters.

The Kenyan government has appealed for $150 million to feed the hungry, almost 10 percent of the population, over the next six months.

FAO said additional assistance was required to provide water for both people and animals, restock livestock and give seeds to farmers in preparation for the next crop season.

In Somalia, the October-December rainy season was disappointing in most of the eight agricultural regions in the south resulting in widespread crop failure. FAO said the forthcoming crop, about to be harvested, could be the lowest in a decade.

It said that according to the World Food Programme about 64,000 tonnes of food aid were needed there until June 2006 and that so far only 16,700 tonnes are available.

"Immediate response to the WFP appeal is required to avert possible hunger-related deaths in southern Somalia," FAO said.

In Ethiopia, despite favourable prospects for the main season crop, currently being harvested, severe food shortages were being reported in the eastern and southern pastoral areas.

"The onset of the dry season (January to March) is expected to worsen the situation," it said. - alertnet.org

Coalition officers team up for training, build friendships over common bond against terrorism

Story By: USAF 1st Lt. Shannon Collins November 30, 2005

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti - Through shared stories over dinner, a helicopter trip to Ethiopia, weapons familiarization and more, 31 coalition military members representing countries throughout Africa joined together for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Host Nation Coordinator's Course held here Nov. 23-30. The purpose of the course, which takes place every three months in Djibouti, Africa, is to increase coordination between CJTF-HOA and its partner countries in the Global War on Terrorism.

"This program is very important because it puts together officers from different countries, so they can understand the CJTF-HOA mission and to create a link among the different countries, nations, cultures and religions. It also sets up a good opportunity to develop new relationships and common anti-terrorism activities," said Cmdr. Ion Chiorcea, a Romanian coalition officer and HNCC course director.

Teaming up to fight terrorism is very important to Yemen Maj. Khalid Al-Thahab.

"All countries should work together to finish terrorism all over the world, especially in the Horn of Africa," he said. The November course had the highest attendance to date. The 31 students attending the ninth Host Nation Coordinator's Course attended classes on topics ranging from the use of a military communications system to humanitarian aid missions and basic military skills. They also attended a small arms familiarization, witnessed an in-air refueling of a CH-53 Marine helicopter by an Air Force C-130.

For most of the students, the highlight of the course was when they were in Harar, Ethiopia. U.S. Navy Seabees from the CJTF-HOA opened a water pump valve for the community members there.

For Ethiopian Army Col. Gebre Tsadkane, this was especially moving.

"It was very nice, and I'm very happy. The locals told me they were very happy as well," he said. "Helping us solve the local society's problems is wonderful."

The students represented Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, the Comoros Islands, Romania, Yemen, the United States and more. Throughout the course, the students fostered regional security and stability and learned the challenges facing their neighboring countries. "Courses like this provide a unique opportunity to interact with the military personnel from various countries directly face-to-face. It provides a platform to get to know each other's country in a better way, clearing many misconceptions and apprehensions," said Pakistan Army Lt. Col. Arif Kiani. "It is also a great opportunity to build lasting friendships."

Many of the students agreed the course was important and hope to either attend again or to send fellow coalition members in the future.

"We need to build our capacity for our future. We do this by continuing to share information," said Tsadkane.

"It is important for the HOA nations to work together for effectiveness and the coordinated response in case of any crisis and for the good of the world in the fight against terrorism," said Kenya Navy Maj. Willy Wesonga.

Course director Chiorcea hopes the students took away a common goal.

"The best way to fight for a better life is to fight against poverty, against the lack of education and against religious and cultural disagreement," he said. - centcom.mil/

Bodies burnt in open after Nigeria riots kill 146

By George Esiri - ONITSHA, Nigeria, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Christian youths burned the corpses of Muslims on Thursday on the streets of Onitsha in southeastern Nigeria, the city worst hit by religious riots that have killed at least 146 people across the country in five days.

Christian mobs, seeking revenge for the killings of Christians in the north, attacked Muslims with machetes, set fire to them, destroyed their houses and torched mosques in two days of violence in Onitsha, where 93 people died.

"We are very happy that this thing is happening so that the north will learn their lesson," said Anthony Umai, a motorcycle taxi rider, standing close to where Christian youths had piled up the corpses of 10 Muslims and were burning them.

Dozens more corpses had been thrown into the back of pick-up trucks by security services overnight, residents said.

Uncertainty over Nigeria's political future is aggravating regional, ethnic and religious rivalries in Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter.

Elections are due next year and many Nigerians believe President Olusegun Obasanjo and some state governors will try to stay on after eight years in power. The prospect angers those who want their own ethnic or regional blocs to have their turn.

Militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta have waged a three-month campaign of attacks and kidnappings, which has cut exports and driven up world oil prices. One of their demands is greater control over their region and its resources.

There was no fighting in Onitsha on Thursday but Emeka Umeh, of human rights group the Civil Liberties Organisation, called it "the peace of the graveyard".

Some charred corpses were still lying on the streets and hundreds of Muslim men, women and children fled the city crammed into open-top trucks for fear of more killings. Thousands more were hiding in army barracks and police stations.

Umeh said most of the bodies his group counted were Hausa, but some Ibo were killed too. The Hausa are the main ethnic group in northern Nigeria and most are Muslim, while the Ibo are dominant in the southeast and almost all are Christian.

FUNERALS

It is impossible to verify the exact number of deaths but Red Cross figures from all the different cities give a toll of 146. Local authorities decline to give death tolls.

In northern Maiduguri, where the Christian Association of Nigeria says 50 Christians were killed in a weekend riot that began as a protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, tensions were high during several Christian funeral masses.

The Red Cross said at least 21 people died in Maiduguri and 9,000 were driven from their homes.

A crowd of Christian youths broke away from the burial of one of the victims, a Catholic priest, and ran shouting through the streets before police dispersed them. At the funeral of 13 children from two families who were burnt in their houses, mourners wailed as police stood by.

News of the Maiduguri killings set off the bloodletting in Onitsha, and tit-for-tat violence spread on Wednesday to Enugu, another southeastern city, where seven people were killed. Nigeria's 140 million people are divided about equally between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south, but sizeable religious minorities live in both regions. Thousands of people have been killed in religious violence since the restoration of democracy in 1999. Killings in one part of the country often spark reprisals elsewhere.

The triggers for riots that killed at least at least 46 people, mostly Christians, in northern Maiduguri, Bauchi and Katsina, were different, but religious and secular leaders have linked them to political tensions.

In Bauchi, an alleged blasphemy started the trouble, while in Katsina it was a constitutional review that many see as an attempt to keep Obasanjo in power. The constitution bars Obasanjo, a Christian from the southwest, from seeking a third term in 2007 and he says he will uphold the charter. But he has declined to comment on a powerful movement to amend the constitution to allow him to stay.

Maiduguri and Katsina are both hosting public hearings on constitutional reform this week which many Nigerians believe are geared towards furthering the so-called third term agenda. (Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon in Abuja, Ibrahim Mshelizza in Maiduguri and Tume Ahemba in Lagos) - alertnet.org

Religious mobs rampage again in Nigerian cities

By Ijeoma Ezekwere ENUGU, Nigeria, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Muslim and Christian mobs killed four people in three Nigerian cities on Friday, extending a week of tit-for-tat religious riots that have claimed at least 151 lives.

Uncertainty over Nigeria's political future is aggravating regional, ethnic and religious rivalries ahead of elections next year. Rioting began in the mainly Muslim north and revenge attacks followed in the Christian south.

Christian youths armed with machetes and clubs attacked Muslims in the southeastern city of Enugu, beating one motorcycle taxi driver to death and burning a mosque. James Obi, a market trader who was part of the mob, said they killed the taxi bike rider, known locally as an Okada, after a rumour that a Muslim policeman killed a Christian boy. "We got angry and we killed one of them on Okada. His corpse has been set ablaze," he said.

A stray bullet killed an 8-year-old Christian girl and this further escalated the situation, said Aham Uba of the Civil Liberties Organisation. Rioters blocked off the area with burning barricades.

In the northern town of Kotangora, Muslim mobs killed three people, torched nine churches and looted shops owned by minority Christians, police said. In northeastern Potiskum, Islamic youths burned shops, churches and houses belonging to minority Christians early on Friday. Police said 65 rioters were arrested.

CARTOONS

The religious violence first broke out last Saturday in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, when a Muslim protest against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad ran out of control and 28 mostly Christian people were killed.

But the violence has taken on a logic of its own in Africa's most populous country, which is divided roughly equally between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south. Religious violence has killed thousands over the past six years.

Authorities are afraid the fighting could spiral into a bigger bloodbath and hundreds of armed riot police patrolled major cities across the north.

Many Nigerians say President Olusegun Obasanjo and some state governors will try to stay in office for a third term after eight years in power. The prospect angers those who want their own ethnic or regional blocs to have their turn.

"If the north has a problem with the third term, that is no reason to attack ordinary people and destroy houses," said Joseph Hayab of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

In the far south of the country, militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta have waged a three-month campaign of attacks and kidnappings, which has cut supplies from the world's eighth largest oil exporter and driven up world prices.

They issued pictures of nine foreign oil worker hostages -- three Americans, one Briton, two Thais, two Egyptians and one Filipino -- on Thursday night. One photograph showed the captives sitting on a bench in a forest with militants in army fatigues pointing assault rifles at their heads.

Diplomats said they were preparing for a long wait and militants denied government statements that talks were under way to secure their release.

Militants threatened more attacks on oil installations and workers in the next few days.

Analysts say the violence in the south is also linked to the electoral tensions because many groups from the southern delta also want a stab at the presidency next year and oppose any extension of Obasanjo's tenure. (Additional reporting by Tume Ahemba and Tom Ashby in Lagos, Ibrahim Mshelizza in Maiduguri, Estelle Shirbon in Abuja) - .alertnet.org

Disputed election victory for Uganda's Museveni

25/02/2006 - President Yoweri Museveni overwhelmingly won re-election in Uganda’s first multiparty elections in 25 years, according to official results announced today, but the leading opposition party said its independent tally indicated otherwise.

Museveni, who has been in power for more than 20 years, last year lifted a presidential two-term limit so he could run again. A European Union observers’ mission criticised Museveni for using all the resources of the government to win, and said that the vote – although an improvement on past ballots – was marred by serious problems.

The official results of Thursday’s vote, based on 91 percent of the polling stations reporting, showed Museveni with 60.80% of the vote; opposition leader Kizza Besigye with 35.96%; and the other three candidates sharing a little more than 3%.

Electoral officials said they had counted 6,640,430 votes. More than 10.4 million people registered, and turnout was estimated at more than 65%.

Voters also elected 284 members of parliament.

The Electoral Commission was expected to release complete, final official results this afternoon.

But a spokeswoman for Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Changes, Sara Eperu, said the results announced by the commission did not match the party’s independent tally gathered directly from the country’s more than 19,000 polling stations, which she said showed a much closer race.

Eperu said the party would release its results after the Electoral Commission finalises the official tally.

Ofwono Opondo, spokesman for the ruling National Resistance Movement, said he was not surprised by the opposition’s rejection of the official results.

“They are bad losers, but it is up to the population of Uganda to decide,” he said.

The ballots were counted at each polling station and the results immediately announced. The two main political parties and local media also collected results from the stations and produced results starkly different from the official results.

Police have questioned the managing director of the Monitor Media Group, the largest independent newspaper and radio broadcaster in Uganda. The government has placed intense pressure on the group to suspend its independent count, said Conrad Nkutu, the managing director.

Nkutu said he had appealed to the minister of internal affairs to investigate and stop the blockage of the group’s website and the jamming of the group’s radio signal.

National police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura said the independent reporting of results was illegal, and said police had recovered 18 petrol bombs, reportedly assembled by militant members of Besigye’s party.

The European Union mission on Friday said the amended Uganda constitution - changed in July to allow for multiparty elections and for Museveni to run as many times as he wishes – “failed to provide the basis for a fair multiparty election, because it envisages the continuation” of the ruling party.

Max van den Berg, the EU chief observer, said Besigye’s campaign was hampered by numerous court appearances – he faced rape and other charges which Besigye said were trumped up to hurt him politically. “Therefore a level playing field was not in place for these elections,” van den Berg said.

Museveni was hailed as a new kind of leader when he agreed to term limits and economic liberalisation a decade ago. But in recent years, international donors have cut funding to his government and have criticised his moves to consolidate power and quash dissent.

The EU also found that Museveni and his National Resistance Movement dominated state-run radio and television and used state resources to campaign. But the mission complimented the Electoral Commission for improving the voting and counting process.

There were also widespread reports of voters being turned away from polling stations because their names were not found on the voter register, even though they had photo identification cards issued by the Electoral Commission. irishexaminer.com

Terror charge for US man found with guns in Uganda

25th feb 2006 - Ugandan police said on Saturday a U.S. man found with guns in his bedroom days before this week's national election had been charged with terrorism.

Peter Waldron, 59, pleaded not guilty at a preliminary court hearing this week alongside three fellow suspects from Uganda and another three from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, police said.

Waldron, who police earlier said had been planning to start a political party based on Christian principles, was sent back to custody after the hearing on Wednesday and ordered to appear at the High Court in two weeks.

Police declined at a news conference to give more details of a case that has blown up at the same time as Uganda held its first multi-party poll for 25 years on Thursday.

"The case was taken to court on terrorism charges," police Inspector General Kale Kayihura told reporters. "On what basis did he have these guns? Then there's this association with the Congolese. The law will take its course."

The possible Congolese connection has worried Ugandan authorities because anti-government Ugandan rebels have long based themselves there in lawless jungles near the border.

U.S. embassy officials have met Waldron at a jail in Kampala, but have declined to comment on the case.

Police have displayed two business cards identifying Waldron as the founder of City of Faith Ministries, an evangelical group, and an adviser to the president of a U.S. firm working with Uganda on IT healthcare projects.

A news magazine found at Waldron's home, "The Africa Dispatch," listed him as publisher. Kayihura said the magazine's articles on Uganda were defamatory. - news.yahoo.com

Kenya police admits media attack, vows more to come

Nairobi, Kenya, 03/03 - Kenya Police and the minister of Internal Security, John Michuki, on Thursday confirmed that they were behind the raid that shutdown a privately run television station, claiming they acted to prevent a major crime from being committed.

Police threw the new twists to the newspaper raid saga as Kenyan lawyers planned a mass protest to the police station where three senior journalists with the privately owned Standard newspapers to demand for their release.

The three were released on police bonds after they were slapped with charges of publishing false rumour with intent to create alarm and destabilise public peace.

The Standard Group subsidiary, the Kenya Television Network (KTN) which was also switched off during the early morning raid by Police donning gas masks and hoods, also came back on air after staying off for almost 16 hours.

Michuki said the two media organisations were paying the price of provoking the government and attempting to breach peace, and were therefore deserved the punishment they undergo.

"Police have to do their work. Since last week, the issues, which have been raised, have serious implications on national security," said Michuki, the only close ally of President Kibaki who is still serving in government. "When you rattle the snake, you must be prepared to be bitten. It has to be like that, that is it," the Internal Security Minister emphasised.

The Media Council of Kenya reacted angrily to the minister`s statement, saying it showed the lack of commitment on the part of the government to entrust the media`s attempts at self-regulation and adherence to proper professional standards.

Kenyans reacted bitterly to the closure and burning of the copies of the Standard, saying it was an affront on the freedom of expression.Some protesters held a brief political rally near the Nairobi offices of the Standard where they chanted songs calling for action.

"It is us who elected the President and it is us who will remove him from power, you cannot block us from uniting with our leaders," an angry protestor told a Standard Group security officer who tried to restrain him.

Police said the raid was part of a scheme to collect evidence on an investigation linking the Standard to a scheme to bring a national security crisis by inciting tribal animosity. "Following information gathered from various sources including the National Security Intelligence Services (NSIS) and the Criminal Investigations Department, the police embarked on a mission to gather information on this intended crime," Police Spokesman Jasper Ombati said.

In a statement issued here Thursday, Ombati claimed awareness about a bribery scheme by unnamed individuals aimed at discrediting the government. "The police raided the premises to investigate an intended perpetuation of an act which would have caused a national security crisis," the statement said, claiming that a 400,000 Shillings was given as bribe to Standard journalists to publish the purported articles. angolapress

Mass rallies to protect Press freedom in Kenya

March 3, 2006, By ebby ebby -

Nairobi (AND) Leaders of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) have announced mass rallies throughout Kenya next Tuesday to protect Press freedom.

The ODM condemned the raid and said it was a crude and primitive way of approaching issues.However, some of the prominent ministers were against the idea of raiding the KTN and burning of The Standard.

Ford Kenya Chairman Musikari Kombo, John Munyes, Morris Dzoro, Charity Ngilu and Dr. Newton Kulundu were among the prominent ministers who said the hooded and armed police who raided the media house should be identified and punished.

KTN managed to resume broadcasting after more than 12 hours after the station was forced off air by the police, while The Standard produced a special edition which reached the readers early afternoon.

Internal Security minister John Michuki commented three times: "When you rattle a snake, you must be prepared to be bitten.” This was a justification that the government authorized the attack.

Justice Minister Martha Karua said the police should be left to investigate the matter. “It was a security issue and that the Government's position was that the rule of law should be maintained and let the police investigate the matter.

At least all media houses including, the national broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) came out in support of the Standard Group by running early morning footage of the raid outcome. - andnetwork.com

Somali warlords battle Islamists

Heavy fighting is continuing in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, between warlords and an armed Islamist group.

Hospital officials say at least 60 people have been killed in two days of clashes in the north of the city. Residents say mortars are being used. The warlords accuse the Islamists of sheltering foreign fighters and assassinating moderate Muslims.

Somalia has been without an effective central government for 15 years and has been carved up by rival militias. A transitional parliament met recently for the first time on home soil since it was formed in Kenya more than a year ago as part of attempts to restore peace and stability.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan says more than 100 armed vehicles are deployed in the area and residents are fleeing carrying children on their backs. There are fears that with such a strong ideological divide between the two sides, it may prove difficult to negotiate an end to the fighting.

Passengers killed

The United Nations' Irin news agency reports that thousands of people are fleeing the clashes. It also quotes a doctor saying many more than 60 people may have been killed "because a lot of people are being buried where they died". The hospitals are reported to be full of the injured. Our reporter describes the scenes as horrific.

The AP news agency reports that five civilians were killed when a mortar fell on a bus, while a man was shot dead for telling gunmen they could not hide in his house. The dispute started near the port area, which is currently controlled by powerful businessmen. Much of the fighting has been in residential areas and the latest clashes are reportedly closer to the city centre. Four days of fighting last month between the two sides was some of the heaviest fighting seen in the Somali capital for several years.

At least five warlords-cum-ministers in the transitional government are behind the new Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, opposed to the Islamic courts' militia.

The courts have set up Mogadishu's only judicial system in parts of the capital but have been accused of links to al-Qaeda. BBC

African leaders face key tests on justice

By Claire Soares, Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor Thu Mar 23, DAKAR, SENEGAL - It's the latest test of whether African leaders can solve the continent's thorny problems. Will heads of state work together to put one of their own - former Liberian President Charles Taylor - on trial for war crimes?

Although Mr. Taylor stoked a 14-year civil war at home, it is in neighboring Sierra Leone that he is wanted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity for supporting rebels in return for diamonds during a decade-long conflict that killed some 50,000 people.

The notorious warlord has been holed up in Nigeria since August 2003, and for months Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo promised he would end Taylor's exile if an elected Liberian government asked. But when new Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Friday formally requested that Taylor be handed over to the war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone, Mr. Obasanjo balked, saying he must talk to other African leaders.

"It's difficult to see why regional leaders need to be consulted," says Desmond de Silva, the chief prosecutor at the Sierra Leone Special Court, which has been after Taylor for three years.

Optimists see Obasanjo's change of course as an attempt to guarantee political cover for a decision that will not be universally popular among fellow African heads of state. Pessimists fear it's a stalling tactic to maintain a charade of bringing Taylor to justice while allowing him to slip through the net.

"We are pessimistic. This is just a ploy to delay," says Sulaiman Jabati of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability in Sierra Leone. "They will not want to set a standard that they might fall prey to tomorrow."

Corinne Dufka, the West Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch agrees: "Many sitting and former heads of state have blood on their hands or have been accused of massive corruption and it could be there are concerns about setting a precedent."

The court in Sierra Leone that indicted Taylor has a limited time frame, and when the last of its other war-crimes trials wraps up, expected to be sometime in 2007 according to court officials, it would be difficult to justify keeping it running.

So now, observers say, the onus is squarely on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a 15-nation regional body, and the continent-wide African Union (AU) to prove they can do what they have so often requested: handle their own affairs without Western interference.

With the continent jointly clamoring for a permanent UN Security Council seat for a to-be-determined African nation, justice is up there on the scorecard along with human rights, peace and security, freedom of the press, anti-corruption, and good governance.

"[African leaders'] commitment to justice and fighting impunity is now being tested," says Ms. Dufka. "They cannot pass up the opportunity to ensure justice for thousands of Africans."

Senior ECOWAS sources say the Taylor issue would be discussed by regional heads of state and added to the group's agenda for next month's extraordinary meeting.

President Johnson-Sirleaf, however, added pressure on Tuesday when she reiterated her call for Taylor's transferral after a meeting with President Bush in the White House. "We think [African leaders] now must - since we've given the word that we want it brought to closure - take the decision on the next step to take it to the court," she said.

The other case: 'Africa's Pinochet'

The AU has already been asked once this year to decide on a request for a former head of state to stand trial. That concerned Hissène Habré, the one-time ruler of Chad whose government is accused of 40,000 political killings and 200,000 cases of torture, earning him the nickname "Africa's Pinochet."

In November, Senegal, where Mr. Habré has lived for the past 15 years, referred an extradition request from Belgium to the AU, which in January appointed a committee to consider the case. The European Parliament last week called on Senegal to bring Habré to trial or extradite him to Belgium.

Some observers note that the sensitivities raised in the Habré case - namely the possibility of a European country, and former colonial ruler, meting out justice in Africa - are not an issue when it comes to Taylor.

If African leaders were to approve Taylor's extradition, he would be tried in the UN-backed Special Court - on African soil, with some African judges on the bench. Thus, many analysts say, it comes down to the simple question of whether the immunity of top leaders that has long stunted democratic growth on the continent will again triumph over accountability.

Taylor's advisers have cried conspiracy and maintain that transferring the ex-leader from Nigeria risks destabilizing both Liberia, where the former warlord still has thousands of supporters and his ex-wife is now a senator, and Sierra Leone, where the last UN peacekeepers have now left.

Mr. De Silva concedes the possibility that Nigeria may only consent to Taylor leaving if he is tried in a more neutral atmosphere, in which case the Special Court could sit at The Hague.

But putting Taylor in the dock one way or the other would be a judicial coup for the Sierra Leone prosecutors, whose other high-profile defendant, rebel leader Foday Sankoh, died in custody.

"With Milosevic no longer around, if Taylor is brought to court, he could be the first head of state in history to have been indicted in office and have his trial completed," de Silva says.

At the moment, the prosecutor believes that Obasanjo's decision to consult with African leaders stems from not wanting to shoulder the burden alone. "But there will come a point, if things are delayed too long, that an ulterior motive will become apparent." - news.yahoo.com

Taylor pleads not guilty

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Tuesday, 4 April 2006: 11.10 CET) -

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor has pleaded not guilty to war crimes and crimes against humanity at the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.

Initially, Taylor said he could not plead, refusing to recognize the court as legitimate.

"I did not and could not have committed those acts against the sister republic of Sierra Leone. I think this is an attempt to continue to divide and rule the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. So most definitely I am not guilty," Taylor said late on Monday.

Taylor is accused of bearing responsibility for murder and rape, as well as using child soldiers and forced labor, among other accusations.

He also faces charges for allegedly backing Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war.

Prosecution asked that the trial be moved to an international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, because of fears that the trial could spark unrest in West Africa.

Taylor was arrested in Nigeria last week while attempting to smuggle his family to Cameroon. He was held in custody by UN troops in Sierra Leone until his trial. He had been living in exile in Nigeria since he was deposed in 2003.

Taylor assumed power in Liberia in 1989 when he led a rebellion that ousted then-leader Sam Doe, leading to a bloody civil war first in Liberia and then in Sierra Leone. Some 250,000 people were killed in those wars. - ISN security watch

was Taylor allowed to escape?

Head of State, Samuel Doe visiting President Reagan in Washington, D.C. to get American support for his regime. Taylor served as the Director of General Services Agency, and Deputy Minister of Commerce under President Samuel Kanyon

-During the Reagan Administration, over $400 million in economic aid was given to the Doe Administration; and $50 million was given to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). For example $15 million worth of rice, under a plan by the US Government was imported into Liberia each year; and under the US Military Assistance Programme (MAP), over $13 million was spent annually to arm Doe's 6,000-man force. The traditional argument was that Doe and his regime were bulwarks against communism in Africa, given the fact that the United States used Liberian territory as a base to send arms to "democratic forces" in Angola and Mozambique. However, by 1987, most of that money could not be accounted for by the Doe regime. The United States Government was forced to send auditors from the accounting firm of Arthur Young and the consulting firm Louis Berger, to audit funds given by the United States Government to Liberia. As expected, the mission of the auditors failed because the Doe Administration refused to cooperate with the auditors. - source

was Taylor the CIAs replacement for President Samuel Kanyon Doe?