by AfroAmerica Network
on October 3, 2013
Child Soldier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwandan Government is Accused of Recruiting Children into Congolese M23 Rebels
“Pursuant to section 404 of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA) (title IV, Public Law 110-457), I hereby determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA with respect to Chad, South Sudan, and Yemen; to waive in part the application of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA with respect to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to allow for continued provision of International Military Education and Training (IMET) and nonlethal Excess Defense Articles, and the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of nonlethal defense articles; and to waive in part the application of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA with respect to Somalia to allow for the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of nonlethal defense articles, provision of IMET, and continued provision of assistance under the Peacekeeping Operations authority for logistical support and troop stipends. I hereby waive such provisions accordingly. You are authorized and directed to submit this determination to the Congress, along with the accompanying Memorandum of Justification, and to publish the determination in the Federal Register, “ US President Barack Obama wrote in a memo to the US Secretary of State on September 30, 2013.
The decision by US President Barack immediately slaps sanctions against other countries listed by the US Government as violating the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CPSA). The 2013 CSPA List includes governments in the following countries: 1. Burma, 2. Central African [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 30, 2013
General David Sejusa Tinyefuza, exiled to the United Kingdom
Sources within Rwandan Defense Forces, in Kigali, Rwanda, tell AfroAmerica Network that the defected Ugandan General David Sejusa Tinyefuza recently made a brief trip to Kigali, Rwanda. In Kigali, General David Sejusa met Rwandan Defense Forces Inspector General, Major General Jack Nziza, Minister of Defense, General James Kabarebe, Chief of Defense Staff of the Rwandan Defense Forces, General Patrick Nyamvumba, Chief of Staff of the Army, Major General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi, and the leaders of the Rwanda Defense Forces Department (RDF) of Military Intelligence.
According to the sources, the trip to Rwandan by General Sejusa Tinyefuza was to finalize with the Rwandan Military leaders and intelligence services a plan to [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 27, 2013
Heavy fighting has erupted between the troops of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government, FARDC and the Rwandan Government backed M23 rebels in Kahunga and Mabenga near the M23 rebels stronghold town of Kiwandja, in North-Kivu, Eastern DRC, sources within M23 rebels command told AfroAmerica Network.
Rwandan Special Forces training near the border with DRC. The UN and US accuse Rwandan government of supporting the M23 Rebels
According to the sources, the fighting, with heavy artillery, started on Thursday September 26, 2013 and lasted close to an hour, before the M23 rebels abandoned their positions.
“We attacked the FARDC troops who have been trying to reinforce their positions in the town of Mabenga. We want to show the DRC government and the international community that we are still here; that they need to acknowledge our demands,” one M23 commander told AfroAmerica Network.
“We are not happy that the Kampala negotiations are stalled and that the so-called high-level meeting held in New York on Monday, September 23, 2013 on the implementation of the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation in [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 26, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Special Representative for the Great Lakes Russ Feingold
“We’ve seen a credible body of reporting that the Rwandan government has been supportive of the M23. That has to stop. We also are concerned about any support given by any other government for the FDLR… So it’s not just one side. We are telling all sides that you must stop support for these armed groups, ” US Special Representative to the Great Lakes of Africa, Former US Senator Russ Feingold told the US based media ABC News.
Russ Feingold added that, in terms of human lives lost, the humanitarian crisis in Eastern DRC is one of the greatest tragedies in the Wold, and must be resolved. He said that he, along with other Special envoys to the region, is working with [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 25, 2013
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete Receiving Honorary Doctorate from University of Guelph. Sep 20, 2013
Rwandan General Paul Kagame is expected in Canada this week. His visit will follow that of the Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete. The two presidents have targeted their visit to the Ontario Province.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete arrived in Ontario on the evening of September 19, 2013, after a two-day visit to the United States, that took him from [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 22, 2013
Tanzanian President Received at the Capitol Hill on September 20, 2013 by US Rep Kay Granger
“We have 264,000 refugees from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) who are in camps, in Kigoma. No refugee was turned away. Even if we wanted them to leave the country, we have specific processes that we follow, because Tanzania has many years of experience in welcoming, caring for, and protecting refugees.
We coordinated with the United Nations first, before advising the illegal immigrants to return home. The refugees from both countries are in camps. So, the issue of expelling them from the country does not exist“, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete told the US Congress Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations, during a meeting at the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on September 19, 2013.
The Tanzanian President and his delegation, composed of the Minister of Foreign [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 15, 2013
SADC President Hifikepunye Pohamba, President of Namibia
In its statement published on Saturday, September 14, 2013, at the close of a summit of the Heads of State, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has expressed its concerns at the increasing concentration of Rwandan troops along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) and “expressed the hope that Rwanda is not contemplating to invade“.
The Summmit, held in Namibia was attended by DRC President Joseph Kabila Kabange, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, and Malawian [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 13, 2013
M23 Rebels Licking Their Wounds
“M23 Rebels have suffered heavy casualties; they were pushed back and are, presumably, licking their wounds … no surprise that they have pushed for negotiations with the DRC Government,” Mr. Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the press during the daily press briefing in New York City, on September 12, 2013.
Mr Herve Ladsous also added that the UN Intervention Brigade did very well while [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 11, 2013
Bertrand Bisimwe, M23 Rebels Civilian Leader
Rwandan backed M23 Congolese rebels and the DRC Government have resumed negotiations in Kampala on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 after a one-day delay. DRC Government Foreign Affairs Minister Raymond Tshibanda, who leads the DRC Government delegation arrived in Kampala on Monday night where he found Rene Abandi, who leads the delegation of M23 rebels. The M23 rebels, weakened by the recent relentless ground attacks and bombings by government troops,FARDC, supported by the United Nations Intervention Brigade, were forced to pull out of their positions and eventually to come back to the negotiation table.
They also seem to have given up their initial pre-conditions, with only two post conditions remaining: the [click to continue…]
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by AfroAmerica Network
on September 9, 2013
M23 Leaders General Makenga and Bertrand Bisimwa in Bunagana on Sep 8, 2013
M23 Rebels Commander, General Sultani Makenga, and President, Bertrand Bisimwa, met the press on September 8, 2013 at their headquarter in the border town of Bunagana. During the press briefing, the two leaders said that they are ready to disarm their troops under two conditions: the resolution of the FDLR problem and the return of Tutsi Congolese refugees.
General Makenga and Bertrand Bisimwa met the press before sending a delegation of eight people to Kampala to resume negotiations with the DRC Government. These negotiations must be concluded within two weeks, based on the resolutions adopted by the summit of the Heads of State of member countries of the ICGLR, held in Kampala on September 5, 2013.
However, the two M23 rebels leaders added that [click to continue…]
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