Tag: African Union

When Did Sudan Become Subservient?

Most Americans have no idea of the violence and problems brewing in the North African nation of Sudan…..and that is why I am here….to inform and educate.

I ask the question in the title because of something I read in the news……

The head of Sudan’s ruling military council was given a “green light” by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies to crack down on protesters camped for weeks outside the military’s headquarters, a Sudanese military expert has told Middle East Eye.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, the well-informed expert said he understood that plans to destroy the protest camp in Khartoum had been discussed during recent visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC).

“The breaking up of the sit-in was one of the main points on the agenda that was discussed,” the expert said. “Unless he got the green light from his regional allies he would not have been able to commit such a crime.”

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-crackdown-saudis-gave-green-light-assault-protesters

When did the Saudis become the “masters”?

The blood thirsty Saudis have made sure that the Sudanese government will need their help……the Sudanese government is being punished by the African bloc for their ruthless handling , thanx to the Saudis, of the protesters……

The African Union (AU) on Thursday suspended Sudan until the establishment of civilian rule, intensifying global pressure on its new military leaders to stand down after the worst violence since Omar al-Bashir’s fall in April.

Ethiopia – where the continental bloc is based – planned a mediation effort, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed due on Friday to meet members of both the ruling Transitional Council (TMC) and the opposition, a diplomatic source said.

Both sides had been in talks over a civilian-led transition to democracy. But their already faltering negotiations collapsed when security forces stormed a sit-in protest camp on Monday, killing dozens of people.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sudan-politics/african-bloc-suspends-sudan-demanding-end-to-military-rule-idUKKCN1T71C7

It appears as it can get worse for the protesters in Sudan for they have vowed to continue their onslaught…..

Sudan’s pro-democracy movement vowed Thursday to press its campaign of civil disobedience until the ruling military council is ousted and killers of protesters are brought to justice, as security forces fanned out across the capital and appeared to thwart any new demonstrations.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sudan-protesters-keep-campaign-until-082350161.html

Sudan analysis…….

Sudan’s stability is integral to the interests of several countries, some of which are interestingly rivals with one another. The GCC and its Egyptian ally are competing with Turkey for influence in the country, which is essentially an extension of the ongoing “GCC Cold War” between Qatar and the rest of its notional partners in the bloc over Doha’s patronage of the Ankara-allied Muslim Brotherhood that the remaining members of the organization and Cairo regard as terrorists. Bashir had previously allowed Turkey to rebuild the historic port of Suakin, which Egypt and the GCC consider to be part of a secret plot to set up a Turkish naval base in the Red Sea and has fueled speculation that they might have backed the early stages of the Color Revolution as part of a campaign of pressure to get him to reconsider this deal. Russia and China are also Sudan’s close partners, too, with the former seeing it as its point of entry into the rest of the continent and one of the three states pivotally comprising its “African Trilateral” while the latter needs the country for its envisaged bi-coastal “Sahelian-Saharan Silk Road“.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/sudan-chaos-unleashed-color-revolution/5680154

The Saudis are inserting themselves through out the region…..their war on Yemen, their blockade of Qatar and their shady deals with Israel….and now they move into North Africa.

Time for them, the Saudis, to be slapped down…… their arrogant meddling is causing more problems than it solves.

Should US Troops Take Control Of The Mission?

A loyal reader of IST writes a good blog about East Africa, https://africommons.com/ …..recent he wrote he wrote a post that ask a question.

Since I write a lot about war and other conflicts I thought I would put his post on here and see if there were any answers from my readers…..

This is in the nature of a “thought experiment” rather than an actual suggestion at this point, but here goes rough sketch of the basic points:

1) We all recognize–whether we are willing to publicly admit it–that Somalia is in a “permanent” war state although progress has been made from the lowest ebbs over the years. Somalia is like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen in the sense that it is a place in which perpetual fighting appears indefinitely sustainable pending some major change.

https://africommons.com/2018/09/24/should-the-united-states-offer-to-replace-ugandan-and-burundian-troops-in-amisom/

My response was that the US was slowly doing just that……we keep adding troops to the fight against the insurgents in Somalia.  But my personal feeling is that we should NOT expand any further…..for we are fighting a “War” on a tactic….a war that cannot be won.

We have too many feet in a fire……we could use the money here in this coungtry.

Please let my friend know you opinion on his question.

Thanx for helping out……chuq

What Is Morocco Up To?

Today is President’s Day…..where we Americans celebrate all those men that served as leader over the years….

After I graduated from university I went to Tunisia and applied for a job with the UN as an analyst…..did not get the gig some dude with lots more letters after his name got the call.

Not the end of the story I was then approached by a Spanish newspaper to be a researcher/analyst and so began my 4 years of work in the Middle East and North Africa.

I was assigned to Rabat Morocco and was researching a story on the annexation of Western Sahara…I was granted an interview with one of the leaders of the opposition, the Polarsio and spent 2 weeks among the people of Western Sahara….great people.

Since those days I have been watching and writing about the struggles of Western Sahara…..

Source: Where Is Western Sahara? – In Saner Thought

Source: Meanwhile Back In Western Sahara – In Saner Thought

Source: Armed Conflict Could Return To Western Sahara – In Saner Thought

Just a little background for Morocco is making news these days…..they have rejoined the African Union (AU) after a 33 year absence….and some are asking….why now?

Morocco is ready to raise its global stature, flexing its muscle before the world by joining the African Union (AU) and making clear what it can offer — or withhold — in the areas of finance and security.

The country’s investments, security and migration control will remain its power points with which to bargain for political support from the West, which in turn wants a greater presence in Africa.

Morocco wants to put to bed international friction over its decadeslong battle with the Polisario Front independence movement over disputed Western Sahara territory recognized by some countries as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). In fact, Morocco left the AU’s predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, in 1984 to protest the group’s admission of SADR.

But now Morocco is back.

Some are questioning this move by Morocco…..is it more about trying to salvage their claim to Western Sahara than anything else?

King Mohammed VI’s new African policy reflects the Moroccan monarch’s pragmatism and realism. While in the past, Morocco had adopted a disastrous “empty chair” policy, the new policy is proactive and positive for the outlook of Morocco’s territorial integrity and the controversy it is facing over the Western Sahara.

Owing to Morocco’s absence from the African Union (AU) over the past 33 years, Morocco’s rivals, mainly Algeria and South Africa, have been using the pan-African body to push their self-serving political and ideological agendas.

The two countries have seemingly dominated the organisation and attempted to use it as a tool to weaken Morocco’s position with regard to the Western Sahara.

Source: Moroccan pragmatism: A new chapter for Western Sahara | Morocco | Al Jazeera

This situation will be an interesting one for us IR geeks….what will be the future of Western Sahara?  Who holds the keys?