United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 15 February 2012 USAFRICOM - related news stories

Please see today's news review for February 16, 2012. U.S. AFRICOM PAO is introducing a new format that is best viewed in HTML. New features include icons and links to provide more options to the reader. Clicking on the text icon takes you directly to the full text of the story; the paperclip icon links to the article's original source; and the envelope icon allows you to email the article. Of interest in today's report: - AP examines recent announcement that Al Qaeda is embracing al-Shabaab - Tunisian defense minister calls for increased U.S.-Tunisian cooperation in border security - A Foreign Policy Journal contributor examines the role of Camp Lemonnier - Benghazi marks first anniversary of protests - Aid agencies face challenges in addressing food Insecurity in Mali - UN urges Sudan and South Sudan to give aid workers access to contested region U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: publicaffairs@usafricom.mil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) Headline Date Outlet Al Qaeda embrace of al-Shabab seen as driven by desperation 02/15/2012 Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya -- Al Qaeda's decision to formally extend its terrorist franchise to what once was a nationalist movement in Somalia may be only a desperate joining of hands to prop up two militant groups that are losing popular support and facing increasin... Tunisian defense minister calls for increased cooperation with US to guard borders 02/16/2012 Chicago Tribune - Online TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) -- Tunisia's defense minister has called for increased cooperation with the United States to help guard his country's borders. Abdelkrim Zbidi spoke Wednesday following a meeting of a joint Tunisian-U.S. military commission that discus... US AFRICOM Reborn in Djibouti 02/15/2012 Foreign Policy Journal The visit to Djibouti by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in late 2011 seems to be an omen foretelling the rebirth of the US African Command's (AFRICOM) base in the Horn of Africa. Benghazi marks first anniversary of protests 02/15/2012 Al Jazeera

Residents of Benghazi, the stronghold of the uprising that toppled the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, remain sceptical that change is coming soon, as they mark the first anniversary of the February 17 revolution. Fears as Libya readies for revolution day 02/15/2012 News24 Tripoli - One year since the anti-Gaddafi revolt erupted, Libya is battling challenges ranging from how to tame rowdy militia who fought his forces to establishing a new rule of law in the country. Mali: Aid gets into gear, but must navigate no-go zones 02/15/2012 IRIN DAKAR, 15 February 2012 (IRIN) - Aid workers are facing a trio of challenges in northern Mali: extensive drought-induced food insecurity and pasture shortages; conflict between Tuaregs and the Malian army; and the resulting displacement of thousands more T... UN council urges Sudan, rebels to let in aid teams 02/15/2012 Thomson Reuters - Africa - Online UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday called on Sudan and rebels in areas bordering South Sudan to grant immediate access for U.N. aid workers to the turbulent region, expressing "deep and growing alarm" at rising hunger levels. Sudan to Resume Oil Talks With South Sudan 02/15/2012 The Wall Street Journal KAMPALA, Uganda--Sudan said it would resume talks over oil transit fees with South Sudan in the next two weeks after the two sides failed to reach a deal in the latest round of negotiations, a Sudanese spokesman said. After revolution in Egypt, women's taste of equality fades 02/15/2012 Los Angeles Times Reporting from Cairo--Bothaina Kamel is a novelty and a provocation in a single breath. The only woman running for Egypt's presidency, she travels without an entourage, wears a bracelet that says "Make poverty history," can outlast the most exasperating he... China rail company inks $1.4 billion contracts in Africa 02/15/2012 Thomson Reuters - Africa - Online SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp Ltd has signed two projects in Africa with a total contract value of 9.1 billion yuan, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The value of the projects, located ... Fact Sheet: State and USAID - FY 2013 Budget 02/16/2012 U.S. State Department Washington DC -- The President's FY 2013 Budget for the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) strengthens U.S. national security, advances America's economic interests, and elevates America's global leadership throug... Africa Partnership Station 2012 Begins in Lagos, Nigeria 02/15/2012 U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs Offi

NAPLES, Italy, Feb 15, 2012 -- Sailors and coast guardsmen from several African nations gathered in Lagos, Nigeria, to participate in the start of Africa Partnership Station (APS), February 14, 2012. Tanzanian, U.S. Militaries Sharpen Medical Logistics Fundamentals 02/15/2012 CJTF-HOA Public Affairs DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Feb 15, 2012 -- The Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Medical Logistics Traveling Contact Team exchanged best practices with the Tanzanian Peoples' Defence Force in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, January 30 through February 2, 2... United Nations News Centre - Africa Briefs 02/16/2012 United Nations News Service - UNICEF set to distribute aid to Madagascar's cyclone victims - UN and partners urge rapid response to food crisis in West Africa's Sahel region - Top UN officials to travel to Niger as new food crisis looms across Sahel region - Sudan: Security Counci... News Headline: Al Qaeda embrace of al-Shabab seen as driven by desperation | News Date: 02/15/2012 Outlet Full Name: Associated Press News Text: By Jason Straziuso NAIROBI, Kenya Al Qaeda's decision to formally extend its terrorist franchise to what once was a nationalist movement in Somalia may be only a desperate joining of hands to prop up two militant groups that are losing popular support and facing increasingly deadly military attacks, analysts said. Somalia's main militant group, al-Shabab, and al Qaeda have been patting each other on the back for years. Last Thursday, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri formalized the relationship by giving "glad tidings" that al-Shabab had joined al Qaeda. Al-Shabab, which began as a movement to oust Ethiopian troops from Somalia some six years ago, has long been using terrorist tactics such as suicide bombings and car bombings against the weak Somali government and African Union troops in Mogadishu, Somalia. The group also has hosted al Qaeda and other foreign fighters with experience in Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Al Qaeda also could seek to use several dozen U.S. citizens - mostly of Somali descent - among al-Shabab's ranks, who U.S. officials fear could use their American passports to travel back to the United States and carry out attacks. The Somali government dismissed last Thursday's announcement as non-news, given the close ties between alShabab and al Qaeda over the years. Abdi Rashid, a Somalia expert, said it's not clear what benefit al Qaeda gets out of the newly announced partnership, given that al-Shabab has been losing large chunks of territory to the East African militaries fighting it in Somalia. Only a year ago, al-Shabab held sway in most of Mogadishu and much of south-central Somalia. But the group now is losing its grip on the country. "For me, the message they are sending is clear. It is basically an admission that their conventional military capabilities probably cannot recover, so the only way forward they have in the so-called 'jihad' is to merge with al Qaeda in the terror campaign," said Mr. Rashid, a former Somalia analyst with the International Crisis Group who is setting up an

independent policy forum. Al-Shabab leaders have pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in the past, releasing a video in 2009 called "At Your Service, Osama!" The same year, the now-deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released a video in which he made encouraging comments about the Somali insurgency. Mr. Rashid said that al Qaeda has lost power in recent years as well. "Not only has its leaders been completely decimated by U.S. strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but they have lost whatever public support they had in Africa and the Middle East," he said. "The Arab Spring is testimony to the fact that the gravity they once had is probably over." Al-Shabab is being hit from three sides in Somalia. In Mogadishu, African Union forces from Uganda and Burundi have largely pushed al-Shabab out of the capital, though they still can carry out terrorist attacks. Kenyan forces who moved into Somalia in October are pressuring al-Shabab from the south, and Ethiopian forces are pressuring them from the west. That pressure - along with a drop in popular support because of the harsh, Taliban-style social rules the group imposes - are among the reasons al-Shabab wanted the new al Qaeda brand name, said Abdi Hassan, a former al-Shabab fighter. "They are worried about their future," Mr. Hassan said. "They want to be able to join other al Qaeda forces when they are defeated in Somalia." Al-Shabab is only the latest al Qaeda franchise to join the movement started by bin Laden in the late 1980s. A militant group in Iraq named Tawhid wa Jihad became al Qaeda in Iraq after an announcement similar to alZawahri's last Thursday. The terrorist group also has branches in North Africa: al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and, in Yemen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. That latter group is based only a short boat ride from Somalia, and Mr. Hassan, the former al-Shabab fighter, said that several foreign militants once based in Somalia have fled there after the deaths of several al Qaeda leaders in Somalia in recent years. Several analysts noted that the new partnership internationalizes al Qaeda's message even more. Adjoa Anyimadu, a researcher at the Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based policy institute on international affairs, said al Qaeda may be attracted to al-Shabab's storyline of struggle to free an Islamic country from Western influence. Referring to al-Zawahri's issuance of "glad tidings" to al-Shabab, Somalia Information Minister Abdulkadir Hussein Mohamed said the announcement was also glad tidings for the Somali government. "The Somali government is actually very pleased that the time for al-Shabab to masquerade as an indigenous SomaliIslamic organization is gone forever," Mr. Mohamed said. "The whole international community knows now what we here in Somalia knew for a long time and should join our fight against al Qaeda in Somalia unreservedly." Al-Shabab's most spectacular international terrorist attack occurred in July 2010 while crowds watched the World Cup final on TV in Kampala, Uganda. Bombs exploded at two locations, killing 76 people.

Since Kenya's military moved into Somalia in October, al-Shabab has threatened to attack the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, and Mr. Anyimadu said that the al Qaeda merger could raise the risk of an attack. "They have shown the capacity and the skill, and I think the Kampala attack was clearly - if you want to call it this - a rite of passage," Mr. Rashid said. "While I'm not discounting the possibility of some kind of attack to show 'We are worthy' of being part of the fold, I don't think one can make that link immediately." Magnus Ranstorp of the Swedish National Defense College said the two terrorist groups joined because they need one another. He said it is possible al-Shabab would change its focus to meet al Qaeda's broader agenda. "This is a way for al-Zawahri to maintain his relevance," he said. "It's obvious that they [al Qaeda] are putting more efforts into North Africa, with AQIM, but also in the belt of instability and insecurity - Yemen and Somalia."
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News Headline: Tunisian defense minister calls for increased cooperation with US to guard borders | News Date: 02/16/2012 Outlet Full Name: Chicago Tribune - Online News Text: TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) Tunisia's defense minister has called for increased cooperation with the United States to help guard his country's borders. Abdelkrim Zbidi spoke Wednesday following a meeting of a joint Tunisian-U.S. military commission that discussed increased training and logistics support for the North African country's forces. Tunisian forces have recently clashed with armed groups with links to militants in neighboring Libya. There also have been clashes with groups believed to have ties to al-Qaida militants active in the desert south of Tunisia. Violence from the civil war in Libya and the battles with al-Qaida in neighboring Algeria has sometimes spilled over into Tunisia.
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News Headline: US AFRICOM Reborn in Djibouti | News Date: 02/15/2012 Outlet Full Name: Foreign Policy Journal News Text: By Thomas C. Mountain The visit to Djibouti by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in late 2011 seems to be an omen foretelling the rebirth of the US African Command's (AFRICOM) base in the Horn of Africa. The USA has little choice really, now that the Bahraini people's resistance to the western-backed Hamad regime has become firmly established and the USA's continued use of their naval base in Bahrain becomes problematic. The USA has already been expelled from Iraq, and with the Shia belt and its critical Saudi oil fields increasingly unstable, the USA has to take what it can get as close as possible to the Persian Gulf oil fields, and that leaves tiny, drought blighted Djibouti as the fall back position for the US military in the region. Djibouti was first targeted for a major US military expansion in the years after 9/11, when AFRICOM was born. No other African country with any strategic importance would let the USA have a major base on their territory, so Africa's smallest country, Djibouti was made an offer it could not refuse, and thus began what came to be known as Africom's $6 Billion Fiasco in Djibouti.

AFRICOM's new base was envisioned as a modern, $6 billion facility, including upgraded port and air field facilities and it had already budgeted $2 billion for the first phase of expansion of Camp Lemonnier from 90 acres to 500 acres. This doesn't include the airstrip expansion or the port facilities. A wrench got thrown into the gear box when the mountains overlooking the Djibouti base turned out to be Eritrean territory and suddenly hosted Eritrean Defense Force units. With much of AFRICOM's new base being in long range artillery fire from Eritrea's strategic position on the high ground, everything came to a screeching halt and AFRICOM in Djibouti was stillborn by the time the past decade came to a close. The difference today is that Qatari peacekeepers are now manning the former Eritrean army positions on the highlands overlooking Djibouti so the USA seems like it is going ahead with its new base expansion. Recently USA's Djibouti base has seen steady growth and its air strip is home to a very active Drone wing. The official budget for the Camp Lemonnier operation is almost $300 million annually. With a fivefold expansion in the first phase now back on the table it is notable that the first step was signed recently, a service agreement between Djibouti and the USA. This service agreement allows the USA to build its new base, turn ownership over to the Djibouti government and then sign a 99 year service agreement to use the base. Again, the USA has little choice in the matter. They backed the Saudi military intervention in Bahrain to prevent the Hamad regime from falling, but ended up seeing the Bahraini's Shia cousins in next door eastern Saudi Arabia and its critical oil fields respond with a small but growing rebellion. The dilemma is that the Hamad regime and its Saudi gun thugs will have to kill a lot of Bahrainis to really suppress the rebellion at this stage and in doing so risks blowing up the Shia belt in next door Saudi Arabia. The Bahraini people know all too well who is selling the Hamad regime the weapons it is using against them, and if there is a successful uprising, then the people will want the USA's critical naval base out of their country. Where can the USA go if this happens? Djibouti, smack in the middle of the Horn of Africa and the world's number one economic artery via the Suez Canal and the Bab al Mandeb is the spot. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta doesn't usually go so far out of his way to visit a 90 acre facility, tipping us off that something serious was in the works again for Djibouti. The service agreement was the predictable next step. A lot of US military personnel and equipment is going to be based in Djibouti in short order whether the official AFRICOM headquarters is there or not. If the Bahraini people have their way, the US Naval fleet now based in the Persian Gulf will end up there too.
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News Headline: Benghazi marks first anniversary of protests | News Date: 02/15/2012 Outlet Full Name: Aljazzera News Text: Residents of Benghazi, the stronghold of the uprising that toppled the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, remain sceptical that change is coming soon, as they mark the first anniversary of the February 17 revolution. A year after the uprising began, Libyans are rejoicing in their newfound freedom following more than 40 years of autocratic rule. The city was dotted on Wednesday with machinegun-mounted pickup vehicles, indicating tightened security measures.

Just a few days ago, a Gaddafi son, al-Saadi, who fled Libya to Niger, claimed that he would lead an imminent uprising everywhere in the country. As it tries to build a democratic state, the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) is struggling to impose its authority on a country awash with weapons and to form a functioning national police force and army. Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reported from Benghazi that the celebrations were marked by "a lot of excitement, mixed with some protest". "There's a concern that the NTC is not being transparent enough," she said. "There is a feeling among some that the revolution is sliding out of their hands." Checkpoints were scattered around Benghazi in an attempt to control any planned bomb attacks during the celebration of the anniversary. Unprecedented freedoms Hassan El-Kekli, a 35-year-old jewellery shopkeeper, used to be careful what he said on the phone to his family and friends. Any criticism of Gaddafi's regime was off-limits for fear security officials listening in could show up at his home and arrest him. Libyans rebuild their lives along the vital coastal road where much of the fighting took place [Al Jazeera] "Before we couldn't say anything, we were frightened," El-Kekli said. "Now I can talk about anything." Life for ordinary people has improved since the eight-month NATO- backed campaign against Gaddafi and the subsequent months of chaos. However, security and political woes abound in the run-up to the country's first free elections in June. Protesters regularly take to the streets to voice their anger on a wide range of issues, from calling for payment for overdue wages to the removal of state-owned company managers to championing women's rights. The change is dramatic. Under Gaddafi's police state, tones were hushed, even at home. "It's just like Speakers' Corner in London now," a 62-year-old Tripoli street vendor called Ibrahim said. "People finally can speak out. But is anybody listening?"
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News Headline: Fears as Libya readies for revolution day | News Date: 02/15/2012 Outlet Full Name: News24 News Text: Tripoli - One year since the anti-Gaddafi revolt erupted, Libya is battling challenges ranging from how to tame rowdy militia who fought his forces to establishing a new rule of law in the country. On Friday, Libya marks the first anniversary of the revolution against Muammar Gaddafi, which was ignited in the eastern city of Benghazi on February 17 and ended on October 20 with the dictator's killing. No official celebrations have been organised at a national level, but local councils are planning commemorations and have been warned to be on the alert against possible attacks by Gaddafi supporters.

"We need to be careful because some agents of Gaddafi's regime have dreams [of creating insecurity]. But the thuwar [revolutionaries] are ready all the time to confront them firmly," warned Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali. Gaddafi's ouster and death was one of the key events of the so-called Arab Spring, but Libya has since struggled to erase the legacy of the former strongman's four decades of iron-fisted rule. Thousands of people were killed or wounded in the struggle, the country's vital oil production ground to a halt, and homes, businesses, factories, schools and hospitals were devastated. So Libya's new rulers face daunting challenges - not only rebuilding an ageing infrastructure and repairing the damage, but also fostering vibrant state institutions, tackling a corrupt economy and boosting what are weak health, judicial and educational systems. But their most immediate headache is how to control the tens of thousands of ex-rebels who helped oust Gaddafi and have now turned into powerful militias, whose jealously guarded commitment to their honour and power occasionally erupts into deadly clashes. Biggest security threat "By now they [militia] have developed vested interests they will be loath to relinquish," said World Bank advisor Hafed al-Ghwell in a recent report. Ghwell said the militia have an edge over the nation's National Transitional Council (NTC) because of their "superior local knowledge and connections, strong leaderships and revolutionary legitimacy". In the absence of a regular and efficient national army and police, the militia are providing security on the streets and even guarding installations such as airports. But armed with light and heavy weapons these rival militia have emerged as the biggest security threat for Libya, regularly clashing with each other and causing fatalities. Global human rights organisations Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders have lashed out at them, accusing them of torturing their prisoners, most of whom are former pro-Gaddafi fighters. "Revenge attacks against populations deemed to have supported Gaddafi also grew" in recent months, HRW said in its World Report 2012, particularly targeting militias from the city of western port city of Misrata. It accused militias from Misrata of preventing about 30 000 people from returning to their homes in Tawarga, a nearby town. Disarming of militia The NTC is keen to integrate these militias into security services, but acknowledge that it is a tough task. "This [disarming of militia] is a much more complex issue than it may sound," Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib recently told reporters. In September, HRW called on the Libyan authorities to establish a judicial system capable of handling the situation of all prisoners. In November, the NTC announced the adoption of a law on transitional justice but has failed to reveal its contents so far. Ghwell said the NTC's desire to control the militias is understandable, but there are concerns about the ruling body itself.

"The NTC has had to struggle with internal divisions, a credibility deficit and questions surrounding its effectiveness," he said. Within four months of the end of the conflict, the NTC suffered a severe blow after its number-two and former Gaddafi stalwart, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, resigned after protests against him in Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising. Enormous challenge His belated defection from the previous regime angered protesters, who attacked the NTC offices in Benghazi with grenades, accusing the council of "non-transparency, stealing the revolution and allowing opportunists" of the old regime to be part of the new ruling team. Faced with such stiff challenges, the NTC has put everything on hold until the election of the nation's first 200-member Constituent Assemby in June, including the awarding of new contracts to foreign companies for rebuilding the warbattered country. "The heart of the matter is political. The security landscape's fragmentation, and militia's unwillingness to give up arms, reflects distrust and uncertainty regarding who has the legitimacy to lead during the transition," said Ghwell. In a bid to boost its own credentials, the NTC adopted the nation's first new election law earlier this month, giving priority to women, youth and political parties to participate in the nation-building process. "Libya's new leaders face an enormous challenge ... to build a country based on the rule of law after 42 years of onefamily rule, while preventing revenge attacks ... and promoting reconciliation," HRW said. "All these processes will take time and will require outside assistance. But the events of 2011 have given Libyans the opportunity to begin this arduous process."
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News Headline: Mali: Aid gets into gear, but must navigate no-go zones | News Date: 02/15/2012 Outlet Full Name: IRIN News Text: DAKAR, 15 February 2012 (IRIN) - Aid workers are facing a trio of challenges in northern Mali: extensive drought-induced food insecurity and pasture shortages; conflict between Tuaregs and the Malian army; and the resulting displacement of thousands more Tuaregs, say aid agencies on the ground. The country has some three million people who are predicted to be vulnerable to severe food insecurity, and is one of eight Sahelian states facing food insecurity this year due to a mixture of poor 2011 rains, region-wide high food prices, chronic vulnerability and poverty. All expectations are that the current security crisis will make food insecurity worse, said Mali country director for Catholic Relief Services, Timothy Bishop. In its latest February Sahel strategy, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in West Africa estimates over 10 million people will be food insecure this year, unless they receive help soon. Among the seven affected areas - Kayes, Kouklikoro, Sgou, Mopti, Sikasso, Timbuktu and Gao - the latter two have seen fighting between Tuareg group Movement National pour la Liberation de l'Azawad (MNLA) and the Malian army. Fighting in and around Mnaka in Gao Region has led to 26,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs); while 4,000 are displaced in villages around Augelhoc, 150km northeast of Kidal; and thousands more are expected to be displaced in Kidal's Tessalit area, as well as Lr and Niafunk in Timbuktu, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Meanwhile, a yet-to-be-confirmed figure of 15,000 Malians have fled across the border to Niger; some 13,000 to Mauritania, and 8,000 to Burkina Faso, according to UNHCR.

Most of those who have fled are in very bad shape, and were already suffering from food insecurity, say aid agencies. Scale-up complicated In northern Mali, while most aid agencies are continuing to work, it is hard to scale up if there is a war situation going on, said Walters, while Germain Mwehu, a spokesperson with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Niamey, told IRIN: The situation is very complicated. NGO Mdecins du Mondes pulled out of its Kidal office recently due to insecurity. ICRC is one of the few agencies to operate in northern Mali, with sub-offices in Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao. We already have programmes for the food crisis; now we also have displacements because of the conflict, as well as displacement of people who were drought victims, said Mwehu, adding that the organization is negotiating with all parties to the conflict to try to maintain humanitarian access. The Malian Red Cross has been distributing basics to some displaced households. Given there are still many no-go areas in the north, agencies have been discussing the possibility of humanitarian corridors there, said Walters, though nothing has yet been identified. For several years insecurity has driven WFP to work only through partners in the north - in this case ICRC and NGO Trans-Sahara. The previous Tuareg rebellion ended in 2008. The north is also known for its extensive organized crime networks, which traffic drugs, arms and other contraband; and has also become a hub for Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Joint Mali-Mauritania military operations against AQIM in August 2011 increased the risk of conflict and retaliation in northern Mali, say security specialists. Adding to the difficulties in scaling up in the north are enormous logistical constraints, including huge distances to cover, low population density, and unpredictable population movements, says Mwehu. What is needed is an air service connecting Mopti, Kidal and Gao, Walters told IRIN. Cereal stock shortages Despite the myriad challenges, some agencies are starting to scale up their humanitarian response. WFP is starting some distributions through its wider nutrition programme this week, and has medium-term plans to triple caseloads in some areas. Other agencies are coming in: The French branch of Mdecins Sans Frontires, which has in the past held back from launching health and nutrition responses in the north, is now evaluating needs in Timbuktu and Gao said its Niger and Mali head Michel-Olivier Lacharit. CRS is scaling up to distribute food to 125,000 in the Mopti region but this will cover just a small part of Mopti's overall needs, said Bishop. There is no doubt that all aid agency interventions are going to be insufficient and the government of Mali will need to step up its reaction, he said. The government, which is generally proactive in food security early warning and response, distributed 4,710 tons around the country in December, and set aside additional amounts to respond to food needs in the north. However, the Food Security Commission says it has just under 10,000 tons of food available, while 40,000 tons is needed. The fear is that without imminent response, already high acute malnutrition rates could rise further, say aid agency staff. Many households have just one or two weeks of cereal stocks remaining, according to a WFP December 2011

assessment. Danger of mixed messages Thus far a few donors have come forward, but there is not enough to mobilize large-scale responses yet, say aid agency staff. One of the reasons donors have been slower to mobilize on Mali is because of mixed early warning messages, said Bishop. While some agencies rang the alert in December 2011, others said the harvest would be adequate to cover food insecure regions. Only in mid-January did coherent messaging as to the extent of the crisis come out. It is only with the mounting security and displacement crisis that people have begun to realize Mali is now at equal risk as Niger or Mauritania, said Bishop. ECHO (the EU humanitarian aid body) has made $7.6 million available, with more projected once it is clearer about which amounts to direct to various Sahelian countries over the coming weeks. WFP confirms it has US$3.5 million to spend on immediate humanitarian needs and it expects a further $5 million in the coming days - against projected needs of $48 million, according to Walters. This funding is enabling us to go ahead in some small way, she told IRIN. The Swedish government has allocated $328,000 to humanitarian needs, and the ICRC and UN agencies are likely to issue appeals soon. Mali in 2012 - 22% of farmers or agro-pastoralists produced a medium harvest in 2011, the other 78 percent produced virtually nothing. - Acute malnutrition levels are on average at 10.8 percent among under-fives in affected regions. - The number of affected communes has risen from 150 to 190, according to January government estimates. - Cereal prices across the country are 50-60% higher overall than the five-year average. - 60% of pastoralists are already on the move, which is highly unusual at this time of year. - Agencies operating in the north include UNICEF, WFP, Africare, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, Islamic Relief, Action against Hunger. - Out of a projected US$724 million required for the Sahel, some $140 million has been received thus far. Source: Mali Agriculture Ministry, WFP, OCHA, FTS