Strategic Thinking on East Africa

February 18, 2015-Rwanda’s New Times reports that the German Ambassador to Rwanda, Peter Fahrenholtz, has said that the African Union should take the lead in bringing an end to the FDLR in eastern DRC. Speaker of the Rwandan Parliament Donatille Mukabalisa is quoted as saying, “We ask the German MPs to be our voice in […]

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February 15, 2015-Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza will stand for a third term in the upcoming June elections, he said today, despite the assertion that a third term is unconstitutional and will create violence. Civil society groups in Burundi have launched a campaign calling on the President not to run to prevent a likely outbreak of […]

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February 12, 2015-The New Zealand Herald reported today that the Burundian army, police and members of the youth league executed 47 people following a clash with an armed group in the country’s northwest. It appears as if the armed group crossed over the border from Congo. Human Rights Watch says that the group surrendered in […]

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From The Guardian While a UN-appointed commission of inquiry investigates human rights abuses in Eritrea, migrants stuck in Calais face the final leg of their journey for asylum   On a cold January day, Feruz Werede travelled from her home in London to Calais to learn more about the thousands of young people who are risking their […]

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Communique of the 10th Meeting of the AU-UN Joint Task Force on Peace and Security 1. On 1 February 2015, the United Nations (UN) – African Union (AU) Joint Task Force (JTF) on Peace and Security held its 10th consultative meeting at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the margins of the 24th […]

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January 20, 2015-Rwanda’s New Times reports today that the leaders of FDLR and its supporters in Europe have met in Tanzania, according to a UN report. The report, seen by the New Tomes, says that a staffer in the UN Mission/DRC reported that a senior FDLR commander and a member of Rwanda’s opposition travelled to […]

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10 Wars to Watch in 2015 Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Foreign Policy | 2 Jan 2015 From Afghanistan to Yemen, the conflicts and crises the world faces in the coming year. The last year was a bad one for international peace and security. Sure, there were bright spots in 2014. Colombia’s peace process looks hopeful. The last round of Iran’s […]

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January 11, 2015-AP reports that the United nations Congo force is militarily prepared to strike against Rwandan rebel positions if given orders by Congo’s president. UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler is quoted as saying , “They [FDLR] did not use the time they were given to voluntarily surrender and because of this we reached a […]

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Published January 10, 2015 In Rwanda’s New Times VICTOR VISATHAN So six months ago, these genocidal militiamen were given an ultimatum to voluntarily lay down arms and put their hands up, without which they would be forcefully disarmed. But as the D-Day for their disarmament drew near, there was no clear sign that they intended […]

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In phone call with DR Congo President, Ban urges ‘decisive action’ against armed group UN peacekeepers patrol Camp Lieutenant General Jean-Lucien Bahuma in Kisangani, Oriental Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is hosting former FDLR combatants. Photo: MONUSCO/Abel Kavanagh 7 January 2015 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a phone call with Democratic Republic […]

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