African Media Coverage

September 16-30, 2009

Rwanda: The New Times
Obama hails RDF troops in Darfur
24 September 2009

US President Barack Obama has praised the quality and discipline of Rwandan peacekeeping forces in Sudan’s war torn region of Darfur, describing their accomplishments as ‘remarkable.’

President Obama made the comments at a special meeting with a select group of leaders, whose nations are contributing forces to different peacekeeping operations across the world. Among them was President Paul Kagame.

The meeting took place at the sidelines of the on-going United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Quoting Obama, Foreign Affairs Minister, Rosemary Museminari said the US President singled out Rwanda as a nation which had made a tremendous mark in peacekeeping operations.

Read the article here.

Uganda: New Vision Online
Southern Sudan for Dialogue Between Moyo and Kajo-Keji
Published: 29 September 2009

The regional cooperation ministry of Southern Sudan wants Moyo district and Kajo-Keji people in Sudan to resolve a land dispute through dialogue.

Early this month, angry residents of Moyo demonstrated over the alleged invasion of Gwere parish in Lefori sub-county by armed Sudanese soldiers who forced the farmers to harvest young crops.

Consequently, the border was closed and farming activities in Lefori sub-county in Moyo disrupted. In a bid to end the standoff, James Ernest Aremo, the South Sudan principal liaison officer based in Kampala, has asked Kajo-Keji authorities to resolve the dispute through “honest dialogue”.

Read the article here.

Angolan Press
Peacekeeper killed in ambush in Sudan's Darfur
Published: 29 September 2009

One international peacekeeper was killed and two were wounded in Sudan's troubled Darfur region when armed men ambushed their convoy, an official with the joint U.N./African Union force said on Tuesday. 

The killing underlined the insecurity that persists in the region despite a flurry of diplomatic efforts to find an end to the six-year conflict. 

A group of up to eight unknown armed men opened fire on peacekeeping soldiers and police as they escorted a minibus carrying civilian workers in El Geneina on Monday evening, force communications chief Kemal Saiki said. 

Saiki said he would wait until the dead man's family had been informed before releasing details of his nationality and unit. The attackers also stole one of the three vehicles in the UNAMID convoy, he added.

Read the article here.