At the AU conference starting January 31st, Libyan President Muammar Qaddhafi will seek a second term as chairman.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Other leaders will either persuade Qaddafi to step aside or there will be a battle at the conference in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, said [an AU] official, who declined to be identified because the reelection bid hasn’t been disclosed publicly.
On Tuesday, Jean Marie Dore became prime minister of Guinea.
He vowed to steer the nation toward elections and said the military needs to be restructured for stability to take hold.
[…]
Although many take heart from the quick appointment of Dore, some are worried by unconfirmed reports [former military leader Moussa Dadis] Camara is trying to meddle from the heavily guarded villa in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, where he is convalescing.
A retired diplomat close to the junta told The Associated Press that Camara has been making phone calls to supporters and power brokers in Conakry in an effort to influence who will be appointed in the transitional government.
The New York Times profiles Omar Hammami, an American citizen now fighting for al Shabab. Highly recommended.
Nigeria’s Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ends its ceasefire with the government after more than three months of relative peace.
The food crisis in Niger is part of a larger food insecurity issue in West Africa as a whole.
VOA offers a perspective on power struggles between North and South Sudan.
SPLM, the political wing of the former southern rebels, have nominated a Muslim northerner, Yasir Arman, for Sudan president. The chair of the party and current president of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, opted to run to retain his southern office instead of seeking the national seat.
On Wednesday the [ruling National Congress Party] announced it would not run a candidate against Mr. Kiir for the Southern presidency, asking SPLM to reciprocate by supporting Mr. Bashir’s candidacy in the national race. Southern officials immediately dismissed the statement and accused their northern partners of financing the campaign of a southern opposition party.
IRIN discusses recent bombings in Somaliland.
And though it’s almost a week old, Al Jazeera’s video on the Jos crisis is worth watching.
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Sahel Blog 