Africa Is A Country on social media in eastern and southern Africa.
Amb. David Shinn recommends a new report, “Advancing Health in Ethiopia.”
Bruce Whitehouse on rappers and politics in Mali.
Lesley Warner on Mali’s MNLA:
Times are tough for the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). Only two months ago, the Tuareg rebel group was at its peak.
[…]
Somewhere between April 6 (the day the MNLA declared Azawad independent) and May 26, the MNLA’s fortunes changed. And when all is said and done – be it next year or in ten years – people should look back at this time period with an eye for indications of the MNLA’s waning power and the group’s shifting equities. Initially, the MNLA had three options to achieve independence for Azawad and a monopoly of violence in the state: A) Fight on its own against government; B) Ally with other armed group to fight government; and C) Negotiate with government. As its strength waned, and as the political melodrama on Bamako persisted, it became clear that the MNLA would have to align with a stronger armed group to achieve its objectives.
And several compelling pieces addressing different issues in Sudan and South Sudan:
Focus on the Horn: “Insects and Islamists: War Rhetoric in the Two Sudans.”
Tom Murphy questions high estimates regarding the number of people in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains who are malnourished: “Providing the appropriate response to people living in the Nuba Mountains matters most. It is exactly why being precise as possible is so important.”
Roving Bandit: “South Sudan Oil Revenue Shutdown Starting to Bite.”
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