Africa Blog Roundup: Algeria, Somalia, Michel Djotodia, South Sudan, and More

The Moor Next Door: “Comments on Algeria.”

Baobab has a video analysis of the London conference on Somalia.

Missed this during my hiatus in April, but it’s still relevant: Louisa Lombard‘s biography of Michel Djotodia, the rebel-turned-leader of the Central African Republic.

Amb. John Campbell: “What Next for Nigeria’s Oil Patch?”

Dibussi Tande: “President [Paul] Biya [of Cameroon] Appoints Thirty Senators.”

Roving Bandit: “So What Exactly Just Happened to the Economy of South Sudan?”

Via Amb. David Shinn, the Spring 2013 bulletin of the Sudan Studies Association (.pdf).

Roundup on the Rebel Conquest of Bangui, Central African Republic

On March 24, after months of rebellion and negotiations, the rebel coalition Seleka took control of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). For more background, see here, here, and especially here. This roundup attempts to capture key events and implications of the rebels’ capture of the capital:

• VOA: “CAR Leader Flees; Rebel Chief Declares Self President.”
• BBC: “CAR Rebel Head Michel Djotodia ‘Suspends Constitution’.”
• Jeune Afrique (French) has a profile of Djotodia.
• Al Jazeera: “CAR President [Francois Bozize] Seeks Refuge in Cameroon.”
• Al Jazeera: “Looting and Gunfire in Captured CAR Capital.”
• CSM: “Rebels Capture Central African Republic: Now Can They Govern It?”
• Reuters: “Regional peacekeepers said that leader of the Seleka rebel coalition, self-proclaimed president Michel Djotodia, appealed for their help in restoring order after his own men joined in a second day of looting on Monday in the riverside capital Bangui.”
• France24 reports that Seleka promises to hold elections after a three-year transitional period.
• LA Times: “African Union Suspends [CAR] After President Ousted.”
• IRIN: “CAR Coup Comes Amid Deepening Humanitarian Crisis.”
• Statements by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, US State Department, UK Foreign Secretary, and French President Francois Hollande.