DUBAI, 25 mars - RIA Novosti

La Libye soutient l'élaboration par la Ligue arabe d'une stratégie commune de lutte contre le terrorisme, a déclaré mardi le ministre libyen des Affaires étrangères Mohamed Abdelaziz dans une interview au journal Asharq Al-Awsat (Proche-Orient).

"Nous appuyons l'idée d'élaborer un plan panarabe de lutte contre le terrorisme. Il faut combattre le terrorisme à tous les niveaux - non seulement dans le domaine de la sécurité, mais aussi de la mentalité des gens, de l'idéologie, du règlement des problèmes sociaux", a noté M.Abdelaziz.

Le 25e sommet de la Ligue arabe s'ouvre mardi au Koweït sur fond de désaccords au sein du Conseil de coopération du Golfe (CCG). L'Arabie saoudite, Bahreïn et les Emirats arabes unis ont récemment accusé le Qatar de soutenir le terrorisme et les organisations extrémistes et d'essayer d'exporter les idées terroristes dans les pays du Golfe. Les trois pays ont rappelé leurs ambassadeurs de Doha. L'Egypte accuse aussi le Qatar de soutenir les extrémistes.

Doha accorde une aide financière au mouvement des Frères musulmans interdit dans de nombreux pays arabes. Les représentants des Frères musulmans ont été au pouvoir en Egypte entre la révolution de 2011 et la destitution du président islamiste Mohamed Morsi par l'armée en juillet 2013. L'Egypte a proclamé les Frères musulmans organisation terroriste. Les dirigeants et certains membres du mouvement y ont été arrêtés et accusés de terrorisme, de meurtres et de corruption.

19.03.2014 Guillaume Belan (FOB)
 

EUTM n’a pas pour seule mission d’instruire 8 bataillons maliens, mais a également déployé une ATF (advisory task force), en charge d’aider et de conseiller les autorités maliennes à réformer leur outil de défense. « Il serait vain de former 8 bataillons, sans en même temps réformer la défense malienne, au risque de voir tous nos efforts annihilés » précisait le colonel Patrck Vaglio, à la tête de l’ATF, à Bamako le 14 mars dernier.

Le VLRA monté d’un canon de 23 mm - crédits: G Belan

 

Une LPM en préparation

 

L’ATF d’EUTM, c’est 18 officiers de 6 nationalités européennes qui travaillent en français. Un audit a déjà été réalisé, et « la transformation des armées est vite devenue une des priorités du gouvernement malien » précise le colonel Vaglio.

Des groupes de travail ont été mis en place, spécialisés dans différents domaines (RH, Renseignement, Finances, Logistique…), coordonnés par des comités de pilotage présidés par un comité directeur, avec à sa tête le ministre malien de la défense.

Ce système travaille depuis novembre dernier et a déjà rendu ses propositions. Un projet de loi va être présenté aux députés maliens pour vote, fin mars/début avril.

Ce projet de loi, sorte de LPM malienne introduit bon nombres de réformes, et « propose une transformation réaliste et atteignable d’ici à 2018-2020, avec des objectifs priorisés et budgétisés » indiquait le commandant de l’ATF.

Traductions concrètes de ces mesures: le remplacement des huit régions militaires, qui a prouvé son inefficacité, par un système de trois zones de défense permanentes.

Une sorte de CPCO (centre de planification et de conduite des opérations) devrait également voir le jour à Bamako, afin que les responsables politiques et militaires puissent planifier et commander des opérations sur le territoire malien, ce qui passera par l’acquisition de moyens de commandement, de communication et d’informations.

 

Un BTR du GTIA Balanzan - crédits: G Belan

 

Les FAMa: effectifs et équipements

 

Aujourd’hui, l’armée malienne affiche un effectif de 27 000 hommes, garde nationale et gendarmerie comprise. L’armée de terre pèse pour 14 0000. Bamako a réalisé un important effort de recrutement avec 4000 recrues l’année passée, « sans aucun problème de soldes » précise le colonel Vaglio.

En parallèle des achats d’équipements ont été lancés, notamment des véhicules de transports. Le groupe français ACMAT (groupe Renault Trucks Défense) en est l’un des bénéficiaires: Tous les bataillons formés par EUTM  disposent de véhicules français: ALTV 4X4 et VLRA de transports de troupe, mais aussi de Kerax pour la logistique (citerne…) et d’ambulance. Contacté par FOB, le groupe n’a pas souhaité préciser les détails de ces commandes. Mais avec 80 véhicules par bataillons (dont également des Toyota pick up), on peut imaginer à quelques centaines de véhicules la commande malienne.

L’État malien souhaiterait acquérir des moyens aériens, comme des hélicoptères de transport, mais le coût prohibitif pourrait les en dissuader. L’armée de l’air malienne ne dispose aujourd’hui que d’avions Tetra de reconnaissance (moins de 10) et peut-être d’un ou deux hélicoptères d’attaque d’origine russe.

Avion de reconnaissance Tetras - Crédits: G Belan

 

Concernant l’armement, il est très hétéroclite et principalement d’origine russe. L’arme la plus utilisée est évidemment l’inusable AK-47 d’origines diverses (Yougoslave…), mais les maliens disposent également d’armes collective mitrailleuse Browning M2HB .50 (12.7 mm OTAN), PK 7.62 mm. L’artillerie est dotée de roquettes de 122 mm Grad M2, de canons sans recul SPG9 de 73 mm et de mortier de 60 mm. Ou encore de 14.5 mm et ZSU de 23 mm montés sur affuts bricolés. Côté blindé, l’essentiel du parc est constitué de 8X8 d’origine russo-soviétique BTR-60 et -70, vieillissants mais toujours vaillants!

 

Grad M2 - Crédits: G Belan

24.03.2014 par Philippe Chapleau - Lignes de Défense
 

J'ai parlé, il y a quelques semaine, du contrat tchadien de Sovereign Global France (SGF) qui forme à Loumia (sud de N'Djamena) un contingent de 1 425 hommes. Ces soldats sont destiné à rejoindre, dans le courant de l'été prochain, la Mission Intégrée des Nations Unies au Mali (cliquer ici pour lire la fiche consacrée à ce programme sur le site de SGF).

Ce programme de préparation à l’engagement mobilise une trentaine de personnes qui, depuis septembre 2013 et jusqu'en juillet 2014, apportent aux Tchadiens un appui d’état-major, d’équipement et d’instruction opérationnelle.

Jusqu'au 25 mars et depuis quatre semaines, un détachement de l’US Army déployé par l'AFRICOM mène une action de formation complémentaire à celle de SGF (photo SGF ci-dessous).

Une soixantaine de soldats US de la 2e brigade de la 1ere division d'infanterie et quelques Rangers dispensent une formation individuelle aux Tchadiens. Selon un communiqué de la Présidence tchadienne, ces Américains ont reçu, jeudi dernier à Loumia, la visite d'une délégation du Congrès US, dirigée par Robert Wittman, et venue discuter de la coopération militaire avec le Tchad.

A noter que d'autres militaires US du 52e Ordnance Group sont récemment intervenus au centre de formation au déminage humanitaire de N'Djamena (photo US Army ci-dessous).

Intervenant dans le cadre du soutien américain aux armées africaines engagées dans les opérations de maintien de la paix, "ce groupe d’instructeurs oeuvre au quotidien aux côtés de ceux de SGF dans un climat d’excellente coopération et de parfaite cohérence, à la plus grande satisfaction des autorités tchadiennes", selon SGF.

Note RP Defense : Sovereign Global and AFRICOM: a successful cooperation

24 mars 2014 Romandie.com(AFP)

KANO (Nigeria) - Le groupe islamiste Boko Haram a revendiqué l'attaque du 14 mars d'une caserne militaire de la ville de Maiduguri, dans le nord-est du Nigeria, dans une vidéo obtenue lundi par l'AFP.

Nous sommes les auteurs des attaques (du 14 mars) à Maiduguri dit un homme habillé en blanc, la tête couverte d'un turban noir, armé d'un fusil, affirmant être Abubakar Shekau, le chef de Boko Haram.

L'homme semble plus jeune et plus mince que dans les précédentes vidéos, avec une gestuelle un peu différente, ce qui peut amener à se demander si le chef du groupe extrémiste, qui a déjà été déclaré mort plusieurs fois par l'armée, est encore vivant.

Les Etats-Unis ont déclaré Abubakar Shekau terroriste international et ont offert en mars 2013 une prime de 7 millions de dollars (5,1 millions d'euros) sur sa tête.

Le Nigeria a également promis une récompense de 50 millions de nairas (250.000 euros) contre toute information permettant sa capture ou sa mort.

L'armée avait annoncé avoir tué le chef islamiste dans le Nord-Est entre le 25 juillet et le 3 août 2013, mais un homme disant être Abubakar Shekau est apparu dans plusieurs vidéos depuis.

A la question de savoir si Shekau est mort ou vivant, le porte-parole de l'Etta-Major des armées, Chris Olukolade, n'a pas voulu répondre à l'AFP au cours d'un entretien le 14 mars.

Dans cette dernière vidéo, obtenue par le même intermédiaire que précédemment, l'homme disant être Shekau parle pendant 37 minutes en haoussa et en kanouri, deux langues locales, ainsi qu'en arabe.

Après son intervention, des extraits montrent des hommes armés de fusils d'assaut et de lance-roquettes arrivant en camions pick-up à la caserne de Giwa, dans Maiduguri.

24.03.2014 BBC Africa
 

The US has announced it is sending military aircraft and more special forces to look for Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony.

At least four CV-22 Ospreys and refuelling planes, as well as 150 Air Force special forces personnel will arrive in Uganda this week, they say.

Mr Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.

The US first deployed some 100 special forces in 2011 to help thousands of African troops track him down.

His Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels are notorious for abducting children and forcing the boys to become fighters and keeping the girls as sex slaves.

Boys are forced to kill their own parents, so they think they cannot return home.

The group first emerged in Uganda in the 1980s but its fighters now roam between Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said the lack of aircraft had been identified by the African countries leading the hunt for Mr Kony as one of their major obstacles to finding him and the other LRA leaders "across a wide swath of one of the world's poorest, least governed and most remote regions".

The US forces would be based in Uganda but would be used in other countries where the LRA was present, she said.

The African Union-led forces would remain in charge of the operation, with the US retaining an advisory role.

CV-22 Ospreys can land and take off vertically like a helicopter but fly like a plane so they can travel further and faster than helicopters.

The US has offered up to $5m (£3.3m) for leads resulting in his arrest.

20 March 2014 by Guy Martin - defenceWeb

The South African National Defence Force is using Port St Johns as a jungle warfare training facility in preparation for the deployment of 850 troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo in May, when they will join the UN’s Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) tasked with rooting out rebels.

5 South African Infantry (SAI) Battalion will replace 6 South African Infantry Battalion at the end of May under Operation Mistral, marking the unit’s first time in the DRC. The deployment will be for a year – most previous UN deployments were for six months but it is more economical and effective to deploy forces for a year, as less time is spent acclimatising with one deployment per year than two.

6 SAI deployed in May-June last year, joining a battalion sized element from Tanzania and a battalion sized element from Malawi. Lieutenant Colonel Piet Paxton of the SANDF's Joint Operations Division said that, to his mind, the Tanzanian and Malawians have demonstrated good performance in the DRC.

5 SAI started with pre-deployment training and is now busy with mission readiness training. Phase 1 of training was conducted at the Boschoek Training Area between 10 and 22 February and covered shooting, helicopter drills, buddy aid, GPS training and offensive and defensive attacks. Phase 2 started on March 3 in Port St Johns and will end on March 21. It is covering patrols, jungle warfare, water orientation, combat shooting, house clearing and offensive and defensive actions.

Port St Johns was chosen as the ideal spot for jungle warfare training as its dense forests are an almost exact replica of what troops will experience in the DRC. The SANDF’s other more established training facilities focus more on grasslands and savannah scenarios.

Brigadier Gen Mannetjies de Goede, from the SA Army Infantry Formation, said that experiences in the Central African Republic and DRC made the SANDF realise that the battlespace has changed and that the SANDF needs to adapt with it. Training was occurring in silos, he said. Before 6 SAI deployed to the DRC it trained in Grahamstown which does not have forests – current training areas do not cover tropical training hence a request was made to train in Port St Johns. Training in jungle terrain is part of the SANDF’s initiative to improve combat readiness as soldiers will go straight into battle when they arrive in the DRC, de Goede pointed out.

Some combat readiness training was demonstrated to the media on Wednesday, including scenarios with 81 mm mortars, 12.7 mm heavy machineguns and 40 mm grenade launchers. Journalists were taken on a tour of the forest when ‘rebels’ attacked, capturing some and holding them hostage before SANDF troops charged through the foliage and rescued them, firing a good many blank rounds along the way.

However, training has not all been simulated. Whilst conducting urban patrol training in Port St Johns, the 5 SAI soldiers responded to a real life event on March 12. Armed men attempted to rob a cash in transit security crew in the town’s business district. The robbers opened fire at the soldiers, who retaliated. During an hour-long standoff, three armed robbers and a security guard were killed and R21 million was recovered. It appears that the security guard was in plain clothes and was carrying a gun when he was shot. No soldiers were injured in the incident but one bystander was injured by a bullet that tore through his shin. Several weapons were confiscated, including an R-4, an AK-47, a .38 Special revolver and 9 mm handgun.

In addition to training, 5 SAI also engaged in an outreach programme that assisted a place of safety that takes local boys off the street. SANDF personnel voluntarily donated R4 963 to the Eluxolweni initiative, which was used to buy clothes, food and blankets.

5 SAI will be deploying as part of the Force Intervention Brigade, made up of South African, Tanzanian and Malawian troops, and under the direct command of the Monusco Force Commander. The FIB’s offensive mandate is to reduce the threat posed by armed groups to state authority and civilian security in the eastern DRC and to make space for stabilisation activities. Other objectives are to protect civilians, monitor the arms embargo and support the DRC government. They are also charged with protecting United Nations personnel, facilities and equipment.

The troops of 5 SAI are expected to be engaged in combat operations as soon as they arrive in the DRC as there are still numerous rebel groups active following the withdrawal of the M23, such as the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda). Paxton said that there was a lot of action in the DRC last year and he didn’t see this changing in 2014.

At the moment there are various South African elements in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A special contingent includes aircraft personnel, military police, logisticians, engineers and others. This group is headquartered in Kinshasa and is under command of the UN mission in the DRC (Monusco). The South African aviation unit, which includes Rooivalk combat helicopters and Oryx transport helicopters, is based in Goma. The aviation unit is an operational tool of the Monusco’s force commander, meaning that the helicopters are under UN, not South African, control.

As the FIB supports the DRC government’s armed forces (FARDC), South Africa has also provided training to the FARDC under operation Thebe.

The DRC rotation, expected to take three weeks to complete, is one of the SANDF’s three external deployments. The other two are Operation Copper ensuring maritime security in the Mozambique Channel and Operation Cordite with Unamid in Sudan.

Click here to see the training in action.

24 March 2014 defenceWeb

Saturday marked the first anniversary of the involvement of SA National Defence Force (SANDF) elements in the ill-fated Battle for Bangui and while medals for bravery and valour have been awarded questions still remain.

One who wants public answers about South Africa’s involvement in the Central African Republic (CAR) at and before the time of the battle is David Maynier, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party shadow minister of defence and military veterans.

In a statement timed to mark the anniversary, he said the firefight in the CAR capital resulted in the death of 15 South African soldiers who “when the fighting began fought well”.

“However, South Africa still does not know what really happened because there has been a deliberate and systematic cover-up of what has become known as ‘CARgate’.”

According to him the country has been “offered” a heroic battle narrative focused on the Battle for Bangui.

“This is, inevitably, only part of the truth. A proper investigation would almost certainly reveal President Jacob Zuma misled Parliament about the SANDF deployment to CAR and never informed Parliament about subsequent deployments in the DRC.”

He also points to intelligence failures and capability gaps, including a lack of suitable transport aircraft as other factors contributing to South African fatalities.

“That the operation was not all ‘military precision’ is revealed in leaked documents which provide an insight into the chaos at Joint Operations Command in the early hours of March 24, 2013, as it became clear that five registered/approved companies, contracted to provide air transport services, had no transport aircraft available to lift armoured patrol vehicles, a diesel bowser and more soldiers to the conflict zone.

“In the end Force Commander, Colonel William Dixon, and his soldiers from 1 Parachute Battalion and 5 Special Forces Regiment appear to have been left dangling in a deadly firefight, without the necessary support, in a country where they should never have been deployed,” Maynier said.

Attempts to establish what exactly happened through channels including the Joint Standing Committee on Defence as well as setting up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the SANDF involvement in CAR came to nothing.

“We know the SANDF conducted an internal review of the CAR deployment. We also know the SANDF convened three boards of enquiry relating to CARgate, including one to investigate the loss of controlled items, including weapons and vehicles. These documents have never seen the light of day and the findings have never been shared with the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

“It was the greatest military disaster in the history of democratic South Africa. Yet a year later we are still none the wiser about what really happened in CAR,” Maynier said. Thirteen soldiers died in the firefight and anther two succumbed to their wounds.

The Saab office complex in Centurion

24 March 2014 by defenceWeb

Local company Saab Grintek Defence (SGD) has been given the Exporter Award for the second year running at the annual South Africa Premier Business Awards.

The SA Premier Business Awards celebrates business excellence in South Africa and is organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in partnership with Proudly South Africa and Brand South Africa.

The Exporter Award aims to recognise all export industry sectors and encourages other South African companies to participate in international business development and markets, SGD said. The Award further aims to recognise South African enterprises which invest in both human and technical resources in various projects or activities, produce quality products and services and remain domestically and internationally competitive.

Saab Grintek Defence was awarded the same award in 2013, the year the company celebrated a record year in terms of exports and subsequent revenue income for South Africa. The company has continued on its growth, celebrating various successes on the international and local front – making it a deserving winner of the distinguished Exporter Award, SGD said.

Magnus Lewis-Olsson, CEO of Saab Grintek Defence, Molly Mogotsi of Export and Shipping, Evelyn Motsatsing of Business Support and Chris Skinner, Head of Marketing and Sales received the award.

“We are very proud of this award as it shows the valuable contribution SGD continues to make to South Africa’s revenue. We continuously strive to market, sell and develop new products – this Award serves as renewed inspiration to continue on our successful path,” said Lewis-Olsson.

Roughly 95 percent of systems manufactured at Saab’s headquarters in Centurion, South Africa, are sold to export markets, making it a valuable source of income for South Africa. These include Electronic Warfare Self Protection Suites, Maritime ESM Systems, Civilian Aircraft Missile Protection Systems, Communications Management Systems, In-flight Data Recording Systems, Health and Usage Monitoring Systems.

24 March 2014 defenceWeb (Reuters)

Hatred between Christians and Muslims in Central African Republic has reached a "terrifying level", the U.N.'s top human rights official said on Thursday, warning that atrocities were being carried out with impunity.

Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, appealed to the international community to urgently provide troops for a proposed 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission to halt crimes which she said included acts of cannibalism and decapitation of children.

France has deployed 2,000 troops to its former colony to support a 6,000-strong African Union peacekeeping mission but they have been unable to stamp out the violence in the large, sparsely populated nation of 4.5 million people.

"The inter-communal hatred remains at a terrifying level, as evidenced by the extraordinarily vicious nature of the killings," Pillay told a news conference. "There is ... almost total impunity: no justice, no law and order apart from that provided by foreign troops."

Thousands have been killed since the Seleka, a coalition of mostly Muslim northern rebels, seized power a year ago in the southern capital Bangui and launched a campaign of looting, torture and killing in the majority Christian country.

That triggered a wave of reprisals by the 'anti-Balaka' Christian militia last year which has driven tens of thousands of Muslims from Bangui, the south and west of the country.

During a two day visit, Pillay held talks with interim President Catherine Samba-Panza, who took office after Seleka leader Michel Djotodia resigned in January under international pressure. Government officials frankly admitted there was no functioning army or police, no justice system and no means of holding those responsible for violence, she said.

"People apprehended with blood on their machetes and severed body parts in their hands have been allowed to go free because there is nowhere to detain them and no means to charge them with the crimes they have clearly committed," Pillay said.

BREEDING GROUND FOR EXTREMISM

Around 15,000 Muslims are still trapped in Bangui and other areas in the north, north-west and south of the country, protected by international forces, Pillay said.

While large scale massacres appeared to have stopped, thanks largely to the foreign troops, killings continue on a daily basis, mostly by the 'anti-balaka' militia. Pillay said some of the militia were mutating into criminal gangs, targeting Christians and other non-Muslims indiscriminately.

The United Nations estimates some 650,000 people have been displaced within Central African Republic, while nearly 300,000 have fled to neighboring states. U.N. agencies have reported a sharp rise in rape and sexual violence in the camps.

With the rainy season approaching next month and farmers unable to plant their crops, aid groups warn that the humanitarian crisis may worsen.

Pillay urged donors to quickly provide funding for a $551 million humanitarian appeal, which she said was only one-fifth financed, warning that the international community should learn the lessons of inter-communal crises in the Balkans and Rwanda.

"If we get it wrong again, by failing to support this country wholeheartedly in its time of need, we risk decades of instability and the creation of a new and fertile breeding ground for religious extremism, not just in CAR but in the wider region," she said.

France accused the European Union of shirking its responsibility for international security last week after E.U. officials said member states had not pledged enough troops and equipment for a planned 1,000-strong force. Brussels now hopes to deploy the forces by the end of next month.

"How many more children have to be decapitated, how many more women and girls will be raped, how many more acts of cannibalism must there be, before we really sit up and pay attention?" Pillay said.

Les rapports de plusieurs ONG présentes en République centrafricaine ont récemment fait état d’exactions, de crimes et de purification ethnique à l’encontre de populations civiles que les opérations déployées ont du mal à contenir. Sur d’autres terrains, de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) au Darfour ou plus récemment au Sud Soudan, les mêmes questionnements ou critiques ont été formulés à l’endroit d’opérations pourtant mandatées pour assurer la protection des civils.

Celle-ci s’impose en effet à tout acteur externe, avant tout pour des raisons d’ordre éthique. Vingt ans après les drames du Rwanda et de Srebrenica, quelle serait la légitimité d’une opération qui ne serait pas explicitement mandatée pour protéger les populations les plus vulnérables ? Pour autant, de tels objectifs sont-ils réalistes ? Sur le terrain, les obstacles à la protection des civils sont nombreux, et le risque est grand que les attentes créées par des mandats ambitieux soient en pratique souvent déçues.

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20.03.2014 Helen Chachaty - journal-aviation.com

La mission du C-130 Hercules belge dans le cadre du soutien de l’opération Sangaris en RCA a pris fin ce matin [20 Mars]. L’avion a effectué 20 vols depuis le 21 janvier dernier, transporté 314 tonnes de fret ainsi que 300 personnels entre Libreville au Gabon, où il était basé, et la capitale centrafricaine Bangui.

L’Hercules belge sera relayé dans ces missions de transport tactique par un C-130 de l’Ejército del aire. Celui-ci devrait arriver à Libreville le 21 mars et effectuer sa première mission le 23, selon le ministère espagnol de la Défense

20.03.2014 par RFI
 

19.03.2014 EUTM Mali