LRA and Darfur continued and AFRICOM

Two short notes on last week's posts.

First, as a postscript to the discussion over the ICC's conviction of three LRA leaders as an obstacle to the resolution of the fighting in Uganda, the Ugandan government has announced that if a peace deal is reached the three men will be judged by national courts and will not be turned over to The Hague. This, I believe, is the correct decision. Uganda has a fully functioning judiciary and though Uganda is a signatory of the Rome protocol thereby agreeing to the ICC's jurisdiction over war crimes in Uganda, only a national judicial solution will bring an end to the 20-year long civil war. By disregarding the international court in favor of a national trial, Uganda has taken one step closer to bringing the violence to an end.

Second, in Darfur the fighting continues unabated. Reuters has reported new attacks by the Sudanese army against insurgents in the West Darfur district. While the extent of the damage is of yet unclear and the statements of the JEM spokesman of Antonov bombers being used must be taken with a grain of salt, it is certain based on neutral witness reports of helicopters taking off and hearing bombs exploding that an operation by the Sudanese army is underway.

Finally, an unrelated issue yet strategically important, the US' newest combatant command, AFRICOM, has announced its headquarters will remain in Stuttgart "for the foreseeable future". The postponement came partly as a result of apprehension of several African countries including Nigeria, Libya, and South Africa of a large US military presence on the continent. The AFRICOM spokesman said, that more time is needed to show what AFRICOM intends to do on the continent; help improve security, train security forces, help prevent the spread of terrorism and assist with humanitarian disasters. At the moment, only Liberia has offered to host the HQ.