The two most powerful clans in southern Somalia are the Habr Gidir/Hawiye and the Darod (each with its own sub-clans). Habr Gidir elders and sheikhs led the Islamic Courts Union (I...

The kidnap of hostages, Ethiopian and British, on 1 March was apparently the first operation of the Afar National Democratic Front (ANDF). It was a mistake. The original plan was t...

Over 25,000 displaced people from Darfur have signed a petition calling for United Nations' peackeepers to come and protect them. They call for an end to violence, the advent of de...

The International Criminal Court has laid the main responsibility for war crimes in Darfur on the Khartoum regime. The ICC Prosecutor's Application says 'The majority of civilian d...

On 15 February, heavily armed People's Defence Forces massed in the Nuba capital, Kadugli, shouting slogans against the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. SPLM Governor Ismail Kha...

Until this month, Raila Amolo Odinga's presidential plans were progressing well. As a workaholic activist, Odinga believed he had the public profile and national base to emerge as ...

More than most countries, Kenya's politics is about winning over ethnic constituencies and building powerful coalitions. Recently, Kenyans have heard warnings about the dangers of ...

The Darfur rebel commanders' conference may have taken weeks to become reality but it is increasingly seen as a necessary stage if peace is to return to the region. Outside Darfur,...

Adam Bakhit: a Zaghawa of the Wogi clan, he stood against Minni Arkou Minnawi for the Sudan Liberation Movement leadership during the 2005 Haskanita conference. He returned to the ...

At the end of the AU summit in Addis Ababa on 30 January, its new Chairman, Ghana's President John Kufuor, announced that four countries had pledged troops: Uganda (1,500); Nigeria...