Vol 38 No 1 | ERITREA In the front line again 3rd January 1997 Asmara's investment drive provokes less interest than its adventurous foreign policy Combining an assertive foreign policy, hard-nosed economic reforms and a tight rein on domestic politics, President Issayas Aferworki is cast from a similar mould to Uganda’s...
Vol 37 No 25 | UGANDA Border brothers 13th December 1996 As Zaïre's conflict spreads, Kampala is now fighting or backing rebels on three borders The chaos in Zaïre was bound to spill across Uganda's dangerous western border and reignite some old rebellions. The latest flash-point is in Uganda's south-western corner, where i...
Vol 37 No 25 | SUDAN Costly deals 13th December 1996 The tensions between the government' s offensive and its hardline reality are epitomised by the release of three International Committee of the Red Cross hostages on 8 December. Th...
Vol 37 No 25 | SOMALIA Hope Springs 13th December 1996 Hopes of a reconciliation conference have risen with faction leaders' 8 December announcement that they will set up a 'national coordinating council' as the first stage of a transi...
Vol 37 No 24 | KENYA Moi-butu 29th November 1996 A tough leader indispensable to outside interests. You're in Nairobi not Kinshasa After the World Food summit in Rome, where he met fellow East African Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Benjamin Mkapa, President Daniel arap Moi stopped off unexpectedly in London. M...
Vol 37 No 23 | SUDAN Arms against a sea of troubles 15th November 1996 Though the government appears to be on the offensive, it's really trying to save its life. The US is counter-attacking Washington is to send military aid to the Sudanese regime's opponents in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda, officials have confirmed to Africa Confidential. The aid is worth nearly US$2...
Vol 37 No 22 | SUDAN Private guns 1st November 1996 The National Islamic Front government is negotiating for a private army to help guard Southern oilfields. They appear to favour Executive Outcomes, based in South Africa with offic...
Vol 37 No 21 | SOMALIA Hussein is not Aydeed 18th October 1996 A peace deal of sorts has been struck as some of the old grudges are buried Things had to change with the death of General Mohamed Farah Hassan 'Aydeed' on 1 August. The three main faction leaders – all Hawiye – may have begun to realise that n...
Vol 37 No 21 | TANZANIA Against the odds 18th October 1996 Anti-corruption crusader Mrema is testing the government's democratic credentials After a good and popular start, President Benjamin Mkapa's anti- corruption campaign is running into trouble. His Finance Minister and friend, Professor Simon Mbilinyi, has been ac...
Vol 37 No 21 | SUDAN Arming for trouble 18th October 1996 On the night of 27 September, 15 officers died testing explosives at El Mirkhayat military camp near Omdurman, we hear from military sources in Khartoum. The soldiers, scientists f...