So. The world's gone a little crazy. I can barely keep up with my Twitter feed, much less write coherent blog posts that aren't immediately out-of-date the minute I publish them. Here's a quick roundup and lots of links on several topics you may have missed in the melee:
- I think Gadhafi's a goner regardless of how many more 90-minute rants he subjects us to. Here's an analysis by Geoffrey York of what the impact will be for Africa and the African Union (featuring a couple of quotes from me), a great infographic on Gadhafi's reach in Africa (excuse the inclusion of Tunisia in Libya), and a nice analysis of other flashpoints on the continent that could be ignited or exacerbated by Gadhafi's fall.
- As far as I can tell, the African Union has yet to make any kind of statement on Gadhafi or Libya. Which makes sense considering how much of their budget he funds.
- By the way, the AP Stylebook apparently spells it "Gadhafi," so that's what I'm trying to use.
- Somali pirates killed four American hostages today, which prompted US military forces to kill two pirates and arrest thirteen others. This represents a significant shift; pirates have usually operated with the view that live hostages are worth more than dead ones. These killings appear to have happened in response to imminent US military action to rescue the hostages. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.
- In Cote d'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo appears to be taking advantage of the world's attention being focused elsewhere to perpetrate human rights abuses and killings against Ouattara supporters. At least six people were killed Monday in a violent crackdown against protesters.
- In the DRC, Lt. Colonel Kibibi Mutware has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in directing the New Year's Day rapes in Fizi. This is significant not only because Mutware is facing justice for his crimes through the use of a unique mobile court, but also because 49 women came forward to testify against him. This extraordinarily brave and difficult act by these survivors made all the difference in securing Mutware's conviction. These women are to be commended at the highest levels, and I hope other victims will see from their example that speaking out helps to achieve justice. It is possible to end impunity in the DRC. Kudos to the American Bar Association, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, and the Open Society Justice Initiative for funding the court's operations.
- Mass protests were scheduled for today in Gabon, but I haven't found any information on them. If you have updates or info, please post links in the comments.