The leader of the Patriotic Front for the Liberation of Congo armed group says President Joseph Kabila’s government has failed to keep its promise and has vowed to liberate the Democratic Republic of Congo soon. General Gadi Ngabo says he will continue the struggle of former Congolese renegade army general Laurent Nkunda. “I’m General Ngabo Gadi (and) I want to liberate Congo because Congo has problems,” he said. Congo’s media reported that Emmanuel Msengiyumva has abandoned the national army (FARDC) to join forces with Ngabo in anticipation of their rebellion. Ngabo said the reneg

An official of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says the regional body is ready to help Guinea organize a credible election within the next six months. ECOWAS Political Director Abdel-Fatau Musah said the regional body will provide financial and technical assistance to ensure Guinea’s upcoming election meets international standards. “ECOWAS right from the beginning has been very supportive…under ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol and Democracy and Good Governance, ECOWAS is obligated to assist member states organizing elections … ECOWAS already had advanced an amount of

Guinea’s opposition coalition-chosen prime minister said he will soon name a cabinet that will work towards organizing the general election scheduled to be held within the next six months. Jean-Marie Dore said he is waiting to meet with interim military junta leader General Sekouba Konate before naming his government. “I am waiting the arrival of General Konate to take the act of nomination, and during the next days the government will be formed and we will start work,” he said. Dore is the leader of the opposition Union for the Progress of Guinea (UPG) party.

A Nigerian cabinet minister says Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s botched attempt to blow up a plane in the United States has “seriously” undermined the government’s efforts to improve the country’s image. Information minister Dora Akunyili called on President Barack Obama’s administration not to consider Nigeria as a state sponsor of terrorism. “That categorization is very unfair. We don’t deserve that. Nigeria as a country doesn’t have terrorist tendencies. It’s not in our culture. It’s not in our ways. It is not part of us. It is alien to us.

Eritrea’s information minister has described as an unfortunate publicity stunt accusations that President Isaias Afeworki’s government is arming insurgents to destabilize both Ethiopia and Sudan ahead of their scheduled elections in 2010. Ali Abdu said the countries are exploiting the recent United Nations arms embargo imposed on Eritrea. “This is simply a political prostitution and it’s meant to exploit the recent UN resolution, and this click is a comic click of liars. I mean they don’t even blink when they lie.

A spokesman for the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) says the group is ready to fend off any possible attack by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. Kevin Kennedy assured Congolese not to panic after rumors surfaced that LRA rebels are planning to attack villages ahead of the Christmas festivities. “First of all I would have to say we will caution people not to panic.

A Democratic Republic of Congo cabinet minister has warned armed groups of stiff punishment if they join forces with the rebel Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDRL) to fight government against troops. Information minister Lambert Mende said former rebels who join the FDLR to destabilize the country undermine the deal that shields them from criminal prosecution. “Those people who enjoyed the amnesty must be careful because the law of amnesty says that whoever will go with those terrorist will destroy all judicial effects of the amnesty.