Minneapolis, MN – This has been a hard week to listen to the news – especially as a mother. I have had trouble sleeping all week thinking about the girls and mothers living in hell in Nigeria.

Minneapolis, MN – U.S. attempts to establish a stable puppet government in Somalia were dealt a new setback Dec. 2, when Somalia’s parliament voted to remove Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon. Shirdon, who was locked in power struggle with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, received a no-confidence vote from the Parliament.

Minneapolis, MN – There are widespread reports in the international press of Western special operation forces launching an attack in the Somali coastal town of Barawa, which is located about 100 miles south of the capital city Mogadishu.

Attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi Related to White House Funding of Mogadishu Occupation

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following article by Abayomi Azikiwe of the Pan-African News Wire

According to an African Union Mission in Somalia statement, an Ethiopian Air Force plane crash-landed at the Mogadishu International Airport in Somalia, killing four crew members and injuring two others, Aug. 9.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following message from Freedom Road Socialist Organization that was sent to Robert Mugabe, President and First Secretary of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) following his victory in the elections.

ZANU-PF sweeps parliamentary election on platform of land and freedom

Although official vote totals in the July 31 election are still coming in, the people of Zimbabwe voted overwhelmingly to reelect President Robert Mugabe to another five-year term. Mugabe’s party, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), also won the parliamentary election in a landslide, making gains and solidifying their majority. Despite claims by Mugabe’s opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), that the elections were rigged, monitors from the African Union called the elections “peaceful, orderly, free and fair.”

Fight Back News Service is circulating some quotes from the icon of the South African anti-apartheid movement. The following quotes are from Mandela’s 1990 speech at a Johannesburg rally to re-launch the South African Communist Party. Nelson Mandela: The ANC [African National Congress] is not a Communist Party. But as a defender of democracy, it has fought and will continue to fight for the right of the Communist Party to exist. As a movement for national liberation, the ANC has no mandate to espouse a Marxist ideology. But as a democratic movement, as a Parliament of the people of our country, the ANC has defended and will continue to defend the right of any South African to adhere to the Marxist ideology if that is their wish.

San Diego, CA – Four men from Somalia – Basaaly Saeed Moalin, Mohamed Mohamed Mohamud, Issa Doreh and Ahmed Nasiri Taalil Mohamud – accused of raising money to help the Somali resistance group al Shabaab, were convicted of material support for terrorism-related charges here, Feb. 22. The defendants are facing maximum sentences that range from between 65 to 80 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 16.

USAID head Rajiv Shah visited Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, Feb. 21. There he met with the Western-backed president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Despite U.S. claims of victory over the Islamist resistance group al-Shabaab, Shah never left the airport complex due to security concerns.

Zimbabwe's two major political parties agreed to a new draft constitution Jan. 17. After nearly two years of deliberation, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), reached an agreement that may replace the country's current constitution and pave the way for a presidential election later this year. This draft proposal will go before the Zimbabwean people for approval in a nationwide referendum later this year.

The United National Antiwar Coalition recently issued an important statement on the rapidly increasing U.S. military intervention in Africa.

Washington, DC – State Department head Hillary Clinton announced Jan. 17 that the U.S. was extending formal recognition to the government of Somalia. The announcement took place during a visit of the Western-backed Somali president, Hassan Sheikh, to Washington D.C.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Jan. 16 statement from the Workers' Party of Belgium: Against the Belgian participation in the military intervention of France in Mali

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions condemning the war on the people of Mali.

UN approved military intervention will have tremendous human cost

Many people first heard about plans for U.S. intervention in the African country of Mali during the third Presidential debate in October. Republican candidate Mitt Romney clumsily tried to speak about Mali’s recent turmoil.

Somalis face New York City trial

Brooklyn, NY – Three men from Somalia, Ali Yasin Ahmed, Madhi Hashi and Mohamed Yusuf, appeared in Federal District Court here, Dec. 21, on charges of violating U.S. “material support for terrorism” and gun laws. What makes this case different from the dozens of U.S. cases involving Somali men and women in Minnesota, California and other states is that there is no indication the men are U.S. residents or citizens, or that they have ever traveled to the U.S.

As the US/NATO-led rebel forces assault the Libyan capital of Tripoli, it is important for antiwar and progressive forces to recognize a few key points. The development of events since the popular North African revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt led to some divisions among progressive forces as the imperialist countries maneuvered to take control of the situation and develop contradictions in North Africa in their favor. In Libya the U.S., France, the U.K., and Italy joined together to take advantage of the discontent among certain sections of the Libyan people, and thereby develop an armed rebel movement to topple the Gaddafi government. This criminal action taken by US and NATO forces should be condemned by all people of conscience. The success of the NATO-led rebels would certainly mean an end to an independent Libya.

Minneapolis, MN – Cynthia McKinney, former six-term member of the House of Representatives, and Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center, spoke to a packed room of over 60 supporters, July 9, at the Plymouth Congregational Church. Both gave motivating speeches for how the U.S./NATO intervention in Libya is endangering and killing the civilian population and demanded an immediate end to the war on Libya.