Djibouti

State-of-Art Fortress: Chinese Army Prepared for All Eventualities in Africa

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– State-of-Art Fortress: Chinese Army Prepared for All Eventualities in Africa:

While constructing its first overseas military base in Djibouti, Beijing took into account the experience of Iraqi and Syrian military operations, creating a “fortress” with the sophisticated infrastructure capable of surviving a long siege, Russian military expert Vasily Kashin told Sputnik.

Beijing is strengthening its military in Djibouti, indicating that it is going to stay there long-term, Vasily Kashin, a military expert and senior research fellow at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik China, commenting on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fire drills held less than two months after inaugurating its first overseas base in the region.

The expert called attention to the fact that China’s new military facilities in the small African state resemble a “fortress.”

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UN: Worst Drought In 60 Years Hits Horn Of Africa

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– Worst drought in 60 years hitting Horn of Africa: U.N. (Reuters, June 28, 2011)

GENEVA (Reuters) – The worst drought in 60 years in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, it said.

“Two consecutive poor rainy seasons have resulted in one of the driest years since 1950/51 in many pastoral zones,” Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told a media briefing.

“There is no likelihood of improvement (in the situation)until 2012,” she said.

Food prices have risen substantially in the region, pushing many moderately poor households over the edge, she said.

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