IRAQI COUNTER-INSURGENCY TACTICS UNDER FIRE Andrew McGregor Ineffective military tactics may have caused more damage to relations between the Iraqi National Army (INA) and the disaffected Sunni population of northwestern Iraq than to the targeted Islamist militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria... MORE

ATTACK ON CHINESE COMPANY IN CAMEROON DRAGS YAOUNDÉ INTO CAMPAIGN AGAINST BOKO HARAM Andrew McGregor An assault on a Chinese road-building camp in northern Cameroon is the latest in a series of regional attacks on Chinese workers and facilities. The camp with 52 staff was... MORE

CRISIS IN SOUTH SUDAN PART ONE:  SHAKE-UP IN MILITARY LEADERSHIP REFLECTS TRIBAL CRISIS Andrew McGregor As the security situation in the Sudan continues to deteriorate, Government of South Sudan (GoSS) president Salva Kiir Mayardit has overhauled the nation’s military leadership with a pair of controversial... MORE

LIBYA PURCHASES BLOODLESS RETURN OF ITS EASTERN OIL FACILITIES In a move that may help restore revenues to a desperate national government in Tripoli, Libya’s ruling General National Council (GNC) has come to a costly agreement with eastern Libyan gunmen that will enable the resumption... MORE

NEW REBEL MOVEMENT DECLARED IN NORTHERN MALI Andrew McGregor On March 18, a statement issued from the “military base of Hassi Labiad” in the name of the political and military cadres of the Mouvement national pour la libération de l'Azawad (MNLA), notables and the religious... MORE

IRAQI PRESIDENT ACCUSES QATAR AND SAUDI ARABIA OF WAGING A TERRORIST WAR AGAINST THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT  Andrew McGregor As Iraq descends further into a pattern of intensive sectarian violence and terrorist attacks, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of supporting... MORE

EGYPTIAN MILITARY OFFENSIVE IN THE SINAI FOLLOWS TOURIST MASSACRE  Andrew McGregor  Egyptian security forces have responded to the latest terrorist blow to Egypt’s vital tourism industry with a series of raids that have killed dozens of militants and resulted in the detention of many others. ... MORE

MUHAMMAD MAJID AL-KHATIB: A RISING LEADER IN THE FREE SYRIAN ARMY  Nicholas A. Heras  The Free Syrian Army (FSA) fired its military chief Salim Idriss on February 16 for being “ineffective,” saying that he “lacked the military experience to run operations on the ground” (al-Jazeera,... MORE