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

SUCCESSFUL OFFENSIVE ESTABLISHES HOUTHI SHIITE MOVEMENT AS A POLITICAL FORCE IN THE NEW YEMEN Andrew McGregor Since last October, the Zaydi Shiite Houthis of northern Yemen’s Sa’ada governorate have been involved in simultaneous conflicts with the Zaydi Shiites of the Hamid Confederation of tribes in... MORE

BERBER-ARAB CLASHES IN ALGERIA’S M’ZAB VALLEY  Andrew McGregor  The ongoing Berber cultural revival in North Africa has gone hand-in-hand with a new political assertiveness. In nations such as Libya, Algeria and Mali, this has at times resulted in armed clashes and protests demanding linguistic rights... MORE

SOUTH SUDAN’S TRIBAL “WHITE ARMY” – PART TWO: ARMS AND THE OVERTHROW OF TRADITIONAL ORDER Andrew McGregor An unprecedented cattle raid by members of South Sudan’s Murle tribe on the Nuer “holy city” of Wec Deang on January 14, 2012 yielded some 4,000 cattle (with... MORE

SOUTH SUDAN’S TRIBAL “WHITE ARMY” – PART ONE: CATTLE RAIDS AND TRIBAL RIVALRIES Andrew McGregor One of the most important developments in the ongoing political and tribal violence in South Sudan is the apparent re-emergence of a largely Nuer militia known as “the White Army.”... MORE

SYRIA’S ARMY OF THE MUHAJIRIN PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA  Andrew McGregor  On December 2, the Islamist Army of Muhajirin and Ansar in Bilad al-Sham issued a statement announcing it had declared its baya’a (oath of allegiance) to the Amir... MORE

ANSAR BAYT AL-MAQDIS INTENSIFIES ASSASSINATION CAMPAIGN IN THE SINAI  Andrew McGregor  Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) is the Egyptian branch of a Gazan Islamist organization that first appeared in the Sinai in the days after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Since then, ABM has become one of... MORE

SYRIA’S MOST POWERFUL OPPOSITION GROUPS UNITE  The leaders of seven Syrian militant Islamist armed opposition groups announced the formation of al-Jabhat al-Islamiya (Islamic Front) on November 22 with the stated purpose of uniting their disparate fighting groups into one coalition. The coalition has a strategy... MORE

LOW EXPECTATIONS SURROUND LEBANESE MILITARY DEPLOYMENT IN TRIPOLI Andrew McGregor The latest intervention of the Lebanese Army into the coastal city of Tripoli to force an end to armed clashes between the impoverished Sunni Bab al-Tebbaneh and the Alawite Jabal Muhsin districts of Tripoli has... MORE

UGANDAN MILITARY ACCUSES DRC-BASED UGANDAN MILITANT SALAFIST LEADER OF COMPLICITY IN NAIROBI MALL ATTACKS  Nicholas A. Heras  General Edward Katumba Wamala, the Chief of Uganda’s Defense Forces, stated in September that the Ugandan militant Salafist leader Jamil Mukulu (a.k.a. Professor Musharraf) could have assisted the... MORE