The first annual Political Consultations within the scope of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum—a discussion format established following last year’s (October 23–24, 2019) inaugural Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi—took place on July 8, 2020. Held via videoconference, the meeting assembled Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his... MORE

IS-CAP Attack Claims in DRC Increase, but Capabilities Largely Remain the Same Brian M. Perkins The number of attacks Islamic State Central Africa Province (IS-CAP) has claimed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has increased significantly since the beginning of 2020. This continues... MORE

Shaykh Musa Seka Baluku, an Islamist militant leader operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has recently taken steps to rebuild and strengthen the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Baluku has led the terrorist group for the past five years. Under his direction, ADF fighters... MORE

At the end of March, Chadian president Idriss Déby announced the launch of a “merciless” offensive against ‘Boko Haram,’ albeit without clarifying whether Chad would target the larger faction, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), or the smaller faction, Jamaat Ahlussunnah lid-Dawa wal-Jihad (JAS)... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here.   Beginning in 2019, Russia intensified its outreach to some Central African countries—particularly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo (hereafter, the Congo). Russian interests in the region are premised on a... MORE

The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held in Sochi on October 23–24, 2019 (see EDM, October 28, 2019), reaffirmed Russia’s growing interest in Central Africa. Among the countries comprising this region, two—the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo—received the... MORE

Arms trafficking via the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea has a long history. However, the wars in Yemen and the vast number of arms and materiel provided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have ushered in a golden age for... MORE

Introduction Following the 1991 dissolution of the USSR—which maintained diplomatic relations with 46 African countries in the mid-1980s­—the Russian Federation lost a large part of the Soviet influence on the continent. Beginning in the mid-2000s, however, Russia`s regional policy started to change, and the outbreak... MORE

Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), like other jihadist groups, is prone to internal leadership purges. After pledging loyalty to Abubakar al-Baghdadi and joining Islamic State (IS) in March 2015, ISWAP’s hardline leader, Abubakar Shekau, was ejected from the group in August 2016. IS... MORE

Sudan’s April 2019 popular revolution—aided by the military—ended three decades of rule by dictator Omar al-Bashir. The removal of Bashir was celebrated, and the country was hopeful for a new era. Despite Bashir’s ouster, the next steps would prove difficult as the new transitional government... MORE