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Latest Articles about East Africa
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Nairobi’s DusitD2 Attack: Is al-Shabaab Engaged in a Tactical War or is it a Desperate Force?
Despite facing increased pressure from Africa Union (AU) troops and constant U.S. military airstrikes, al-Shabaab successfully staged a deadly strike in Nairobi, further illustrating the militant group’s resilience and its ability to strike across the border. On January 15, four gunmen armed with AK-47s and... MORE
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Briefs
YEMEN: Houthi Drone Attack and Fragile Ceasefire Brian M. Perkins The fragile Stockholm Agreement ceasefire in Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah that was agreed upon in Sweden on December 18, 2018 continues to hang in the balance. Talks between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government... MORE
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Shaykh Mukhtar Robow Ali Revisited: From Repentant Jihadist to New Enemy of the Somali Government
Shaykh Mukhtar Robow Ali—a.k.a Abu Mansur (Mansoor)—a former deputy leader of al-Shabaab, has fallen-out with the Somalia government, barely a year after his defection from the al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa. Robow, who switched his allegiance in August last year, was arrested on December 13... MORE
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Increased Attacks Suggest al-Shabaab Resurgence
Al-Shabaab’s recent attacks in Somalia underline the threat the militant group continues to pose in the county and beyond. Since 2007, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops backed by international partners have waged a military campaign against the terror group, forcing it out of... MORE
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Ominous Silence: Why Has al-Shabaab Refrained From Condemning This Year’s World Cup?
Al-Shabaab insists on a strict interpretation of sharia in areas of southern Somalia that it controls. This typically means that the group prohibits watching the World Cup, but the hardline al-Qaeda affiliate has, unusually, not pronounced a ban on watching this year’s event. Given that... MORE
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Al-Shabaab Faces Leadership Battle as Speculation Over Emir’s Health Mounts
The secretive head of al-Shabaab is reportedly critically ill, giving rise to speculation that the Somali Islamist group is re-organizing itself ahead of his possible demise. Ahmed Umar has been emir of the al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa for nearly four years, but now reportedly... MORE
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Boko Haram’s Senegalese Foreign Fighters: Cases, Trends and Implications
Boko Haram’s international connections have long been a subject of scholarly and analytical inquiry. While the group’s communications since 2009 with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Algeria and, to a lesser extent, al-Shabaab in Somalia—and with Islamic State (IS) in North Africa and... MORE
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Jaysh al-Ayman: A ‘Local’ Threat in Kenya
After a series of deadly attacks, Jaysh al-Ayman, an elite al-Shabaab unit formed about five years ago to carry out operations inside Kenya, has emerged as the deadliest terrorist cell in the East African nation. Although it started life in Somalia, the al-Qaeda affiliate’s Kenya... MORE