Shaykh Hassan Hussein Adam is an ideological and spiritual leader of al-Shabaab who has done the most to shape how the Somalia-based militant group has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. His opinion on the virus is the latest missive from the 41-year-old cleric whose past... MORE

The tempo of al-Shabaab’s operations in Somalia has steadily increased, despite a dramatic escalation in U.S.-led drone strikes in Somalia. In July alone, al-Shabaab targeted the head of Somalia’s military and launched attacks on five different targets in a single day (al-Jazeera, July 13). The... MORE

Al-Shabaab’s recent attack targeting Somalia’s head of the military is the latest indication of the Islamist militant group’s growing confidence in its battle for control of the war-torn country in the Horn of Africa. Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, has been waging a... 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

Can and Will the SADC Help Contain Violence in Mozambique? Brian M. Perkins The insurgency in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province has continued to escalate over the past several months, prompting the South African Development Community (SADC)—a regional inter-governmental organization—to convene an emergency meeting of... MORE

UAE Expands its Influence in the Horn of Africa Brian M. Perkins The UAE has significantly increased its engagement in the Horn of Africa over the past several years, using security, development, and humanitarian projects to boost its regional diplomatic and economic influence. Some of... MORE

Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jammah (ASWJ) was incorporated into Islamic State Central Africa Province (IS-CAP) in 2019 and includes militants from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The group has been responsible for attacks that have killed hundreds and displaced thousands from their homes since 2017 (CTGN Africa,... MORE

Al-Shabaab, the Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, has ramped up attacks as global attention focuses on defeating the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19). The militant group’s prolonged insurgency has left thousands of civilians in misery in the country, which has been without a stable government since... 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 On November 24, 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told reporters during his first interview as president that he hoped to renegotiate the terms of the deal that gave a Chinese firm a 99-year lease over the Hambantota Port (Strategic News International, November 24,... MORE