Latest Articles about Africa
The Reconstituted Al-Qaeda Threat in the Maghreb
In the first week of January 2007, the Moroccan government announced the dismantling of an alleged 62-person terrorist cell (Gulf Times, January 5). According to statements made by the government, this cell had "ideological links with and financial and logistical support for international terrorist groups"... MORE
Islamist Infiltration of the Moroccan Armed Forces
At the end of July 2006, Moroccan authorities dismantled Ansar al-Mahdi, a previously unknown terrorist group, and made initial arrests of 44 people. The number of arrestees later grew to 56 and spanned multiple cities in northern Morocco. The group itself was unique and included... MORE
The Threat of Grassroots Jihadi Networks: A Case Study from Ceuta, Spain
On December 12, 2006, Spanish police executed a spectacular counter-terrorism operation in the neighborhood of "Príncipe Alfonso" in Ceuta (a Spanish city located in North Africa, just south of Gibraltar). Those arrested belonged to a grassroots jihadi group planning attacks on local targets in the... MORE
Somalia’s Islamist Leadership: Where Are They Now?
Bombings, shootings and mortar attacks continue in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu and the southern port city of Kismayo, as Somali Islamists engage Ethiopian occupation forces. Many Islamist leaders took refuge in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, where they were joined by Islamic Courts Union (ICU) second-in-command... MORE
Nigeria Continues to Slide Toward Instability
The ongoing unrest in Nigeria's volatile delta region is having an inflationary impact on oil prices, with no resolution to the crisis in sight. The turmoil in the delta, the center of the country's oil industry, is largely driven by poverty and corruption. This year... MORE
Ethnic Somalis Threaten to Destabilize Eastern Ethiopia
With Ethiopia sending troops across the border in Somalia to protect the Baidoa-based Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the possibility for a regional conflict looms in the future. To understand why Ethiopia is concerned with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) takeover in Somalia, it is necessary... MORE
Libyan Fighters Join the Iraqi Jihad
Despite Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddhafi's uncompromising stance toward Islamist activism, a number of Libyan volunteers have traveled from Libya to join the Iraqi jihad. From the information that is beginning to emerge about some of these militants, it would seem that they are not part... MORE
Accuracy of New UN Report on Somalia Doubtful
A report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia leaked to the Washington Post on November 14 has set off a wave of denials and denunciations from various countries alleged to be fueling the conflict in Somalia. Djibouti, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea,... MORE
Kenya Boosts Security Measures on Border with Somalia
The Islamists who control most of southern Somalia and who are grouped under the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) continue to accuse Kenya of being biased in support of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as well as backing plans to send African Union peacekeeping troops to... MORE
Somalia Hostilities Threaten Outbreak of Regional War
After years of mutual hostility, the armed forces of two states and the armed militias of one failed state are poised to unleash a potentially devastating war in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia are each moving troops up to their borders in... MORE