Salim Rashid Mohammed, a former Kenyan university student who became a jihadist, is now the latest concern for security agencies in East Africa. The 27-year-old has been maturing as a militant and has attained leadership status since joining Islamic State (IS) in Mozambique. Mohammed had... MORE

Togo Suffers First Al-Qaeda-Affiliated Jihadist Attack On November 11, Togo announced that it had suffered the first ever jihadist terrorist attack on its territory. According to the country’s security forces, the attack occurred in Kpendjal, in the town of Sanloaga, along Togo’s northern border with... MORE

Ethiopia’s Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) are carrying out yet another successful counter-offensive against the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and its allies. The current counter-offensive, which is coordinated with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), may result in the fall of the government of Ethiopian Prime... MORE

Introduction Over the past two decades, China has continuously increased its presence in, and cooperation with, countries across the African continent. The magnitude of increase in Chinese aid, can be seen by tracking the increase in China’s total Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments to Africa,... MORE

On February 2, an armed group leader appeared in a short video clip and threatened to invite terrorists and other criminal armed groups from neighboring African countries to destabilize Nigeria. The clip was captured during a reconciliation event organized in the forest by self-appointed negotiator... MORE

Islamic State Claims First Operation in Uganda as Rwanda Upgrades its Counter-Terrorism Capacity On October 7, Uganda announced that its police force had killed a 25-year-old resident of Kampala, Hamid Nsubuga (alias Young Midu). The police had been following him for hours before killing him... MORE

According to various reports, members of Russia’s notorious Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) have been transported to Mali to render assistance to the local interim government (Rosbalt.ru, September 27). Given the presence of Russian mercenaries in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (Ifri.org, September 11, 2020),... MORE

In late September, while President Joseph Biden struggled with a multitude of domestic issues and President Vladimir Putin sought opportunities to score points on the international arena, the United States and Russia accomplished a series of potentially consequential diplomatic exchanges and probes at the medium–high... MORE

The series of attacks on schools, commuters, and communities in northwestern Nigeria has left families with traumatic experiences, displaced thousands of people from their homes and caused a deterioration of socio-economic activities, particularly in hinterland areas. For a region with a high rate of out-of-school... MORE

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan Calibrate Approaches to the Taliban On September 11, the grand mufti of Tajikistan, Saidmukarrim Abdulqoddirzoda, issued an edict calling the Taliban a “terrorist group” and declared that the Taliban’s behavior was “far from Islam.” In particular, the grand mufti focused on the... MORE