Russia is determinedly expanding its influence in Africa. On November 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order for the country to build a naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast, its first in Africa since the end of the Cold War. According to Putin’s... MORE

Islamic State Receives Loyalty Pledge from Myanmar’s Rohingya Militants  Jacob Zenn Since 9/11, Islamic militants in virtually every country where they are waging an insurgency have allied or affiliated themselves with either al-Qaeda or Islamic State (IS). One of the rare exceptions, besides those fighting... MORE

Africa has become an important pillar of Turkey’s widely debated expeditionary military policy and forward-basing posture. The Turkish contingent stationed in Mogadishu, Somalia has an official patch with the Afrika Kartalı (African Eagle) inscription on it, which is telling when seen through the prism of... MORE

President Vladimir Putin issued a decree authorizing Russia’s Ministry of Defense to sign an agreement with Sudan to create a permanent Russian military base, or “naval supply station” (punkt materialno-tekhnicheskogo snabzenya). The location of the new naval facility will be close to the main Sudanese... MORE

Embattled France Rebuffs Negotiations After al-Qaeda Hostage Exchange in Mali Jacob Zenn On October 11, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)’s sub-affiliate in Mali, Group for Supporters of Muslims and Islam (Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin—JNIM), released photos featuring elder Malian Tuareg JNIM leader Iyad... MORE

On October 2, South Africa’s state prosecutor successfully opposed bail for the “Thulsie twins” in their prolonged trial on terrorism offenses (Daily Maverick, October 2). The alleged offenses and corresponding court case highlight South Africa’s growing concern about South African-origin foreign fighters and the deteriorating... MORE

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has historically been an Algeria-based and Algerian-led jihadist group. Nevertheless, AQIM has empowered, in particular, Malians by allowing them to lead AQIM’s Mali-based sub-affiliate, Group of Supporters of Islam and Muslims (Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin—JNIM). In addition, although... MORE

Introduction In his video message marking the International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers on May 29, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun (张军) said that China is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKO) and will “implement... MORE

Introduction Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) established its first official overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, there has been much speculation about where China’s next base will be. Chinese military authors have themselves shown considerable interest in this issue, discussing the value... MORE

Fighting Escalates in Yemen’s Port City of Hodeidah Michael Horton For months, the port city of Hodeidah has enjoyed relative calm compared with much of war-torn Yemen. This has changed over the last two weeks. The uneasy ceasefire between the Houthis and rival forces agreed... MORE