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

The town of Baga, Nigeria on Lake Chad’s shorelines is where Boko Haram originally made its mark as one of the world’s most lethal jihadist movements. In January 2015, when Boko Haram was conquering territory throughout northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State, the group finally captured Baga... MORE

The annual session of the United Nations General Assembly is being run this year as a video-conference, but President Vladimir Putin deemed his address so important that the key points of his planned speech were discussed ahead of time with his Security Council (Kremlin.ru, September... MORE

Turkey Courts African States as France Seeks EU Partners  Brian M. Perkins Turkey’s increasingly assertive military and economic role has seen the balance of power across several key regions begin to shift, particularly in the Mediterranean and the Maghreb, where Ankara’s role in Libya has... MORE

On July 20, the Egyptian Parliament authorized the deployment of Egyptian armed forces outside of the country. The bill made no mention of Libya (Arab News, July 21). Nonetheless, the authorization serves as a proverbial shot across the bow for Turkey and Qatar, which support... MORE