Ashraf al-Mayar is one of the most prominent militia field commanders fighting on the side of General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan conflict. Mayar, a Salafist from eastern Libya, was a member of the 17 February Brigade, which was a coalition of militias that coexisted... MORE

Prior to 2012, Mali was considered a success story of democratic transition in West Africa. However, ever since the instability of Libya’s civil war began affecting the entire region and Tuareg mercenaries returned to Mali from Libya and launched a rebellion, Mali has been facing... MORE

The Sahel has quickly become an epicenter of terrorism, with the once relatively stable Burkina Faso on the verge of replacing Mali as a focal point of jihadist violence. Instability from the prolonged conflict in Libya has been emanating into Mali and beyond since the... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. In the run up to and during the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held in Sochi, on October 23–24 (see EDM, October 28), Russia’s high-level officials repeatedly emphasized their country’s unyielding commitment to equality in partnership with African... MORE

The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held in Sochi on October 23–24, was presented as an event of great geopolitical and geo-economic importance (see EDM, October 28), explicitly showcasing the competitive advantages Moscow is purportedly ready to employ in its struggle for influence on the... MORE

Bringing Down the West: Kémi Séba and the Pan-Africanist Revolution Andrew McGregor An unforeseen consequence of Western intervention against African terrorist groups has been the revitalization of pan-Africanism, an ideology that maintains indigenous and diaspora Africans share a common history and destiny as a unified... MORE

The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held on October 23–24, in the Russian resort city of Sochi, displayed Moscow’s renewed ambition to play a significant role in Africa (TASS, October 20; The Africa Report, August 19). Increasingly, the Kremlin perceives the African continent as a... MORE

Deadly al-Shabaab attacks targeting security forces, civilians, and government installations in northeastern Kenya have continued to unfold despite security forces’ intensified actions to counter the militant group’s activities in the region. Since 2011, when the Kenyan Defence Forces entered Somalia—the base of the al-Qaeda affiliate... MORE

East Africa and its peripheral countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), are experiencing an evolution of their security landscapes as jihadist ideologies continue to creep into domestic conflicts. On the surface, many of the domestic conflicts and armed groups in individual East... MORE

Executive Summary Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s long-game strategy has created international networks with the ultimate intention of creating a united Islamic Emirate to take the place of the lost Ottoman Caliphate, across a continuous band from Turkistan to the Atlantic coast. [1] Bruce Hoffman brought... MORE