Less noticed but no less important than the reported arrival of Russian mercenaries in Venezuela (see EDM, January 28, 31) has been the influx of Russia Wagner Group “private military contractors” (PMC) in Khartoum to help local security forces shore up the embattled regime of... MORE

Twenty-eight years after taking power by force, Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno faces extremely difficult economic and security challenges. Chadians form one of the most impoverished populations in the world, relying on agro-pastoral pursuits for survival despite being an oil-producing nation. Formed from the tiny... MORE

Introduction   In November 2018, Salah Badi hit the international headlines when the UN Sanction Committee imposed a number of sanctions on him (UN, November 16, 2018, US Department of State, November 19, 2018; France Diplomatie, November 19, 2018; UK Foreign Office, November 16, 2018).... MORE

YEMEN: Houthi Drone Attack and Fragile Ceasefire Brian M. Perkins The fragile Stockholm Agreement ceasefire in Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah that was agreed upon in Sweden on December 18, 2018 continues to hang in the balance.  Talks between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government... MORE

Introduction As Algeria enters a crucial year for its future, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s health remains extremely poor and, despite the ambitions of many in Algeria, it is unclear whether the president will be fit enough to run for a fifth term. The Algerian president never... MORE

The minister of national defense of the Central African Republic (CAR), Marie-Noëlle Koyara, stated, on January 10, that a Russian military base might soon be created in the country (Business-gazeta.ru, January 10, 2019). If so, this step would usher in a qualitatively new phase in... MORE

Morocco—Islamic State Sympathizers in Morocco Brian M. Perkins The North African country and popular tourist destination, Morocco, has mostly been spared from the terrorism and jihadist violence that has plagued many other North African states. The country has faced threats from regional al-Qaeda affiliates and,... MORE

A network of thirteen “Chinese Community and Police Cooperation Centres” (hereafter: “police cooperation centers”) established by PRC expatriates in South Africa recently became the subject of a minor controversy in that nation. Photos of the opening ceremony for the thirteenth center in Port Elizabeth, the... MORE

Shaykh Mukhtar Robow Ali—a.k.a Abu Mansur (Mansoor)—a former deputy leader of al-Shabaab, has fallen-out with the Somalia government, barely a year after his defection from the al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa. Robow, who switched his allegiance in August last year, was arrested on December 13... MORE

Ten years ago, the prospect that Nigeria would become a jihadist hotspot—let alone the world’s third “most terrorized” country after Iraq and Afghanistan—received hardly any consideration (Africanews.com, December 6). Nevertheless, much has changed in ten years. Today the situation in northeastern Nigeria is worse than... MORE