About 800 suspected jihadists have returned to Tunisia from abroad, putting pressure on the Tunisian authorities and potentially undermining Tunisia’s political transition. The country is struggling to establish a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy and, beyond the immediate security concerns, institutional constraints are stymieing efforts to tackle... MORE

Kenya: Mombasa a Focus for Islamic State  Police in Kenya’s costal region arrested two suspected members of Islamic State (IS) on February 18. The pair had reportedly returned from Syria and their arrests serve as a reminder that while al-Shabaab remains the major threat in... MORE

A series of large-scale attacks by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) over the last few years, targeting mainly tourists in West African countries with a French or international presence, has raised the question of when and where the next AQIM attack will take place.... MORE

Russia’s increased engagement in the Libyan civil war, in particular the “attention” that the Kremlin is paying to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, one of the conflict’s major actors since the ousting of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, has not gone unnoticed by the Italian government (Repubblica,... MORE

Achieving peace in northern Mali (known locally as Azawad) is complicated by the proliferation of armed groups in the region, each varying in purpose, ideology and ethnic composition. Personal and clan rivalries make cooperation exceedingly difficult even when political agendas match. MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional... MORE

France: What Lies in Store for Returning Militants? French authorities have detained one of the county’s most high-profile Islamists who, after reportedly growing disillusioned with Islamic State (IS), left Syria, turning himself over to Turkish authorities. Kevin Guiavarch was placed on the United Nations’ sanctions... MORE

On January 14, Tunisians marked the sixth anniversary of their successful revolution against the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Known as the “Jasmine Revolution,” it inspired other people in the region to take to the streets, starting the so-called “Arab Spring.” Six years... MORE

Egypt: An Intensifying Problem With Islamist Militancy A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Cairo church close to the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in December, killing at least 25 people, wounding scores more and putting Egypt’s Coptic community on edge heading into their Christmas celebrations... MORE

Under increasing pressure in Syria and Iraq, as well as in Libya, Islamic State (IS) is activating and reorganizing its networks elsewhere, observably in Europe and Turkey, and, less conspicuously, in West Africa. On October 30, 2016, IS confirmed via its Amaq news agency that... MORE