Latest Articles about Africa
Boko Haram in Senegal: Expanding West Africa Province
During the past six years, Boko Haram has been principally operational in Nigeria and, to a lesser extent, in neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Now, beyond Nigeria and its border regions, Senegal has unexpectedly become a country where the group is attempting to expand its... MORE
Kenya Unveils New Strategy for Tackling Terror
Kenya has launched a new strategy aimed at preventing violent extremism, unveiling it against a background of increased threats from Somalia’s al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab, home-grown militants and, more recently, suspected Islamic State (IS) sympathizers (The Star, September 16). President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the strategy on... MORE
Could Africa Become a New Leading Market For Russian Arms Sales?
Africa has never been a particularly high foreign policy priority for the Russian Federation. This is mainly due to a lack of resources and capacity in Moscow; for if those were present, an ambition to aspire to a role on the continent commensurate with that... MORE
Nigeria Expands Its ‘War on Terrorism’ to the Niger Delta
Though Nigeria’s southern Delta region has abundant oil reserves that should provide amply for the future of both the region and the nation, the Delta has become consumed by environmental degradation, unrestrained oil theft, destruction of infrastructure and a new wave of anti-government militancy complicated... MORE
BRIEFS
INDONESIA: LONE-WOLF ATTACKS SHOW NEED FOR GREATER DERADICALIZATION EFFORTS On August 28, an 18-year-old Indonesian man attempted to stab a Roman Catholic priest during a church service in Medan, in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, an attack reminiscent of one carried out by Islamic State (IS)... MORE
Choosing a Figurehead Over a Fanatic: A Profile of Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the New Leader of the Islamic State in West Africa
Andrew McGregor Though it might be difficult to conceive, there are apparently limits to the degree of barbarity the Islamic State (IS) organization is willing to tolerate in its regional leaders. On August 2, IS took the unusual step of intervening in the leadership of... MORE
August 2016 Briefs (Free)
THE RETURN OF GADHAFI’S GENERAL: ALI SULEIMAN KANA Nicholas A. Heras The international coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) has recently begun to expand and intensify its activities in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. In July, three French Special Forces soldiers were killed... MORE
Chinese Foreign Policy in South Sudan: the View from the Ground
This article draws on a number of interviews conducted in South Sudan by the author in June 2016. China’s foreign policy in South Sudan is undergoing significant changes due to a deteriorating security situation and uncertain relations with the South Sudanese government. On July 10,... MORE
Boko Haram: Abu Musab al-Barnawi’s Leadership Coup and Offensive in Niger
On August 3, Islamic State (IS) announced that Habib Yusuf (a.k.a. Abu Musab al-Barnawi), the son of Boko Haram founder Muhammed Yusuf, was the new wali (governor) of its “West Africa Province,” the name IS gave to Boko Haram after Abubakar Shekau pledged loyalty to... MORE
Al-Shabaab Aims for ‘Hearts and Minds’ With Establishment of Islamic Police Force
Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, claims to have established a religious police force in an area it controls in southern Somalia, seeking to push forward its Islamist agenda even as it struggles to hold on to its territory in the face of the advance... MORE