Latest Articles about Africa
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
Al-Shabaab Leader’s First Audio Message Suggests Morale Is Low Among Somali Militants
After nearly two years of silence, al-Shabaab leader Sheikh Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah has released his first audio message, a fiery rant that appears aimed at motivating his beleaguered fighters as they battle African Union (AU) troops in southern Somalia. The 44-minute audio recording, released... MORE
A New Threat to Libya’s Stability Emerges
While Islamic State (IS) is in decline in the central Libyan city of Sirte, another armed group with ties to the global jihadist movement is threatening to usher in a new period of instability in Libya. In a written statement posted on Twitter on June... MORE
BRIEFS
NICE ATTACK SPOTLIGHTS FRENCH JIHADIST RECRUITER The Bastille Day terror attack in the French city of Nice, which saw 84 people killed when a Tunisian truck driver ploughed through crowds on the Promenade des Anglais, has refocused attention on the Senegal-born French jihadist recruiter Omar... MORE
Foreign Assets Under Threat: Is AQIM Preparing an In Amenas-Style Attack?
In late May, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed it had attacked an Areva-operated uranium mine in Arlit, northern Niger (Alakhbar, May 24). AQIM attributed the alleged assault to its al-Nasser brigade and said the attack was carried out with Grad-type missiles (Alakhbar, May... MORE