Latest Articles about Africa
Boko Haram Opens New Fronts in Lagos and Nigeria’s Middle Belt
Since Boko Haram kidnapped more 250 girls from Chibok in Borno State on April 14, new signs have emerged that Ansaru – whose leaders were Nigerian members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – has reintegrated with Boko Haram and its former operatives are... MORE
Another look at General Khalifa Haftar: His Enemies and Allies in the Struggle for Libya
Over the past few months, General Khalifa Haftar has been one of the most important figures in the Libyan political landscape. He has recently launched a “bid” of sorts to assume a role as a strongman for Libya, showing the ability to boost consensus and... MORE
Algeria and Egypt Struggle with the Implications of Libya’s Political Chaos
The progressive deterioration of security within Libya represents a major concern for a number of regional actors, most notably Libya’s two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Algeria. Algeria has already directly experienced some of the destabilizing effects of the Libyan upheaval, with the terrorist attack on... MORE
Mozambique’s RENAMO Conducts Low-Level Insurgency While Running for Election
Mozambique has been slowly descending into a political-military crisis since April 2013, as the ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO – Mozambique Liberation Front) party has unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO – Mozambican National Resistance) to end its low-level insurgency... MORE
A Divided Military Fuels Mali’s Political Crisis
Both short- and long-term prospects for renewed stability in Mali’s restive northern region took a heavy blow with the May collapse of the Forces armées du Mali (FAMA) in the face of Tuareg and Arab resistance in the northeastern Kidal region. The collapse reflected long-standing... MORE
Keeping It in the Family: A Profile of Jibril Ibrahim, Leader of Darfur’s Justice and Equality Movement
Recent reports of military operations carried out in South Sudan’s northern borderlands by Darfur’s ?arakat al-Adl wa’l-Musawah (Justice and Equality Movement – JEM) have reinforced the movement’s reputation for mobility and political prowess. Despite the loss of movement founder Khalil Ibrahim to an air attack... MORE
Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau: Dead, Deposed or Duplicated?
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau made international headlines on May 5, when he appeared in a video threatening to “sell as slaves in the market” more than 250 schoolgirls that Boko Haram kidnapped (Vanguard [Lagos], May 6). Although this video gave Shekau notoriety around the... MORE
Operation Dignity: General Haftar’s Latest Battle May Decide Libya’s Future
General Khalifa Haftar, the self-declared leader of the Libyan National Army, announced the launch of Operation Karama (Dignity) on May 16 with the aim of cleansing Libya of “terrorism and extremism” (al-Arabiya, May 24). Haftar’s latest battle may have far-reaching consequences, with its success or... MORE
Al-Shabaab Exploits Kenyan Crackdown to Recruit Muslim Youth
Kenya, which in recent years has found itself surrounded by countries plagued by chaos and insurgency, is itself becoming another theater for terrorist attacks, with more than 90 such attacks recorded since Kenya’s 2011 military intervention in Somalia. The latest attack on May 22 injured... MORE
Tunisian Jihadists Establishing New Networks with Libyan Islamists
The Tunisian Salafist movement Ansar al-Shari’a in Tunisia (AST) was declared a terrorist organization by the government of Tunis in August 2013. Since then, it seems to have adopted concealment tactics, given the impossibility of operating openly. Meanwhile, Tunisian authorities have launched an unprecedented counter-terrorism... MORE