The Tenth Parallel North has been described as the “fault line where Islam and Christianity meet and clash.” [1] In Africa, the Tenth Parallel passes west to east through Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia. Cameroon is the only one... MORE

2013 marked the return of terrorism to Tunisia. Since the middle of the year, terrorist incidents have occurred with greater frequency and now pose an alarming threat to the safety of Tunisia. During the first half of 2013, the Tunisian security forces were the target... MORE

In the first attack of its kind in Libya, a suicide car bomber drove an explosive-laden truck into a military checkpoint in Bersis (east of Benghazi) on December 22, 2013 that killed 13 people and injured 17 others (Jeune Afrique, December 23, 2013). The investigation... MORE

Al-Andalus, the media branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), released a rather sophisticated and detailed video on Morocco titled “Le royaume de la corruption et du despotisme" (The kingdom of corruption and despotism) on September 12. [1] The video mixed a series of... MORE

The decades-long unresolved conflict over the Western Sahara threatens to heat up again as Algeria and Morocco dispute the future of the region and young members of the Sahrawi Polisario Front (Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y Río de Oro - Popular... MORE

The role of foreign fighters in al-Shabaab was brought to public attention once again in October with the release by al-Kata’ib (Shabaab’s media wing) of a video entitled: “It’s an eye for an eye: the Woolwich attacks.” [1] The video featured ten British jihadis who... MORE

When a U.S. Navy SEAL team raided a compound in the Somali port town of Barawe on October 5, there was initial confusion over the target of the raid, with one Somali intelligence official even offering the absurd suggestion that the target of the SEALs... MORE

The designation of Boko Haram and its splinter faction Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in November 2013 came just over 50 months after Boko Haram’s transformation into a jihadist group. At the time of its founding in 2002 under Muhammad Yusuf, Boko Haram was... MORE

Somali-Swedish militant Fu’ad Muhammad Khalaf (a.k.a. Shongole, the “Scandinavian fighter”) is one of the leaders of al-Shabaab. Apart from being a key figure of the movement, Khalaf is known for openly challenging the authority of Ahmad Abdi Godane.  Background  Khalaf was reportedly born in 1965... MORE

In July of this year, China enacted its first major reform to its immigration policy since 1986. Passed by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in 2012, the Exit-Entry Administration Law, which has replaced the Law for Foreigners and the Law for Citizens, features harsher... MORE