Latest Articles about Africa
Hot Issue — Revolutionary Roadshow: Libyan Arms and Fighters Bring Instability to North and West Africa: Part One
Executive Summary: A year after the eruption of Libya’s spontaneous revolution, there are few signs of progress towards establishing internal security or a democratic government. Real power lies in the hands of well-armed militias with little inclination to disarm or demobilize and the ruling Transitional... MORE
Special Report on Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Islamist Movement
The Jamestown Foundation is proud to announce the newest feature for our Militant Leadership Monitor annual subscribers – a Quarterly Special Report (QSR). In addition to receiving full access to the mlm.jamestown.org website, past archives of MLM, and new issues automatically delivered monthly to your... MORE
The Jamestown Foundation’s Top 11 Stories Of 2011
11. China's 2010 National Defense White Paper: An Assessment By Michael S. Chase, China Brief Despite this White Paper’s lack of detail on specific capabilities, Western analysts should study the perspectives offered in the biannual assessment. One reason is that this White Paper tells us... MORE
Amir of the Southern Sahara: A Fresh Look at AQIM’s Mokhtar Belmokhtar
Personal Profile Born in the medieval city of Ghardaïa in central Algeria, nearly 372 miles due south of Algiers, on June 1, 1972, Mokhtar Belmokhtar is known by different names and nicknames. He is known as Khaled Abou Abbass, and his many nicknames include: “the... MORE
From Ally to Adversary: Shaykh Ahmed Madobe’s War on Al-Shabaab
Shaykh Ahmed Madobe is a very influential Islamist warlord in southern Somalia who has turned his guns on his former ally, the al-Qaeda linked Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab. His role was elevated in September 2009 when al-Shabaab fighters ousted his Ras Kamboni Brigade from Kismayo where... MORE
“The Notion of Spring Does Not Exist in the Arab world”: Djibouti’s President Ismail Guelleh Wards off the Arab Spring
In a recent interview with a French-language African news magazine, Djibouti's head of state, Ismail Omar Guelleh, was asked if “the great wind of the Arab Spring” had “blown as far as Djibouti?” Guelleh, leader of Djibouti since 1999, quickly dismissed the notion: “The Holy... MORE
The Twitter War: A New Battleground for Kenya and al-Shabaab
Two months after Kenya launched a military intervention into Somalia in an effort to seize the al-Shabaab stronghold of Kismayu, the Kenyan military and the Somali militants have entered into a new campaign – a propaganda war through Twitter, a popular online social networking service... MORE
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TALIBAN SPOKESMAN SAYS LOYA JIRGA REVEALS THE INVADERS’ “SINISTER OBJECTIVE” TO OCCUPY AFGHANISTAN In a recent interview with a Taliban-run news agency, Afghan Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi provided an official response to the recent Kabul Loya Jirga (Grand Council) that approved a continued American... MORE
BRIEFS
SOMALIA’S AL-SHABAAB EXPLAINS ITS BAN ON FOREIGN AID ORGANIZATIONS Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants have provided a detailed justification of their recent and controversial decision to halt the work of 16 foreign aid organizations in areas under al-Shabaab control in drought and famine-stricken southern Somalia. The statement,... MORE
A Comparative Look at the Islamists of the Egyptian and Tunisian Revolutions
The October 23 elections in Tunisia and the November 28 elections in Egypt are perhaps the first indicators of the health of politics and society after the Arab revolutions that exploded in early 2011. The elections were expected to be the beginning of a victory... MORE