Henry Emomotimi Okah was born in 1965 and raised in Ikorodu, Lagos State, although his family’s ancestral home was in Baylesa State.  The fourth child of a Navy officer, his upbringing was described by a sibling as very “British”; he attended private schools and led a relatively privileged... MORE

After the last month’s shocking developments in Mali, including a military coup, the collapse of the national security forces, the conquest of northern Mali by Tuareg rebels and the emergence of an Islamist group with apparent ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the... MORE

With a deadly suicide attack on a security facility in southern Algeria, a newly formed group of West African militants has demonstrated it is a serious security threat and a potential competitor to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).        As the gates opened for the... MORE

Under military pressure from its neighbors on several fronts, Somalia’s al-Shabaab/al-Qaeda Islamist militants are beginning to show fractures in the solidarity of their leadership after losing several key towns and regions. As the movement faces the worst situation it has experienced in several years, it... MORE

Born in the Galgudud region of Somalia, Shaykh Hassan Dahir Aweys is a member of Habar Gedir clan of Hawiye sub-clan. Shaykh Aweys is a Somali Islamist and political figure who helped found al-Ittihad al-Islamiyya (AIAI). AIAI at one point in time was Somalia’s largest armed Islamist... MORE

Executive Summary: On March 21, 2012, a group of Army mutineers appeared on  Mali's national television station to declare that they had ended President Amadou Toumani Toure's regime and put in place the "National Committee for Redressment of Democracy and Restoration of the State" (CNRDR).... MORE

The leadership in Juba and Khartoum need to find a breakthrough in their oil dispute or they risk their own survival and the possible outbreak of an unprecedented level of conflict – even for Sudan. In late January the Republic of South Sudan, the world's... MORE

Update 1 (March 23, 2012 2:00pm) - The Malian Army Captain (name unknown), who appears to be leading the coup d'etat, released a video message stating that President Amadou Toumani Toure is safe and unharmed. Toure's location has not been released. On March 21, 2012... MORE

This article was originally published in the November 2011 Issue of Militant Leadership Monitor (mlm.jamestown.org). Subscribe to MLM today to receive leading analysis of militant figures like this without delay! After decades of carrying out unspeakable atrocities and thousands of kidnappings in Central Africa, the... MORE