Latest Articles about Africa
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
Will the Return of Ethiopia’s Military to Somalia Destroy al-Shabaab or Revive It?
Just 40 days after Kenya’s military intervention against the militant al-Shabaab group began in Somalia there are indications that the Kenyan effort may become part of a joint operation with African Union and Ethiopian military forces to eradicate terrorist elements in the Horn of Africa.... MORE
Rebellion Without Reason: The Strange Survival of Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army
After decades of carrying out unspeakable atrocities and thousands of kidnappings in Central Africa, the elusive commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony, appears to have narrowly escaped capture by the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) twice in recent weeks. The UPDF emerged... MORE
A Profile of Shaykh Abdulcaadir Mumin: Al-Shabaab’s Leading Theological Guide
The appearance of Shaykh Abdulcaadir Mumin, alongside al-Shabaab’s senior leadership, in May 2011 at the group’s official press conference acknowledging Osama bin Laden’s death was something of a coming out for Mumin. Largely unknown outside the Somali-speaking community, he has until now lurked in the... MORE
November 2011 BRIEFS
TOP INDIAN MAOIST LEADER ELIMINATED IN WEST BENGAL Mallojula Koteshwar Rao (a.k.a. Kishenji), the military commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) (see Militant Leadership Monitor, April 2010), was killed November 24th in a shootout with the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in... MORE
Khartoum Besieged? : Sudan’s Rebel Movements Unite against the Center
Sudan’s military offensive against rebels in its southern Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan provinces has begun to spill over the new border with South Sudan with potentially devastating results for the region. As Khartoum descends into a severe financial crisis caused, in part, by the... MORE
BRIEFS
ISRAEL TO ASSIST KENYA IN BATTLE AGAINST AL-SHABAAB Kenyan reports say Israeli personnel will help secure potential targets in Kenya from terrorist attacks. The Israeli security experts are expected to start work in the next few weeks. According to Israeli ambassador Gil Haskel: “Israel is... MORE
Al-Qaeda and Algiers Struggle to Cope with the Implications of the Arab Spring
Al-Qaeda’s media arm released a video from Dr. Ayman al-Zawhiri in October that focused mainly on American “defeats,” but also offered the al-Qaeda leader’s views on Algeria. Al-Zawahiri called upon the people of Algeria to rise up against their government, which he claimed was guilty,... MORE
BRIEFS
KENYA’S NAVY JOINS COUNTERTERRORIST OPERATIONS OFF SOMALIA Kenya’s navy has joined the Kenyan military offensive in Somalia with operations designed to end al-Shabaab or third-party resupply or arms, fuel and other material to al-Shabaab-held territories in southern Somalia, secure Kenyan waters from terrorist infiltrators and... MORE