Latest Articles about West Africa
From MUJWA to Macina: Amadou Kouffa’s Fulani-Led Jihad in Mali
Jacob Zenn One of the newest groups to emerge in the Sahelian jihadist landscape since 2015 is the Macina Liberation Front (FLM). Its leader, Amadou Kouffa, however, is unlike other leaders in the region. He does not crave publicity or appear in “jihadist videos” to... MORE
Islamic State and West Africa
2015 marked the year when “Boko Haram” evolved from an ostensibly domestic-rooted and globally unaffiliated militant group into a “Province” in the Islamic State’s global structure. This transition was formalized on March 7, 2015, when “Boko Haram” leader Abubakr Shekau pledged baya’a, or allegiance, to... MORE
The Sahel’s Militant ‘Melting Pot’: Hamadou Kouffa’s Macina Liberation Front (FLM)
After the French-led military intervention in northern Mali in 2013, the leading jihadist groups there, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), its affiliate Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) and its local “front group” Ansar Dine, dispersed from the towns they... MORE
BRIEFS
BERLIN KNIFE ATTACK, WAVE OF ARRESTS UNDERLINES GERMAN RADICALIZATION THREAT James Brandon A known radical Islamist stabbed and wounded a policewoman in Berlin on September 17, and was subsequently shot dead (DW, September 17). The attacker, a 41-year-old ethnic Kurdish Iraqi man called Rafik Mohamad... MORE
Conflict at a Crossroads: Can Nigeria Sustain Its Military Campaign Against Boko Haram?
Expectations that the election of new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari would lead to effective military measures against northeast Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants have been dashed in recent weeks as the terrorist group carried out strikes on Chad and Niger, in addition to an intensified campaign... MORE
Mindful of the Islamic State, Boko Haram Broadens Reach into Lake Chad Region
In early January 2015, many foreign and domestic observers of Nigeria focused on whether Boko Haram would ramp up its attacks to disrupt the February 14, 2015 Nigerian presidential elections, between incumbent Goodluck Jonathan (often characterized as the “southern Christian” candidate) and Muhammad Buhari (the... MORE
Maritime Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: A Greater Role for China?
While concerted anti-piracy measures, undertaken since 2008, have steadily decreased the number of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden, those in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) attract growing attention. Geographically, the GoG designates the vast Atlantic coast stretching from Angola to Senegal. The growing... MORE
Boko Haram’s Man in Cameroon: Alhaji Abdalla
Since Boko Haram kidnapped seven members of the French Moulin-Fournier family in February 2013, its first major operation in Cameroon, the militant group’s operations in Cameroon have steadily increased. Throughout 2014, Boko Haram attempted to seize control of the four most important border points connecting... MORE
Boko Haram’s Emerging Caliphate in Nigeria: Will Maiduguri Fall?
On August 29, several hundred Boko Haram militants stormed the town of Gwoza in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State. Government buildings were taken over and churches destroyed, while local inhabitants were told that the town will be governed according to Shari’a (Sahara Reporters, August 12). A... MORE
Boko Haram’s ‘Borno Kidnapping Duo’: Hafsat Bako and Babuji Yaari
Boko Haram militants dressed in Nigerian military fatigues kidnapped 276 girls, almost all of them Christians, from a secondary school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State on April 15, 2014. Boko Haram leader Abubakr Shekau claimed responsibility for the attack in a split-screen video... MORE