Executive Summary China`s strategic interests in Sub-Saharan Africa are diverse and, while still being primarily guided by the need to maintain access to locally extracted raw materials, now go beyond this goal. In fact, growing investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and green energy are likely to... MORE

In July 2021, an emir in Jigawa State in northern Nigeria announced that Jigawa was “the most peaceful state in the country” and that the state had “no problem [with] Boko Haram,” referring to Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) (dailypost.ng, July 6, 2021).... MORE

Historically, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were among the most effective al-Qaeda affiliates globally. After announcing its formation and affiliation with al-Qaeda in 2007, AQIM conducted frequent suicide bombings and ambushes of Algerian security forces, while AQAP... MORE

The town of Menaka, Mali has been a battleground for jihadists since the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) captured the town in 2012. At that time, MUJWA was an offshoot from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) led by Malian Arabs... MORE

On March 20, al-Qaeda’s Sahelian affiliate, Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) released two hostages, Olivier Dubois and Jeffery Woodke (from France and the US, respectively). The former was a journalist abducted in northern Mali in 2021 and the latter was an aid... MORE

The current Nigerian vice-president, Bola Tinubu, was declared the victor in the February 25 presidential elections by the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1 (punchng.com, March 1). Only four days before the election, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) released a... MORE

In October 2022, the ruling junta of Burkina Faso began a campaign to recruit 50,000 civilians to join its volunteer defense force, known as the Volontaires pour la Défense de la Patrie (VDP) (Jeune Afrique, November 1, 2022). The junta claimed that it needs these... MORE

When Muhammadu Buhari was elected Nigerian president in 2015, he notoriously stated that Boko Haram was “technically defeated” (punchng.com, February 6, 2016). A former military general who has seen civil war, coups, and other internal and regional conflicts, Buhari expected that Boko Haram would be... MORE

On January 8, voters in Benin went to the polls to select the new Parliament. The overall turnout was not particularly high at 38.66 percent, but it was still higher than the last parliamentary election held in 2019, where only 23 percent of the country... MORE

The broad coalition built last week for supplying main battle tanks to Ukraine signifies a new surge in strengthening the unity of the US-led Western alliance, and Russia has had no response to this upgrade. It will take a few months to train and equip... MORE