Executive Summary Thailand has managed to secure the release of its 18 hostages from Hamas with the help of a Thai professor at al-Mustafa International University in Qom, who acted as a mediator. Thailand has avoided taking an explicitly critical position on Hamas, despite the... MORE

On August 29, a Thai police officer and two local defense volunteers were killed in an ambush in Yarang district in Pattani province, southern Thailand, where ethnic Malay Muslim militants have been waging an insurgency for decades. While the attack has not been claimed by... MORE

Introduction Since 1949, Myanmar has experienced the world’s longest ongoing armed conflict. Following the February 2021 coup, which overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, fighting has intensified, with nearly 3,000 people killed (Reliefweb, January 30). In addition, roughly 1.5 million people have been... MORE

The southern Thai ethnic Malay Muslim insurgency is comprised of various factions with similar goals, aiming collectively to achieve either autonomy or independence from Thailand and implement Islamic law. However, only one faction has consistently been committed to engaging with the Thai government through ongoing... MORE

Over the past two months, as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has rapidly rolled back its strict zero-COVID epidemic prevention policy, COVID-19 has spread rapidly throughout the country. The combination of the PRC reopening its borders to outbound travel on January 8 and the... MORE

The End of an Era: Has JNIM Finally Superseded AQIM? On December 23, the Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) released a video showing speeches about jihad by Abu Iyad al-Tunisi and Yahya Abu al-Humam when they were together in a hideout (Twitter... MORE

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on PLA military diplomacy. The first article focused on leader-level engagement. This piece examines specific areas of activity in the PLA’s military diplomacy. For part one, click here.  Despite some limitations, the People’s Liberation... MORE

Thai Military Continues Counter-Insurgency Operations Amid Peace Process Jacob Zenn Amid rising hopes for a more inclusive peace process in southern Thailand, the Thai military is continuing its counter-insurgency operations against ethnic Malay Muslim militants. This represents a strategy whereby the military is allowing talks... MORE

Uighur Jihadism Fades Into Obscurity Jacob Zenn A decade ago, at the onset of the Syrian civil war, Uighur militants joined the forefront of the jihadist movement. Originally based in Afghanistan, they comprised a sub-group of the Islamic Movement in Uzbekistan (IMU) and allied with... MORE

Islamic State Congo Steps up Attacks in Bid to Become its own Province Jacob Zenn The Congo branch of the Islamic State in Central Africa Province (ISCAP) is increasingly following the footsteps of the most prolific Islamic State (IS) affiliate, Islamic State in West Africa... MORE