Introduction While Algeria is going through a period of instability, another country in the Maghreb-Sahel region is also experiencing a power transition—Mauritania (see Hot Issue, March 16). This transitional process should, despite the risks posed by jihadist groups, be smoother than Algeria’s. On January 15, ... MORE

Al-Shabaaab, the Somalia-based terror group, has been largely portrayed as a male organization in its more-than-decade-long operational history, but it’s now emerging that women are also at the center of one of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies. The group, al-Qaeda’s terror network affiliate in East Africa, is... MORE

The northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara, has reportedly experienced more than 180 deaths and 300 kidnappings in March 2019 alone (Twitter.com/A_Salkida, March 17). Zamfara has otherwise avoided much of the militancy that has haunted northern Nigeria in the past several years. So, what explains this... MORE

Introduction On August 1, 2017, China opened its first overseas military base, in the East African nation of Djibouti. This was a landmark event that raised a whole host of questions for Indo-Pacific states: Is Djibouti the first of other bases to come? If so,... MORE

Executive Summary  On February 10, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika made a decision to run for a fifth mandate. This decision triggered nationwide protests, showing how the regime might have been formally stable but has grown increasingly unsustainable, particularly among the country’s younger population. After weeks... MORE

Islamic State Fighters Regroup in Iraq, Rebuild Support and Smuggling Networks  Brian M. Perkins The past several weeks has seen a surge in Islamic State (IS) attacks in Iraq as the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attempt to make a final push to eradicate IS... MORE

Three months after an Islamic State-inspired cell slayed two Scandinavian hikers in Imlil, authorities continue to uncover more and more small terrorist cells. Many of these groups are comprised of similar individuals—disenfranchised or previously imprisoned Moroccans with financiers and planners currently in Europe or those... MORE

Ten weeks into massive street protests in Sudan, anger at the three-decade-old regime of President Omar al-Bashir has begun to spread well beyond Khartoum. Unsure of support from the army (supposedly his powerbase), Bashir has unleashed counter-terrorist paramilitaries against the demonstrators. Though the 75-year-old Bashir... MORE

Background Tunisia is currently going through a very delicate phase in its development. Political tensions are intensifying with the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of 2019. The two parties that formed the coalition government, Ennahda and Nida Tounes, are campaigning in open... MORE

At the end of January 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to the Maghreb, visiting Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. According to Lavrov’s spokesperson, the trip was conceived to discuss the state of “bilateral relations […] and the regional and international situation” in addition to... MORE