Latest Articles about Africa
Yemen’s Role in al-Qaeda’s Strategy
Osama bin Laden has always had a very soft spot in his heart for Yemen, saying that it is “one of the best Arab and Muslim countries in terms of its adherence to tradition and the faith … [its] topography is mountainous, and its people... MORE
Oil and Jihad in Central Africa: The Rise and Fall of Uganda’s ADF
In the midst of all the horrors generated in Central Africa by the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the collapse of Zaire in 1997, a little known group of Islamist radicals has done its own part to contribute to the suffering. Based since 1996 in... MORE
Morocco’s Resistance to Regional Jihad
As 2007 draws to a close, the one year anniversary nears of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat’s (GSPC) official rebranding of itself as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) following its merger with Osama bin Laden’s group. With the change in name came... MORE
Imprisoned Leader of Egypt’s Islamic Jihad Challenges al-Qaeda
The Salafi-Jihadi ideology, the doctrine and constitution of al-Qaeda’s terrorists, is being re-evaluated by prominent Salafi-Jihadi ideologues. The same ideologues that previously sanctioned terrorist operations are now having second thoughts about the ideology behind many heinous terrorist acts. Last month Sayed Imam Abdulaziz al-Sharif, a... MORE
Al-Qaeda, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Jihad in North Africa
On November 3, 2007, a new video from al-Qaeda media production house as-Sahab was circulated on jihadi forums. Entitled “Unity of the Ranks,” the video featured senior al-Qaeda leaders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Laith al-Libi. This video marked the announcement of the long anticipated merger... MORE
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood: Political Islam Without al-Qaeda
The September 11, 2001 attacks inspired an unprecedented upsurge of interest in Middle East and Islamic studies within academic, policymaking and security circles in the United States. Now, more than ever, Americans are seeking to understand the circumstances that culminated in the worst terrorist attacks... MORE
UN/African Union Peacekeepers in Darfur Unlikely to Succeed
Despite optimistic predictions, the expected deployment of the “hybrid” United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) is in peril. It now seems there will be no peace to keep and no mandate capable of imposing it. Sudan is insisting that African troops comprise most... MORE
Recasting Jihad in the Maghreb
It has been a little over one year since Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the official merger between al-Qaeda and the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), and since that time the jihad in the Maghreb has passed through a tumultuous and dynamic period. On the... MORE
Proposed Yemen-Djibouti Bridge Threatens AFRICOM Security
Two major developments to unfold in the coming years signal Africa's growing strategic importance, especially the Horn of Africa (HoA). As of October 1, the African continent came under the auspices of a newly created U.S. military command, AFRICOM, establishing one staff responsible for affairs... MORE
Origins of the Niger Delta’s Deewell and Deebam Militias
Since January 2006, violence in Nigeria's delta region escalated dramatically as various militant groups and violent confraternities kidnapped Western energy workers in order to call attention to their political grievances. Most recently, kidnappings have begun to take on a more criminal nature, with kidnap-for-ransom schemes... MORE