Tag: terrorism
Feature: The last word from Africom Commander Michael Langley
General Michael E Langley, a four-star general in the United States Marine Corps, is the sixth person to hold the role of Commander of...
Civil society remains the untapped link in improvised explosive device threat...
Improvised explosive device (IED) attacks lead to bodily harm and deaths of thousands of people (security forces and civilian). There were 357 619 reported...
Can West African nations come together to stop terrorism spreading?
On 8 January, members of the violent extremist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims attacked a fortified position of the anti-terrorist Operation...
Recent attacks in Mozambique underscore Islamist insurgency’s growing confidence and resurgence
The Islamic State (IS), on 10 May, claimed that its Mozambique affiliate, Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama’ah (ASWJ) – also known as IS-Mozambique – killed...
Lake Chad Basin insurgents raise the stakes with weaponised drones
The 24 December 2024 attack on Nigeria’s Forward Operating Base in Wajiroko in the country’s north-east, marked the first known instance of a terrorist...
Decades of security cooperation under threat in Lake Chad Basin
Niger has suspended its participation in the Multinational Joint Task Force, and Chad has threatened to withdraw.
In March 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission...
Interpol operation nabs 37 terror suspects in eight African countries
Suspected members of ISIS and Al Shabaab were amongst those detained by Interpol and Afripol in a joint operation in eight East African countries....
Top UN body hears Africa is world terrorism epicentre
Last year saw more than 3 400 terror attacks in Africa with a fatality count in excess of 13 900, the United Nations Security...
Recalibrating coastal West Africa’s response to violent extremism
Extremist violence in the Sahel is spilling over into coastal West African countries.
Governments in coastal West African countries play the leading role in responding...
Fighting a common enemy: The role of private security in counterterrorism
Terrorism remains a pervasive global threat, with its complex manifestations and far-reaching consequences necessitating a multifaceted response. A report by the Private Security Industry...
Africa’s constantly evolving militant Islamist threat
The threat from militant Islamist groups in Africa over the past decade has steadily grown—with almost three times the number of annual violent events...
Root causes of Cabo Delgado terrorism need to be addressed –...
Until the world understands – and addresses – the root causes of the crisis in Cabo Delgado, there will never be a lasting solution,...
Terrorism is spreading in west Africa – foreign and regional collaboration...
The United States military has completed its withdrawal from Niger after 11 years of military cooperation with the west African country.
This follows a major...
Countries use an alternative counterterrorism approach: Economic development
After years of fighting terrorism in the Sahel, experts say one counterterror tool has been badly neglected: economic development.
Job creation and economic growth can...
Organized crime fuels terror in Sahel nations
The military juntas leading Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have pledged to confront the terrorist groups plaguing their countries. However, a recent United Nations...
Majority of Islamic State group attacks target African countries
The Islamic State group (IS) claims that it committed 788 attacks globally in the first half of 2024. Of those attacks, 536 were in...
Will al-Shabaab get stronger in Ethiopia? Two reasons why it’s unlikely...
There have been numerous reports of arrests of al-Shabaab insurgents, the dismantling of an al-Shabaab terrorist network and interception of arms in Ethiopia in...
Chad’s break with France: why it happened and what it means...
For over six decades, Chad was a crucial ally to French and US forces in their counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel. But both lost...
Cattle rustling: a lifeline for Boko Haram in the Lake Chad...
In Africa, transnational cattle rustling – the forceful theft of livestock for illicit commercial gain – is increasingly linked to organised criminal and terrorist...
Can ECOWAS revive its counter-terrorism efforts?
In 2019, leaders of West African countries adopted the ambitious 2020-2024 Priority Action Plan to Eradicate Terrorism in the Economic Community of West African...
Africa seen as “greatest global generator of jihadi violence”
Africa, according to a recently published research paper, has the “overall notorious reputation of being the greatest global generator of jihadi violence”.
Statistics, the Middle...
Nigeria’s terror group Lakurawa is nothing new – it exists because...
The Nigerian army has spoken of attacks on the Niger-Nigeria border in 2024 as being carried out by a new terrorist group.
"This sect is...
Mozambique the most overt manifestation of terrorism in southern Africa
Terrorist activity in Mozambique is the most prominent and overt manifestation of jihadi terrorism in southern Africa, according to a new report.
The Middle East...
Nigeria strives to contain banditry problem
On Christmas Day in 2023, fighters commonly called “bandits” killed more than 115 people in northern Nigeria. The bandits destroyed more than 220 homes...
South Africa facing three major terrorism threats – expert
Right wing extremist groups, Islamist terrorism, and generating funding for terrorist networks are the three main terrorism threats facing South Africa, according to Institute...
Community-oriented policing: missing link in AU counter-terrorism operations
Since 2018, Africa has been the global epicentre of violent extremism, with devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of millions, especially civilians. Over...
Terrorist attacks multiply in junta-led countries
The number of violent events involving extremist groups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has nearly doubled since 2021.
That is according to a Reuters...
Terror attacks increase in Togo as Sahel extremists encroach
Violent extremist organizations from northern Benin and Burkina Faso are increasingly targeting northern Togo as conflicts from the Sahel spill into coastal countries.
Four people...
Capitalising on Operation Lake Sanity’s success against Boko Haram
Operation Lake Sanity has had some success against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin, but the insurgents will soon adapt to the new...
ISIS-K’s expanding ops encompass media propaganda and military fronts in Africa
The ever-evolving threat posed by ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) was a key focus of the recent Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Ministerial (D-ISIS Ministerial) meeting, with...
Africa facing significant security and stability headwinds – Africom
African nations are facing complex and layered threats to their stability and security, with significant headwinds across the continent, according to General Michael Langley,...
Langley’s Africom East Africa trip highlights resilience, commitment amid ongoing terrorism...
US Marine Corps General Michael Langley, the commander of US Africa Command (Africom), recently visited Somalia, which he described as reinforcing the United States'...
Suicide bombings in Nigeria: tactic is back after a four-year break...
Nigeria’s first suicide bombing since 2020 took place in June 2024 with four coordinated attacks that killed at least 30 people.
The attacks took place...
US military is leaving Niger even less secure: why it didn’t...
The United States is winding down its military operations in Niger ahead of a mid-September deadline agreed with the country’s ruling military junta.
The landlocked...
Growing danger of terrorist jailbreaks in West Africa
The attack on the well-fortified Koutoukale prison in Niger’s Tillabéri Region on 11 July followed two failed attempts in 2016 and 2019. In this...
Mali is still unsafe under the military: why it hasn’t made...
The scale of casualties suffered by the Wagner group and Malian forces during a recent assault in the Tinzaouaten region reveal vulnerability in Mali’s...
Al-Shabaab is 18 years old: six factors behind the Somali militant...
The United Nations security council unanimously voted on 15 August 2024 to extend the mandate of the 12,626 men and women of the African...
Countering terrorism in Africa requires effective multilateral responses
Growing terrorism is a major threat to international peace and security and needs greater attention, while the South African Government must be bold and...
MNJTF making inroads into Boko Haram
Last week’s joint steering committee of the Lake Chad basin-based Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) heard the force’s Operation Lake Sanity 2 in recent...
Nigeria and UK host counter-MANPADS workshop
Recognising the availability of man portable missiles and rockets to terror groups as a continued threat to civil and military aviation, the Nigerian National...
US military completes withdrawal from Air Base 201 in Niger
The United States military has completed the withdrawal of its forces and assets from Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, in line with plans...
Terror attacks and kidnappings spread in Nigeria: why Lagos could be...
Crimes that were previously associated with Nigeria’s northern region – like kidnapping for ransom and terrorism – appear to be spreading to the south-west...
US deeply concerned about growing terrorism in Africa and democratic backsliding
The United States is gravely concerned about the increase of terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel, as well as democratic backsliding, and urges...
Terrorism rebounds in Nigeria
Nigeria recorded its first increase in terrorism in three years in 2023, with total deaths rising by 34% to 524, marking Nigeria’s highest death...
Somalia army vs al-Shabaab: as African Union troops leave, which is...
The African Union (AU) has gradually reduced its troop numbers in Somalia since late 2017, from a peak of over 22 000 to about...
Burkina Faso takes over from Afghanistan as most terrorism-affected country
Last year Burkina Faso surpassed Afghanistan as the country most impacted by terrorism, with nearly 2 000 deaths as the global terrorism epicentre shifts...
Cash-in-transit heists akin to terrorism, says Fidelity CEO
The cash-in-transit (CIT) industry is fighting a silent war akin to terrorism, Fidelity Services Group chief executive officer Wahl Bartmann said on Thursday.
Bartmann told...
Islamic State group uses ‘da’wah’ to gain support in Mozambique
Extremists linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province are notorious for raiding and torching entire towns, beheading civilians and...
Burkina Faso acquires more military vehicles and UAVs
Burkina Faso continues to build up its military amid ongoing terror attacks, and to this end has taken delivery of Bayraktar Akinci unmanned aerial...
Boko Haram factional violence worries Islamic State
In October 2023, Boko Haram’s JAS faction (Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad) launched major offensives against the group’s other faction – Islamic State West Africa...
