Alonso Soto Record cocaine busts in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde have fueled fears of a resurgence of drug trafficking in West Africa that's likely to benefit Islamist militant groups in the region. Authorities in the two former Portuguese colonies have intercepted as much as 10.4 metric tons of cocaine this year, more
Tag: West Africa
Pirates abduct 6 Russian Sailors off west Africa coast
Six Russian Sailors have been abducted by pirates off the coast of Benin republic, the Russian Embassy in the West African nation said on Saturday. Among those taken hostage was the captain of the vessel, the embassy said, adding that all of the sailors have “vanished.’’ The abductees were Russian nationals. There were
Jihadism entrenches itself in Burkina Faso with bullets and bribes
Patrick Fort Once-bustling markets are hushed, popular bars are shut and tourists no longer venture to local sights in areas threatened by the encroachment of armed Islamist insurgents in eastern and northern Burkina Faso. "Before, in the time of highway robbers, we managed better, but with the jihadists it's really serious," said
How US military is expanding counterterrorism war across Africa
As the Pentagon was reviewing new plans for special operations missions in Africa, reducing overall troop numbers on the continent, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis designated three new named contingency operations. The most recent quarterly report from the Department of Defense Inspector General notes the creation of Operation Yukon Journey, a counterinsurgency operation, and counterterrorism operations in
group accuses AI of plotting to replace boko haram with another sect
The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism, CATE, has accused the Amnesty International, AI, of plotting to replace the Boko Haram sect with another deadly terror group. CATE said AI’s penchant for distortion of facts was a deliberate attempt to create an enabling environment for the spawning of terrorism in West Africa. The
Stopping the spread of terror onto West Africa’s coast
Preventing the spillover of violent extremism from the Sahel is better than having to counter it later. By michaël Matongbada A rising number of attacks by gunmen this year have shaken the eastern part of Burkina Faso, increasing insecurity in the area. Although no group has claimed responsibility, the attackers are believed
VOA sacks 15 Hausa Service staff over ‘brown envelopes’
David Jones and Dan Joseph The Voice of America (VOA) announced Thursday it has fired or proposed to terminate more than half the members of its Hausa language service following an investigation that found the individuals had accepted improper payments (regarded as brown envelopes) from a foreign official in West Africa. Amanda
New Ebola virus found in Sierra Leone
Senegal convicts 13 suspected Boko haram fighters
Senegal's criminal court sentenced 13 people to prison for attempting to establish a homegrown cell modelled after Boko Haram in the West Africa country. One of those jailed by the Dakar court on Thursday was Makhtar Diokhane, described as the ringleader of the group. He was handed a 20-year prison term. "The court was
Using the justice system to counter terrorism in West Africa
By Romi Sigsworth West Africa shows the challenges of shifting from military strategies to human rights and justice based responses. Global policy says states should deal with terrorism in their own courts, through fair criminal justice processes. In practice however, military and security strategies have been the norm worldwide over the past