Jeff Seldin It was March 2018, approximately five months after U.S.-backed forces had declared victory in the battle for the Islamic State terror group's Syrian capital of Raqqa. And Afghan officials had reason to worry. Intelligence suggested the fallout from that victory had been making its way, slowly but surely, to their
Tag: West Africa
AU, FG seeks new narrative for youths as ‘agents of violence, insurgency’
Godsgift Onyedinefu The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that efforts towards sustainable peace and security in Nigeria, West African Region and African continent will remain a mirage if the youthful population are still perceived as prepators of violence, insurgency and other security issues. The Minister for Youths and sports Development,
German’s Chancellor, Merkel kicks off West Africa tour pledging to support fight against terrorism
Boosting counter-terrorism support for countries in West Africa has become one of Angela Merkel's main priorities on the continent. The chancellor has now pledged millions to improve security in the Sahel region. German Chancellor Angela Merkel started her tour of West Africa on Wednesday, a trip that will see her visit Burkina
ISIS’s West African offshoot is following al Qaeda’s rules for success
•The amorphous Boko Haram splinter group is taking inspiration where it can get it and bringing disaster to the Lake Chad Basin in the process. Philip Obaji Jr. In the last five months, the insurgent group has gained a grim kind of momentum, establishing itself in new towns in northeastern Nigeria and
ISIS defeated — but in West Africa, extremism gets worse
Siobhan O'Grady and Danielle Paquette Days after President Trump declared the Islamic State’s caliphate had been eliminated in Syria, the prime minister ofone of West Africa’s most turbulent nations urged the United States to shift attention to a rising extremist threat in the Sahel. Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga visited Washington
Special Report: Countering militancy in the Sahel
An overview of our recent reporting on the causes and humanitarian consequences of violent extremism in West Africa. Obi Anyadike Violent jihadism continues to gain ground in West Africa, ramping up humanitarian needs in a region where 18.5 million people already require aid. IRIN spent a year reporting from the Sahel to better understand what
Record cocaine busts signal West Africa is transit hub again
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
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