Corruption in Military Defense Spending Could Be Behind Rise in Africa Terror Attacks
A series of recent terror attacks across Africa have raised fears of a new wave of extremist violence From Somalia in the east to the Western Sahel, Africa’s hotspots started getting hotter over the past week with a series of terror attacks that have raised fears of a new wave of extremist violence. Terrorism analysts have positedthat al-Qaeda is vying for attention and territory with upstart ISIS in a region rife with instability. But as much as terrorist groups thrive on go
Al-Shabab seizes African Union base in Somalia
Al-Shabab militants have overrun an African Union military base outside the southern Somali town of el-Ade. The Islamist group says it has taken "complete control" of the AU camp and killed more than 60 Kenyan soldiers. Residents told the BBC that al-Shabab had raised its flag at a camp for Kenyan troops and said insurgents had paraded bodies through the town. But Kenya's army spokesman said it was a nearby Somali base that was stormed and Kenyan troops counter-attacked. The
As ISIS Expands In North Africa, Morocco Faces Rising Threat Of Islamic State Group Terrorism
Morocco’s rippled sand dunes, sheltered coves and white sand beaches have long lured tourists looking for a taste of the Maghreb without compromising security. The narrow country, which borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, has been hailed for years as a success story in the Arab world and the last safe haven in North Africa. But a surge in Islamic State group supporters is threatening that stability. With a Muslim majority population, high youth unemployment
Burundi: 900 deaths estimated as conflict between Nkurunziza and opposition rages on
The death toll in Burundi may have been greatly underestimated, with latest numbers almost double that of the United Nation's December estimates, a political analyst specialised in Burundian affairs has claimed. Burundi's deadly violence erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced a controversial decision to run for a third term, which he won in contested elections in July. The opposition said he was violating the constitution's two-term limit as well as the Arusha ag
Nigeria’s President Orders New Probe Into Chibok Abductions
Boko Haram took the 219 girls in April 2014 Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a new investigationinto the kidnapping of 219 schoolgirls, almost two years after their abduction by Boko Haram. The Islamist extremists took the girls from the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014, inciting a worldwide social media campaignto #BringBackOurGirls that spread awareness about the group and its series of abductions. National Security Adviser Babagana Munguno will name mem
Women Say They Are Being Raped as Part of the President of Burundi’s Fight to Keep Power
Tension in the country is at its highest since the 1994 Rwanda genocide Douce, 22, was standing with 4 other women when the men – dressed in police and military uniforms, armed with rifles and pistols – burst into their compound. They forced the women inside, firing into the air and demanding the women undress. “If you don’t take off your clothes, we’re going to kill you,” Douce recalls being told, describing the gang rape that occurred during a military and police search in
Witness Somalia’s Resilience After Decades of War
A photographer shows a civil war-torn country that “resists and rises again.” The sunbathed half-mile stretch of road that links the Aden Adde International Airport and the Peace Hotel in Mogadishu, once named by TIME the “best hotel in hell,” is interrupted by at least seven security checkpoints: four at the airport, sporting metal detectors and concrete barriers, and three at the hotel – such are the measures taken to prevent Al-Shabaab’s assaults threatening Mogadishu ever
