Erdogan’s rivalry with Israel has a new front: Africa
The answer becomes clearer once the South African relationship is placed inside Turkey’s broader African buildup, which has been running for two decades and has little to do with Israel at all.
Mogadishu
Somalia claims it killed senior Shabaab leader
Somalia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced yesterday that its forces, alongside “international partners,” killed Maalin Jinow Ibrahim, a reported co-founder of Shabaab and a member of its central...
Op-eds
Shabaab spokesman congratulates JNIM, denounces Western powers in Eid message
Yesterday, as part of its annual celebrations for Eid al Adha, Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, released its usual speech for the occasion. Delivered by Shabaab’s official spokesman, Ali...
Op-eds
Shabaab celebrates October attack on Mogadishu prison in new video
In a new video posted online as a so-called Eid celebration, Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, highlighted and celebrated last year’s assault on the Godka Jilacow prison in Mogadishu, which...
Op-eds
The persistence of Israel’s ‘Periphery Doctrine’
The burgeoning relationship between Somaliland and Israel proves that the Jewish state is not hated and isolated in the region, despite the neighboring cluster of authoritarian states insisting otherwise.
Op-eds
Somali intelligence claims death of senior Shabaab leader
On January 1, Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) announced that it and “partner forces” killed senior Shabaab leader Abdullahi Osman, who is better known as Engineer...
Op-eds
Airstrikes only first step to stop Islamic terrorists on march through Africa
Thursday’s strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria signal an intensifying American fight against jihadist expansion across Africa. ISIS maintains a presence across the African continent, but...
Op-eds
Somalia reports death of Shabaab co-founder in ‘precision airstrike’
The Somali government stated on Monday that another co-founder of Shabaab is dead. The individual, identified as Mahmoud Abdi Hamud, better known as Jaafar Gurey, was reportedly killed in a “precision...
Op-eds
Shabaab claims prison assault in Mogadishu
Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu was yet again the victim of a brazen terrorist attack conducted by Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa. Yesterday, at least seven Shabaab gunmen stormed the...
Op-eds
Turkey is escalating tensions in the Mediterranean (again)
Turkey is once again stoking tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean – this time by undermining the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus while wagering that Washington and Brussels will look the other way....
Op-eds
Trump admin ups the tempo of airstrikes against jihadist groups in Somalia
The Trump administration is significantly increasing the rate of American strikes inside Somalia. In just the first three months of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has already...
Op-eds
Shabaab mounts coordinated assault north of Mogadishu
Since at least February 20, Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, has mounted a sizable offensive in southern and central Somalia between the Middle Shabelle and Hiraan regions. In some areas,...
Op-eds
US, UAE conducting airstrikes in northern Somalia
On February 1, the United States launched at least six airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Somalia’s semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland in support of that region’s current military...
Op-eds
Jihadi history: Kenyan detainee transferred out of Guantanamo shows the extent of Al Qaeda’s jihad in East Africa
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced yesterday that longtime Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu was transferred to his native Kenya. The Ugandan-born Kenyan national...
Op-eds
How Turkey Outplayed Egypt and the U.S. In The Horn Of Africa
Ankara’s recent geopolitical gains go beyond just Syria.
Op-eds
Somali forces turn their weapons on each other
Yesterday, the Somali National Army (SNA) of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in Mogadishu was routed from the southern Somali town of Ras Kamboni. This battle was not with the SNA’s typical enemy—Shabaab,...
Op-eds
Egypt and Ethiopia Tussle at UN Security Council as Nile Dam Tensions Escalate
As tensions escalate between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latest filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Ethiopian Foreign Minister Taye Atske-Selassie urged UN officials to “take note of Egypt’s repeated threat to use force against Ethiopia” in a letter to the UN Security Council (UNSC) dated September 6 ...
Flash Briefs
Egypt Deploys Troops, Weapons in Somalia, Raising Tensions in the Horn of Africa
Egypt is reportedly sending 10,000 troops to Somalia, in a move that signals a potential major escalation in the Horn of Africa. On August 29, two Egyptian military planes carrying...
Flash Briefs
Shabaab mounts large-scale offensive, Somali Armed Forces claim victory
In a coordinated, multi-pronged offensive, Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, assaulted multiple Somali National Army (SNA) bases across southern Somalia’s Lower Juba region yesterday. Each...
Op-eds
Jihadis mount prison mutinies across Africa
Over the last few days, jihadis have mounted two attacks inside prisons in Somalia and Niger. While the mutiny inside the Nigerien prison was successful, the Somali prison assault appears to have been...