West Africa

Hezbollah’s Financing Strategies: Recovering From War With Israel

Iran has spent more than four decades building Hezbollah into a force capable of making war against Israel in hopes of one day destroying the Jewish state. Israeli forces have inflicted tremendous damage on Hezbollah’s leadership, arsenal, and manpower, yet the terror group is rebuilding, thanks in no small part to its globe-spanning illicit finance network. To shed greater light on this crucial subject, FDD has invited Israeli expert Dr. Iftah Burman to provide a robust overview of the transnational web of enterprises, stretching across the Middle East — and from Latin America to West Africa and into cyberspace — that sustains Hezbollah’s aggression. This work provides information essential to intelligence and law enforcement agencies in every country, including the United States, that recognizes the severity of Hezbollah’s threat to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East.

The Right Target in Addressing Anti-Christian Violence in Nigeria

In May, American and Nigerian forces collaborated to eliminate Abu Musab al-Minuki, a leader in ISIS and its Nigerian affiliate, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Killing al-Minuki...

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...

Why Christian persecution is Trump’s new foreign policy roadmap

During his first term, President Donald Trump made fighting Christian persecution around the world a foreign policy priority. In his second term, it has become something more than that. The...

Washington Killed an ISIS Commander in Nigeria, but Has More to Do in West Africa

Nigeria’s Christians are among the most persecuted in the world. They face threats from Muslim Fulani herdsmen who have raided villages and killed hundreds of believers. They also face threats from terror...

Why the United States Should Pay More Attention to the War in Mali

The ongoing civil war in Mali—where a jihadist group is poised to seize power—is spilling over into Nigeria, with ominous humanitarian consequences.

US, Nigerian forces kill senior Islamic State leader

The US military, “in coordination with the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” killed Abu Bilal al Minuki, a top Islamic State leader, and other unnamed commanders in an operation in northeastern Nigeria...

Modernization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act

To Squeeze Hezbollah, Look to West Africa

With Iran blockaded and weakened, Hezbollah may be increasingly dependent on its West African financial schemes.

Aiding the abduction of Ukrainian children must come with consequences

“They do not like the light of day. They’re like vampires,” former U.S. War Crimes Ambassador David Crane said about private corporations and their leaders that facilitate war...

JNIM and allied rebels surge across Mali, take several cities, pressure capital

Beginning on Saturday, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), and its allies in the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a collection of Tuareg and Arab rebel groups, fully or partially...

U.S. Launches Effort To Address Christian Persecution in Nigeria

The Trump administration has launched an effort to help protect Nigerian Christians. In response to escalating attacks by armed Islamists, Washington established a joint working group to offer American...

The war against Christians

President Trump is giving attention to this matter

Kidnapping of U.S. Missionary Shines Light on Persecution of Christians in Africa

Concern is growing over the whereabouts of Kevin Rideout, an American missionary abducted on October 21 in the West African state of Niger. The seizure of this 48-year-old pilot, who works for...

American abducted by suspected jihadists in Niger

On Tuesday, Kevin Rideout, an American missionary in the West African state of Niger, was abducted from his home in the country’s capital, as first reported by CBS News. Rideout had lived in Niamey...

50 Years of Anti-Zionist Propaganda: Why the UN’s ‘Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People’ Must Be Dismantled

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...

Iraqi intel busts Islamic State financial network in West Africa

The Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) announced yesterday that it rolled up an Islamic State (IS) financial network that spanned three unspecified West African countries. According to Iraqi media...

Hezbollah continues exploiting Canadian vehicular theft and money-laundering schemes

Last week, the Canadian government issued its 2025 report assessing money laundering and terrorist financing risks in Canada. The report noted that Hezbollah was using both illicit and otherwise...

10 Things to Know About Tehran’s Propaganda Network, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting

Israel struck the Tehran headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on June 16, damaging a key regime media organ. IRIB is far from an independent news channel. Rather, it is a tool...