ADF

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Somalia’s elegant colonial villas were left in ruins by two decades of street fighting among warlords, and the seaside capital Mogadishu was dubbed the most dangerous city in the world. But now new housing estates are being built amid an economic boom as Somalis return from abroad and newly wealthy businessmen capitalize on the relative peace in the city. Seven kilometers outside Mogadishu in a formerly rural area, new homes are springing up, with almost 50 houses now ready on an estate, builders say. Mohamed Abdullahi Ali of Salaam Somali Bank said it was a “great honor” to…

MEDIA CLUB SOUTH AFRICA She is already a scientist, biologist and president of Mauritius. Now Ameenah Gurib-Fakim can add another role to her list. She has been appointed vice chairman and trustee of the Planet Earth Institute (PEI), an international nongovernmental organization striving for the scientific independence of Africa. “Mauritius has a proud track record of investing in scientific excellence and developing research,” she said. “In the future, science, technology and innovation will be vital in creating jobs and prosperity for our citizens in Mauritius and across the mainland African continent.” In November 2014, PEI opened an office in Mauritius…

Jubo Jubogha started out as a slave and ended up a king in what is now southern Nigeria. Along the way, he became one of the richest men of his time. Today he is remembered as one of the master strategists of the 19th century. Jubo, later named Jaja, was born in 1821 in a village in what is now Nigeria’s Imo State. As a boy, he was sold into slavery and sent to Chief Madu of the Anna House, one of the two royal family houses in the Bonny coastal region. In the 19th century, the Niger River Delta…

CLUES This town is East Africa’s oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement. Buildings were constructed with traditional Swahili techniques using coral, lime and mangrove poles. This community has been continuously inhabited for more than 700 years. Seafront buildings are known for their arcades and open verandas. ANSWER: Lamu Old Town, Kenya

ADF STAFF Known as the “Black Decade,” the 1990s in Algeria were devastating. After a decision by the military to intervene and cancel elections in 1992, insurgents unleashed near-daily attacks against civilian and governmental targets that were met by violent crackdowns from security forces. An estimated 200,000 people died in the civil war. When President Abdelaziz Bouteflika took power in 1999, he pledged to restore peace and make reconciliation a cornerstone of his administration. Efforts by the Algerian government to deradicalize two groups, the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) and the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), illustrate the promise and the difficulty of…

U.S. Africa Command Staff Some problems don’t have simple solutions. The confounding decision by a young man or woman to leave home and join a terror group such as ISIS, al-Shabaab or Boko Haram is one of those problems. An estimated 5,600 people have left Africa to fight in Iraq and Syria. ISIS and other terror groups with similarly twisted ideologies have successfully recruited on the continent and as far away as Western Europe and North America. These recruiters inhabit cyberspace, schools and places of worship. They promise all sorts of things, including a thrilling adventure and eternal salvation. A…

Kenya is experiencing a growing threat of terrorism and violent extremism due to a number of factors. One: We share a border of approximately 700 kilometers with Somalia, where al-Shabaab bases are located. The al-Shabaab are luring Kenyan youth and are using these bases in Somalia to recruit, radicalize, train and plan terrorist attacks against Kenya and the region. Two: We are subject to infiltration by extremists, a challenge that is complicated by the realities of our large, indigenous Somali population.  Three: We have also seen the use of protected spaces to foment violent extremism. Refugee camps are particularly vulnerable…

Programs to Deradicalize Extremists Are Necessary and Imperfect The idealized version of deradicalization is that it happens in an instant. A dedicated jihadist sees the light and chooses to walk away. In this version, he becomes horrified by the violence all around him and decides to abandon the cause. Unfortunately, the reality is much more complex. Just as people join extremist groups for many reasons, they leave for equally complex reasons. Economic incentives, theological persuasion, disillusionment or the death of a charismatic leader all can cause someone to turn his back on terror. And once he chooses to leave, the…

In the heart of Algeria’s northern Kabylie region, Azro Nethor — the zenith prayer rock — towers 1,884 meters above sea level, at the end of a steep path in the Atlas Mountains. On the rock’s summit sits El-Jammaa Oufella, which means “the mosque at the top.” It’s a small, stark place of worship. Inside, slim candles light the alcoves in its white walls. For three successive Fridays each August, thousands of people from Kabylie and Algiers flock to the mountain peak, wheezing in the suffocating heat, for a pilgrimage rooted in a belief in the powers of holy men.…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a committee to advise him on how best to tackle corruption and reform the legal system. The seven-member Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption is made up mostly of academics. Buhari was elected in May 2015, largely on promises of good governance and security. He has said he believes government officials have stolen about $150 billion from the public purse over the past decade. “The committee’s brief is to advise the present administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice…