Al-Qaeda

ADF STAFF In Somalia, terror group al-Shabaab has spent years gaining and losing ground. But in the digital domain, al-Shabaab has limitless space in which to expand. It’s where one of the world’s best-financed terror groups spreads its…

ADF STAFF Rampant terrorism has destabilized the Sahel for years and played a role in military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Despite their promises of security, the juntas have largely failed to stop terror attacks. Hundreds of…

ADF STAFF When reports surfaced in late April that the Burkinabe Army massacred hundreds of civilians, its military-led government sprang into action. It suspended a host of media outlets, blocked websites, and shut down radio and…

ADF STAFF Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023 emerged as the region with the highest number of terrorist attacks worldwide, a new report finds. The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS) Armed Conflict Survey 2023 tracked the…

ADF STAFF Mali’s ruling junta has repeatedly pledged to restore peace to the country after using the terror threat as justification for coups in 2020 and 2021. But violence in the country has risen steadily over the past year and it…

ADF STAFF Armed men kidnapped at least 66 women, girls and babies who were out searching for food in northern Burkina Faso, near the Mali border, in early 2023. The victims were likely forced to scour the bush for food due to…

ADF STAFF A dramatic rise in attacks by al-Shabaab extremists has scuttled plans to reopen the border between Somalia and Kenya, which closed in 2011. Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Minister Kithure Kindiki made several visits to the region in…

ADF STAFF Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack that killed six civilians and three Soldiers at the Pearl Beach Hotel restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, in early June. The attack, which started with a bomb blast and ended in…

ADF STAFF Residents of Dofinega, a village in central Burkina Faso, heard the rumble of approaching motorcycles in January. The motorcycles carried 40 gunmen wearing fatigues and turbans. A local woman anonymously told Human Rights…

ADF STAFF Although military and intelligence operations have weakened al-Qaida in recent years, the extremist group is trying to make a comeback, and its focus is on Africa. A recent report by Modern Diplomacy noted that the “primary…