Expert Foreign Policy, Security & Financial News
Burkina Faso, West Africa has some of the most dangerous borders in the world--with Mali and Niger as its neighbors it's only a matter of time before the chaos spills over. Burkina Faso has enjoyed peaceful times even at the heights of the War in Mali, but recently Islamic Terror Groups (ITGs) operating in Mali are starting to gain support inside Burkina Faso. One of the most … [Read more...] about Burkina Faso: Ansar ul Islam attack leaves a dozen militants dead
Ukraine Conflict: Dzerzhynske (Donetsk Oblast) Background: The War in Donbass is an armed conflict in the Donbass region of Ukraine. From the beginning of March 2014, protests by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine--together commonly known as the "Donbass," in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and … [Read more...] about Ukraine Conflict Report: Dzerzhynske, an in-depth look at the front line
Mali: Terrorism Report Background: The Northern Mali Conflict On 16 January 2012, several insurgent groups began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence and greater autonomy for northern Mali, an area known as Azawad. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make Azawad an independent homeland for the … [Read more...] about Mali: Terrorism Report
In light of recent events in Niger where four US Special Forces soldiers were killed, many people are wondering: who are these terror groups operating in Africa? How many terrorist groups are in Africa? There is no short story to the history of terrorism in Africa, and there have long been Islamic terror groups operating in the region. I will do my best in this article to give … [Read more...] about Africa: the next frontier? An in-depth rundown of prominent terrorist organizations in Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa, trouble keeps expanding in the form of new branches of extremist terror and criminal organizations. The question today is: Who is the Islamic State in the greater Sahara? The easy answer to that question is they are an Islamic State affiliation, which means they fall in line with Al Baghdadi's group in Syria and Iraq. IS has been making moves in Africa … [Read more...] about Islamic State in the Greater Sahara: Who are they?
By now if you have been following the Ukrainian conflict, you will have seen or noticed and organization that calls themselves the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) the guys driving around eastern Ukraine in white Toyota Landcruisers. Below is a mission statement from their website. Who we are The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that … [Read more...] about Op-Ed: The OSCE Monitoring Mission- Ukraine
We all have read the history books about living in trenches and thinking, "My god that must suck so bad!..." well guys I can confirm that the trench life is hardcore. It's not often these days that our soldiers get to experience trench warfare, the battlefields of today are not conventional where one might see the use of a trench, it is all about counterinsurgency warfare. … [Read more...] about SOFREP reports from Ukraine: Regressing to WWI tactics
In the last month or so we have seen a flare-up in the fighting in east Ukraine, there are a number of theories behind this but that's not what this piece is about. For me, it was a place where fighting was a day-to-day business. Nothing had changed, just a bit more coverage than usual. So for me, it was time to head back out there, to my home away from home. I decided that … [Read more...] about SOFREP on the front lines of Ukraine: Trench warfare continues despite ceasefire
The situation here in Ukraine is one that is all too familiar with the promise of a new ceasefire that bears no weight. I think the problem is that when we think of the word ceasefire in the west, we think "no shooting, period." Well, here in Ukraine it's a word that is used very loosely. It's something to use to stall the west or even fool the Ukrainian population. Maybe … [Read more...] about SOFREP in Ukraine, boots on the ground update
Monday, February 20th, the new ceasefire agreement is in full swing across the front line of Ukraine, but is it going to hold up? I was in one of the front-line villages in last few days, and the Russian-backed rebels have dropped everything on them from AGS (Automatic grenade launcher), 82mm mortars, 120mm mortars to Grad rockets. It was 7 am Monday morning as the sun was … [Read more...] about SOFREP reporting from Ukraine: Ceasefire update
So here we are again boys and girls another ceasefire in Ukraine, to be honest, I knew about this yesterday but I didn't really see the point in writing something up on it. My reason for this is in the last 2 year of me being here on and off, I have heard the word "ceasefire" so many times, it just became a joke between us. This new ceasefire agreement means nothing in my eyes … [Read more...] about Reporting from Ukraine: The New Ceasefire
The commander of the "DNR" (Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic) "Somali" Mikhail Tolstoy, known as "Givi" was killed in Donetsk DNR leader Somali, better know as Givi, a 35-year-old commander died in his office in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Reports claim that he was killed by a portable rocket system, this was fired directly into the office were Givi was … [Read more...] about SOFREP reporting from Ukraine: The commander of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic killed
On February 2nd, the war in Ukraine turned up a few notches. It would seem that the once frozen war is escalating back to the old days. With major shelling in Avdiivka and shelling near the port town of Mariupol. The Russian-backed rebels have some fire in their loins, and some people here in Kiev think this is down to the President Trump's relationship with President Putin. … [Read more...] about SOFREP reporting from Ukraine: The war heats up
Sorry for the delay on this article, guys. I was going to walk you through the groups operating in the area. Then I see that my fellow SOFREP writer Derek Gannon did a great job explaining the main groups involved in this article, so I decided it was best to have a rethink and take you down a different route. I have decided to share my thoughts on those who have been taken in … [Read more...] about These five Westerners were kidnapped in Sub-Saharan Africa. Who has them now?
