Mali

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 Tuareg people, had […]

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 […]

When many Americans woke up one morning in October to discover that two US Special Forces soldiers and one support soldier were killed in an ambush in Niger, they were incredulous.  Why are American troops in Niger?  How is Niger important to the United States strategically?  How could our highly trained Special Forces soldiers be […]

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 […]

Three United Nations troops were killed and five others were seriously injured on Sunday by an explosion in Mali, underscoring the dangers facing the four-year-old peacekeeping mission in the country. The forces were escorting a convoy around 7 a.m. along a road connecting the village of Anéfis to the city of Gao in northern Mali when […]

Gunmen attacked a United Nations peacekeeping base in the northern Mali city of Timbuktu on Monday, officials said, killing seven people, including five Malian security guards, a gendarme and civilian. “An attack has been launched against one of our camps in Timbuktu (by) unknown men with machine guns,” Radhia Achouri, a spokeswoman for the U.N. […]

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso– At least 18 people died and several others were injured after at least two suspected radical Islamic terrorists attacked the Aziz Istanbul restaurant Sunday evening. According to Reuters, security forces killed the gunmen and freed the remaining hostages. Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 18 people and wounded several during a raid […]

Some time ago, back in 2013, China sent troops traveled en route to Mali. A Chinese presence has remained ever since. Russia continues to exasperate Ukraine’s military forces. Mali’s extremist problem has grown in recent years. French interests in Africa are no way in retreat, and the U.S. is at a time when European reassurance is of the essence. […]

African powers launched a new multinational military force to tackle Islamist militants in the Sahel on Sunday, which French President Emmanuel Macron told a regional summit should be fully operational by the autumn despite its current budget shortfall. Some observers see the initiative of the G5 Sahel bloc – Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and […]

“We’re now in the process of combing the area to verify no one is hiding anywhere,” Traore said. One of victims killed in the attack was a French-Gabonese citizen, while the other has not yet been identified, Traore said. Both were killed by gunfire. Two hotel staff workers and two guests were also wounded by […]

A statement by its regional force said air and ground forces were involved. It did not identify the militant group. A French soldier was killed in the area earlier this month. Mali suffers frequent attacks by Islamist militants despite a French military operation in 2013 to drive jihadists from northern cities. A French military spokesman […]

France backs efforts by West African states to boost security in their Sahel region, including a plan for a 5,000-strong multinational force to combat Islamist fighters, its foreign minister said on Thursday. Jean-Marc Ayrault said the G5 Sahel states – Mali, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger – must improve their counter-terrorism capacity. “The countries […]