Strategic Thinking on East Africa

Foreign Policy Outmaneuvered by al-Shabab in Somalia, is the Islamic State gunning for a comeback next door? BY TY MCCORMICK NAIROBI — Kenyan authorities claim to have foiled a “large-scale” biological terrorist plot by militants linked to the Islamic State (IS), raising fears that the Iraq- and Syria-based group may be extending its influence in […]

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From The Heritage Institute Background International and regional efforts to increase the effective participation of women in peace building and in the reconstruction and development of societies have gained momentum in the past two decades. In 2000, United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 formally addressed the need to change women’s continued exclusion from participation […]

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GILAD SHILOACH The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a terror attack in Somalia—its first-ever attack in the East African nation. In an official statement circulated by the group’s supporters on Twitter and Telegram, ISIS said its fighters detonated a car bomb targeting forces belonging to the African Union Forces—peacekeeping troops—on the outskirts of the capital […]

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OPINION By Hagos Abraha It is not unusual for the Eritrea regime to repeat its make believe claims regarding Ethiopia and the region in general. However, it not always we find respected institutions engaged in such intellectually bankrupt propaganda. Sadly, that was the case with the recent article published by the Nordic Africa Institute. We […]

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STR/AFP/Getty by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.18 Apr 2016310 More than 400 drowned when a vessel crammed with migrants capsized early Monday morning during an attempt to make the crossing from Egypt to southern Italy across the perilous Strait of Sicily. The migrants were mostly Somalis, along with some fleeing from Ethiopia and Eritrea, and all […]

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Center for Policy Analysis and Research By Abdiwahid Abdullahi* April 12, 2016 Since the awakening of the Somali nationalism in 1945 after the defeat of Dervish warriors in the Godan plains of Nugal, the Somalis were dreaming to settle an old grievance that divided the Somali inhabited territories. The arrival of the Europeans had not […]

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By Abdi Guled | AP April 11 at 9:56 AM MOGADISHU, Somalia — A car bomb exploded on Monday outside restaurant packed with lunchtime customers in the Somali capital of Mogadishu killing at least five people, including school children, said witnesses. After the blast, a young girl was crying outside the restaurant screaming “where is my sister?” […]

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From Brookings Institution Editors’ Note: Al-Shabab’s operational capacities and intimidation power have grown in the past year, writes Vanda Felbab-Brown. Many of Kenya’s counterterrorism policies have been counterproductive, and counterinsurgency efforts by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have at best stagnated. This piece was originally published by The Cipher Brief. April 2 marked one […]

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In April 2013, then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton testified in front of a House Foreign Affairs Committee about Voice of America’s (VOA) Broadcasting Board of Governors, saying “Broadcasting Board of Governors is practically defunct in terms of its capacity to be able to tell its message around the world.” The Voice of America […]

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Al-Shabab is waging an armed insurgency in Somalia The US military says it has targeted a vehicle carrying three al-Shabab militants in a drone strike in Somalia. A Pentagon spokesman named the main target as Hassan Ali Dhoore, accused of organising recent bomb attacks in which US personnel were killed. US officials say they are […]

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