Latest incident comes amid sharp rise in numbers trying to leave crisis-hit north African country
Four people have died and at least 23 were missing on Saturday after their boat sank off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, amid a sharp rise in boats setting off from the north African country.
Officials have decried the “despicable and barbaric attack,” but did not immediately say who was behind it. The West African country has been fighting militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group since 2013.
The spike in militant Islamist group violence in Africa has been marked by a 68-percent increase in fatalities involving civilians, highlighting the need for more population-centric stabilization strategies.
Militant Islamist violence in Africa set new records for violent events and fatalities this past year. This continues a relentless decade-long upward trend. To give a sense of the accelerating pace of this threat, both violent events and fatalities have almost doubled since 2019.
African leaders who hold power indefinitely often employ cults of personality to consolidate power, demand personal fealty, and systematically undermine independent governance institutions.
When long-serving, neo-patrimonial leaders in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Zimbabwe, and Sudan were forced to step down because of popular and youthful protests in recent years, the era of “presidents for life” in Africa seemed to be ending. Yet, for every such leader who has been forced from power, new ones emerge on the scene. In many cases, African leaders who retain power indefinitely are characterized by pervasive cults of personality, demonstrating the enduring potency of this instrument of power.
Cutting off al Shabaab’s estimated $100 million in extortion-generated annual revenue will require restoring the integrity of Somalia’s compromised financial, judicial, and intelligence agencies.
Despite setbacks, al Shabaab remains a resilient and destabilizing threat in Somalia. In the past year, it was linked to 2,553 violent events and 6,225 fatalities. This represents nearly a doubling in the number of incidents since 2019. Fatalities involving al Shabaab have increased by 120 percent during this period.
President Kaïs Saied’s attempt to scapegoat black migrants is costing the country socially, economically and diplomatically.
In a 21 February national security council address, Tunisian President Kaïs Saied accused sub-Saharan African immigrants of fostering ‘violence, crime and unacceptable practices.’
In a propaganda cartoon on West African social media, the Russian mercenary is muscular and heroic. Descending fearlessly from a helicopter, he races to the rescue of besieged soldiers from Mali and Burkina Faso, firing his machine gun at demonic French zombies and an evil snake in French national colours.
Two hundred and seventy-six girls were kidnapped. Among them, over 100 are still missing. But, also, well over a hundred either escaped or were released by their captors. How are they faring?
