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Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2015 Part 23-6-Africa-18

While we all are looking somewhere else; By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence.

11 Mar 2015 Boko Haram offers ISIS gateway to west Africahttp://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/03/11/pkg-elbagir-nigeria-rise-of-boko-haram.cnnSource: CNN

Tunisia's president has promised to wage a "merciless war against terrorism" after gunmen killed 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians in a daylight attack on a museum. "I want the Tunisian people to understand that we are in a war against terrorism and that these savage minorities do not frighten us," said Essebsi

Minister of Information and Culture Omar al-Qweri stressed that the current situation in Libya does not require a political solution — as sought by international mediation efforts — but rather needs a military solution to put an end to the security crisis.

He accused European states of playing a negative role in the crisis in his country, saying, “We do not understand why London has become a capital supplying us with terrorism.”

There is no effective international force when it comes to the Libyan issue … there is a lot of talk about Libya but little action. All states are talking, but this remains just words and is not commensurate with the size of the battle and crisis in Libya.

Tunisia in 'war against terrorism' after museum attack

Meanwhile, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group has reportedly released audio recordings claiming responsibility over the attack at the National Bardo Museum. The recording distributed online praised the two gunmen calling them "knights of the Islamic State." Twenty of the victims were visiting from Western nations and elsewhere, which the Islamic State referred to as “Crusader countries.”

President Essebsi vows to wage "merciless war against terror" after gunmen kill 19 people, including 17 tourists. 19 Mar 2015. Tunisia's president has promised to wage a "merciless war against terrorism" after gunmen killed 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians in a daylight attack on a museum. "I want the Tunisian people to understand that we are in a war against terrorism and that these savage minorities do not frighten us," said Essebsi, who visited some of the dozens being treated for wounds in a Tunis hospital. "We will fight them without mercy to our last breath." The gunmen, dressed in military uniforms, opened fire on the tourists - including visitors from Japan, Italy, France, Australia, Colombia, Poland and Spain - as they got off a bus then chased them inside the museum, said Prime Minister Habib Essid.

SITE, Ifriqiyah Media, a jihadi media group with connections to organizations such as the Tunisia-based Uqba bin Nafi Battalion, promoted the attack on the Bardo Museum as a “simple operation” and called on Muslims to attack tourists, especially Americans, Britons, French, and Israelis

19 people killed in Tunis museum attack March 18, Gunmen attack parliament building in Tunisia, killing at least 19 people including 17 foreign tourists, according to the Tunisian Prime minister. * Parliament had been debating anti-terrorism law around time of attack, according to Tunisian MP. Tunisia’s prime minister says 17 tourists have been killed

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following a siege by two armed militants at a museum in the capital Tunis. Prime Minister Habib Essid said the standoff, in which a policeman and a Tunisian also lost their lives, was over. The approximately three-hour attack and hostage siege took place at the Bardo Museum in the country’s capital. Seventeen tourists lost their lives, while one Tunisian, believed to be a janitor working in the museum, and a policemen were also killed. The crisis concluded when security forces stormed the building - next to the Tunisian parliament - and killed the two gunmen. Prime Minister Essid was also able to confirm that Italian, German, Polish and Spanish tourists were amongst those killed in the attack on the museum according to Reuters. He also added that another 22 tourists were injured as well as two Tunisian men. The Tunisian Prime Minister also added that the security forces are still looking for two or three people who may have helped the gunmen. Ahmad Fadli, who witnessed the events unfolding and is a correspondent for the Al-Tunisia newspaper, said the militants were wearing soldiers uniforms. The country's ministry said there were at least two men armed with Kalashnikovs in the museum. The museum is part of the Bardo Palace, which is also home to the parliament. The parliamentary building has been evacuated as a precaution. C: in the initial reporting it was mentioned the armed men moved first to the parliament building however due to security measure they could not reach and moved to the museum and started the killing and hostage taking. If later will be confirmed than it reflects well planning, a main – the parliaments’ building with gathering of the parliament’s members and secondary target – museum -in close proximity. If so than the intent was not so much to attack tourist but to kill as many as possible parliamentarians and throw the country in disarray.

Tunisia's clear and present danger 1 The ‘Jasmine revolution’ may be the only success story of the Arab spring but jihadi recruitment networks continue to blight Tunisia’s development @ian_black

Wednesday 18 March 2015 Tunisia is often described as the only success story of the Arab spring. Its “Jasmine revolution” in 2011 unseated a corrupt dictator relatively peacefully and ushered in a transition to democratic elections and habits. But the small north African country also has a serious jihadi problem – as was grimly illustrated by Wednesday’s bloody Tunis museum attack. Tunis museum attack: 20 people killed after hostage drama at tourist siteTunisian PM says 17 of those killed in ‘cowardly attack’ were foreigners after two gunmen stormed Bardo museum and kept hostages for three hours Mounting mayhem in neighbouring Libya is part of the problem as hardline Islamist militants have managed to cross porous borders or have smuggled weapons to like-minded extremists such as Ansar al-Sharia, which has branches in Tunisia and elsewhere across the Maghreb region. Al-Qaida has been around for a more than a decade, using different names. Its most notorious exploit was a 2002 attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, which killed 14 German tourists. In recent months it has been supplanted by Salafi organisations that have pledged support to the Islamic State (Isis) in its distant Iraqi and

1 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/tunisias-clear-and-present-danger

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Syrian heartlands. Earlier this week, the Tunisian authorities announced the breakup of a cell said to be recruiting jihadis to fight in Libya. Ahmed Rouissi, a senior member of Ansar al-Sharia and one of the country’s most wanted men, was killed fighting near Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown.Ansar al-Sharia was proscribed in Tunisia in 2013 after the killings of two secular politicians, Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, and an attack on the US embassy that killed four people in the capital, Tunis. But Tunisians have also flocked to the front lines in Syria, providing up to 3,000 fighters – more than any other Arab country – in the war against Bashar al-Assad. Many have ended up in the ranks of Isis, but others have joined the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra. Up to 2,000 have been killed and an estimated 500 are said to have returned home, some to face torture and arrest.Several thousand more have been prevented from travelling, according to the Tunisian interior ministry, and there has been an effort to shut down recruitment networks. The well-worn routes led through Tunis airport, especially flights to Istanbul, or across the southern land border, via Libyan training camps. In Douar Hicher, a poor district at the edge of Tunis, it is common knowledge that 40 or 50 young men have left to fight, of whom perhaps a dozen have been killed.Studies have shown that Tunisian jihadis are not necessarily poor or from deprived inland areas. They are often university graduates from the wealthier coastal strip who moved from liberal and secular lifestyles to devout religiosity before leaving for Syria. Few were supporters of Ennahda, the moderate Islamist movement that has done much to make Tunisia’s transition a relative success. Online self-radicalisation has been widely reported.The precise affiliation of Wednesday’s attackers was unclear, but Twitter users employed language from the Isis lexicon such as the Arabic word ghazwa, a reference to armed raids in the early Islamic era. Another comment, under the hashtag “sworn to avenge”, said: “Shedding the blood of Crusaders to avenge Muslim blood.” Isis – described by the pejorative term “Daesh” – was widely blamed and abused.It seems no accident that western tourists were the target of the latest atrocity. In October 2013, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives on a beach in the resort of Sousse. The bomber had attempted to enter a nearby hotel but was refused entry. He ran on to the beach and blew himself up, but no one else was hurt. “These people struck at the right moment and in exactly the right place,” Frances Ghiles, a north Africa analyst, told the Guardian. “It’s the eve of the tourist season. Last year tourism started to pick up again and the elections went well. With this attack they hit tourism and democracy at the same time. There are plenty of people who would like to derail the Tunisian experiment and the authorities take this threat very seriously. This proves yet again that this cancer is going to be with us for some time to come. But in the end I am sure the spirit of the Tunisian people will prevail.”

Libyan minister: Solution to crisis lies in supporting army 2

Author: Ayah Aman Posted March 18, 2015. CAIRO — The internal situation has worsened in Libya, with armed militias taking control of the capital, Tripoli, and large parts of the country, while fighting has intensified between them and the Libyan army led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter. In light of this, Minister of Information and Culture Omar al-Qweri stressed that the current situation in Libya does not require a political solution — as sought by international mediation efforts — but rather needs a military solution to put an end to the security crisis. In an interview with Al-Monitor during his visit to Cairo on March 15, Qweri said, “There is no effective international force when it comes to the Libyan issue.” He accused European states

2 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/libya--crisis-minister-interview-political-security-solution.html#

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of playing a negative role in the crisis in his country, saying, “We do not understand why London has become a capital supplying us with terrorism.” He added, “European states have been negligent regarding the situation in Libya, despite the fact that they are faced with terrorism and boats of terrorists will soon arrive to their shores.” During the interview, Qweri confirmed that the current legitimate political administration in Libya only wants for “the ban to be lifted from the Libyan army and for it to be supplied with weapons. Thank God this is what everyone wants.”The text of the interview follows:Al-Monitor: The political solution that has now been proposed requires the government and the elected parliament to make concessions to include the fighting groups in Tripoli in a new national consensus government. To what extent do you accept this solution?Qweri: The problem in Libya is not political; rather it is a security problem. As long as the militias continue to raise arms against the state — with the presence of political parties that want to use and exploit these militias to gain seats and posts — we cannot envision the success of a political solution. We must disarm the militias and fight against terrorism first.We reject this [consensus] government and cannot accept a government that is imposed and appointed by the international community. The government should be selected and agreed upon by the Libyan people, who have announced their rejection of any government that brings those [operating] outside the law to power.Al-Monitor: On the military side, do you expect that the clashes led by the Libyan army will witness military advances after Gen. Hifter was appointed army commander?Qweri: Of course, because [Hifter] now has legitimacy and legal capacity. He can now meet with officials abroad, deal directly with countries, and gather around him men from the armed forces and the army. [His legitimacy] had nearly disappeared previously with the collapse of the army. I think that he is able to reunite the army, because he is a leading figure and has the respect of everyone within the ranks of the army.In terms of military operations on the ground, there are large battles being fought by the Libyan army in the west, after the battle in the east ended. We believe that if the focus is applied to the battle in the east, regaining control of Tripoli will only take weeks, after the Benghazi battle was settled in favor of the army. The army now has a choice: It can either take a step back and complete [the battle] in Derna, or take a step forward and go to Tripoli. At this point the army’s policy is not clear, but I think that it is important to liberate the capital, Tripoli, and surround Derna, then return to the latter after the capital has been liberated.Al-Monitor: Where do the effective states of the international community stand concerning the Libyan crisis?Qweri: There is no effective international force when it comes to the Libyan issue … there is a lot of talk about Libya but little action. All states are talking, but this remains just words and is not commensurate with the size of the battle and crisis in Libya. In the case of Italy, for instance, it has many interests in Libya, yet it has not offered anything. European states have been negligent regarding the situation in Libya, despite the fact that they are faced with terrorism and boats of terrorists will soon arrive to their shores.Al-Monitor: How do you view the delay in a decision by the international community and the UN Security Council to agree to lift the ban on providing weapons to the Libyan army?Qweri: The international community will not contribute to solving the crisis in Libya, and the big powers have interests in a worsening of the situation. We are not awaiting a solution from them — the solution has always been in the hands of the Libyan people. We believe that there is a plan to divide Libya into three states, and this is in the interest of the United Kingdom and the United States. This is apparent since they have obstructed the Security Council decision to lift the ban on providing weapons to the army.

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Al-Monitor: Do you expect Russia to supply you with weapons, in light of the ongoing decision to ban arming the army? What is the extent of cooperation and understanding between you and Russia?Qweri: Russia’s position recently has been better than it previously was. Moscow is intent on developing relations with Libya and we welcome and support this. The Libyan prime minister may soon visit Russia.Russia is a major country and if it believes it has an interest anywhere in the world it is capable of taking the appropriate decision. However, Libya still faces a ban on providing [the army] with weapons, and any country that thinks about arming us could face a problem and international sanctions. At the same time, weapons are being openly supplied to militias and airplanes carrying weapons from Turkey and Sudan, with Qatari funding.Al-Monitor: Why do you strongly attack the UK and some European states, accusing them of obstructing any solution to the Libyan crisis?Qweri: That question should be addressed to the UK. We do not understand why London has become a capital supplying us with terrorism. We reject this negative role and the UK should be cautious. The British ambassador deals with and talks about Libya as though it is a company he owns. We announce that we are harmed by the terrorism coming from the UK. Now we are working according to the policy of “that which is better,” but with some countries we are thinking about treating them the same [way they treat us]. All options are available to us and it will be a surprise.Al-Monitor: What is the nature, size and limits of the role of neighboring states in the Libyan crisis?Qweri: There are countries whose role is positive — such as Egypt — countries whose role is negative, spectator countries and countries with interests and that benefit from the continuing chaos. Everyone — particularly neighboring states — must deal with the legitimate Libyan government and speed up the pace, because if Libya slips into the abyss, it will drag neighboring countries with it. Libya will not fall alone.After the establishment of the Libya neighbors mechanism according to the Egyptian initiative to solve the Libyan crisis, the meetings did not produce clear results. We only want for the ban to be lifted from the Libyan army and for it to be supplied with weapons. Thank God this is what everyone wants, and it is our only demand.Al-Monitor: How do you assess the Geneva dialogue headed by UN envoy Bernardino Leon? Do you expect it to produce a real result in the context of ways to solve the crisis?Qweri: We do not expect any good to come of the dialogue. It involves just talks that resemble soirees and tea sessions. One cannot imagine a solution to the crisis in Libya [formulated] on these shores of Lake Geneva. The solution lies in the heart of Libya, it involves the real parties and Libyan tribes sitting down for a dialogue. Those who Leon is meeting with are not representatives of the Libyan people. He is meeting with former members of the former [parliament], or militia leaders.The UN, through its delegates, views Libya through Western eyes. It is unable to see and read the Libyan reality that exists now. We are facing a real threat, while they sit and talk about a dialogue or a consensus government. The international community is capable of sending a strong message to terrorists, extremists, those operating outside the law and the Tripoli government, through issuing travel bans and arrest warrants via Interpol for extremists until they embrace moderation. But the international community does not want this.Al-Monitor: What are the scenarios for the future of the Libyan crisis? What solutions are most compatible with the Libyan reality and the quick changes occurring.Qweri: The most important scenario is to support the Libyan army, and there is currently no other solution. There will be no state without the presence of an army.

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Al-Monitor: You still accuse Qatar, Turkey and Sudan of providing direct and clear support to armed groups fighting the Libyan National Army. How will you deal with this issue?Qweri: Qatar's policy is deceptive. It makes good statements, then carries out policies that cannot be understood. The Libyan foreign minister visited Qatar and held interviews, but to no avail. Qatar is engaged in a major project and has spent billions of dollars, and it will not go back. But we will force them to go back against their will. Our message is clear that our relationship with Doha is bad. As for Turkey, steps are being taken to cancel all agreements with Ankara.Despite the stated positions of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that he supports the legitimate [government] and the Libyan people, there are agencies and parties in Sudan that still support militias affiliated with the Dawn of Libya forces. We have information, including names and details, of military squadrons charged with repairing Sudanese planes that are entering Libya and sending ammunition shipments. There are files being prepared by the Ministry of Justice to be submitted to the Arab League in this regard.Al-Monitor: Egypt has made large diplomatic and political efforts since the beginning of the Libyan crisis. What implications have these had on the crisis? And what is the extent of the security, political and military coordination with the Egyptian side?Qweri: We suffer from a common problem in Egypt and Libya: confronting the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organization. The confrontation will be joint, and there is coordination between the security and intelligence services and the army. We are working on all fronts with Egypt.

ISIL 'accepts Boko Haram's pledge of allegiance' Audio recording posted on ISIL-affiliated websites lauds "expansion of caliphate to West Africa". 12 Mar 2015 The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has accepted a pledge of allegiance to the group made by Nigerian armed group Boko Haram, according to an audiotape purportedly from its spokesman."We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph... has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad," ISIL spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani said in the message, using the name in Arabic of the Nigerian group.Al Jazeera cannot authenticate the audio recording, which was posted on ISIL-affiliated websites on Thursday, but it is similar to previous messages from Adnani.

The recent move by Boko Haram's leader to pledge the jihadist group's allegiance to ISIS caused widespread alarm and raised concerns that such an alliance would strengthen their ability to cause death and destruction and spread their ideology across the region - 3. The oath certainly adds another layer to one of the most dangerous and consequential crises in Africa. Boko Haram has already killed thousands of people and jeopardized one of the world's biggest democratic elections. A partnership with ISIS has the potential to stretch the Islamic caliphate's borders, foster exchanges in operational expertise, and give both groups access to the other's streams of revenue. But it's unclear what this pledge actually means in practicality and how seriously Boko Haram and ISIS actually take it. "The Nigerian military in combination with the Chadians have actually had a lot more success than anybody thought they would," says Ohio University professor and Nigeria scholar Brandon Kenhammer. Boko Haram might be fracturing under this developing pressure and factions within the group may see an alliance with ISIS as a potential lifeline, or a means of undercutting enemies within the group. "I find it plausible that this reflects some kind of underlying problem with respect to Boko Haram's organizational structure," says Kendhammer. At the same time, there were already signs that Boko Haram was edging into the Islamic State's orbit. Aaron Zelin, a

3 http://uk.businessinsider.com/africas-deadliest-terror-group-wants-to-team-up-with-isis-2015-3

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terrorism researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Business Insider that in January, Boko Haram's propaganda began showing greater sophistication and even some evidence of ISIS assistance. "There were a lot of signs since mid-January that there was a huge change in methodology as well as production quality and capabilities, seemingly out of nowhere," Zelin explained. "A lot of it is reminiscent of the Islamic State." The resemblance was close enough for Zelin to write an analysis on the topic. Boko Haram's domains would become a "valiyat" or province of the caliphate, and Shekau would assume the title of "vali," or provincial emir. ISIS has already incorporated affiliate groups into its caliphate, accepting pledges from hardcore jihadist fighters in Libya, and Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in the Egyptian Sinai, so there's a rough model for how an affiliation would work. Zelin's doubtful that these operational ties could really amount to much in Boko Haram's case. He notes that he knows of only one Nigerian foreign fighter surfacing in Iraq and Syria. And while it would be possible for Libya-based ISIS operatives to travel across the Sahara to coordinate with their Boko Haram counterparts, affiliated groups are given broad leeway to make tactical decisions independent of ISIS caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the Islamic State's Shura Council. "It's sort of like centralized decentralization," Zelin says. Boko Haram's pledge might not reveal much about the group's strength. It might not even result in particularly improved ties between the Syrian-based jihadists and their new partners in West Africa. But it's still significant that Boko Haram, an incredibly brutal group that's declared its own Islamic state, is gravitating towards ISIS, rather than Al Qaeda, ISIS's main competitor for jihadist hearts and minds. "It's a big coup for the Islamic State in some ways," says Zelin, "highlighting the resonance of this idea of their so-called caliphate and this broader project." The pledge could also get the US more involved in Nigeria, since it might eventually lead to ISIS developing an African front in a populous democratic country.

Niger and Chad troops liberate Damasak as regional campaign moves ahead to take control of territories from armed group. 19 Mar 2015 Soldiers from Niger and Chad have taken the Nigerian town of Damasak from Boko Haram, another victory in a regional campaign to wrest back control of swaths of northeastern Nigeria from the armed group. Damasak, a few kilometres over the border from Niger, was taken from Boko Haram's control over the weekend, a spokesman for Niger's army, Colonel Michel Ledru, said on Wednesday.

18 March, The US defence department has confirmed that it has killed an al-Shabab leader, Adan Garar. The Pentagon says the militant was hit by a drone equipped with Hellfire missiles in southern Somalia last Friday. Garar was a suspect in the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi that left 67 people dead. The US believes Garar was overseeing operations that "target US persons and other Western interests". He was a member of the security and intelligence wing and a "key operative responsible for coordinating al-Shabab's external operations", according to the Pentagon

JAN 2015, Terrorism in Africa: A bigger threat than in Europe, but much less coverage, while Islamic State and their territorial advances became front page news in 2014, the gains made by Boko Haram have, like the group’s victims, been ignored. Instead the focus is on the very small ‘threat’ terrorists pose to Europe, a threat which as I - 4 explained here our governments are doing their best to ‘big up’. It’s certainly more dangerous going to church there than it is in Europe. Dozens of churches were attacked in Kenya and Tanzania in a wave of bombings in 2013. Two worshippers were killed and thirty injured in a bomb attack at the Roman Catholic Church in Arusha, Tanzania in May 2013. Imagine what a major story it would have been had it happened in Europe, but it was in East Africa, so you probably

4 http://rt.com/op-edge/222983-terrorism-africa-threat-nigeria/

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didn’t read about it. Cameroon is another African country which has more grounds to worry about terrorism than France. Over time, there’s been a fierce battle between government forces and Boko Haram militants in the north of the country. “You will taste what has befallen Nigeria, Your troops cannot do anything to us,” Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau declared on video. In Uganda too, the terrorist threat is very real. In 2010 militants from the Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliate group al-Shabaab killed over 70 people in bomb attacks on venues which were showing the football World Cup final. In September 2013 the same group killed at least 67 people in a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. It’s clear than in many African countries, ordinary civilians have more reasons to worry about being murdered by al-Qaeda type groups than we do in Europe. So why is there the excessive focus on the threat to ‘the West’?

Acknowledging that Africans, and indeed Russians too face bigger risks than we do also wouldn’t fit in with the dominant neoconservative narrative of a “clash of civilizations” between radical Islamists, and “the civilized West,” with the latter of course including Israel, the state in the front line of the battle. We in the West must be seen to be the prime targets of the terrorists, even though we’ve been backing the same people in Syria and turned a blind eye when they murdered civilians there. It’s our values and our way of life which is being threatened and no one else’s. You could argue too that racism also comes into it. Compare the relative lack of interest in the victims of terror attacks in Africa with the enormous interest there was in the events in Zimbabwe in the early noughties. The land redistribution program of the government was in some cases, accompanied by violence. There were calls in the West for military intervention to topple President Robert Mugabe for his government’s treatment of the white farmers and for its persecution of the opposition. Tony Blair, the great ‘regime-changer’ pronounced “there can be no question of Mugabe being allowed to stay in power” unless forthcoming elections were held to be free or fair. But the level of violence that was taking place at the time was exaggerated, as Seumas Milne highlighted in a 2002 essay. “In a BBC Television interview with Foreign Office Minister Baroness Amos, David Frost talked blithely of ’100,000 people killed by Mugabe supporters over the last two years.’ In fact human rights groups estimate the total number killed on both sides during that period at around 160.” There’s also the fact that drawing too much attention to the advance of al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa would make people ask how these groups have become so powerful. That’s a complex question for which there is no one simple answer. While US forces have been assisting certain countries in Africa in their battles against terrorists, there’s no doubt too that Western policy has contributed significantly to the current problems, especially when one bears in mind that it was the NATO powers which toppled the Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi, the main bulwark against al-Qaeda in Northern Africa. Libya, like Syria, saw the West line up on the same side as al-Qaeda.

The neoliberal economic policies that many governments on the continent, including Nigeria’s, have pursued at the behest of Western financial institutions has also had a disastrous effect as it has increased economic hardship and pushed more young people towards extremism. “Nigeria’s experience with neoliberal economic policy presents a classic example of a state which progressively shifted from a relative welfare state to ad-hoc ‘welfarist’ state and full blown free market economy….Neoliberal reforms were not concerned with social issues but with market efficiency, which worked against the basic tenets of human rights and constitutional safeguards for Nigerian citizens…. A substantial number (of people) have resorted to criminal activities in the nation. This explains in part why arson, kidnapping, and other criminal activities and social vices are thriving in the Niger Delta region and other parts of the Nigerian state,” says Dr Olumide Victor Ekanade, in his 2014 paper The Dynamics of Forced Neoliberalism in Nigeria since the 1980s.

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Groups like Boko Haram have undoubtedly benefited from these shifts in economic policies. If terrorism is to be defeated in Africa, then we need to see a return to the more socialist policies that many countries followed after independence in the 1960s and 70s, policies that produced higher levels of employment and greater social justice. The first step though is to give the problem of terrorism in Africa the attention it deserves. We in the West are not the only people that matter in the world although sometimes it certainly feels that way.

Mar. 15, 2015 5 | ISIS fighters and force allied with Tripoli clash in central Libya. TRIPOLI: Clashes erupted in central Libya Saturday between ISIS fighters and a force loyal to a Tripoli-based faction, a military official and residents said.It was the first publicly known major confrontation between the two groups since militants loyal to ISIS, the group which has seized much of Iraq and Syria, established a larger presence in central Libya in recent weeks. ISIS, which analysts say is splintered into smaller factions in Libya, has sought to exploit turmoil in the major oil producer where two rival governments and their respective allies fight for power. Local supporters of the militants executed a group of Egyptian Christians and have claimed attacks on a luxury hotel, foreign missions and police stations in the capital Tripoli. On Saturday, ISIS militants clashed with forces allied to a Tripoli-based government that was established after an armed faction called Libya Dawn seized the capital in August. The internationally recognized government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani has been forced to operate from the east since then.

Nigeria 'using foreign mercenaries' against Boko Haram "It appears to be a desperate ploy to get some sort of tactical success up there in six weeks for the electoral boost," the diplomat added. The numbers of soldiers involved were in the "low hundreds", the diplomat added.

Boko Haram on the run as Nigerian army retakes Baga 14/03 Under the combined pressure of forces from Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria Islamic extremists Boko Haram are not having things all their own way. The Nigerian army has been celebrating the recapture of the town of Baga, part of an ongoing offensive in the north of the country. Air strikes are also providing effective support in pushing back Boko Haram. who have lost several towns and villages in recent weeks. Baga has strategic value because of its proximity to Nigeria’s borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroon, and retaking the town means the four-nation alliance can restore its joint command there. Militarily important then, but Baga’s residents feel abandoned. “We just depend on any food that any one of us, man, woman or child, finds. The few wares I have for sale struggle to sell, but I still make a little money. But there’s nothing to buy because they ate everything and destroyed the market. Shops have been cosed for three months now,” said one elderly man. The city will need time to recover from Boko Haram’s brief rule, which saw thousands of homes and structures destroyed beyond the deaths and disappearances.

Nigeria: Boko Haram bomb factory uncovered in troubled northeast By Faith Karimi and Radina Gigova, CNN March 14, 2015. Nigerian troops discovered a Boko Haram bomb factory this week after they seized a northern town from the extremists, the military said. The factory was tucked inside a fertilizer company in Buni Yadi town in Yobe state, according to officials. Islamist fighters took over the town in August, one of many seized in the troubled northeast. Troops have battled the militants for months to regain control, and said they recaptured it last week. Militants planted explosive devices along the highway on their way

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out, which delayed the soldiers' advance. Four soldiers were killed during the operation. Soldiers have been scouring the factory and have found suicide bomber vests and improvised explosive devices, the military said Friday. "Troops are still evacuating the materials ... a large quantity of improvised explosive devices, including those commonly used by suicide bombers, were recovered from the site," the military said in a statement.

12 March, Hundreds of fighters reportedly brought in to boost fight against armed group ahead of March 28 general elections. 13 Mar 2015. The reported presence of foreign fighters, equipped with heavy weaponry, attack helicopters and armoured vehicles, adds to the already broad array of forces, including soldiers from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin in the conflict against Boko Haram. The reported use of mercenaries comes as Nigeria prepares to hold general elections on March 28, which was delayed by six weeks in order to buy time to recapture territory and restore stability in the country's conflict-ridden northeast. Nigerian officials have so far refused to comment on the reports of mercenaries. In an interview with Voice of America late on Wednesday, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said two companies were providing "trainers and technicians" to help Nigerian forces, without providing more details.'Private military firm link' But a West African security source and a South African defence source said the foreign troops were linked to the bosses of former South African private military firm Executive Outcomes, according to the Reuters news agency. Executive Outcomes was best-known for its involvement in Angola's 1975-2002 civil war and against Revolutionary United Front rebels in an internal conflict in Sierra Leone in 1995. The West African security source said several hundred foreigners were involved in running major offensive operations against Boko Haram, and were being paid around $400 a day in cash.

12 March, Secretary of defense Ash Carter says new authorization for military force would allow ‘flexibility’ to include Isis-affiliated targets. The war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria may be expanded to include Boko Haram in Nigeria and militant elements in Libya, secretary of defense Ash Carter said on Wednesday. Testifying before Senate committee on the topic of whether to authorize military force against jihadis – more than eight months after air strikes and military operations against Isis began – Carter conceded that the authorization’s language would allow “flexibility” to include targets who have affiliated with Isis and threaten the US or its many coalition partners. “This AUMF [Authorization for Use of Military Force] could apply to operations in and around Libya,” Carter said, “depending on whether or not they met the criteria” of allegiance to and coordinating with Isis to attack the US or one of its partners.

France to increase West Africa troops to support Boko Haram fight PARIS Wed Mar 11, 2015 1:36pm EDT (Reuters) "We do not intend to take part in the fighting," Le Drian said.- France is increasing its West African counter-insurgency force to support regional forces fighting Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.France has headquartered its more than 3,000-strong Sahel counter-insurgency force, Barkhane, in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, some 50 km (30 miles) from the Nigerian border. Until now those troops have largely been tasked with tracking al Qaeda-linked militants spanning across the Sahara from Mauritania in the west and southern Libya in the east. "We will slightly increase the numbers on Barkhane," Le Drian told reporters without giving specific details. He said the troops would provide support to forces fighting around Lake Chad, where Boko Haram has in recent months increasingly threatened regional

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countries. Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin have mobilised forces this year to help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram after it seized territory and staged cross-border attacks.

Nigerian troops dislodge Boko Haram terrorists from Bauchi forest. The Nigerian military has achieved yet another feat, dislodging Boko Haram terrorists from Lame/Bura forest between Ningi and Torro Local Government Areas of Bauchi State. Sani Usman, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, in a statement Wednesday, said troops from 33 Brigade of the Nigerian Army cleared the area of terrorists in an operation which started last weekend. Mr. Usman, a colonel, said, “Quite a number of terrorists were killed, their weapons and equipment destroyed. Similarly, a sizeable number of arms, ammunitions, food stuffs, Hilux vehicles, motorcycles and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were recovered by the troops.” He said the troops also recovered three Hilux vehicles, 12 motorcycles, four AK-47 rifles, a Fabrique Nationale rifle, one Small Machine Gun (SMG), one Police Teargas pistol, 36 Primed IEDs, 56 rifles magazines and over 500 rounds of 7.62 milimetre ammunition. Other items recovered are six jerrycans of groundnut and palm oil and several Improvised Explosive Device-making materials, amongst others. The liberated area, he said, was an hideout and operating ground for the terrorists. This feat is an addition to the countless dislodging of the Boko Haram group from most of its havens in the North Eastern part of Nigeria in a six-week operation to flush the insurgents from the region. Mr. Usman added that the Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minimah, impressed by clearance of the Bauchi forest, commended the troops for a job well done.

The thousands of foreign troops pouring into northern Nigeria to join the fight against Boko Haram have seized two towns from the Islamist extremists after fierce battles, according to military sources. Forces from neighbouring Chad and Niger killed about 300 militants as they gained control of Malam Fatouri and Damasak on Monday, a military source from Niger told Reuters. About 10 Chadian soldiers were killed and 30 Nigerien and Chadian soldiers were injured. The joint ground and air offensive raised hopes that the tide is turning against the extremist group, which last week pledged allegiance to Islamic State, and that elections postponed to 28 March will go ahead as planned. The declaration of allegiance from Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, may, in fact, be more of a cry for help Boko Haram had held Damasak, six miles (10km) south of the Niger border, since November. “We have kicked the enemy out of these areas and they are now under our control,” the Nigerien source told Reuters. “We had permission from Nigeria for this action.” Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, Cameroon’s defence minister, said troops from Nigeria and Chad would fight Boko Haram while soldiers from Cameroon and Niger would guard their borders to prevent the militants from escaping. Boko Haram has been using Cameroon as an escape and supply route. The move follows years of faltering attempts to overcome political differences and combine regional strengths against the insurgency. The US, Britain, France and the European Union are backing the creation of a multinational force of 8,750 troops led by Nigeria and Chad with contingents from Cameroon, Niger and Benin. Several other countries also have pledged to help. Dr John-Mark Iyi, a Nigerian political analyst based at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, said: “This cooperation is something long overdue and should mark the beginning of a turn of events. It is the lack of this cooperation that has contributed to the ineffectiveness of anti-insurgency tactics that Nigeria was adopting. Nigeria’s military has been dogged by low pay, low morale and lack of equipment. Niger’s army has only 5,200 troops, one of the smallest in the world, while Cameroon’s stands at just 12,500 soldiers. Chad’s military is more formidable, with 20,000 soldiers battle-hardened by previous experience of combating insurgents. However, there are fears that even if Boko Haram loses

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territory, it could resort to its old hit-and-run tactics of gun attacks and bombings in major towns.

11 March, ABUJA, NIGERIA— Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says fighters from insurgent group Boko Haram have traveled to the Middle East for training with Islamic State militants. Jonathan declined to name the countries where the fighters were allegedly trained. But in an interview with VOA Wednesday, he said he’s long suspected Boko Haram of having alliances with international extremist groups. "So we know the links are there. But even now, we may not know the degree of linkages as to how much funds are coming in from them, the kind of volume of weapons coming in from them, the nationalities coming from them,” Jonathan said. “But the training, because some of the Boko Haram members go to have their training in the ISIS camp and come back.”

12 March, Initial reports to police indicate that nine people, including four attackers, were killed after gunmen in military uniforms attacked the house of the former Somali parliament speaker and current president of the newly established southwest regional administration, said Col. Mahad Abdi, a Somali police officer. The attack began when a car bomb detonated at the gate of the state palace in Baidoa city, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu. Mogadishu - Suspected members of Somalia's al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab militants on Thursday attacked a fortified area containing regional government headquarters, an airport and a United Nations compound in the central town of Baidoa, security officials said. "They are Shabaab disguised in Somali military uniforms. That's how they managed to enter," a Somali police official in Baidoa, Mohamed Dahir, told AFP by telephone. Officials said around four gunmen shot and wounded or killed several people at the gate of the fortified area before entering it. Two of the attackers are thought to have detonated bombs strapped onto them, a security official said.

12 March, Reuters) - Nigeria has brought in hundreds of mercenaries from South Africa and the former Soviet Union to give its offensive against Boko Haram a shot in the arm before a March 28 election, according to regional security, defence and diplomatic sources. Rumours about the use of foreign "soldiers of fortune" against the Islamist militant group gained substance this month when pictures surfaced on Twitter showing armoured vehicles rumbling along a street in what was said to be Maiduguri, the regional capital of Nigeria's Boko Haram-hit northeast. In one photo that appeared on Twitter on March 6, a white man in a khaki tee-shirt and body armour is shown beside a heavy-calibre machine gun on top of one of the sand-coloured vehicles as the column drives through the streets at dusk. In confirming the presence of hundreds of foreign military contractors on the ground, including recently in the city of Maiduguri, security and diplomatic sources put the total much higher than the hundred or so previously reported.Nigerian government spokesman Mike Omeri declined to comment, referring questions to military spokesman Chris Olukolade, who also declined to respond to multiple requests for comment. In an interview with Voice of America late on Wednesday, President Goodluck Jonathan said two companies were providing "trainers and technicians" to help Nigerian forces. He did not name the firms, or the nationalities, or give numbers. But a West African security source and a South African defence source said the foreign troops were linked to the bosses of former South African private military firm Executive Outcomes. Executive Outcomes was best-known for its involvement in Angola's 1975-2002 civil war and against Revolutionary United Front rebels in an internal conflict in Sierra Leone in 1995. It disbanded in 1998, under pressure from the post-apartheid government in Pretoria to curtail mercenary activities.

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A suspected female suicide bomber has killed at least 12 people in Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria's Borno state, military and hospital sources say. Tuesday’s attack happened three days after a multiple bomb attack in the city killed more than 50 people. Citing a military source, the Reuters news agency said a loud blast rocked Maiduguri just after 4pm local time (1500 GMT) and that the bomber detonated her device at a roundabout near the Monday Market, which has seen numerous attacks before. Maiduguri is the birthplace of Boko Haram, which has been fighting for six years to enforce Islamic law in all 36 states of Nigeria, which is roughly equally divided between a predominantly Muslim north and a mainly Christian south. The latest attack came after the government in Abuja described the fighters' pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as a sign of weakness in the face of growing military pressure from Nigeria and its allies. Mike Omeri, the national security spokesman, called it "an act of desperation and comes at a time when Boko Haram is suffering heavy losses".

Al-Jaza’ir (Algeria) Province of the Islamic State (IS) congratulated the Nigeria-based jihadi group Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah Lil Dawa Wal Jihad, or what is known as Boko Haram, for its pledging allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Spanish authorities claim to have dismantled a jihadist terrorist cell in the north African enclave of Ceuta.

11 March, They say it was planning to carry out an attack in Spain. Two young men were arrested, one Spanish, the other a Moroccan. The Interior Ministry said the early morning raids were part of the same operation in which four people were arrested in January. “They (the suspects) have been already radicalised and indoctrinated in such a way that they are perfectly ready to commit attacks,” said Spain’s Interior minister Jorge Fernandez Díaz. Police say the two arrested men had access to firearms and had been actively following the Islamic State group on the internet. The ministry says the six men held in the two operations in Ceuta this year had profiles similar to those involved in the Paris terror attacks. Spain has made more than 20 arrests of suspected Islamist militants since September. 2015 euronews

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