The Africa watchKenya’s terror woes; Al-Qaeda disciples; normalizing Ebola, and more
· Thousands of Nigerian refugees fleeing Boko Haram forced back by Cameroon
· Al-Qaeda disciples still a potent threat to African business hub
· America’s new policy in Africa is an attempt to contain Chinese and Russian influence
· IMB: Gulf of Guinea led the world for piracy in 2018
· Abiy’s Ethiopia pardons 13,000 accused of treason or terrorism
· Ebola has gotten so bad, it’s normal
· In eastern Burkina Faso, local grievances help militancy take root
· Rwanda’s Khashoggi: Who killed the exiled spy chief?
· Legacy of Benghazi: Marine force stays ready for quick Africa deployment
· Ethiopia allows almost 1 million refugees to leave camps, go to work
· Zimbabwe in ‘total internet shutdown’ amid violent crackdown
· Burundi to change its capital city
· The changing face of terrorism in East Africa
· Latest attack may deal new blow to Kenya’s global terror ranking
Thousands of Nigerian refugees fleeing Boko Haram forced back by Cameroon (AFP)
UN voices alarm and urges Cameroon to keep its doors open after it denies entry to thousands fleeing unrest
Al-Qaeda disciples still a potent threat to African business hub (Samuel Gebre, Bloomberg)
[…] One of a recent wave of Islamist militant attacks that have rocked sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Mali in the west to Somalia in the east, Tuesdays assault shows al-Shabaab is still a major threat to Kenya and the region, said Omar S. Mahmood, a senior researcher at the Pretoria, South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies. Even if there have not been major incidents in Nairobi in recent years, al-Shabaab remains a sophisticated and determined actor which still has its sights on the city, he said. For residents of Kenyas capital, the events stirred painful echoes of the September 2013 attack by al-Shabaab on the upscale Westgate shopping mall, about a mile from Riverside, in which 67 died. Nairobi is a regional hub for companies such as General Electric Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. Al-Shabaab has historically targeted sites that represent multiple constituencies to maximize the propaganda value of its actions, said Ed Hobey-Hamsher, senior Africa analyst at Bath, England-based Verisk Maplecroft. As well as a hotel, the Riverside complex is also home to the offices of foreign companies and high-end shops, giving them three high-value targets.
