Terrorism in 2015 by region figure 2 fatalities from terrorist attacks in africa 20002016 14 figure 3 distribution of interviews by country 23 figure 4 distribution of respondents by category and country of interview 23 figure 5 distribution of primary respondents by organization and country 24 figure 6 distribution of primary. Pdf terrorism and counter terrorism in east africa. Preact partnership for regional east africa counterterrorism. Despite its reduced capacity, isil remained the deadliest. Rise of terrorism in africa manohar parrikar institute. An empirical analysis of terrorism in the middle east and. The terrorist threat in africa council on foreign relations. Inl is a critical contributor to the preact strategy, which seeks to build strong civilian and security sector institutions, create. I would like to share with you how the united states views the current threat and the steps we are taking to work with african nations to tackle this scourge. One of the challenges inherent in identifying and analyzing the linkages between organized crime and terrorism in east africa and the horn is that both activities take place in the shadows and in plain view.
Terrorism in the horn of africa united states institute of peace. The usaid ig also participates in oversight of the operations. The bush administration has focused on destroying al qaeda in east africa, but it has been slow to address lessvisible terrorist threats elsewhere on the continent, such as islamist extremism in nigeria and criminal syndicates in west africa s failed states. Established in 1984, the institute meets its congressional mandate through an array of programs, including research grants, fellow. The partnership for regional east africa counterterrorism preact is the u. Terrorism in east africa and the greater horn of africa. Kenyan security officials were on friday following leads to unmask the attackers of the dusitd2 hotel, who were killed in the hotel. Prospects for eastern african subregional burden and capacity sharing. Shinn and others published terrorism in east africa and the horn.
Uganda underwent years of 4 see also david h shinn, fighting terrorism in east africa and the horn, september 2004 foreign service journal, 36 at 37. Djibouti, somalia, eritrea, and sudana major source of terrorism. Causes and consequences of terrorism in africa oxford. State department and usaid assistance to kenya52 table a6. Surge of terrorist attacks took heavy toll in west africa pp. International terrorism potential in southern africa. The purpose of these operations is to degrade al qaeda and isis affiliates, and other terrorist groups, in designated regions of africa. In addition to these individual costs, terrorism can destabilize governments, undermine civil society, jeopardize peace.
Terrorism as a manifestation of conflict could be a historically persistent phenomena with roots in the past. The dos ig is the associate ig for these two operations. Terrorism clearly has a very real and direct impact on human rights, with devastating consequences for the enjoyment of the right to life, liberty and physical integrity of victims. Icpvtr visit to east africa 26 june 5 july 2012 executive summary with the decentralization of threat from alqaeda, africa is emerging as a new epicentre of terrorism and extremism. The group has long threatened to repay kenya for military operations in somalia and since 2011 has gruesomely followed. The main western counterterrorism programs in east africa are the u. Terrorist groups in africa seem to love a bit of drama. East africa and north and west africa counterterrorism operations.
While terrorism is a global phenomenon, africa seems to bear the greatest brunt of it, largely due to limited military resources and ongoing economic deprivation, which. Understanding the current and emerging threat of terrorism. The movement for oneness and jihad in west africa is a terrorist organisation with the sole aim of spreading jihad throughout western africa. Counterterrorism in africa innovation, lessons learned. But, so too is the community of nations mobilized to defeat it. They were originally part of alqaeda, but split from them in 2011.
Although the fall of the somali government in 1991 did not in itself open the door to terrorist groups, the instability that followed highlighted the many ethnic, religious and political. While al qaeda is the primary terrorist extremist threat in east africa, the region suffers more broadly from a danger of radical islamist groups and organizations that the united states and its allies must address to reshape the regions security environment. Six workshops in the philippines focused on detailed stratcom technical support for the national action plan for pcve. Counterterrorism and related assistance to ethiopia49 table a5. The group uses its attacks in east africa to raise its profile, seek new recruits and solicit funding, and kenya has borne the brunt of these attacks, with the tourism sector being the worst hit. There has to be a sustained focus on east africa in our anti terrorism budgets. The dod inspector general ig was designated as the lead ig for the east africa counterterrorism operation and the north and west africa counterterrorism operation. The article also focuses on new terrorism, which has been described in cilliers, terrorism and africa, p. Partnership for regional east africa counterterrorism. Unlike the other two east african countries prior to the august 1998 bombings uganda had experienced acts of terrorism albeit on a domestic level. For over a decade, the united states has considered the horn of africakenya, ethiopia. The war on terrorism in africa council on foreign relations.
Impact of terrorism on economic development in africa. These terrorist attacks conform to an emerging trend in international terrorism striking far beyond terrorism s traditional operational theaters in europe and the middle east. This has complicated the landscape of violent extremism in east africa. Heavy trends east africa and the horn comprise 11 states, 315m people, hundreds of ethnic groups, dozens of climatic zones, and various differentiated levels of human development, colonial history, modern political influences. Terrorism overshadows internal conflicts africa renewal. International terrorists have seen east africa as a particularly attractive area for exploitation since the 1990s.
The continent of africa is not left on this vice and thus, there is a well reckon with terrorist activities around and within. Others, like kenya and south africa, facing the growth of islamic terrorist groups, have. Terrorism in africa the decision by the pentagon to create a separate africa command is the clearest indication that the us military and other branches of the us government view subsaharan africa as a growing islamic terrorist threat. This chapter examines the causes and consequences of terrorism in africa, and considers the extent to which existing evidence rationalizes the various explanations for it, and its implications for counterterrorism policy in africa.
Alqaedas ability to influence associate groups was brought to international attention in the brutal attack on westgate mall in kenya. The changing face of terrorism in east africa, the horn saturday january 19 2019 kenyan security agents protect civilians at the scene of a terrorist attack in nairobi s westlands suburb on january 15, 2019. The terrorist threat in africa is real and growing. Middle east into the horn and moving down along the coast of east africa. The united states institute of peace is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution created by congress to promote the prevention, management, and peaceful resolution of international conflicts. The terrorist incidents in kenya demonstrate clearly that terrorism is, and will remain, one of the goks main concerns. The changing face of terrorism in east africa, the horn.
What you need to know about terrorism in east africa us news. For official use only for official use only 1 of 3 printed. Reprinted by permission of westview press, a member of. The intergovernmental action group against money laundering in west africa giaba was established by the economic community of west african states ecowas authority of heads of state andgovernment in the year.
Terror, and the apparent rise of populism in the west will continue to adjust accordingly. East africa, middle east, the caribbean, including. Ladies and gentlemen, this conference comes at a critical moment. In addition, a major epicenter of terrorist activities in west and central africa is nigeria which has been confronted by acts of terrorism perpetrated by the islamist extremist in the north east and armed militants in the niger delta. East africa and north and west africa counterterrorism. In assessing east africas conduciveness to terrorism, a distinction must be made between kenya and tanzania, which provide a. Causes and consequences of terrorism in africa start.
This indifference could be costly for africans and americans both. Terrorism has grown exponentially in the african continent, not only in terms of the number of attacks but also the number of countries affected. Reprinted by permission of westview press, a member of perseus books group. An overview find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. As terrorism thrives in other climes, the governments of kenya and nigeria are increasingly pressured by the activities of alshabaab and bokoharam. Moreover, while it is tempting to separate the occurrences of terrorism in africa from those in the middle east, this separation is unsustainable given that several african countries also belong to the arab league and the islamic conference organisation. She manages policy, research, and programming activities in africa and focuses on financial inclusion, remittances, antimoney laundering and.
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