AfricaSource

Democratic Congo’s Democracy Deficit

By J. Peter Pham

The incumbent regime ruling the rather ironically-named Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to narrow the political space in the country as it approaches elections which are supposed to be held next year, going so far this past weekend as to arrest a US diplomat who was detained along with other participants at a […]

Assessing al-Shabaab’s Mall Threat

By Joshua Meservey

Al-Shabaab, the terrorist organization that controls stretches of Somalia, made a splash February 21 when it released a video featuring a masked spokesman calling for attacks on malls in England, Canada, and the United States. This is the group that in 2013 attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya with terrible result, giving its threat […]

What Boko Haram’s widening war means for refugees

By Joshua Meservey

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the near- and long-term consequences of the Nigerian refugee crisis as tens of thousands of Nigerians flee across borders from the violence the terrorist group Boko Haram is meting out in the northeastern part of the country. I wrote that the world needs to surge resources into the area […]

Backstory on Kidnapped Minister Underscores Challenges in CAR

By J. Peter Pham

Buried at the bottom of page A8 of Thursday’s New York Times was a brief Associated Press report that Armel Sayo, Minister of Youth and Sports in the transitional regime of the Central African Republic (CAR), who had been abducted more than two weeks earlier, had been freed. According to the account, the exact circumstances […]

Anti-Terror Financing Rules Choke Somali Remittances

On February 6, 2015, one of the last Western banks willing to transfer money to Somalia on behalf of the country’s diaspora—transfers which represent up to 80 percent of all funds sent from the US to Somalia—ceased operations, cutting off one of the diaspora’s last options to support relatives and friends still in Somalia.

Nigeria’s Election Postponement Can Be An Opportunity

By J. Peter Pham

Late Saturday evening local time in Abuja, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for February 14, would be postponed until March 28, while the gubernatorial and state legislative elections scheduled for February 28 would be held April 11. The decision was taken at the urging […]

What You Need to Know About Nigeria’s Upcoming Election

By Robert Lloyd

The February 14th presidential elections in Nigeria signal an important milestone in the political trajectory of Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria has held three successive presidential elections since its return to democracy in 1999 after years of authoritarian rule. The presidential elections, which occur on a four year cycle, have varied in terms of accepted […]

Niger’s uprising: symptoms of Nigerien challenges

By Abdoul Salam Bello

Violent riots broke out in Niger last month following the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Ten people were killed and forty-five churches torched by protesters on January 16 and 17. Niger declared three days of mourning. The depiction shocked the majority of Nigeriens, more […]

Boko Haram Q & A

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Boko Haram, the militant Islamist group that has a foothold in northern Nigeria, has begun to consolidate control over large swathes of territory threatening the stability of Nigeria and its neighbors. The militants have resorted to using female suicide bombers as they ramp up their fight against the Nigerian government ahead of elections in February. […]