Sahel worst hit by Jihadist violence which killed 150,000 in a decade, Study Finds

The Sahel has experienced a sustained high level of lethality tied to militant Islamist groups in recent years. The nearly 10,500 average annual deaths over the past 3 years are more than double the 4,900 annual fatalities experienced between 2020 and 2023, according to a recent study by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. This […]

Salafis and the paradox of Political Stability in Morocco and Tunisia

Before the Soviet Union controlled the former republics of Central Asia, Sufi brotherhoods dominated the religious scene in Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. However, the Soviet policy toward Islam drove these Sufi groups underground for fear of persecution. In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet bloc, legions of radical Islamists filled the gap left […]

Syria: A new Syrian coalition group to negotiate with Assad

Factions and groups making up the Syrian opposition landscape will be meeting for two days in Cairo to set up what would be called the Syrian National Opposition. Haytham Manna, a veteran Syrian opposition figure and a key organizer of the event said the new body will be “totally different” from the Syrian National Coalition […]