Verisk-Maplecroft Risk Consultancy

Since July 2011, Horn of Africa countries have been suffering through the worst drought and famine period in the last 60 years, causing a humanitarian crisis throughout several countries including Somalia where the drought has affected an estimated four million Somalis (Africa and Europe in Partnership, 2011). Subject matter expert’s outlook in Somalia differs in opinion on how the crisis is affecting Al Shabaab. Many believe that the crisis is hindering Al Shabaab operations and reporting shows that the organization splintered because of infighting when modest members clashed with hard-line members over their ban on foreign food aid and provisions from being delivered within their controlled areas of Somalia. However, some analysts expressed concern over splintering of the organization as it makes tracking, surveying, predicting, and controlling the group more difficult. Analysts also expressed concern that as the lines become more unclear a new more deadly form of

So far, terrorism has been a key obstacle to many foreign nations, as they are struggling to prevent terrorist attacks. From the year of 1997 up to the year of 2003, international terrorist attacks have gone from less than 500 to almost 3000. Overall, global terrorism has grown by almost 1200% from 1997 to 2003. (Johnston 1). This massive increase in terrorism reflects on other nations' lack of control of the safety of their nation. These statistics also show that something needs to be done to protect the

With the emergence of the 21st century the necessity for a broader understanding of security have said present. The world has experienced a variety of new security challenges that have put at stake human safety and have made policymakers all around the world rethink their approach and strategies when it comes to the decision making process. The rise of terrorist organizations in the international arena as well as the development of extremist groups has offered extreme significance to the quest for power and the search for peace, while requiring us to look back and examine our achievements and failures in the analysis of terrorism, extremist groups and our counterterrorism efforts since 9/11. It is essential for all Americans to understand

Annotated bibliography Bellamy, Alex J., Security and the war on terror, 1975-, 2007 This author is a university lecturer in the University of Queensland. He is a professor of peace and conflict studies and seems like he has a very broad amount of knowledge in the area of different wars including war on terror. His book security and the war on terror are pushed towards readers who care about the security of their country and the war on terror. ‘This edited book recognises a fundamental issue: while major crises initially tend to reinforce old thinking and behavioural patterns, they also allow societies to challenge and overcome entrenched habits, thereby creating the foundations for a new and perhaps more peaceful future’ .

Thesis: Since the 9/11 terrorists’ attacks, terrorism has extended far beyond the United States and into other nations such as Africa. Even though these acts of aggressions take place outside of the United States, the government should have the capability to counteract groups who engage in the terrorism without fear of reprisal. Therefore, the establishment of a new Combatant Command for Africa (AFRICOM) should mark an important milestone in the prevention of the terrorist attacks against the United States. Africa Command in partnership with African countries will help protect and defend the national security interests of the

The attack of Kenya was just as bad as the one of Paris, but unfortunately, as the writer of an article published by “Washington Post” addressed, not everyone will express their feelings as others would do simply because they haven’t had any experiences, or any kind of connection with the place, and it’s completely

In a Western perspective, Africa is perceived as a poor, insecure, and violent continent. Although this statement is ignorant and disregards the multidimensional issues that are in each of the 54 countries, security and violence is a general issue in most African countries. African countries have not endured an easy history, and their history continues to create present conflicts. Their violent colonial past has left certain countries with ethnic rivalries and left their legacies with agents of security. Although the colonial past of African countries have been the leading cause of many of their current problems, they cannot be blamed for everything. Additionally, there is a positive correlated relationship between the state and the violence

In the past 15 years, the threat of terrorism has grown immensely, the frequency of attacks is the highest it has ever been. With these terrorist attacks becoming so frequent, there is great risk to the citizens of western countries. In the article “The Road to Orlando: Jihadist-Inspired Violence in the West, 2012-2016,” Sam Mullins states that while the number of attacks has increased, the number of deaths has decreased because most attacks are carried out by individuals, not terrorist groups. Sam Mullins is a professor with a Ph.D. in Counterterrorism, and has also been a very strong contributor to some of the most influential terrorism research journals. The main focus of the article was on the perpetrators of these attacks and how most

Over the last 13 years, since the attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the world has been exposed to the global threat of extremist ideologies. Service men and women have had a firsthand view of the breeding grounds and environments such ideologies are harbored and developed. With the drawdown of the war in Afghanistan, the global war on terrorism will not end. Instead the focus will shift to other dangerous parts of the world where extremists have already become established; places like Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The weak government in Somalia has fostered an environment conducive to the development of extremist ideologies. This is evident

This essay will review the documentary – “Road to Genocide” where Christian paramilitaries in Central African Republic (CAR) carried out ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population during the state’s ongoing civil war. At the very outset of this video, a crumbling Central Africa is portrayed with utter mayhem, horrendous acts of violence and human massacres. We will elaborate on how conflict in this particular context is accentuated with reference to its socio-economic, cultural, historical and political factors.

It is an area that we haven’t traditionally taken part in. Not only is the geo-political canvas constantly changing, the language barrier will prove to be a difficult one to overcome. Along the western coast of Africa the lines that define countries are fluid at best. Land is claimed by the warlord or tribe that can hold it and factions within the countries are fighting daily for control. Rebellion is a daily occurrence and with it brings a multitude of ethnic complexities. With the proliferation of technology we may very well see the region turned into a religious or extremist playground with the heads of those organizations hundreds of miles away controlling the fighting on the ground like a puppeteer with puppets, all in the name of a movement or ideology. As fighting continues crime and war “ become indistinguishable, with “national defense” viewed as a local concept”3. Fighting will become a matter of survival as nations and states lose the ability to protect its citizens and survival becomes

Gillo Pontecorvo’s ‘The Battle of Algiers’ represents one of the most violent revolts in modern history – The Algerian struggle for independence from 1954 to 1962. More specifically; the year long struggle between the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) guerilla movement and the French in the capital of Algiers. This conflict seemed to be the birth of urban terrorism tactics that we see used today in many terrorist attacks. The first half of the film shows the tactical and strategic uses of terrorisms and the forms of urban guerilla warfare used by the FLN, while the second half of the film depicts the counter-terrorism response of the French. While this is not a documentary, it does show a fair, albeit dramatized, representation of the events that unfolded in the Casbah during this time.

Al-Shabaab as a terrorist group poses a significant threat in Somalia and in the global community. This paper will start by discussing the background. In this part the paper will show how the group has evolved from Al-Ittihad Al-Islam (AIAI) to the Islamic Court Union (ICU) and lastly to Al-Shabaab. Before discussing the group’s threat of national security, homeland and international, this paper will provide the conceptual meaning of key terminology, such as national security, homeland security, international security and globalization. It is important to understand these concepts before moving toward the main argument of the paper. After providing the framework for key concepts, the paper will discuss the group’s threat to Somalia in two areas, national security and homeland security. The paper will go further and identify the threats posed by the group on other nations’ homeland security and international security. We will use East African countries and the United States examples. The paper will provide evidence to support how globalization has shaped and fueled the threats from Al-Shabaab. It will then discuss the primary response from the United States and from African countries through AMISOM. The paper will provide the way forward and suggestions for the response of the international community to Al-Shabaab. In conclusion, we will try to alert the international community that although the group has been experience hard times in Somalia, it is unwise to

The year is 1993. The Algiers district of Bad el-Oued has become “very tense” making the people “edgy, nervous” and suspicious as a result of multiple “bomb attacks, sabotage, various manipulations, and repression” (Allouache 129). The Algerian ministry of internal affairs has tasked my newly formed committee, the committee of public and local affairs, to assess the current situation creating a feasible solution to the tension and unrest experienced by the local population in Bab el-Oued. The ministry has given my committee the freedom to utilize the local law enforcement as well as other needed government institutions in order to help improve the stability in accordance with the information available on Bab el-Oued. The information known

The mix of Cameroon’s oppressive history and President Biya’s consolidation of power doesn’t automatically equal a civil war or insurgency by the Anglophones. However, recent actions by the governing party has thrown gas on the already raging wild fire. In early December of 2017, the Cameroonian government declared war on the secessionist rebels formed by the English-speaking regions. In one instance, Anglophone militants of the Ambazonia Defense Forces shot and killed four Cameroon soldiers and two policemen, deepening the divide and causing the government to crack down even more on the rebels. After these events and the governments recent promise, fears are now mounting as a result and realization of a far more serious conflict which