Africa's Active Militant Islamist Groups

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AFRICA’S ACTIVE MILITANT ISLAMIST GROUPS TUNISIA TUNISIA• Shabab al Tawhid (a.k.a. Ansar al LIBYA LIBYA • OkbaSharia ibn Nafaa Tunisia Brigade (AST)) • Ansar al• AnsarSharia al Libya Sharia (ASL) Libya – Benghazi(ASL) – Benghazi • Mujahideen• Okba ibn Tunisia Nafaa KairouanBrigade • Ansar al• AnsarSharia al Libya Sharia (ASL) Libya – Derna(ASL) – Derna • Soldiers• Soldiers of the of Caliphate the Caliphate (a.k.a. • Abu Salim• Wilayat Martyrs Fezzan Brigade (a.k.a. (ASMB) Fezzan Province) (a.k.a.Jund Jund al al Khilafah) Khilafah) • Ajdabiya• Wilayat Revolutionaries Barqa (a.k.a. Shura Cyrenaica Council Province; (ARSC) f.k.a. • Wilayat FezzanMajlis Shura (a.k.a. Shabab Fezzan al Province) Islam) • Wilayat• BarqaWilayat (a.k.a. Tarabulus Cyrenaica (a.k.a. Province; Tripoli Province) f.k.a. Morocco Majlis Shura Shabab al Islam) • Wilayat Tarabulus (a.k.a. Tripoli Province) ALGERIA • Al Qaeda in the Islamic EGYPT Maghreb (AQIM) ALGERIA • Ajnad Misr • Al Qaeda in the Islamic • Ansar Beit alal MaqdisMaqdis (ABM) (ABM) (a.k.a. Maghreb (AQIM) (a.k.a.Wilayat Wilayat Sinai) Sinai) Mauritania Niger MALI MALI/BURKINA FASO/NIGER Chad Eritrea •• AQIMAQIM (a.k.a.(a.k.a. the Sahara Emirate) Sudan • AlEmirate) Mourabitoun Burkina •• MovementAl Mourabitoun for Unity and Jihad Faso • inMovement West Africa for (MUJAO) Unity and Jihad in • AnsarWest AfricaDine (MUJAO) Côte d’ SOMALIA • Macina Liberation Front (FLM) Ivoire Ghana South Ethiopia • Al Shabaab • Ansar Dine Central African Sudan • Macina Liberation Front (FLM) Republic • Jahba EastEast AfricaAfrica Cameroon • Islamic State in the Greater Sahara NIGERIA Uganda • Boko Haram (a.k.a. Wilayat Gharb Afriqiyah)NIGERIA • Boko Haram (a.k.a. Wilayat KENYA Gharb Afriqiyah) • Al Hijra (f.k.a. MuslimMuslim YouthYouth Center)Center) Tanzania • Al Muhajiroun (a.k.a. Emigrants of East Africa) FATALITIES IN AFRICA BY YEAR ATTACKS 10000 AQIM and aliates 20000 8000 Al Qaeda-linked groups 15000 Sinai-focused groups 6000 Al Shabaab and aliates 100004000 Unidentied/unaliated groups 20005000 Boko Haram ISIS 00 201020102011 2011 2012 2013 2013 2014 2014 2015 2015 “a.k.a.” == also known asas “f.k.a.” = formerly knownknown asas AQ AQIMAQIM AlAl Shabaab Shabaab SinaiISIS GroupsBoko Haram ISIS BH NoteUpdated: November 2016 SourcesNote: Compiled by the Africa Center, this graphic shows violent events involving the listed groups over the 12-month period ending October 31, 2016. Group listings are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered ocial designations. Due to the uid nature of many groups, the listed aliations may change. Sources: Armed Conict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED); Daniel Byman; Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre; Thomas Joscelyn; SITE Intelligence Group; The Soufan Group; Stanford University’s Mapping Militants Project; Stratfor; Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC); and Aaron Y. Zelin..

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Italy and the Sanusiyya: Negotiating Authority in Colonial Libya, 1911-1931 Eileen Ryan Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 ©2012 Eileen Ryan All rights reserved ABSTRACT Italy and the Sanusiyya: Negotiating Authority in Colonial Libya, 1911-1931 By Eileen Ryan In the first decade of their occupation of the former Ottoman territories of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica in current-day Libya, the Italian colonial administration established a system of indirect rule in the Cyrenaican town of Ajedabiya under the leadership of Idris al-Sanusi, a leading member of the Sufi order of the Sanusiyya and later the first monarch of the independent Kingdom of Libya after the Second World War. Post-colonial historiography of modern Libya depicted the Sanusiyya as nationalist leaders of an anti-colonial rebellion as a source of legitimacy for the Sanusi monarchy. Since Qaddafi’s revolutionary coup in 1969, the Sanusiyya all but disappeared from Libyan historiography as a generation of scholars, eager to fill in the gaps left by the previous myopic focus on Sanusi elites, looked for alternative narratives of resistance to the Italian occupation and alternative origins for the Libyan nation in its colonial and pre-colonial past. Their work contributed to a wider variety of perspectives in our understanding of Libya’s modern history, but the persistent focus on histories of resistance to the Italian occupation has missed an opportunity to explore the ways in which the Italian colonial framework shaped the development of a religious and political authority in Cyrenaica with lasting implications for the Libyan nation.
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Nationwide School Assessment Libya Ministry
Ministry of Education º«∏©àdGh á«HÎdG IQGRh Ministry of Education Nationwide School Assessment Libya Nationwide School Assessment Report - 2012 Assessment Report School Nationwide Libya LIBYA Libya Nationwide School Assessment Report 2012 Libya Nationwide School Assessment Report 2012 º«∏©àdGh á«HÎdG IQGRh Ministry of Education Nationwide School Assessment Libya © UNICEF Libya/2012-161Y4640/Giovanni Diffidenti LIBYA: Doaa Al-Hairish, a 12 year-old student in Sabha (bottom left corner), and her fellow students during a class in their school in Sabha. Doaa is one of the more shy girls in her class, and here all the others are raising their hands to answer the teacher’s question while she sits quiet and observes. The publication of this volume is made possible through a generous contribution from: the Russian Federation, Kingdom of Sweden, the European Union, Commonwealth of Australia, and the Republic of Poland. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the donors. © Libya Ministry of Education Parts of this publication can be reproduced or quoted without permission provided proper attribution and due credit is given to the Libya Ministry of Education. Design and Print: Beyond Art 4 Printing Printed in Jordan Table of Contents Preface 5 Map of schools investigated by the Nationwide School Assessment 6 Acronyms 7 Definitions 7 1. Executive Summary 8 1.1. Context 9 1.2. Nationwide School Assessment 9 1.3. Key findings 9 1.3.1. Overall findings 9 1.3.2. Basic school information 10 1.3.3.
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A Strategy for Success in Libya
A Strategy for Success in Libya Emily Estelle NOVEMBER 2017 A Strategy for Success in Libya Emily Estelle NOVEMBER 2017 AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE © 2017 by the American Enterprise Institute. All rights reserved. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational organization and does not take institutional positions on any issues. The views expressed here are those of the author(s). Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................1 Why the US Must Act in Libya Now ............................................................................................................................1 Wrong Problem, Wrong Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 2 What to Do ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Reframing US Policy in Libya .................................................................................................. 5 America’s Opportunity in Libya ................................................................................................................................. 6 The US Approach in Libya ............................................................................................................................................ 6 The Current Situation
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The Italian Approach to Libya
Études de l’Ifri "PLAYING WITH MOLECULES" The Italian Approach to Libya Aldo LIGA April 2018 Turkey/Middle East Program The Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) is a research center and a forum for debate on major international political and economic issues. Headed by Thierry de Montbrial since its founding in 1979, Ifri is a non-governmental, non-profit organization. As an independent think tank, Ifri sets its own research agenda, publishing its findings regularly for a global audience. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Ifri brings together political and economic decision-makers, researchers and internationally renowned experts to animate its debate and research activities. The opinions expressed in this text are the responsibility of the author alone. ISBN: 978-2-36567-861-2 © All rights reserved, Ifri, 2018 Cover: “A scratched map of Libya hanging on the walls inside a reception centre for unaccompanied and separated migrant and refugee minors in Western Sicily”. © Aldo Liga. How to quote this document: Aldo Liga, “‘Playing with Molecules’: The Italian Approach to Libya”, Études de l’Ifri, Ifri, April 2018. Ifri 27 rue de la Procession 75740 Paris Cedex 15 – FRANCE Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 61 60 00 – Fax: +33 (0)1 40 61 60 60 Email: [email protected] Website: Ifri.org Author Aldo Liga is a freelance analyst on Middle East and North Africa issues and energy. He works for a Swiss-NGO which implements assessment, monitoring & evaluation and organisational capacity-building programmes. He holds a MA in International Security from Sciences Po Paris and a BA in Political Science from the “Cesare Alfieri” School of Political Sciences of Florence.
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Or Simply the Islamic State, Has Carried out Deadly Terrorist Attacks
BACKGROUND REPORT Patterns of Islamic State-Related Terrorism, 2002--2015 For more than a decade, the organization now known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or simply the Islamic State, has carried out deadly terrorist attacks. Beginning as a small network led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the first terrorist attack attributed to this group was the assassination of American diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman, Jordan in October 2002. Since then, the group initially known as Tawhid and Jihad (Jama’at al-Tawhid w’al-Jihad (the Party of Monotheism and Jihad)) has undergone a complex evolution, including name changes, leadership changes, and shifts in allegiance to other Salafi-jihadist organizations, most notably al-Qaida. In addition, the reach of ISIL’s violence surpasses its own membership, to include attacks carried out by other groups and individuals who have pledged allegiance to ISIL regardless of whether or not formal ties exist. This complexity makes it difficult to comprehensively and systematically place into context the violence of one of the most active and deadly terrorist organizations in recent history. For the purpose of this report, we have classified the terrorist attacks in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) into four ISIL-related perpetrator categories: ISIL Predecessor: attacks by organizations that were part of the ISIL lineage prior to adoption of the ISIL name in 2013 ISIL: attacks by operatives of the “core” of the organization, based in and primarily active in Iraq and Syria ISIL Affiliate: attacks by organizations that have declared allegiance to ISIL1 ISIL-Inspired: attacks by individuals who have indicated that they were motivated by allegiance to ISIL ISIL-Related: any of the above This report presents data that illustrate the dynamics of ISIL-related terrorism over time and place, from 2002 to 2015.
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ISIS in Libya: a Major Regional and International Threat
המרכז למורשת המודיעין (מל"מ) מרכז המידע למודיעין ולטרור January 2016 ISIS in Libya: a Major Regional and International Threat ISIS operatives enter the coastal city of Sirte in north-central Libya on February 18, 2015, in a show of strength accompanied by dozens of vehicles (Twitter.com, Nasher.me). Since then ISIS has established itself in Sirte and the surrounding areas, turning the entire region into its Libyan stronghold and a springboard for spreading into other regions. Overview 1. In 2015 ISIS established two strongholds beyond the borders of its power base in Iraq and Syria: the first in the Sinai Peninsula, where it wages determined fighting against the Egyptian security forces. The second is situated in the north- central Libyan city of Sirte and its surroundings, where it has established territorial control and from where it seeks to take over the entire country. It intends to turn Libya into a springboard for terrorism and the subversion of the rest of North Africa, the sub-Saharan countries, and southern Europe. The firm territorial base ISIS constructed in Libya is the only one outside IraQ and Syria, and is potentially a greater regional and international threat. 2. ISIS could establish itself in Libya because of the chaos prevalent after the execution of Muammar Qaddafi. As in Iraq and Syria, the governmental-security vacuum created by the collapse of the central government was filled by nationalist and Islamist organizations, local and regional tribal militias and jihadist organizations. The branch of ISIS in Libya exploited the lack of a functioning government and 209-15 2 the absence of international intervention to establish itself in the region around Sirte and from there to aspire to spread throughout Libya.
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Local Militias and Governance in Libya
CrisesAlert 3 Entering the Lion’s Den: local militias and governance in Libya Clingendael Report Floor El Kamouni-Janssen Kars de Bruijne CrisesAlert 3 Entering the Lion’s Den: local militias and governance in Libya Floor El Kamouni-Janssen Kars de Bruijne Clingendael report October 2017 Clingendael CrisesAlerts Libya Unpacking conflict trends, theaters and assumptions forms the basis of the Clingendael CrisesAlerts on Libya: where are the theaters of war, what are trends in fault lines, success and conflict activity? European security interests at stake: this CrisesAlert explores why Europe should care about the ongoing conflict. What security interests are at stake? What are the mechanisms whereby the crises impact Europe and its member states? What should be done? Militia coalition-building and governance: this CrisesAlert explores armed coalitions in Libya, and their implications for conflict and support for local and national governance. The EU in the world: this CrisesAlert probes into the regional and geopolitical power dynamics. How do fault lines develop and what does this suggest for the EU’s room for maneuver, foreign policy and actionable policy? October 2017 © Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’. Cover photo: © Flickr – Magharebia Unauthorized use of any materials violates copyright, trademark and / or other laws. Should a user download material from the website or any other source related to the Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, or the Clingendael Institute, for personal or non-commercial use, the user must retain all copyright, trademark or other similar notices contained in the original material or on any copies of this material. Material on the website of the Clingendael Institute may be reproduced or publicly displayed, distributed or used for any public and non-commercial purposes, but only by mentioning the Clingendael Institute as its source.
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Page 1 of 7 Location the Nation of Libya Is Located in North Africa And
Libya Location The nation of Libya is located in North Africa and covers approximately one million seven hundred fifty square kilometers, which is slightly larger than the United State’s Alaska. It is one of the largest countries in Africa. Libya lies in the geographic coordinates 25°N and 17°E. It is bordered in the north by the Mediterranean Sea and by Niger and Chad in the south. Libya’s western border connects to Algeria and Tunisia, and connects to Egypt and Sudan in the east. Geography The highest point in Libya is the Bikku Bitti, also known as Bette Peak, which stands at seven thousand four hundred and thirty eight feet at its highest point. It is located in the Tibesti Mountains in southern Libya near the Chadian border. The Sahara, an immense North African desert, covers most of Libya. Much of the country’s land consists of barren, rock-strewn plains and sand sea, with flat to underlying plains, plateaus, and depressions. Two small areas of hills ascend in the northwest and northeast, and the Tibesti mountains rise near the southern border. There are no permanent rivers or streams in Libya. The coastline is sunken near the center by the Gulf of Sidra, where barren desert reaches the Mediterranean Sea. Libya is divided into three natural regions. The first and largest, to the east of the Gulf of Sidra, is Cyrenaica, which occupies the plateau of Jabal al Akhdar. The majority of the area of Cyrenaica is covered with sand dunes, especially along the border with Egypt.
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Fragile Stability and Future Opportunities in Libya's Sirte
Issue 2019/21 December 2019 The City in the Middle: Fragile Stability and Future Opportunities in Libya’s Sirte Omar Al-Hawari1 Since 4 April, Libya has been witnessing its third civil conflict in eight years. The conflict was sparked when the General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF),2 a diverse coalition headquartered in eastern Libya, launched a military operation to wrest control of the capital from actors loosely affiliated to the internationally- recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).3 While fighting has continued in and around Tripoli, with neither side able to gain a decisive victory, there have been concerns that the conflict over the capital could precipitate violence in other areas across the country. The coastal city of Sirte4 appeared particularly exposed, with its proximity to forces allied to the two main warring camps indicating it could become a new frontline. In addition to its strategic location in the centre of Libya’s northern coast, Sirte has a particular symbolism in Libya’s recent history. Having been the stronghold of the Qadhadhfa tribe and of the Jamahiriyya regime between 1969 and 2011, it then 1. Omar Al-Hawari is a communications engineer and researcher from the Sirte region. He has been cooperating with the Middle East Directions Programme since 2018. This paper was written as part of Middle East Directions’ Libya Initiative, which includes a project mentoring junior Libyan analysts. This paper was origi- nally written in Arabic. BRIEF 2. The LAAF is an alliance of armed military and civilian groups led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
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The Limits of Independence
RUTH FIRST Libya The Elusive Revolution Part II: The Limits of Independence First published by Penguin Books in 1974 Republished in 2012 by the Ruth First Papers Project www.ruthfirstpapers.org.uk Part II : The Limits of Independence MEDITERRANEAN SEA / \ I \ Hummadalt AI Hamra \, Grc:al Sand Stu of Calatucia \ UAR l (EGYPT) y FEZZAN Hantj AIAifflld A \ \ I Rurrn Mur=w! e SandSta \ Total or<:or Libya r,759,ooosq. km. - -- - ---- :;....;:...- ::..:.;.- 2 Hostage to History and Geography The Ancient Greeks gave the name Libye to all North Africa west of Egypt, but for many .centuries the terms Tripoli or Barbary (after the corsairs who practised piracy in the Mediterr• anean) were used instead. It was in 1934, after the completion of the Italian conquest of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, that the two provinces were united under Italian over-rule as the colony of Libia. The independent State that was established in 1951 kept that name as the one associated with the region from ancient times. The political divisions of the former provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan corresponded with the country's natural physical barriers and differences. Geography had made the ancient affiliations of the two coastal regions dissimilar - Cyrenaica's early history was influenced by Greece and Egypt, whereas Tripolitania fell under Rome and was close to Tunisia. The Arab invasions had unifying effects on the population, as did the Turkish occupation in the sixteenth century. But the three provinces were never closely unified,and successive foreign powers, whether they controlled all of modern Libya or only parts of it, generally continued to follow the natural divisions of the country in the shape of their administrations.
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Public Summary of Libya Request
On June 16, 2017, the U.S. Department of State published notification in the Federal Register of the receipt of a request from the Government of Libya to the Government of the United States of America for import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material from Libya representing its prehistoric through Ottoman Era heritage. This request is submitted pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property as implemented by the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). The following public summary, authorized by the Government of Libya, is derived from that request. It does not necessarily represent the position of the Government of the United States on this matter. In its request, the Government of Libya offers a general overview of its geography, climate, and socio-cultural history, evidence of pillage of and jeopardy to its archaeological and ethnological materials, measures Libya has taken consistent with the 1970 UNESCO Convention to mitigate the problem of pillage, analysis of the nature and extent of the U.S. and international market for Libyan cultural property, and description of the benefits that import restrictions might confer. * * * PUBLIC SUMMARY Request by the Government of Libya to the Government of the United States of America for Imposing Import Restrictions to Protect its Cultural Patrimony under Article 9 of the UNESCO Convention (1970) Libya is home to a significant cultural patrimony, which evolved over millennia of human habitation, trade, and development in a geographically vast and diverse setting.
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How Sirte Became a Hotbed of the Libyan Conflict Sirte: a New Frontline (June 2020) Cover
How Sirte Became a Hotbed of Issue 2021/05 the Libyan Conflict February 2021 Omar Al-Hawari1 Abstract The birthplace and former stronghold of the late Muammar Qadhafi, the coastal city of Sirte, was stigmatised and marginalised following the fall of the regime in October 2011. However, since 2019 it has again become the epicentre of Libya’s domestic and international conflict. How can this sudden change in the strategic importance of the city be explained? Based on numerous interviews with key actors from Sirte and on both warring sides, this paper analyses how the strategic importance of Sirte has evolved since Haftar’s LAAF military offensive on Tripoli in April 2019 and how the city has now become central to the Libyan conflict and its resolution through international diplomatic efforts. Introduction The city of Sirte, located in the middle of the Libyan littoral and at the western edge of the ‘Oil Crescent,’ was the theatre of the final battle of the 2011 civil war, but after being ‘liberated’ by the revolutionary forces in October it faded into the margins of Libya’s transition. The city was military defeated, socially marginalised and politically excluded. However, since 2019 it has again become the epicentre of Libya’s domestic and international conflict. How can this sudden BRIEF change in the strategic importance of the city be explained? The birthplace and former stronghold of the late Muammar Qadhafi, Sirte, and its inhabitants were marginalised and stigmatised following the fall of the regime in October 2011. Left devastated after weeks of shelling and street fighting, the city was still regarded by the new authorities as a stronghold of former regime supporters and the symbol of the ‘defeated’ in the civil war.
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