Michelle DeFreese (Master in International History ‘11) is a consultant working for the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD) in Tanzania, and an African Fellow at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). Her main areas of academic and professional interest are in natural resources, governance, political economy and foreign policy.

Ms DeFreese’s recent article, New Fronts Emerge in Africa’s ‘Arc of Terrorism’, refers to Togolese President Faure Gnassingé’s warning at a 2013 UN Security Council meeting.

(…) “Since 2013, the so-called arc has continued to spread, engulfing Burkina Faso and other states formally on the periphery of this band of insurgent activity in its wake. A series of attacks on both sides of the African continent have effectively redrawn the boundaries of the struggle taking place between global extremism and counter-terrorism efforts led by regional and international forces.

The recent spate of attacks in West Africa has been attributed to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), signaling what reports are now referring to as a “revival” of al Qaeda in Africa. In the east, multiple actors have claimed responsibility for attacks that have only increased in intensity. East Africa has traditionally faced security threats from al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organisation. More recently, a new jihadist group, Jahba East Africa, announced itself as a new actor in the region, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In addition, Uamsho is an increasingly threatening Islamist separatist group active in Zanzibar.”

“This confluence of actors has become an additional source of growing unease for the region’s security forces. Existing schisms between the actors have increased the likelihood of fighting between groups, further complicating the security situation.”
 

Read the full article in The World Post, 8 May 2016.