FOR years Africa was a backwater for al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, but today it is rising axis for extremism. Two African insurgencies now rank among the most dangerous internationally: Boko Haram in Nigeria and Somalia's al-Shabab. Going by the number of fatalities per attack, Nigeria now has the world's deadliest insurgency (killing an average 24 people per assault, versus two in Iraq), according to the risk consultancy Maplecroft. Violence has spilt into neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger. In Somalia, al-Shabab has come under pressure from regional African forces, but has responded by striking beyond its borders. Kenya has been particularly hard hit. Since the bloody siege on Westgate Mall in Nairobi, the capital, last year, a series of coastal attacks has cost hundreds of lives and hammered the tourism industry.
Further north countries are still struggling to contain the fallout of the 2011 protests, which left behind a dangerous combination of weak governments and available weapons. Terrorism incidents have doubled in the past year in Libya, where disorganised national forces are battling with power-seeking militias. Those groups have been wreaking chaos in the country since Muammar Qaddafi was overthrown in 2011, with dire economic consequences. And things could get worse. Maplecroft says that the prospect of Libya descending into civil war cannot be ruled...Continue reading
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