Five Kenyan policemen were killed in an attack on their vehicle in the northeast county of Mandera near the border with Somalia, a government official in the area said according to reuters.com.

Dozens of Kenyan security personnel have been killed in recent months in the remote lands near the border with Somalia, in raids by the al Shabaab Islamist militants from Somalia. The group claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

Daniel Bundotich, the deputy county commissioner for Mandera South, said those killed included three police reservists, local civilians who usually assist the police and are assigned uniforms and arms.

“The militants also set on fire a police lorry … The police officers were on patrol along Elwak-Kutolo when they were ambushed,” he told Reuters.

Al Shabaab has also launched other attacks in Kenya targeting civilians, in revenge for Kenya moving its troops into Somalia in late 2011.

French President Emmanuel Macron found clear words on terrorism in Africa during his recent visit to Niger.  “The fight is not won today,” Macron said. Within the next few months, one thing was needed above all: “Clear victories for our armed forces against the terrorists”, like reported by dw.com.

In Niger, as with most other countries in the region, few such successes can be claimed.

Jihadi forces have established footholds across the Sahel, in Chad, Mali, and indeed Niger. And the prospects of defeating them and neutralizing their ideology are far from good. At the very least, considerable efforts are required from French and other western troops, together with local forces, to rein in jihadism in the region.

Alternative territory in Africa

Macron’s urgent focus on the next six months was no accident. That’s because the so-called Islamic State (IS) has recently lost large areas that it used to control in Iraq and Syria. Now it’s trying to make up for that lost ground elsewhere, including western Africa. IS fighters in Niger recently showed just how dangerous and combative they can be. Early in October, soldiers from the US and Niger clashed with militants associated with IS on the border with Mali. The battle claimed the lives of four US and five Nigerien troops.

IS “has aspirations to establish a larger presence” in Africa, according to US General Joseph Dunford. He said after the October attack that the US military would make recommendations to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “for the allocation of forces that meet what we see as the threat, what we anticipate the threat to be.” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham found more blunt words: “The war is morphing. We’re going to see more actions in Africa, not less.”

The US has already stationed around 1,300 special forces troops in Africa. France has deployed 4,000 soldiers in the Sahel region to assist soldiers from Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. Italy is also considering relocating troops from Iraq to Niger, at Macron’s request. Donor countries have so far collected around €300 million ($360 million) to help fund the missions. Another such fundraiser is planned for January in Saudi Arabia, followed by another in February in Brussels.

‘Mali is our Afghanistan’

It’s not yet clear whether money or military aid will be enough to stop the expansion of jihadism in the region, or indeed to drive it back. The challenges facing the alliance are immense. Christophe Ayad, a Middle East and Africa analyst for French daily newspaper Le Monde, wrote in November: “Mali is our Afghanistan.” He said both countries were following similar patterns: first a military triumph, then a failed reconstruction and then a gradual spread of new insurrection, more brutal and more politically shrewd than the previous one.

Ayad said the reasons for this cycle were complex, and predicted that Western troops’ commitment to the mission would wane with time, not least because they’d start to lose trust in their local partners on the ground. “Local authorities on the other hand are being marginalized by their western protectors, who tell them what to do, even though they do not understand the local conditions such as how to deal with this clan, that tribe, this political group or that militia.” Meanwhile, the jihadis continue to spread.

Conditions for contagion

According to a study by the American think tank NSI, the spread of jihadism is determined by a whole series of factors. Its findings suggest that, ideologically, the Sahel region is a rather difficult area for jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and IS. The people there are generally not religious zealots. However, the susceptibility to such movements was increased by the spread of Wahhabism, the strict interpretation of Sunni Islam manufactured in Saudi Arabia, in the Sahel.

Other issues that can help foment jihadi movements include specific local political and economic grievances. The perceived political legitimacy of a country’s government can be important, the study’s authors found. They said that the overall risk for the Sahel was high, “given its expanse of ungoverned space, which IS is likely to target.” What’s more, the contributors said that the Sahel “may be the poorest majority-Muslim territory in the world, with generally weak governments in the region, and an absence of national identity in specific states.”

A mix of weaknesses

Such charges could also be leveled at other sub-Saharan states like Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. “While the mix of vulnerability and resilience may vary in these and other countries of West Africa, they share a large mixture of all factors, all of which contribute to structural fragility,” the NSI report states.

All this has prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call for international and urgent action against Islamist extremism in Africa. But he surely knows that speed is but one factor in the fight against terrorism. Paradoxically, what he might need most of all to win this battle is time. A lot of time.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, on Tuesday released a new video, claiming responsibility for a number of attacks in North East Nigeria during the festive season, like reported by dailypost.ng.

It is Shekau’s video in many months, amid claims from the Nigerian government, that the insurgent group has been defeated.

“We are in good health and nothing has happened to us,” Shekau said in the 31-minute video message spoken in the Hausa language.

“Nigerian troops, police and those creating mischief against us can’t do anything against us, and you will gain nothing.

“We carried out the attacks in Maiduguri, in Gamboru, in Damboa. We carried out all these attacks,” he said.

The video then shows footage from a Christmas Day attack on a military checkpoint in Molai village on the outskirts of the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri.

President Muhammadu Buhari stated in his New Year address, that Boko Haram has been “beaten”.

“Isolated attacks still occur, but even the best-policed countries cannot prevent determined criminals from committing terrible acts of terror,” Buhari said.

The U.S. military intensified airstrikes in Somalia in the past week, killing at least 17 Al-Shabaab terrorists behind increased deadly attacks in countries including Kenya, like reported by xinhuanet.com.

The U.S. Africa Command (Africom) in two separate statements on Monday said its forces killed four terrorists some 25 kilometers west of Mogadishu on the evening of Dec. 27, destroying one vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, preventing it from being used against the people in Mogadishu.

Africom also said some 13 terrorists were killed on Dec. 24 in southern Somalia as Washington intensifies airstrikes to weed out Al-Shabaab militants in the Horn of Africa nation.

“U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect the United States, its partners and interests, and deny safe haven to terrorist groups,” it said.

“This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) in combined counterterrorism operations and targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region,” it said.

The Islamist extremists have pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda and is dedicated to providing safe haven for terrorist attacks throughout the world.

The U.S. forces have carried out a series of drone strikes in recent months in Somalia, targeting Islamist States and Al-Shabaab fighters as the Africa Union peacekeeping mission prepares to exit the country.

Somali and African Union peacekeeping (AMISOM) forces have also intensified military operations against the insurgents, flushing them in their Lower and Middle Shabelle region bases amid an expected recall of 1,000 African Union troops by end of December 2017.

The United States military says its support for the Federal Government of Somalia is making an impact in a year in which the Trump administration increased attacks against al-Shabab militants, like reported by voanews.com.

In 2017, the U.S. conducted at least 34 strike operations against al-Shabab and a militant splinter group supporting the Islamic State, according observers of U.S. military activities against al-Shabab. Last year there were 14 strikes. Thirty-one of the strikes targeted al-Shabab while the other three targeted pro-Islamic State militants in northeastern Puntland region.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump eased combat rules in March and declared parts of Somalia a “war zone,” strike operations conducted by the U.S. have killed more than 155 militants, according to a press statement given by the Africa command.

Striking at al-Shabab

At least 100 of those were killed November 21 in a single attack on a training camp near Leb-Adde Mountains in Bay region. In addition, in at least three strikes the U.S. said “several” militants were killed but didn’t follow up with specific figures.

In a news briefing by the Africa Command, Commander of U.S. Africa Command General Thomas D. Waldhauser said attacks on al-Shabab and ISIS militants “provide time and space for the gradual development of the Somali National Army, police force and government.”

“The threat from al-Shabab continues to be a serious one, as shown by their deadly attacks killing more than 500 in Mogadishu back in October,” Waldhauser said. “While we are not increasing our presence or assets there, or intentionally escalating strikes, our pressure on the network and information sharing efforts are paying off with an increasing awareness of what the enemy is doing, making our targeting efforts more successful.”

Drones not enough

Former Somali Defense Minister Abdihakim Haji Mohamud Fiqi says U.S. drone strikes help but will not be enough.

“I believe this will help but this will not eliminate al-Shabab totally,” he told VOA Somali. “In order to finish al-Shabab and eliminate them from the areas they still rule, is to help and rebuild the Somali national army, arm them and provide them with the logistical support they need and military equipment they need.”

Unlike previous years, U.S. strikes this year have targeted al-Shabab foot soldiers more often.

Of the 34 strikes, two have killed senior al-Shabab commanders — a July 30 strike killed Ali Jabal, al-Shabab’s shadow governor for Mogadishu, and a September 7 strike killed the head of Al-Shabab’s preachers, Abdirahman Hudeyfi; two others killed junior commanders.

A November 3 strike intended for the leader of the pro-Islamic State militants, Abdulkadir Mumin, missed its target, according to Somali regional leaders.

Fiqi says the reason more strikes are targeting al-Shabab foot soldiers lies with the Trump administration.

“The reason is change of policy in the U.S. with President Trump, and the Pentagon requested be given flexibility and authority to take action against al-Shabab to help AMISOM and Somali National Army,” Fiqi says. “They empowered American commanders in the field to take action against al-Shabab.”

IEDs targeted

U.S. strikes in 2017 also appear to be targeting vehicles suspected of carrying explosives toward populated cities like Mogadishu.

This month alone, the drone strikes destroyed two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in Lower Shabelle, a region where almost all of al-Shabab’s major vehicle bombings are prepared, including the October 14 truck explosion that killed more than 500 civilians. On December 27, the U.S. destroyed one of those vehicles near Mogadishu, killing four militants.

The number of U.S. personnel in Somalia has also increased this year to about 500, according to U.S. media. U.S. military members have been accused of involvement in the deaths of 10 civilians August 25 at a farm near the town of Barire.

The Africa Command’s last statement said the incident resulted in the death of “armed enemy combatants.” Somali military officials and regional leaders disagree.

Nonetheless, Africa command says protection of civilians is a vital component of their efforts.

At least four people have been reported dead and several injured in a suicide bomb attack at Amarwa community of Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, like reported by dailypost.ng.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 2 p.m. when a male suicide bomber infiltrated the village and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped to his body.

An eye witness, identified as Bukar Fantai, told newsmen that the bomber sneaked into the village disguised as a grain merchant.

Fantai said that the insurgent first approached a shop keeper and offered sorghum for sale thereafter, went to a shade where many villagers gathered for relaxation and detonated the explosive.

“The suicide bomber detonated the IED, blew up himself, killing some, while 13 others sustained injuries in the explosion,” he said.

A source confirmed the attack to NAN, saying that the wounded persons were referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for treatment.

The source said that Police EOD and patrol teams had been deployed to sanitise the scene of the attack, adding that normalcy had been restored to the area.

Police and military authorities have yet to comment on the incident.

Three soldiers were killed in central Mali by a mine blast as they hunted for suspected jihadist fighters, the army announced in a statement, like reported by vanguardngr.com.

“In their pursuit of the terrorists, the FAMa (Malian armed forces) were victims of a mine explosion,” the army said. “The incident took place… in the Bulkessy (Mopti) sector on the border with Burkina Faso.”

“The casualty toll is three dead and three wounded,” added the statement, without giving any further details. On December 21, the army in the large northwest African nation, mostly desert, announced the killing of five armed Islamic extremists and the death of a soldier when troops fought off an attack near Niono in the centre.

In March and April 2012, jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda seized control of the arid north of Mali, including celebrated ancient cities such as Gao and Timbuktu, centres of trans-Saharan trade and learning.

The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013, but large tracts of the country are still not controlled by Malian or French forces, nor a UN peacekeeping mission.

These forces regularly come under attack despite the signature in mid-2015 of a peace pact intended to isolate armed extremists. Since then, the attacks have spread southwards in Mali and violence has also struck in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Faced with deteriorating regional security, the G5 Sahel regional organisation, which includes the three nations together with Chad and Mauritania, revived plans for a joint anti-jihadist force, initually launched in November 2015 with French support.

vanguardngr.com

Snake bite, hunger and malaria have killed thirteen of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Boko Haram custody, like reported by dailypost.ng.

The girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram in 2014.

Of the 276 kidnapped schoolgirls, 163 are now free; while 57 fled in the early days after their abduction, three more escaped later, and a Swiss-coached mediation secured 103.

The Wall Street Journal, WSJ, reports that 13 of the girls have lost their lives during their nearly three years in Boko Haram custody.

WSJ report said, “Of the remaining 113, at least 13 have died, officials say.

“Some were felled by malaria, hunger or a snake bite.

“The majority died in airstrikes. Among those forcibly married to fighters, at least two died in childbirth.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had, after the release of the last batch of the girls numbering 82, promised to ensure the last of the girls returned home to the families.

Islamist Al-Shabab militants in Somalia have executed five people, including a 16-year-old boy, who they accused of spying for Kenyan, U.S. and Somali government forces, like reported by voanews.com.

The boy and four men were publicly executed by a firing squad Sunday in the town of Idale, 60 kilometers south of Baidoa, after an al-Shabab judge convicted them based on their alleged confessions. The judge did not release evidence of the accusations against the victims.

Al-Shabab has executed a total of 22 people this year — nine based on spying allegations, with the others accused of crimes ranging from rape to sodomy to financial mismanagement.

The al-Qaida-linked group has tried for more than a decade to overthrow Somalia’s government and impose its strict version of Islamic law on the Horn of Africa nation.

The five executed Sunday were accused of spying on al-Shabab militia movements, and working on to obtaining specific telephone contacts of al-Shabab leaders, according to the judge.

The judge said one of the men also admitted that he was trying to learn the whereabouts of Kenyan troops captured by al-Shabab in January 2016 during the attack on the El Adde military base.

In August al-Shabab executed one of the Kenyan soldiers but it’s believed the group is still holding several others as hostages.

The 16-year-old boy executed on Sunday was identified as Jibril Salah Haji Mohamed. The al-Shabab judge accused him of working with Somali government forces for three months.

Relatives of one of the men executed denied that he was spy. Yonis Aden Hassan says his cousin, Abdiaziz Ibrahim Mohamed, was an innocent man who owned a truck that operated between Mogadishu and Baidoa.

He told VOA Somali that al-Shabab first seized his cousin’s truck in 2014 near Jimcadda village in Bay region and then asked him to come and get it. Hassan says when Mohamed arrived the village, he was arrested and never seen again.

Hassan said the family only learned about his death yesterday after the execution. “They did not give his body back to his relatives so we don’t know how he died,” says Hassan, who works as an administration official in Bay region.