SANA Expert Briefing series—Webinar 5: Jihadist Groups and Insecurity in Burkina Faso (in French/en français)

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

The Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) Expert Briefings are a 5-part webinar series that is taking place (almost) every Tuesday from 11 May until 15 June 2021 at 2pm Geneva time. Each live webinar briefing features one of our SANA experts addressing contemporary security issues in North Africa and Sahel-Sahara region, and reflecting on the questions received from the audience. The webinars particularly focus on security-related issues in North and West Africa, Chad, Morocco, Libya, and Burkina Faso.

SANA Expert Briefing series—Webinar 4: Morocco's Foreign Policy

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

The Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) Expert Briefings are a 5-part webinar series that is taking place (almost) every Tuesday from 11 May until 15 June 2021 at 2 pm Geneva time. Each live webinar briefing features one of our SANA experts addressing contemporary security issues in North Africa and Sahel-Sahara region, and reflecting on the questions received from the audience.

Déby’s Spring Fall: How an Unlikely Rebellion Toppled Chad’s Dictator

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

'The first time I saw Idriss Déby was in 2014 at the first Dakar Forum, the now yearly event organized by the French Defence Ministry in Senegal’s capital to strengthen ties with African allies, in particular the-then brand new G5-Sahel coalition (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger) in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.

Profil haut: l’analyse balistique en action

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

'Au printemps 2020, je me suis rendu à Conakry, en Guinée, pour présenter, en marge d’une conférence, les résultats d’une étude sur le monitoring des armes à feu en Guinée. À cette occasion, j’avais prévu de rester sur place pour dispenser à l’équipe de l’unité régionale de police scientifique de la gendarmerie un module de formation à la balistique judiciaire. La pandémie de COVID-19 en a décidé autrement, et m’a amené à donner à distance cette formation sur laquelle je reviendrai plus en détail...'

Who’s Fighting Haftar in Tripoli?

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

'On my visit to Libya’s war-torn capital in mid-June, a Libyan friend I’ll call Mohamed* helped arrange a meeting with two commanders in the Mahjub Brigade — one of the largest armed groups of Misrata, a port city 200km east of the capital. Mohamed was a fighter in the brigade and went along to the meeting, at the group’s rear base near the frontline, not far from the Tripoli International Airport.

Women and Armed Struggle: Stories from Libya

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

'Following the fall of Qaddafi, instability continues to persist in Libya. Numerous analyses have been published on the ever-changing dynamics on the ground (a few from the Small Arms Survey include papers on armed groups in Tripoli; struggles at Libya’s borders; and how neighbouring countries have manoeuvred the ongoing crisis), but few exist on the role that women played, and continue to play...'

Bullets and Borders: Transnational Armed Groups and Violence in the Sahara–Sahel Region

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 15 September, 2021

'Many smugglers think of themselves as transporters, not criminals.[i] For, they argue, isn’t the smuggling of petrol, cigarettes and other goods across largely uncontrolled borders simply a way of making a living? And in terms of moving people, can people who smuggle migrants across borders be seen rather as service providers such as bus companies — as some suggest — rather than as smugglers?

Syria's Armed Opposition: A Spotlight on the 'Moderates' (SANA Dispatch 5)

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 3 August, 2021

More than four years after the start of the Syrian uprising, over a thousand armed groups are involved in fighting that has consumed the country. The groups range in size from small local units of a few hundred fighters to large movements with an international reach, and range along the political spectrum from secular groups to extremist groups with a transnational outlook.

Foreign Jihadism in Syria: The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (SANA Dispatch 4)

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 3 August, 2021

A new online Dispatch, Foreign Jihadism in Syria: The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, by the Survey's Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project, offers a snapshot of foreign fighters in Syria at the end of 2013. Focusing on the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the report examines the organization’s strengths, its weaknesses, and its operational impact.