Friday, November 18, 2016
Click on the map for PDF
A review of violent events involving militant Islamist groups in Africa over the past year highlights several notable observations:
There is considerable variation in the number and type of militant Islamist groups active on the continent.
Most of these groups’ attacks are geographically concentrated.
There is a local focus for the majority of these actors, even if they have declared a nominal allegiance to a global terrorist network. ISIS and Al Qaeda central have a limited independent presence in Africa.
Boko Haram is responsible for the vast majority of fatalities, a figure that has risen significantly in recent years.
There has been an escalation in the number of attacks and geographic reach of Al Shabaab over the past six months.
This is an update of a map the Africa Center for Strategic Studies released in April 2016. It reflects events that occurred between November 2015 and October 2016.