Jihadists flock to Mali and al-Shabaab leaves Kismayo in Somalia: Gulf Islamism

Events on the ground in northern Mali and in Kismayo in Somalia are gathering apace. This applies to the al-Shabaab (al-Shabab) leaving their last major stronghold in Kismayo after coming under attack from African Union forces in Somalia. At the same time, international Sunni Islamists from various West African countries are joining the fray in northern Mali.

The second trend in northern Mali is extremely worrying because while the exact figures are not known, it highlights a worrying reality that Islamists are now recruiting and spreading their ideology throughout West Africa. Already, you have a brutal Sunni Islamists insurgency in northern Nigeria which kills Christians and mainstream Muslims indiscriminately. Therefore, it would appear that new jihadist networks are bent on spreading their hatred to other parts of West Africa....read more