OBJECTIVE: DESCRIBE THE SPREAD OF TERROR GROUPS IN AFRICA 20 MARCH 2018

Al-Shabab Insurgent group based in Somalia that employs guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics to seek territorial control over the country The name means “the youth” in Arabic Formed as the militant youth wing of the now defunct Union of Islamic Courts in 2006 in Somalia. Its presence is limited to Somalia and incursions across Somali borders into Kenya and Ethiopia. It may have also played a role in the 2002 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. It has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi on September 21.

Al-Shabab The leader is Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was also behind the establishment of formal ties with Al-Qaeda in 2012 and emphasizes a more international agenda than in the past. Godane took over the leadership role following death of his predecessor (Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro) in a 2008 U.S. airstrike.

Al-Shabab Unlike most Somalis, who have followed the Sufi Muslim tradition for centuries, Al-Shabab espouses a radical form of Wahhabism from Saudi Arabia. Not a single, monolithic organization More committed to national  than to international goals Most of al-Shabab’s activities and demands remain focused on Somalia. They still control large swaths of southern-central Somalia, even as international (UN and AU backed) troops make headway along Somalia’s borders and coastline.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Network of smugglers, kidnappers-for-ransom, and insurgents who are active across much of the Sahel The Sahel is the arid region of semi-desert at the southern end of the Sahara Desert. The “Maghreb” is the Northwest African region that included the old Islamic empires.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb The founders of the group were fighters in Armed Islamic Group (AIG) during the Algerian civil war (1991-2002). Several generations of groups with cross-over in membership and ideology over the past 11 years; AQIM is merely the current manifestation. It was formed in 2007.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb AQIM broadly seeks to rid northern Africa of western influence and western style governments. Rhetoric calls for the establishment of an Islamic polity in territories they have controlled, they have often imposed strict forms of sharia law

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb As with Al-Shabab, AQIM has links with the Al-Qaeda franchise, and draws heavily on Wahhabi Islamic teaching. AQIM funds itself through kidnapping foreigners and holding them for ransom. Ransoms for Europeans can run as high as $4.5 million.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb AQIM is also heavily involved in smuggling across the Sahara. The ancient trade routes that once used to transport salt and slaves (among other commodities) now transport narcotics from South America and weapons, among other things. 

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb AQIM is a danger to U.S. and western interests only when those interests are located in the Sahara and Sahel. AQIM has yet to demonstrate the capability or the realistic political will to expand its activities beyond its current sphere of influence.

Boko Haram Boko Haram is a diffuse, grassroots based radical insurgency that has waged a bloody campaign against the Nigerian state since 2010. Operates in a cell-like structure across Northern Nigeria. At times they also traverse the porous borders into Niger, Cameroon, and even into Mali.

Boko Haram Like al-Shabab and AQIM, Boko Haram has been influenced by Saudi based Wahhbism, but with a particularly African flare. Broadly speaking, Boko Haram rejects as evil the secular federal government in Nigeria, seeks its destruction, and the establishment of an Islamic state in its place.

Boko Haram Group lacks essential structure and unified leadership. John Campbell (former ambassador to Nigeria) states that Boko Haram is "looking toward the creation of God's kingdom on earth through violence against those they see as Islam's enemies, rather than the achievement of a political program." 

Boko Haram The nominal head of Boko Haram is Sheikh Abubakar Shekau. He was the deputy of Boko Haram’s founder Mohammed Yusuf, and took over when the police murdered Yusuf in 2009. The group uses a number of tactics including bombings (suicide and timed explosions), targeted assassinations, drive-by shootings, and mass killings (using guns, knives, and machetes) in highly populated areas.

Boko Haram Boko Haram is rooted in the grievances of poverty, under education, and chronic bad governance. This concentrates their activities on the national government and what the group perceives as outposts of federal oppression. They also target religious leaders and members of the public, Muslim and Christian, who are seen to be working against Boko Haram. That manifests itself in attacks on schools, churches, opposition mosques, security, and government buildings and personnel. Boko Haram ideology is malleable though, so a shift toward a more international perspective at some point in the future — under different leadership, or following a particularly transformative catalyst — is not out of the question.

Now Read the Assigned Article and complete the Non-fiction Assignment Sheet DUE TOMORROW! OBJECTIVE: DESCRIBE THE SPREAD OF TERROR GROUPS IN AFRICA

National Geographic – Blood Diamonds Diamonds are sign of power, prestige, and love. 20% of diamonds are illicitly smuggled and are used to launder money. 17,000 UN Peace Keeping Soldiers were stationed in Sierra Leone to keep the peace in 2007.

National Geographic – Blood Diamonds Amputees are the symbol of modern Sierra Leone because of the Rebel forces violent tactics during civil war. The Kimberly Process is the 11th meeting held in Ottawa, Canada. The goal of this meeting is to stop blood diamonds by certifying the gems that are exported. In Sierra Leone 60-70% of the diamonds are smuggled. No smell, no trace, small, portable, highly valuable

Men digging all day, every day moving 18 million pounds of earth Diamond mines in Sierra Leone > Kenema Market to buy/sell illegal diamonds > Town deep in the forest where Maraka smugglers move diamonds out of Africa > Port city of Antwerp 11. Once diamonds are polished and cut it is impossible to determine whether it is a blood diamond or certified diamond 12. Governments and countries must regulate the industry; put sound people in positions of power

Review the HIV/AIDS Info graph News Hour Report > Answer questions Now, read “Outbreak” > complete the Non-fiction assignment sheet > Discuss Essential Question: WHAT PROBLEMS DO AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS HAVE IN BATTLING THE EBOLA OUTBREAK? Review the HIV/AIDS Info graph News Hour Report > Answer questions EXIT: How does government responses to health crises stabilize or destabilize a country? Objectives: Analyze social and political impact of diseases (HIV/AIDS and Ebola) on African countries

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/12/violence-continues-in-nigeria-after-boko-haram-deadliest-massacre-reportedly/; http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/boko-haram-appears-be-using-abducted-girls-suicide-bombers-experts-n284456