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Terrorism and Security Report: Africa

10/2/2013

Comments

 
AFRICA

Egypt – The press reported that on the 19 Sep 13 the police had fought a gun battle in 

Kerdasa after eleven policemen were killed in Jul 13 and there bodies were mutilated. A 

police station was attacked after the removal of the former president Morsi. The police 

had fought to retake the area which was held by former supporters of the previous Muslim 

government. In a separate incident several metro lines in the capital were closed after two 

suspected bombs were found on the tracks near Hilmiyat al-Zaytub station in south Cairo, 

although the bombs were believed to be primitive. For further information follow the link:

http://www.fairobserver.com/article/brotherhood-using-martyrdom-revolutionary-capital

       The Egyptian authorities have banned all activities by the Muslim Brotherhood. The ruling 

applies to the movement, its non-government organisation and any affiliated groups, along 

with assets frozen. Under the Mubarak regime the movement was a banned organisation 

since 1954 but was later tolerated but could not stand for elections. It appears that the 

Egyptian government are again banning the organisation and stopping it from standing in 

future elections. Later the new government closed the MB newspaper down and confiscated 

documents and other assets. These actions are clear signs that the Egyptians are forcing the 

MB out and attempting to ensure that it has no legal standing when the next elections are 

held. This will no doubt infuriate those supporters and will at some point become a problem 

for the Egyptians.

The al-Qaeda franchise is attempting to add to the Egyptian woes by attempting to incite 

jihadist's to strike at the Egyptian army. In an article published by the Long War Journal on 

the 23 Sep 13 the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Centre (ITMC), a jihadist media unit tied to the 

Mujaheddin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem called for the strike against the 

Egyptian army. They also mentioned that the current climate in Egypt is a “great historical 

opportunity to regain awareness regarding the betrayal of the regimes that are established in 

the land of Muslims, and their sinful soldiers. This will be an attempt to support its followers 

in the Sinai Peninsula and incite others in the towns of cities of the country to attack and 

destabilise the country allowing for further jihadists possible from Syria of opening up a new 

front.

Kenya – A gun battle ensued in a Nairobi shopping Mall on the 21 Sep 13. Several members 

of the terrorist group al-Shabaab from Somalia attacked many unarmed civilians in the 

shopping precinct as they went about their daily shopping. The attackers were dressed in 

black and wearing turbans and entered the facility from three different directions. One 

group entered armed with assault rifles drove up and walked in from the main entrance, 

a second group made its way onto the second floor of the building via a rooftop car park 

and the third was thought to have gained access by a ramp from a basement area. The 

terrorists asked those fleeing and caught if they were Muslim or not; if they were then they 

were asked questions such as ‘what was Mohammeds mothers name?’ and if they answered 

correctly they were aloud to go. Although al-Shabaab said that the attack was in retaliation 

for Kenya’s involvement in the 2011 push into Somalia as part of the African Union Force 

(AUF). Another theory is that it was retaliation for the Kenyan Navy which attacked the 

small island off of Somalia called Kismayu. The island is seen as a pipeline for al-Shabaab 

to allow supplies of arms and fuel to the terrorist organisation; the island is also believed to 

be a staging post for recruits from Kenya into Somalia. The attack halted with the terrorists 

holding hostages but there was no news of any negotiations. An al-Shabaab spokesperson

said that they would not negotiate so it is possible that although the terrorists expected the 

attack to be a suicide mission they probably got cold feet and attempted to save their own 

lives by taking hostages. In total there were sixteen terrorists of whom five were killed and 

the other eleven were eventually captured. After five days the siege was over and resulted in 

72 dead including five terrorists and approximately 200 injured.

Al-Shabaab had been contained in Somalia and has obviously had problems operating in the 

country due to the success of the AUF. By attacking outside the country the terrorist group 

has shown that it has the ability to export terrorism to other countries in the region. This said 

unless they can be cleared out of Somalia in total and defeated once and for all attacks of this 

nature are likely to be repeated elsewhere in countries that are supplying troops to the African 

Union Force. Security in those countries must be tightened up and emergency action plans 

revisited at and see if they can be improved. There were reports that no one had any idea 

of neither floor plans nor isolation switches to shut down electricity in the building. With 

two attacks of this nature, one in Mumbai in 2008, and the Nairobi attack this will become a 

trend for a large number of terrorist groups who seek to take revenge, recruitment and gain 

propaganda. Terrorist groups must be talking to one another to gain much needed feedback 

on any attack of this nature and al-Shabaab had learned lessons from somehow from 2008. 

If any of the terrorists escaped then they will be debriefed by their leaders and the lessons

learned from the attack will be implemented into the next terrorist atrocity. The attack in 

Nairobi on the US embassy in Aug 1998 was the first attack by terrorists in the country.

Since then Kenya has experienced a number of low intensity terrorist attacks with gun and 

grenades. If that is the case then they must have a new mentor as the Westgate attack was 

well planned had excellent logistical support and was executed well. There are two reports 

in the British media that suggest that the terrorists had been using the shopping precinct for 

some time as witnesses stated that they had seen them coming and going for some months 

prior to the attack. Kenya must now take a good hard look at its security and intelligence, 

learn lessons and where necessary seek advice from those who have been fighting terrorism

for some time. There will be a lot of embarrassment from the government as to why they 

did not pick up that al-Shabaab terrorists were using the shopping mall as a front prior to the 

attack; where did the weapons come from; what happened to the hostages and why security 

in the shopping area was so weak. There will no doubt be many other issues raised but more 

importantly they must learn from this incident and pass all relevant findings to other countries 

that may end up with an attack of this nature.

Libya – Saif al-Islam the son of Muammar Qaddafi will now appear in court on the 12 Dec 

13. The reason given was to allow the attendance of other/s accused in the case. The Zintan 

militia group that is holding Saif has also stated that the security situation is currently unsafe 

to transfer him to Tripoli where the trial is to be held. Another thought is that the militia

holding him does not want him to be sent to trial anywhere else. No Further Details Known.

  Nigeria – Boko Harem terrorists dressed in military uniforms set up check points around the 

village of Benisheik in the countries north-east Borno state. A heavily armed group entered 

the village in twenty pick-up trucks along with two light tanks firing anti-aircraft guns. The 

terrorists attacked security forces in the area that had to leave as they were running out of 

ammunition. The security forces made a hasty run back to their base but were followed by 

BH members who started to shell the base. When members of the village fled those that were 

manning the checkpoints shot those that were fleeing. The attackers finally left in triumph

leaving with their spoils which consisted of four military patrol trucks and two light armoured 

tanks. The following day the security forces went to assess the damage and found scores

of dead bodies including the beheaded bodies of fourteen young men who were part of a

vigilante group set up to combat BH elements.

There were also reports that BH had attacked security forces in the Abuja the nations capital

on the 20 Sep 13. No Further Details Known.

On the 29 Sep 13 there were reports that Boko Harem had attacked the Collage of Agriculture 

in Yobe state killing up to fifty students as they slept and set fire to classrooms. The security

situation in that area is very weak even though the Nigerian government are claiming that 

they are clamping down on the group in the northwest of the country. There was reportedly

no security at the collage which meant it was a soft target for the terrorists to attack. With 

BH attempting to stamp out western style education in the region the government needs to

step up security at facilities of this nature to stop attacks of this nature occurring.
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