http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jtsm/jtsm041123_1_n.shtml
23 November 2004 Islamic militancy in southern Africa By D. Fleming While the breadth of jihadist activity attracts the world's media to the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central and Southeast Asia, relatively little coverage is given to the development of the militancy in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the presence of organised, militant Islamic formations across southern Africa has increased since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, despite an active effort by US intelligence agencies to reverse the situation. Partly, this results from the increased regional movement of foreign jihadists following the defeat of the Afghani Taliban in 2002 and, partly, from an increased local Islamic consciousness following Washington's occupation of Iraq in the following year. Muslim sentiment became more receptive to the jihadi in Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa with increased safe haven. Mozambique's Islamic believers are estimated to vary between 19 per cent and 38 per cent of the total population and, until 1991, were not often approached by Wahhabi theological interpreters of the Koran - a strict form of Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia. Since 1975, the Soviet-aligned Frelimo has been the ruling party, which displays little tolerance of faith-based social formations, both Christian and Muslim. Since this time, the country has become a 'corridor state' for international jihadis going to the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces in South Africa. The late head of Al-Qaeda's operational arm, Muhammad Atef, was responsible for dividing Mozambique into two zones for this purpose: north of the coastal city of Beira and the Zambezi river is included with Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia; south of it, including Swaziland and Zimbabwe, is the Southern Africa zone, with a looser command element found in Maputo, Chimoio and Mbabane. Their tasking is said to be one of co-ordination and communication and not operational. An Al-Qaeda operation here, were it to occur, is assessed as most likely to take the form of simultaneous, multiple attacks against in-flight aviation, fuel depot infrastructure or detonation of a vessel loaded with ammonium nitrate-diesel fuel mix alongside target shipping, bridges or weirs. Note:the above is not the full item ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
