Category: Reports
At least 310 people were killed and hundreds injured in multiple suicide bombings that occurred in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa on April 21. The attacks appear to be carried out by radicalized locals, with possible transnational jihadist links.
On March 5, three suspicious packages were found at three separate locations in London, including City Airport (LCY), Heathrow Airport (LHR), and Waterloo Station, and one at Glasgow University.A claim was made taking responsibility for five devices (one of which has yet to be uncovered), on behalf of a group referring to themselves as the Irish Republican Army.
On January 10, the National Assembly declared Juan Guaido, the recently-elected president of the body, the country’s interim President. A subsequent wave of anti-government protests left at least 50 killed and over a thousand arrested.
General elections will be held in Nigeria on February 16, in order to elect the president as well as the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will seek re-election, with his main challenger being Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Fuel thefts have emerged as a leading cause for increased rates of violent crime in states with major oil pipelines. The increase in violence stems from the entry of cartels into the illicit fuel trade, due to its lucrative, low-risk nature.
Control over territory in Libya is contested between the HoR, the GNA, and tribal militias. As neither of these entities are willing to compromise upon their interests, the current political landscape in Libya will remain unstable, and the security environment in Libya will remain extremely volatile in the foreseeable future.
Qatar’s decision to withdraw from OPEC stems from its inability to influence decisions within the organization due to relatively low output as well as its interest in breaking away from Saudi influence.
The November 23 attack against the Tazirbu police station is very similar to the October 28-29 Islamic State (IS)-claimed attack against a police station in al-Fuqaha, Jufra District. These attacks indicate a shift in IS strategy from localized small-scale attacks across Libyan territory towards more focused large-scale attacks against towns in southern Libya, as well as that the militant group has to some degree managed to reinforce its ranks as well as rebuild its capabilities over the past year.
