Africa File: Stalled negotiations risk military escalation across several African crises[Notice: The Critical Threats Project frequently cites sources from foreign domains. In neighboring Somalia, al Shabaab is positioned to benefit from political turmoil surrounding Somalia’s upcoming elections. AFRICOM conducted an air strike killing one al Shabaab militant in the al Shabaab stronghold of Jilib in southwestern Somalia’s Middle Jubba region on July 29. Al Shabaab propaganda accuses the SFG of complicity in the alleged deaths for cooperating with AFRICOM against al Shabaab. Alternately, al Shabaab propaganda targeting Ethiopia may be timed to exploit rising tensions between Muslim and Christian communities in the country.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 07, 2020 20:03 UTC