Egypt – CNN reported on the 3 Aug 13 that the al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had released a video message on a jihadi website urging Muslims to stand together to prevent Egypt from being divided. The message released stated,
"The crusaders, the seculars, the Americanized army, (former President Hosni) Mubarak's thugs and some members of Islamic parties with the support of Gulf money and American plotting, all agreed to topple Mohamed Morsy's government," he says.
Those behind Morsy's ouster, the message states, wanted a "secular, pro-American president to rule Egypt so they can continue with their plotting -- along with the Americans and Zionists -- to divide Egypt, just like what happened in Sudan." This is possibly an attempt to unite jihadists in the region and to send support for those who are conducting terrorist attacks in the Sinai. There may be a number of jihadists in the ranks of the pro-Morsi protesters and he is attempting to galvanize them into action so that other jihadists will join together and create a terrorist group to cause further problems and chaos in Egypt. With the recent army involvement with clearing the pro-Morsi camps and the number of Morsi supporters killed the outcome is not looking good for the Egyptian people. There are cross arguments regarding who has fired at who first but it would be naive to think the Morsi supporters do not have weapons and will stand up to aggression and their beliefs. The amount of those killed by the Egyptian army will help in recruiting future terrorists who wish to have revenge on the current interim government and those in the army. The government and the army must act swiftly to stop the violence and contain the anti-government protesters for not to do so will result in more bloodshed. The rise of a terrorist groups and actions rises day by day as long as the internal conflict continues and they are the ones that will benefit. In the interim the Coptic Christians may find themselves under attack from Muslim groups in the hope of diverting attention from themselves and uniting.
Nigeria – Boko Harem have carried out a number of attacks in the north-west of the country. The three provinces that have large numbers of Nigerian security forces attempting to quash BH (Yobe, Borno and Adamawa) are still suffering from the terrorists. One attack was on a military base on the 3 Aug 13 resulting in numerous militant deaths and the other occurred at a police station in Bama. The authorities claimed that the terrorists used sophisticated weapons but no further details were available.
On the 13 Aug 13 there were reports that a Mosque had been attacked in Konduga in the northeast of the country. This seems unusual as the area is a location that Boko Harem and is currently against the Nigerian security forces that had imposed a huge military strength in the region. However, BH have attacked Mosques in the past in particular those that have Imams who do not follow the views of BH. This Mosque may have been attacked for that reason. Forty-four worshippers died in the attack. The area also has vigilante groups and it may be that BH were targeting the worshippers knowing that some of these vigilantes were among the worshippers. The attackers were reportedly wearing military uniforms during the terrorist attack. Terrorist incidents where they wear official uniforms are now very common making it difficult for innocents to know who is who.
Somalia – During the 15 Jul 13 T & S analysis it was pointed out that al-Shabaab would not be ceasing its activities during the Holy Month of Ramadan. On the 6 Aug it was reported that there was an attack in Mogadishu when terrorists fired mortar shells and threw several grenades resulting in casualties. It appears that the African Union peacekeeping force is having trouble controlling the area and the terrorist group is taking advantage of the lack of security.
Tunisia – Eight Tunisian soldiers were killed on the 30 Jul 13 near the border with Algeria. In response the Tunisian military have launched a large military operation against militants thought to be hiding in Jebel Chaambi's remote mountains near the Algerian border. The Algerian military have reinforced its forces along the border. Al Arabiya wrote that since the fall of Zine el-Abidine in 2011 Jihadist groups have gained strength having been suppressed. Analysts have seen armed militant groups as one of the greatest threats to Tunisians transition to democracy. The militants are thought to be linked to al-Qaeda elements and those who fled the fighting in Mali since the French launched operations. The possibility of the terrorists attacking targets in areas to the rear of the military operation cannot be discounted in an attempt to destabilise the country and take away the military from attacking them in the mountains.