The Sahel is a highly complex environment where a large variety of terrorism and violent extremist organizations (TVEOs) continue to challenge the state authorities for supremacy. This has led to it becoming one of the most volatile regions on the African continent in recent years. The root causes of this instability are many and complex. Nonetheless a common characteristic which fuels the TVEOs is that many of their activities are cross-border and affect large areas of the Sahel.
This document is intended to be the first of many tri-annual reports whose purpose will be to provide a more comprehensive vision of trends in terrorism across the region by way of progressive analyses, in order to create a broader and more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of terrorism over time. The document is jointly produced by the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) of the African Union (AU) and the NATO Strategic Direction South – Hub (the Hub).…more

Violent extremism knows no borders. In one way or another and at different times and degrees, all African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) experience this phenomenon. The links which unite the various armed groups which come under the banner of Violent Extremist, national or transnational, are, for many, known. What is less so is the geographical dynamic of its development, particularly in Central Africa where nearly half of ECCAS member countries are directly affected, in different forms.…more
French version

The African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) was established as a structure of the African Union in 2004. The decision to establish the Centre was taken in 2002 as part of the AU Plan of Action to Prevent and Combat of Terrorism. Its primary role is to assist AU member States build their Counter-Terrorism capacities. Its mandate includes the conduct of research, analysis and studies on the terrorism situation and terrorist groups in Africa, maintaining a terrorism database, centralizing information on terrorism and sharing this with AU Member States. The Centre conducts assessment missions to various AU Member States in order to ascertain their Counter-Terrorism capability and compliance with International Legal instruments and then provide advice on what needs to be done.
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This question and answer session was carried out on the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism’s (ACSRT) twitter page, hosted by the ACSRT Social Media Team with Ms. Emmaculate Asige Liaga, Doctoral Candidate at the Pretoria University, South Africa as the Guest. The chat took place on the Monday, 8th October 2018 at 1000GMT. The questions from ACSRT and the corresponding answers from the Guest are produced below.

ACSRT: In your opinion, what are the push and pull factors of violent extremism in Africa? What could be the similarities and differences with other geographical areas?

GUEST’S RESPONSE:
1. To begin with, violent extremism in Africa is met by a combination of structural push factors, which indirectly fuel radicalization, and individual pull factors, that directly impact radicalization, and create an appeal for violent extremism.
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