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History of Terrorism in Africa

Apr 24th, 2013 by

In order to understand the current status of the groups working and the organization of terror networks today, it is important for us to look back at history in order to gain context to understand how and where these groups formed. Africa has seen an uptick as of late in terrorist funding and activity. Some experts look at the power vacuums in states such as Somalia and see them ripe for terrorist influence. To see how and why these influences can spread so easily, it’s important to look back at events in history.

 1973: Assassinations

On March 1 of 1973, 8 members of the group known as “Black September” invaded the U.S. in Khartoum, Sudan and captured 10 hostages. Among the hostages were the U.S ambassador to Sudan, Cleo Noel, and his deputy chief of mission, George Moore. President Richard Nixon refused to negotiate with the terrorists, who demanded the release of numerous Palestinians held in Israeli jails, members of the Baader-Meinhof Group (a German left-wing/communist militant group), and the release of Sirhan Sirhan (who assassinated Robert Kennedy). With the U.S. unwilling to meet their demands, the terrorists assassinated the diplomats.

Only 3 men who carried out the attack were ever brought to justice. Some in the U.S. wanted to bring charges against Yasser Arafat in connection with the attack, but in the end there were insufficient laws in place to prosecute him.

Site of Khartoum embassy where the Black September group assassinated 2 U.S. ambassadors.

Masked member of the Black September group at Khartoum embassy in 1973 attack

 

1988: Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

On December 21, 1988 Pan Am flight 103 on route from London’s Heathrow airport to New York’s JFK airport exploded over the small town of Lockerbie in southern Scotland, killing all passengers and crew members on board and an additional 11 people on the ground – a total of 270 people. Two Libyan agents carried out the bombings, both Libyan intelligence officer. Though Libyan leader Muammar Qudaffi never admitted to personally giving the order for the bombing, he was linked to funding the operation and he obviously harbored the terrorists for over 12 years until they were brought to trial in 2000. The bombers, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah were tried, but only Megrahi was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He later contracted prostate cancer and was let out of prison and returned to Libya, which outraged many. He died in a hospital in Tripoli in May of 2012.

The U.S. response to the bombing was to send the FBI to aid in the investigation. In addition, the U.S. began an isolationist campaign against Libya. They set arms embargoes against Libya, along with strong economic and travel sanctions and military pressure.

 

Pan Am Flight 103 crashes over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. 270 people died.

 

1998: Dual Embassy Bombings 
The embassy bombings on August 7, 1998 on American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania ushered in a new era of terrorism on the American collective mindset. These timed dual attacks were carried out by Islamic jihadists under the group al Qaeda, a group Americans would become familiar with in the years to come. These attacks brought Osama bin Laden, as well as Aymin al-Zawahiri to the forefront of the FBI’s watch list, placing bin Laden on their top ten “Most Wanted” list. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, another terrorist linked to many attacks in the future, masterminded these attacks.
The attacks had the markings of other al Qaeda plots. The bombings were simultaneous in nature and carried out by suicide bombers driving large trucks weighed down with explosives into the entrances of the embassies. Between 10:30 and 10:40 am local time in East Africa, the trucks exploded, killing hundreds of civilians and wounding thousands on the ground. In Nairobi, the terrorists killed 212 people and wounded 4000, while in Dar es Salaam, they killed 11 people and wounded 85 more.
President Clinton reacted in a surprisingly aggressive manner to the attacks. Two weeks after the attack he launched cruise missels on two targets believed to be financed or run by bin Laden – one training camp in Afghanistan and one plant in Sudan the U.S. government believed bin Laden was manufacturing nerve gas at.
In addition, the U.S. increased aid to Kenya and rebuilt the embassy there. It also increased security and protocols at all embassies across Africa.

Nairobi embassy bombing in 1998; the terror attack by al Qaeda killed 212 and wounded over 4000.

 

Dar es Saalam, Tanzania. U.S. embassy attacked by al Qaeda leaving 11 dead and 85 wounded in 1998.

Funding terrorism and Ethno-nationalism
Although not usually referred to as terrorist groups, the many ethno-nationalist groups that have sprung up in Africa creating civil wars and power vacuums in already vulnerable areas have had an impact on terrorism in Africa. The Eastern African region of Ethiopia, Eritrea, the self-proclaimed Somaliland and Somalia has especially been victim to civil wars and guerilla warfare in the last thirty years. Funding for these wars and then the aid for people afterward has come from diverse sources, but one of the main contributors has been the Muslim World League. The Muslim World League is a non governmental organization sponsored and funded mainly by Saudi Arabia.
The stated goal of the MWL is to spread Islam and its beliefs along with access to mosques. Unstated, however, is its links to funding terrorism and training camps. The Muslim World League has used the power and influence it has earned by financing wars and aiding people in the East African region to gain a foothold for its purposes, including terrorist recruitment and training. The idea that poverty feeds terrorism plays out in this region of the world.
Works Consulted:
Fighting Terrorism in East Africa and the Horn: http://www2.gwu.edu/~elliott/assets/docs/research/Shinn.pdf
The Muslim World League:  http://www.themwl.org/
www.cia.gov
http://www.infoplease.com/

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