Drones, Starlink, and TikTok: How Extremists Are Reshaping Africa’s Wars

According to the US Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Africa has become the epicenter of global jihadist violence, with Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates killing a record 22,300 people in the past year. Armed with drones for precision strikes, Starlink internet for secure communication, and TikTok for propaganda, groups like ISWAP and al-Shabaab are expanding territories, recruiting fighters, and raking in hundreds of millions of dollars through taxes, extortion, and ransom. Despite some losses in Somalia and Mozambique, their combined strength has swelled to nearly 50,000 fighters across Nigeria, Somalia, and the Sahel—rivaling the Islamic State’s peak in Iraq and Syria. Analysts warn that weak governance, economic despair, and shifting alliances are fueling the surge, leaving fragile states increasingly vulnerable.

Bloomberg