Islamic State Editorial: 'Jihad in the Congo'

Translation and Analysis

In recent years, and as we approach the tenth Gregorian anniversary of the announcement of the Islamic State’s Caliphate project (29 June 2014), it is clear that the main area of concern about the group’s activity now lies in its African affiliates. While the group has not achieved anything in those African affiliates that quite resembles the territorial success and state project it realised in the lands spanning the borders of Iraq and Syria in 2014-2015, the African affiliates have nonetheless managed to seize territory in some places and have proven to be a growing problem for many governments and their security forces in the continent, especially in the Sahel, West Africa (northern Nigeria and its environs), the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Mozambique. Naturally, this provides great propaganda for the Islamic State’s media, which have encouraged supporters around the world to migrate to areas where the group’s African affiliates operate.

The latest editorial in the group’s weekly al-Naba’ newsletter concerns the group’s efforts in the Congo region (the ‘Central Africa province’) and how the efforts of the Congolese army and its allies have failed to quell the Islamic State insurgency.