Perceptions, Vulnerabilities, and Prevention: Violent Extremism Threat Assessment in Selected Regions of the Southern Libyan Borderlands and North-Western Nigeria

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on

The Sahel is home to a number of marginalized borderlands—such as Libya’s southern border region—characterized by the movement and activities of various armed groups, the absence of strong state institutions, and the prevalence of disparaged communities. Potentially, the combination of these factors makes the subregion more exposed to risk and individuals raised in such borderlands can be especially vulnerable to recruitment by violent extremist groups.

HSBA Archive

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on

The archive of the Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) for Sudan and South Sudan project is a set of pages centralizing older updates and versions of HSBA documents and publications from the former HSBA website. All documents in the archive include a time stamp with the respective date of publication and are listed in chronological order. The archive is divided into the following categories:

Out of Libya—Opening Safe Pathways for Vulnerable Migrants Stuck in Libya

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on

On 6 July 2022, the Small Arms Survey’s Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project hosted a public discussion on Libya, with two of its seasoned experts, Jérôme Tubiana and Jalel Harchaoui, who discussed the issue of migrants in Libya—the need for care, rehabilitation, and legal pathways out.

Guided light weapons reportedly held by non-state armed groups, 1998-2013

Submitted by Olivia Denonville on

The increasingly sophisticated arsenals of guided light weapons held by non-state actors pose an international security threat. These include man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) and anti-tank guided weapons (ATGWs)—systems operable by a single user or a small crew, where the weapons’ missiles are either manually targeted or self-guided after launch. Such systems have been used by armed groups to attack commercial airlines, military aircraft, and governmental targets, as well as to degrade military and peacekeeping operations.

SANA Expert Briefing series—Webinar 6: SANA Phase III Concluding Panel Discussion

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on

The Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) Expert Briefings are a 5-part webinar series that is taking place (almost) every Tuesday from 11 May until 15 June 2021 at 2pm Geneva time. Each live webinar briefing features one of our SANA experts addressing contemporary security issues in North Africa and Sahel-Sahara region, and reflecting on the questions received from the audience.

The South Sudan Defence Forces in the Wake of the Juba Declaration (HSBA Working Paper 1)

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on

This report examines the extent to which the Juba Declaration's primary objective of unity between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) has been achieved. In so doing, it describes what institutional obstacles remain to the further integration of the two groups, discusses which particular former SSDF groups and leaders are resisting integration, and suggests how security has improved or deteriorated as a result of the Juba Declaration.

The White Army: An Introduction and Overview (HSBA Working Paper 5)

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on

The economy and culture of the Nilotic people of southern Sudan are based on cattle. Protecting that precious asset is a central concern, particularly among youth in the cattle camps. With the intensification of the southern civil war in the  early 1990s,  the  youth  of  Nuerland  began  acquiring  large  numbers  of modern small arms and light weapons, which allowed them to protect com­munity  property  and  obtain  cattle  and  other  goods  from  their  neighbours.