Analyst Ben West examines the reasons why Somali pirates have increasingly looked to the Indian Ocean for hijacking targets.

Editor's Note: Transcripts are generated using speech-recognition technology. Therefore, STRATFOR cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.

Analyst Mark Schroeder examines the timing of Nigeria possibly bringing Iran to the U.N. Security Council over a weapons shipment intercepted by Nigerian authorities at the port of Lagos.

Analyst Mark Schroeder examines how the fight over oil revenues will complicate South Sudan's goal of becoming an independent nation in an early 2011 referendum on independence.

Analyst Ben West examines Somali media reports of increasing foreign military activity near Kismayo, a center for al Shabaab militants.

Analyst Mark Schroeder examines the upcoming elections in Nigeria and how the outcome could affect the country's oil production.

Islamist militant group al Shabaab attacked multiple targets in Somalia's capital on Aug. 23. Analyst Mark Schroeder examines the history of the group, its motivations and its evolution. Analysis originally posted: July 15.

Labor strikes in South Africa have halted public services throughout the country. Analyst Mark Schroeder looks at the potential economic and political effects on President Jacob Zuma's government.

Tactical analyst Ben West dissects a jihadist group's claim of responsibility for the July 28 attack against a Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analyst Marko Papic examines France's interests in West Africa and the Sahel following its declaration of war on al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Analyst Mark Schroeder examines Sharif Ahmed's tenuous grip on the Somali presidency and his battle with jihadist militant insurgents.