The Rapid Support Forces and the Strategy of Savagery (1–2)

Major General (Ret.) Dr Adel Hassan

Terrorism has become one of the most significant issues affecting international relations and international law, being a multidimensional and transboundary phenomenon that recognises no homeland, ethnicity, or religion. It encompasses a complex array of threats and forms of organised crime, particularly in conflict zones where foreign terrorist fighters operate and where actors spread cultures of extremism, violence, and criminality.
Terrorist groups worldwide—whose membership is overwhelmingly dominated by young people—continue to leave their homes to join conflict zones, as witnessed in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and now Sudan.
Despite the threats terrorism poses to the international system, mechanisms for combating it and the strategies designed for that purpose have not been entirely successful. This is mainly due to disagreements over definitions and the challenge of establishing a concept that transcends divergent value systems, cultural backgrounds, and national security concerns. Despite ongoing efforts at the regional and international levels to develop a consensus on a conceptual framework, progress has been limited. For example, the African Union considers terrorism “a serious violation of human rights, particularly those related to life, liberty, and security, and an obstacle to social and economic development caused by state instability. Therefore, it must be confronted in all its forms and manifestations, including terrorism in which states are directly or indirectly involved.”
Terrorist acts are no longer limited to assassinations, hijackings, or hostage-taking. They now involve organised military formations supported by certain international powers, with the aim of destroying the basic structures of targeted states, toppling governments from within, and causing maximum civilian casualties.
This new form of violence centres on the objective behind adopting extremism, violence, and systematic destruction: the eradication of the political, social, economic, and cultural foundations upon which post-independence states were built.

The Concept of Savagery

The book Management of Savagery by Abu Bakr Naji outlines the strategy adopted by Al-Qaeda and later implemented by the Islamic State (ISIS). It has also been referred to as How to Make a Terrorist. Its publication coincided with strategic shifts in the global jihadist movement, and it was banned in many Arab countries. After US intelligence recovered documents and correspondence between Osama bin Laden and his associates containing sections of the book, the US Department of Defence translated it into English. The Counterterrorism Centre at West Point later produced its own translation, titled Management of Savagery, and distributed it to US policymakers and defence officials.
“Savagery,” as used by the author, refers to the state of chaos that grips a country or region when central authority collapses. According to Naji, this chaos becomes “savage,” inflicting suffering upon local populations. “Management of Savagery” thus means managing the resulting violent disorder. ISIS applied this model through the judicial system it established—anyone who refused allegiance faced confiscation of property or execution.

According to Abu Bakr Naji, savagery unfolds in three stages:

• The stage of vexation and exhaustion
• The stage of managing savagery
• The stage of empowerment

Conditions for savagery include widespread proliferation of weapons among large numbers of fighters and civilians in order to exhaust the governing authorities, disperse their efforts, and prevent them from regaining control. It also requires attracting new recruits, carrying out high-impact operations, establishing administrative zones, collecting taxes and tributes from controlled areas, and targeting economic assets such as oil fields to disrupt state capabilities.
Naji urges terrorist fighters to strike with maximum force at the enemy’s weakest points, adopting harshness as a guiding principle. In his view, jihad requires intensity, severity, terror, and displacement. The initial phase must be marked by the utmost brutality to avoid failure and to instil despair in government forces.
When the “stage of the thorn” is achieved, all within the sphere of savagery are forced into obedience, and their slogan becomes: “Blood, blood; destruction, destruction.” He emphasises the danger of leaving political decision-making to those who do not participate in combat, and stresses the importance of media in embedding the doctrine of savagery among the public, along with mastering security operations, deploying spies, and infiltrating opponents.
Naji wrote openly: “We need killing, and we must do as was done with Banu Qurayza”—calling for a policy of severe punishment whereby failure to meet demands should result in the horrific execution of hostages to spread fear—similar to the recent mass executions committed by the Rapid Support Forces against prisoners at Balila Airport.
ISIS’s Strategic Transformation

Since the first half of 2021, ISIS has relied on three primary regions for its presence and operations:

1. The African Sahel Region
It stretches from southwestern Libya through Chad, Niger, northern Nigeria, northern Burkina Faso, and Mali to the Atlantic Ocean. This zone, known as “ISIS West Africa”, is one of the organisation’s most active and important areas, marked by high levels of militant activity and significant recruitment.
2. Central Africa Region
Extending from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Mozambique up to Tanzania. This region functions as ISIS’s operational hub for the entire African continent. The organisation also seeks to expand into Somalia and Kenya to reach the Indian Ocean.
3. The Asian Region
ISIS has recently shifted attention to Asia, targeting security forces in India and conducting operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while spreading into Central Asian states. Its objectives in this region include:
a. Weakening competitors—particularly Al-Qaeda—by dismantling its networks and absorbing its personnel and resources. This was evident when Abubakar Shekau of Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS. The group seeks to claim leadership of global jihadist movements, especially over Al-Qaeda, its strongest rival in Africa.
b. Sending messages to resistance forces by re-establishing ISIS nodes and operational hubs to demonstrate resilience despite defeats and military pressure.
c. Expanding and regaining influence by portraying itself not as defeated, but as shifting from old strongholds to a new strategy of dispersal and recruitment among non-Arab populations, particularly Muslim minorities in Africa and Asia.
d. Reducing pressure on ISIS central leadership by intensifying attacks globally—especially in Africa—to divert attention from the heavy counterterrorism pressure faced in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and recently southern Sinai.
e. Attracting new recruits amid the decline of experienced commanders after the killing of many of its top military and organisational leaders.
The strategic shift across these three regions is a direct outcome of the effectiveness of international counterterrorism campaigns in ISIS’s original strongholds—especially Syria and Libya—culminating in the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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