The Islamic State in Africa | Hurst Publishers
A continent-wide survey of Islamic State’s presence, local allies and trajectories of violence in Africa.
The Sahelian Matrix of Political Violence
The Sahel is one of the most active conflict theatres on the African continent and has become a major node in the “Global War on Terror″ over the past twenty years. After nearly a decade of foreign military intervention through overlapping counterterrorism, stabilization, and military and security…
How Europe’s military support for Mali closes its eyes to abuses
The EU is supporting a Malian army that monitors say has killed more civilians than the jihadists it’s supposed to be fighting.
Sahel 2021: Communal Wars, Broken Ceasefires, and Shifting Frontlines | ACLED
In 2021, the Sahel crisis entered its tenth year. Despite the transnational nature of the crisis, each country has experienced different patterns of violence and transformations in the midst of a protracted conflict. This report looks at the patterns of violence in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. It…
What is the real civilian toll of France’s anti-jihadist war in Mali?
On-the-ground interviews with survivors refute the official French tally of civilians killed and raise questions over violations of international law.
Militäreinsatz in Mali: Das Sterben der Zivilbevölkerung in Frankreichs ewigem Krieg
Sie waren gekommen, um Dschihadisten zu jagen. Doch immer wieder töten französische Soldaten in Mali Unschuldige, wie SPIEGEL-Recherchen zeigen. Wird das Land zum neuen Afghanistan?
The Digital Transformations of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State in the Battle Against Online Propaganda – GNET
The Conflict Between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Sahel, A Year On
A year has passed since the relationship between the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) deteriorated into a full-fledged turf war in the Sahel, joining the league of conflict between Al-Qaeda (AQ) and Islamic State (IS). The…
Sahel crisis since 2012
The ‘perfect storm’ that enveloped Mali in 2012 has since escalated into a protracted and widespread crisis across the Sahel. The region currently hosts multipl
Mali: Any End to the Storm? | ACLED
Thus far, 2020 has been the deadliest year on record in Mali. A downward spiraling trend has been observed since 2016, following the spread of violence to central Mali amid the emergence of Katiba Macina. In 2017, Katiba Macina was subsumed by the creation of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat a…
Outlasting the Caliphate: The Evolution of the Islamic State Threat in Africa – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: The annus horribilis Islamic State Central suffered in 2019, during which the group lost the last stretch of its “territorial caliphate” in Iraq and Syria and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed, does not appear to have had a discernible impact on the overall operational trajectory…
Digital Dunes and Shrublands: A Comparative Introduction to the Sahelian Jihadi Propaganda Ecosystem – GNET
In Light of the Kafolo Attack: The Jihadi Militant Threat in the Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast Borderlands | ACLED
On 11 June 2020, militants believed to be members of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a mixed Ivorian military and gendarmerie post in the border village of Kafolo — the first jihadi militant attack to strike Ivory Coast since the 2016 shootings at the Gra…
The End of the Sahelian Anomaly: How the Global Conflict between the Islamic State and al-Qa`ida Finally Came to West Africa – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: After the emergence of the Islamic State in the Sahel (or the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara) in 2015, the group existed in an uneasy alliance with al-Qa`ida’s various franchises in the region. Proving to be an exception to the rule that al-Qa`ida and the Islamic State fight each othe…
State Atrocities in the Sahel: The Impetus for Counterinsurgency Results is Fueling Government Attacks on Civilians | ACLED
After eight years of conflict in the Sahel, the international community remains primarily focused on the two main jihadi militant groups driving the sub-regional insurgency in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger: the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State in…
Explosive Developments: The Growing Threat of IEDs in Western Niger | ACLED
This report is also available in French. Over the past seven months, armed groups across Western Niger have executed a series of IED attacks – a first in the area’s ongoing insurgency. The increasing use of IEDs by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in the Tillabery and Tahoua regions of…
A Vicious Cycle: The Reactionary Nature of Militant Attacks in Burkina Faso and Mali | ACLED
In recent weeks, a series of attacks on churches in Burkina Faso has received global media coverage (BBC, 2019). Jihadi militant groups recently accused of pitting ethnic communities against each other (HRW, 2019) are now also accused of trying to ignite a religious war (La Croix, 2019). While jihad…
Heeding the Call: Sahelian militants answer Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi’s call to arms with a series of attacks in Niger | ACLED
In the past week, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) launched a series of attacks across northern Tillabery in Niger, and included the deadliest ambush ever recorded in the Tillabery region by the group. This suggests that resumed transmissions between ISGS and the Islamic State (IS), as wel…
Comment le djihad armé se diffuse au Sahel
Tout choix d’implantation géographique implique nécessairement une insertion sociale locale, et des connexions humaines opérationnellement utiles.
Insecurity in Southwestern Burkina Faso in the Context of an Expanding Insurgency | ACLED
While much attention has focused on Burkina’s north and, more recently, east, insecurity has been brewing in the country’s southwestern regions, bordering the Ivory Coast, Mali, and Ghana. In the aftermath of several high-profile attacks in the capital city of Ouagadougou between 2016 and 2018, even…
The Fledgling Insurgency in Burkina’s East | ACLED
Since February this year, a new battlefront has emerged in eastern Burkina Faso (ACLED, 2018), in the Est Region situated along the borders with Niger, Benin, and Togo is regarded as a bastion of banditry. However, militancy is a new phenomenon in this part of the country, except the reported faile…
America Is Quietly Expanding Its War in Tunisia
The first documented U.S. direct military engagement in Tunisia since World War II has largely passed unnoticed.
Shepherds – An Overrepresented Insurgent Target Group | ACLED
A low-level insurgency in Tunisia’s western mountains is taking an increasing toll on civilians, particularly shepherds, in the first half of 2018. Beginning in the wake of the 2010 Revolution, there has been an ongoing insurgency of intermittent intensity in Tunisia. In 2015, there were several hig…
The Reconstitution of the Islamic State’s Insurgency in Central Iraq | ACLED
Following the protracted Battle for Mosul between October 2016 and July 2017, the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq was subsequently pushed out of its other major strongholds in Telafar and Haweeja. With the further loss of the border town of Al-Qaim, its last bastion in the Anbar Province, the proto-state…
Burkina Faso – Something is Stirring in the East | ACLED
Since late 2016, Burkina Faso has been confronted with a growing insurgency and has suffered several high-profile attacks in the capital of Ouagadougou (ACLED, 3 March 2018). However, in recent months a new front has emerged in Burkina Faso’s far east. The Est region of Burkina Faso, and the areas o…
From the Mali-Niger borderlands to rural Gao – Tactical and geographical shifts of violence | ACLED
In late April and early May, six massacres took place in the Mali-Niger border corridor. Presumed militants of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) carried out massacres against the Dawsahak community. Militiamen of the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and the Tuareg Imghad and A…
Targeting of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) | ACLED
French forces of ‘Operation Barkhane’ aided by local militias step up operations against ‘Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.’ Since early February 2018, French forces of Operation Barkhane, aided by a coalition of local militias including the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and the Tuar…
In light of the recent attacks in Ouagadougou | ACLED
Ouagadougou was once again the scene of a high-profile attack Friday morning, which simultaneously targeted the Chief of Staff Headquarters of Burkina’s armed forces and the French Embassy. The attack was initiated by the detonation of an explosives-laden vehicle at the Chief of Staff headquarters.…
Ansaroul Islam and the Growing Terrorist Insurgency in Burkina Faso – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: Since last year, jihadi attacks in northern Burkina Faso have been steadily on the rise. These have largely been attributable to a newly established but understudied jihadi group, Ansaroul Islam, which has its roots in the ongoing insurgency in Mali and is linked to al-Qa`ida’s network in…
GUEST POST: Jihadist Groups In The Sahel Region Formalize Merger
As with all guest posts, the opinions expressed below are those of the guest author and they do not necessarily represent the views of this websites administrator and does not at all represent his employer at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jihadology.net aims to not only provide prim…
Jihadology.net aims to not only provide prim…