American experts on the growing threat of terrorism in Sahel and West Africa
As terrorist groups continue to destabilize the Sahel region in sub-Saharan Africa, violence has spread to the coastal West African states that were previously beyond the reach of regional jihadist groups, US security experts say.
Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) currently controls 40% of Burkina Faso. The government believes that the group keeps spreading its influence, capturing large areas throughout the region.
The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is also active in the Sahel, challenging unstable governments and taking advantage of porous borders, high levels of corruption and a weak rule of law.
In 2017, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Ghana, and Burkina Faso formalized their cooperation to jointly counter the spread of Islamist groups through the Accra Initiative. The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also advocate greater coordination among regional states to combat the influence of militant groups.
The growing threat has also drawn the attention of international partners in the region. In order to strengthen good governance, the United States, through the US Department of State, launched the Global Fragility Act, which provides resources to help “stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent violence around the world,” with a focus on Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin.
At the same time, it must be noted that Guinea, which stopped a joint military training program supported by the Jordanian special services last month, has not yet received any real help from the United States. Benin is in a similar situation: the country has so far bought two combat helicopters from France and, according to the same French sources, is holding intense negotiations with Moscow now on the purchase of new combat helicopters. Neither the United States nor France have available boards for this yet.
US experts believe that despite these efforts, the coastal West Africa is plagued by the same problems facing the Sahel, namely political instability, intercommunal and tribal disputes exacerbated by the climate crisis, and the rise of criminal networks.
Ghana has long been seen as an island of stability in the wider region of West Africa. Through peaceful elections and a change of government, democracy in Ghana has become a model for other countries. However, this relative stability is being threatened by the continued encroachment of jihadist groups, especially in northern Ghana, which borders the Cascades region of Burkina Faso and on the north with Côte d'Ivoire.
In Benin, jihadist attacks have become more frequent since late 2021. The JNIM has occupied parts of Benin to create a supply corridor, moving fighters, weapons and other materiel to replenish resources of their supporters, operating throughout the Sahel and West Africa. In response to the actions of the Benin security forces, allegations of human rights violations have increased. This illustrates the danger posed by the harsh militarized responses that create new challenges, which are in turn used by jihadist groups.
Like in Mali and Burkina Faso, groups such as the JNIM have succeeded in recruiting among the ethnic communities of the Fulani, a transnational nomadic group that has been particularly hard hit by changing environmental conditions. Extremist groups tend to operate and recruit in proximity to national borders and often use nature reserves and national parks as safe havens.
This has made places like W Park, located on the border of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, a particularly attractive target for jihadist groups.
In neighboring Togo, JNIM militants attacked in large numbers, killing Togolese soldiers and seizing weapons. Along the border with Burkina Faso, in villages and towns such as Sanloaga and Kpekankandy, jihadists launched similarly vicious attacks. In Savanes, Kara and Central, the three northern regions of Togo, there have been warnings of heightened vulnerability of local populations to the narratives of violent extremism.
Growing jihadist violence in the region is but one aspect of a multifaceted set of challenges facing regional leaders. The aftermaths of the colonial period, corruption and distrust of elites, migration, climate change and land exploitation have created an environment in which ethnic and tribal divisions increasingly lead to conflict, either naturally or through the manipulations by Islamist groups.
Main conclusions:
- As terrorist groups continue to destabilize sub-Saharan Africa's Sahel region, violence has spread to coastal West African states not previously affected, including Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo and Ghana.
- The JNIM has occupied parts of Benin to create a supply corridor, moving fighters, weapons and other materiel to replenish resources of their supporters operating in various countries of the Sahel and West Africa.