Growing Islamist terror in Africa
Global News
2 weeks ago at least 160 people were killed in a border village in Burkina Faso (a landlocked country in West Africa) over the weekend.
Although no one claimed responsibility for these attacks, Burkinabe authorities have named the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), which has carried out hundreds of terror strikes in recent years. This incident is a grim reminder of the growing forces of terrorism in the African continent.
The Sahel region
Burkina Faso saw its first terror attack in 2015 and the conditions have deteriorated steadily over the years; the story is not unique to the country. The Sahel region, which is a 5,900km long semi-arid territory, has seen terrorist groups expanding their networks and stepping up attacks on civilians and soldiers.
This region has become the hotspot for ISIS and Al-Qaeda activities.
The main terror groups operating in the region
The ISGS,
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)
The Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
The local al-Qaeda branch in Mali
Boko Haram
ISGS and Jama’at Nasr are reportedly in alliance to expand their influence in the Burkina-Mali-Niger border region. Boko Haram and the ISWAP are fighting each other but control territories in northeastern Nigeria.
Why is this happening in the Sahel region?
When the IS-militant infrastructure was destroyed in Iraq and Syria, their foot soldiers fled to Africa, regrouping themselves in the region.
The landlocked countries of Sahel are poor and usually do not have a stable government. It is also difficult for foreign countries like the US or France to intervene in these regions.
While these groups today face resistance in the middle east and the AfPak region (Afghanistan- Pakistan region), the instability of the Sahel regions allows such organisations to grow.
The French intervention
When a NATO invasion removed Muammar Gaddafi from power in Libya, it fell into anarchy and civil war and became a jihadist breeding ground. Then trouble spread to Mali and in 2013, France made a military intervention in this region.
It deployed troops in the region for counter-insurgency operations and was helped by the U.S. However, France did not defeat the insurgency which spread beyond Mali’s borders. This instability created a safe haven for the jihadists.
Will France do to Sahel what the US did to Afghanistan?
France’s intervention started in Mali in 2013 and later expanded to four other vulnerable former colonies — Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
As we witness the catastrophic withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan, French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement from June 2021 about France withdrawing more than 2,000 troops from the Sahel region by early next year should have us worried.
The similarities between the two regions that are concerning:
Both involve years-long foreign involvement in countries with weak and unstable governments
Both operations have struggled against troop fatigue, casualties, and dwindling support at home
Both are against Islamist groups which, many say, are patiently confident they will outlast their enemy
Two leaders. Same mistake?
"And an endless American presence in the middle of another country's civil conflict was not acceptable to me." - Joe Biden
"France doesn't have the vocation or the will to stay eternally in the Sahel." - Emmanuel Macron
What’s next?
The recent attacks should serve as a warning to all stakeholders and major global powers, which worked together with regional players to defeat the IS in West Asia, should not stay away from the growing threat from Africa.
Experts have pointed out that complete withdrawal might witness the same fate in Africa as Afghanistan as the Sahel’s extremists might be willing to wait, similar to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Like what you read? Share this article with your friends and follow us on:
Instagram | Medium | LinkedIn