January 2023 Persecution Magazine

HOTSPOT: THE SAHEL
THE SAHEL
a hotbed of terrorism
The Sahel region of Africa is a belt
of land immediately south of the
Sahara Desert that stretches east
to west across the African content.
The region has garnered global
attention due to the rise in extremism
over the past decade, in what is now
considered an epidemic of jihadism.
Mali is known to be the epicenter of the
Sahel’s insurgency ever since jihadists
hijacked a coup attempt in 2012 and
established a caliphate. Though French
military troops drove out the jihadists
just months later, the northern portion
of the country has remained a hotbed
of terrorism. Many extremist groups call
northern Mali their safe haven and continue
to train and recruit their militants
from there while conducting attacks
across borders into Niger and Burkina
Faso.
In 2021, Burkina Faso experienced a record
year of conflict and replaced Mali
as the epicenter of Sahel terrorism. On
June 4, 2021, the country underwent
the bloodiest attack in its six-year struggle
with jihadists. Al-Qaeda affiliates
killed more than 135 civilians over two
nights. Seven months and several attacks
later, soldiers staged a coup and
announced a military-run government.
In Niger, attacks doubled in 2021 compared
to 2020. In March 2021, insurgents
raided three villages in Niger’s
Tahoua region, bordering Mali, and massacred
137 civilians. Blamed on affiliates
of the Islamic State, the attack followed
a January attack that killed 100, as well
as an attack weeks earlier which left 58
civilians dead.
In addition to Niger, Boko Haram has
some presence in Chad and Cameroon.
Most of the Boko Haram activity,
however, remains in northern Nigeria
where they have maintained an insurgency
for 13 years. Now split into two
factions, Boko Haram seems to be making
a comeback after its territory was
significantly reduced in 2015, the year it
pledged allegiance to Islamic State and
created the Islamic State West African
Province (ISWAP). Boko Haram soldiers,
largely forced out of northern Nigeria,
entered the lake Chad Basin where
weak governance has enabled them to
regain strength.
As jihadists continue to gain momentum
throughout the Sahel, they will deepen
their influence across borders and claim
territory further into Western Africa. If
left without international intervention,
2022 is projected to be a year of expansionism
for radicals on a quest for global
Jihad.
24 Persecution | JANUARY 2023
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