Latest news with #AQIM
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
How JNIM wey get link wit al-Qaeda take turn one of di most deadly terror groups for Africa
Surging jihadist violence wey dey sweep across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger dey make pipo worry say di Sahel region for West Africa fit dey destabilised. One umbrella group wey get link wit al-Qaeda dey claim say na dem do most of di attacks but who dem be and wetin dem want? Who be JNIM? Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) don turn one of di most deadly jihadist groups for Africa just within small time. Dem form am for Mali, and now JNIM dey operate across di Sahel, one big desert region wey cover 10 kontris from di west coast of Africa go reach di east side. Pipo believe say na dem cause more dan half of all di political violence wey bin happun for Central Sahel from March 2017 reach September 2023. For 2024, about 19% of all terrorist attacks for di whole world and more dan half of all deaths wey relate to terrorism happun for di Sahel, according to di 2025 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), wey di Institute for Economics and Peace publish. E dey hard to know how many fighters dey for JNIM or how many dem just recruit, experts dey tok say e fit reach thousands – mostly young, local men. How dem form JNIM and wetin dem want? Dem create JNIM for 2017 – na wen four Islamist militant groups wey dey operate for North Africa and Sahel join body: Ansar Dine, Katibat Macina, al-Mourabitoun and di Sahara branch of Al-Qaeda in di Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Na Iyad Ag Ghali, one former Malian diplomat wey come from di mostly Muslim Tuareg ethnic group, dey lead di group. E later lead Tuareg uprisings against Malian goment for 2012, wey wan create independent state for northern Mali. Dem still get one deputy leader, Amadou Koufa, wey come from di Fulani community. Analysts believe say dis central leadership dey help guide local branches of JNIM wey extend across di Sahel - network wey dey known as di 'katibat'. JNIM dey post text and video for dia social media accounts for ChirpWire and Telegram through one media arm wey dem dey call al-Zallaqa. Di group tok say dem wan replace goment wit conservative Islamic law and governance. Dem don also tok bifor say make foreign troops comot from Mali. Wia dem dey operate? JNIM start for central Mali but dem don expand fast, dey claim say na dem do attacks for Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger and Ivory Coast. Di group dey active now for all di regions of Mali and 11 out of 13 regions for Burkina Faso, na wetin Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) tok. Burkina Faso don turn di main place wia di group dey operate – mostly for di northern and eastern border areas. From January-May 2025, JNIM claim say dem do over 240 attacks – double wetin dem do for same time for 2024, according to data wey BBC verify. JNIM dey show say dem dey for big parts of Mali and Burkina Faso. Members of di group dey collect 'tax' from villages – dem dey call am zakat – dem dey force pipo to wear certain clothes and dem dey create roadblocks wey pipo go pay bifor dem fit enta or comot, na wetin Beverly Ochieng, senior analyst for Control Risk, one global consultancy firm tok. Dis kain Islam fit no match di one wey local pipo dey practice, na wetin Yvan Guichaoua, senior researcher for Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, tok. "Dis kain practice no follow wetin pipo don dey do bifor and e no too popular," im tok. "But whether pipo like am or not, e still depend on wetin goment fit provide, and many pipo don dey disappointed wit wetin goment don dey do for years." JNIM attacks dey increase? Di group do more dan 3000 attacks for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger last year, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) tok. Ochieng explain say di group dey use different tactics to cause wahala. "Dem dey plant IEDs (improved explosive devices) for important roads, and dem get long-range power." "Dem (still) dey attack security forces for military bases, so many of di weapons wey dem get na from dia. Dem don also attack civilians – especially wen dem tink say di community dey work wit goment," she add. Attacks don turn more violent and dey happun more often for di past few months. Di group tok say na dem do one big attack for June for one Malian town wey dem dey call Boulikessi, wia 30 soldiers die, Reuters sources tok. Reuters report say more dan 400 soldiers don die from insurgents since di start of May for military bases and towns across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, wey don shake di already unstable region wey dey see coups. "Di number of attacks for last week na somtin we never see bifor," Guichaoua tok. "Dem don really increase wetin dem dey do recently." Even though press freedom don reduce and many media houses – newspapers and TV stations – don close afta di coups for Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, e mean say di number of attacks wey dem fit trace to militant groups fit even pass wetin we know. Military coups happun for Niger for 2023, Burkina Faso for 2022 and Mali for 2020. How JNIM dey get money? JNIM dey get money from different ways. Bifor, dem dey kidnap foreign pipo and ask for ransom and dem dey collect money from pipo wey dey pass through routes for minerals and animals. "Cattle-rustling na one big way wey JNIM dey get money," one GI-TOC analyst wey tok to BBC yarn. Di analyst no gree make dem call im name becos e fit put am for danger. "Mali dey export plenty cattle so e easy for dem to thief animals and sell." GI-TOC research show say for just one year and one district, JNIM make about FCFA 440 million ($768,000 USD). If we use dis figure, JNIM fit dey make millions from cattle theft. "Gold mines na anoda big source of money, dem dey collect tax from pipo wey dey enta and comot from dia area." U.S Africa Command oga Gen. Michael Langley tell US reporters last week say e believe say one of JNIM main goals na to control di coastline, so dat "dem fit fund dia operations through smuggling, human-trafficking and arms trade." Wetin dey happun wit counter-insurgency? France army bin dey help Mali goment for almost 10 years wit ova 4,000 soldiers wey dey fight groups like JNIM for di Sahel. Even though dem get some success for 2013 and 2014, recova land from jihadist groups and kill some big commanders, e be like say dem no fit stop JNIM growth. "Counter-insurgency neva work becos pipo dey tink say dem fit beat JNIM wit force, but na only negotiation fit end di group," GI-TOC analyst tok. Few years ago, Sahel kontris join bodi form G5 Sahel Task Force, one 5000-man international troop. But for di past few years, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger don comot, wey don make di task force weak to fight di insurgency. MINUSMA, di United Nations peacekeeping force – even though no be anti-terrorism force – bin dey Mali for 10 years to help, but dem comot for di kontri end of 2024. Wetin military coups cause for JNIM? Reports show say deaths for Sahel don triple since 2020, wen di first military coup happun for Mali. Bad governance under di military rulers for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger don make militant groups like JNIM grow, na wetin analysts tok. Di juntas quick tell French soldiers make dem comot, and dem replace dem wit Russian support and one joint force wey di three Sahel kontris form. But now, Russian paramilitary group wey dem dey call Wagner don dey pull all dia soldiers comot from Mali. For Burkina Faso, one army wey dem dey call 'volunteer' na one way wey dem dey use fight militants. Di president, Ibrahim Traore, don tok say e wan recruit 50,000 fighters. But experts dey tok say many of dis volunteers na by force dem take carry dem, and becos dem no train well, dem dey suffer plenty casualties. Di military juntas demsefs don still get accusation from human rights groups say dem dey do bad tins to civilians, especially pipo from Fulani community, say dem dey work wit militia groups, wey dey prevent peace efforts. From January 2024 reach March 2025, na state forces and dia Russian partners bin cause 1486 civilian deaths for Mali, almost five times wetin JNIM do, GI-TOC tok. Dis kain serious violence against civilians don make pipo vex for goment, and e dey make more pipo join JNIM. As di kontris dey struggle to stop di insurgency, pipo dey fear say JNIM go continue to spread across all di Sahel.
Global News
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Canadian diplomat says West Africa terror threat has grown since his capture
A Canadian diplomat who was held captive by al-Qaida terrorists in the Sahara Desert for 130 days says Canada's promised boost to defence should include commitments to combatting the growing Islamic terrorism threat in Africa — a threat he says isn't getting the attention it deserves. Robert Fowler says it would take 'a very large and serious effort to eradicate' the groups that have taken root in West Africa's Sahel region — particularly Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali — and that U.S. military officials say are fighting to gain access to the western coast, which would increase their ability to attack North America. 'There's nothing we can say that will dissuade those people from doing what they're doing — I certainly learned that in the sand,' he told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block. 'They are deeply, absolutely committed and are evidently prepared to die in that commitment. So it would take a very large and serious effort to eradicate them, because they won't be convinced not to do it.' Story continues below advertisement Fowler, the longest-serving Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and an adviser to three former prime ministers, was captured by militants with the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorist group in December 2008 while serving as a UN special envoy to Niger. He was released along with other Western captives the following April. Since then, the presence of AQIM and other Islamic militant groups in the Sahel region has only grown, carrying out attacks against civilians while claiming wide swaths of territory. Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali are currently ruled by military juntas who took power through coups in the last two years, with varying degrees of Islamic influence. 4:52 Why jihadist violence is getting worse in West Africa Around 5,000 civilians have been killed in the violence in those three countries in the first five months of this year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a 25-per cent increase from the previous five months. Story continues below advertisement The loss of the French and American militaries from the region in recent months has further created a power vacuum, experts like Fowler say. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, told reporters last week that the U.S. military's withdrawal from Niger and an important counterterrorism base there last September means it has 'lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely,' as violent attacks in the Sahel continue to rise in both 'frequency and complexity.' He added that U.S. forces are 'standing with' local militaries in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Benin to prevent those groups from reaching their coasts. 'If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking, and arms trading,' Langley said in a media briefing. 'This puts not just African nations at risk, but also increases the chance of threats reaching the U.S. shores.' Fowler said Canada also faces this risk, particularly the threat of individual acts of violence in the name of groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. 'I think it is fair to say that Islamic terrorism has not been beaten,' he said. 'Whatever success we had in Iraq, and the non-success we had in Afghanistan, hasn't in any way blunted the jihadi movement, and so we're going to have to be extremely vigilant.' Story continues below advertisement He added that western governments aren't prepared to commit the investments and military capabilities necessary to eliminate those threats in Africa. 'Whatever they should be doing, they won't be doing for all kinds of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with Africa,' he said. 'There are other issues and other concerns, and everybody needs money for those different things, and that doesn't leave much for Africa. 'The French had 5,000 top-line soldiers there for years, and they couldn't do it. It would take much more than that. But no, I don't think we have the will to do it.' 2:38 France pulls ambassador, troops out of Niger in wake of military coup Canada's new Africa Strategy, released in March, commits over $30 million to 'peace and security' projects in the Sahel and other conflict-affected regions like Sudan, but are focused primarily on humanitarian aid and civilian supports. Story continues below advertisement The Canadian Forces ended its peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2023 and has otherwise drastically reduced its presence on the continent. Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to bolstering border security, building on promises under the previous Liberal government to enhance screening of entry points and crack down on illegal crossings and smuggling. Fowler said the African threat should further inspire the Canadian government to spend 'a whole lot more' on defence, which he said has been 'pitiful' for years. Carney has vowed to get Canada's defence spending to NATO's target level of two per cent of GDP by 2030, and the Liberal platform promised $30 million in new spending over the next four years. The government spent just over 1.3 per cent last year. 'We don't have to think nice things about President Trump, but that doesn't mean he isn't wrong when he criticizes our defence performance,' Fowler said. 'He is right: we have been getting for years a free ride, particularly in continental defence.' While he wouldn't go so far as to recommend Canada sign on to Trump's 'Golden Dome' space-based missile defence concept, Fowler said it's 'illogical' that Canada is not part of the current U.S. ballistic missile defence initiative and similar programs. 'We very much have to convince the Americans that we are doing our bit, that we are sovereign and are committed to remaining so, because I think Canadians deserve that kind of defence of their territory,' he said. Story continues below advertisement Asked what advice he'd give Carney, Fowler said simply: 'Sign on.'
Fox News
29-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
U.S. Africa commander highlights terror growth in Sahel and competition with China for influence
A top United States military general warned Thursday that terror groups in Africa are ramping up their ability to conduct attacks in the U.S. Gen. Michael Langley, the four-star Marine General who leads U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said the Sahel region of the continent is now the "flashpoint of prolonged conflict and growing instability. It is the epicenter of terrorism on the globe." Several terror groups have expanded drastically in the last three years. Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is three times the size it was in 2022, he said, and has spread across Mali, Burkina Faso, and parts of Niger, which the U.S. military pulled out of last year. Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, a faction affiliated with Al-Qaeda, is now four times the size it was in 2022, expanding mainly in Burkina Faso. "We're keeping a good eye on this because they could have the capacity to attack the homeland," Langley said in a call with reporters. "Throughout my travels across West Africa and through dialog here at the conference, the concerns shared by my peers match my own," he added. "One of the terrorist's key goals now is access to the west coast of Africa. If they gain access to the vast coastline, they can diversify their revenue streams and evolve their tactics, more easily exporting terrorism to American shores." He noted that the terror groups engage in illicit activity like smuggling, human trafficking and arms trading, which fund their nefarious actions and destabilize the region. U.S. forces over the weekend conducted an airstrike against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab in Somalia. The East African country has been wracked for decades by attacks and insurgency from Islamist terrorists, both from ISIS and al-Shabab. The U.S. is in a race with China and Russia to gain influence and trust with the local governments of several African nations to help protect citizens from terror groups. Langley said there is an increasing concern about the number of African soldiers going to Beijing for military training and replicating a U.S. International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. "They're trying to replicate what we do best in our IMET program," said Langley. "And then they also said they're going to increase security and training in a number of countries. So, they're trying to replicate what we do."
Ya Biladi
04-03-2025
- Ya Biladi
UK updates travel advice : Morocco seen as safer than neighboring countries
The United Kingdom regularly assesses the security situation in the Maghreb to provide travel recommendations for its citizens. According to the British government, the threat level in Morocco is increasing due to the presence of Daesh sympathizers and members of other extremist groups. Authorities frequently dismantle terrorist cells. The latest counterterrorism operation took place on February 19, with security services conducting simultaneous raids in Tangier, Fez, Azemmour, Guercif, Ouled Teima, and Tamesna, a suburb of Rabat, reads a Foreign travel advice on Morocco by the UK government. Twelve suspects, aged 18 to 40, were arrested. London also warns British travelers about the possibility of demonstrations and protests across Morocco, particularly in major cities, sometimes without prior notice. While authorized protests are generally peaceful, unauthorized ones can escalate into clashes with law enforcement, potentially disrupting travel. However, the British government notes that no foreign tourists have been reported kidnapped in Morocco. Heightened Security Warnings for Algeria In Algeria, the UK's security warnings take on a different tone. «You should remain vigilant at all times and follow specific advice and direction of the local security authorities», the Foreign Office advises Britons traveling to Algeria. The terrorist threat is higher in certain regions, particularly near the southern borders, where kidnapping risks are concentrated, as well as along the Libyan and Tunisian borders, in northern rural areas, and in the Sahara. To reinforce its message, the British government provided a list of terrorist attacks carried out by extremist groups between 2019 and 2021, which targeted Algerian military personnel. British authorities also highlight the risk of kidnapping by armed groups operating in North Africa, particularly from Libya, Mauritania, and the Sahel. Groups affiliated with AQIM and Daesh can move across the region's porous borders, increasing the threat in remote desert areas, especially along Algeria's southern and eastern borders with Mali and Libya. As a reminder, a Spanish tourist was kidnapped on January 14 in Algeria by a Malian armed group. Tunisia also falls under the UK's travel warnings, especially along the Libyan border and certain areas near Algeria, which are considered high-risk. Additionally, the British government reminds travelers that land borders between Algeria and Morocco have been closed since August 1994, warning: «Do not attempt to cross them».
Ya Biladi
03-03-2025
- Ya Biladi
UK updates travel advice : Morocco seen as safer than neighboring countries
The United Kingdom regularly assesses the security situation in the Maghreb to provide travel recommendations for its citizens. According to the British government, the threat level in Morocco is increasing due to the presence of Daesh sympathizers and members of other extremist groups. Authorities frequently dismantle terrorist cells. The latest counterterrorism operation took place on February 19, with security services conducting simultaneous raids in Tangier, Fez, Azemmour, Guercif, Ouled Teima, and Tamesna, a suburb of Rabat, reads a Foreign travel advice on Morocco by the UK government. Twelve suspects, aged 18 to 40, were arrested. London also warns British travelers about the possibility of demonstrations and protests across Morocco, particularly in major cities, sometimes without prior notice. While authorized protests are generally peaceful, unauthorized ones can escalate into clashes with law enforcement, potentially disrupting travel. However, the British government notes that no foreign tourists have been reported kidnapped in Morocco. In Algeria, the UK's security warnings take on a different tone. «You should remain vigilant at all times and follow specific advice and direction of the local security authorities», the Foreign Office advises Britons traveling to Algeria. The terrorist threat is higher in certain regions, particularly near the southern borders, where kidnapping risks are concentrated, as well as along the Libyan and Tunisian borders, in northern rural areas, and in the Sahara. To reinforce its message, the British government provided a list of terrorist attacks carried out by extremist groups between 2019 and 2021, which targeted Algerian military personnel. British authorities also highlight the risk of kidnapping by armed groups operating in North Africa, particularly from Libya, Mauritania, and the Sahel. Groups affiliated with AQIM and Daesh can move across the region's porous borders, increasing the threat in remote desert areas, especially along Algeria's southern and eastern borders with Mali and Libya. As a reminder, a Spanish tourist was kidnapped on January 14 in Algeria by a Malian armed group. Tunisia also falls under the UK's travel warnings, especially along the Libyan border and certain areas near Algeria, which are considered high-risk. Additionally, the British government reminds travelers that land borders between Algeria and Morocco have been closed since August 1994, warning: «Do not attempt to cross them».
