Latest news with #jihadist
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Niger targets jihadist financing, kills 13 in illegal gold mine raids
NIAMEY, June 16 (Reuters) - Niger's army has raided jihadist-controlled informal mining sites in the country's west, killing more than a dozen insurgents and seizing material linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, it said. An army statement said the raids took place last week in the Tagueye locality, near Niger's western border with Burkina Faso. It said 13 insurgents were killed and one arrested. "Previously under the control of armed terrorist groups, these sites have been dismantled and systematically rendered inoperative," said the army statement released over the weekend. The raids "aimed at drying up the sources of financing for terrorist activities", it said. Like Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is battling an insurgency by jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and taken control of villages in its western border and the south. The military-ruled government expelled French forces, turning instead to Russia to help fight the insurgents. Ryan Cummings, director of the Africa-focused intelligence firm Signal Risk, said the raids may have temporarily disrupted illicit gold mining, but cutting off insurgents' financing required stronger efforts. "The minute state forces depart areas and mining sites with militant presence, the same actors can return to these deposits and restart operations," Cummings said. The insurgency in Niger has further battered the economy in Niger, where around 4.5 million people, or 17% of the population, required aid in 2024, according to the United Nations. In May, eight staff of privately-owned Nguvu Mining, which operates the Samira Hill gold mine southwest of the capital Niamey, were killed when the military-escorted bus they were travelling in ran over an IED, a company executive told Reuters.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
As U.S. Aid Dries Up, West Africa Fights Expanding Jihadist Threat
At a market in Tougbo, a small town in northern Ivory Coast, the smell of dried fish and fried dough filled the air. Children ran around the bustling stalls where women sold the corn and cassava they had carried on their heads for miles in the countryside. Muslim elders watched the crowds on the sandy main street, while Christian worshipers poured out of church after Sunday mass. Yet the bustle belied an insidious threat. About half of terrorism deaths worldwide in 2023 were recorded in the Sahel, the arid region in West Africa known for its seminomadic tribes and ancient trade routes. Emboldened by their success in the landlocked nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, insurgents affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are moving south toward the Atlantic and into coastal nations such as Ivory Coast. Jihadist attacks 2019-2021 Both periods 2022-2025 MALI Jihadist activity has moved south. 100 Miles NIGER Bamako BURKINA FASO BENIN GHANA IVORY COAST TOGO Detail AFRICA Atlantic Ocean Jihadist attacks: 2019-2021 Both periods 2022-2025 MALI Jihadist activity has moved south. 100 Miles NIGER Bamako BURKINA FASO BENIN IVORY COAST GHANA TOGO AFRICA Detail Abidjan Atlantic Ocean Source: Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project By Samuel Granados African and Western officials fear the advance will further destabilize West Africa at a time when the United States and European allies have drawn down their presence here, and the Trump administration has turned its attention to a chaotic deportation policy and travel ban that does not include any nations in the Sahel. As the insurgents push toward the Atlantic, fears are growing that an area with one of the world's youngest populations and high levels of poverty will soon fall under jihadist rule. 'One of the terrorists' new objectives is gaining access to West Africa coasts. If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking and arms trading,' Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, said last month. 'This puts not just African nations at risk, but also increases the chance of threats reaching the U.S. shores.' MALI BURKINA FASO Ouangolodougou Tougbo Doropo Korhogo Bolè Kafolo COMOÉ NATIONAL PARK IVORY COAST GHANA Abidjan Gulf of Guinea 100 mileS By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
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.
Telegraph
11-06-2025
- Telegraph
SAS soldiers cleared of ‘murdering jihadist' in Syria
Five Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers have been cleared of murdering a suspected jihadist in Syria. For the past two years, the elite troops had been facing the prospect of a court martial over the potential charges, but the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has now confirmed that the case has been dropped. The soldiers had been accused of using excessive force on the battlefield three years ago, according to The Daily Mail. The group were said to have been involved in setting up a cordon around a building with a 'confirmed jihadist' inside. He had earlier been seen in a video appearing to wear a suicide vest while vowing to 'blow up infidels'. However, several suspects managed to escape through the cordon, prompting the five soldiers to chase after them. After catching up with the 'likely suicide bombers', the troops shot the man dead in the darkness because they believed there was an immediate threat to their lives, the Mail reported. The exact location in Syria and the date of the operation cannot be disclosed for security reasons. After the killing, the SAS troops were investigated by the Royal Military Police (RMP). Files were also sent to the Service Prosecuting Authority – the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service – which spent 18 months reviewing the case. 'Appalling' wait for justice A friend told the Mail: 'It takes some believing, but the guys have been staring down the barrel of murder trials for shooting a confirmed jihadist in a live battlefield situation. 'How on Earth anyone could accuse them of using excessive force in that situation was beyond everyone.' The friend also claimed the men had been 'put through the wringer' so that generals and officials could 'prove how rigorously they can pursue a prosecution'. 'That's fine and dandy for them, but for the soldiers who risked their lives that night to be accused – and to wait so long for justice – that was appalling,' they added. An MoD spokesman said: 'Our personnel are respected worldwide, and make extraordinary sacrifices in defence of the nation. It's right that we hold them to the highest standards and action is taken where anyone fails to meet them. 'Following thorough investigations and assessments, we can confirm that no charges have been brought forward in these cases.' Mark Francois, the shadow Armed Forces minister, said: 'It is imperative we continue to recognise the outstanding contribution of our Special Forces to UK security and the incredible risks they take. This case highlighted the dangers they face and the difficult split-second decisions they are forced to make against ruthless enemies.' The RMP investigation and subsequent review coincided with the independent inquiry into the conduct of special forces in Afghanistan, which has been in progress since 2023. Afghan families have accused the SAS of conducting a 'campaign of murder' against civilians, while senior officers and personnel at the MoD 'sought to prevent adequate investigation'.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE SAS soldiers dramatically cleared of murdering Syria jihadist in battle after two-year legal nightmare
Five SAS soldiers facing murder charges over the death of a known Islamic terrorist in Syria have had their names cleared, the Mail can reveal. After a two-year legal nightmare, the elite troops have been told they will not face a court martial. In a case that provoked fury within the regiment, the 'Blades' as SAS soldiers are known, were accused of using excessive force on the battlefield three years ago. They had pursued the jihadist at night in a rural area after watching a video of him in which he vowed to 'blow up infidels'. In the footage he was seen wearing a suicide vest, which was found near where he was shot dead in pitch darkness. For security reasons, the location and date of the operation cannot be disclosed. Given the circumstances, the troops were shocked to learn later that they were being investigated by the Royal Military Police (RMP). One told colleagues he felt like a 'tethered goat' as RMPs, top brass and lawyers used the incident as a test case. A friend said: 'It takes some believing but the guys have been staring down the barrel of murder trials for shooting a confirmed jihadist in a live battlefield situation. 'How on earth anyone could accuse them of using excessive force in that situation was beyond everyone. 'These guys were put through the wringer so the generals, the Defence Serious Crime Unit and the Service Prosecuting Authority could prove how rigorously they can pursue a prosecution. 'That's fine and dandy for them, but for the soldiers who risked their lives that night to be accused – and to wait so long for justice – that was appalling.' The RMP investigation coincided with a High Court inquiry into allegations of SAS war crimes in Afghanistan. With the judge in that inquiry expected to publish a damning report later this year, there was a rigorous investigation of the Syria case. Files were sent to prosecutors recommending murder charges against the five soldiers. The Service Prosecuting Authority – the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service – then spent 18 months reviewing the case before finally agreeing to clear the soldiers. The saga led rank and file SAS soldiers to accuse their chain of command of 'putting their careers before protecting their soldiers'. The five SAS soldiers involved were part of a cordon around a jihadist compound when the shooting took place. Suspects escaped and the five broke from the cordon and gave chase. They caught the likely suicide bombers, one of whom was seen hiding in a bush. They opened fire in the darkness because they believed the jihadist posed an immediate threat to their lives. But a search of his body confirmed he was not wearing his suicide belt, which was later found in the compound he had bolted from. Today, the Ministry of Defence said: 'Our personnel are respected worldwide and make extraordinary sacrifices in defence of the nation. It's right that we hold them to the highest standards and action is taken where anyone fails to meet them. 'Following thorough investigations and assessments, we can confirm that no charges have been brought forward in these cases.' Tory armed forces spokesman Mark Francois said: 'It is imperative we continue to recognise the outstanding contribution of our Special Forces to UK security and the incredible risks they take. This case highlighted the dangers they face and the difficult split-second decisions they are forced to make against ruthless enemies.'
