West Africa’s Sahel Is Being Overrun By Al Qaeda And Islamic State Jihadists

Quartz: West Africa’s Sahel struggles to contain deadly jihadist groups that’ve infiltrated communities

Leaders of G5 Sahel countries gathered for emergency talks in Niamey on Sunday after Niger faced the most spectacular military attack on its soil since jihadists gained a foothold in the region.

Reportedly executed by dozens of men on motorcycles, on a base just 124 miles outside of the capital, near the border with Mali, the attack that killed 71 soldiers was claimed by the Islamic State and is being read as a warning that group is fast expanding its territory throughout the region.

“These endless attacks carried out by terrorist groups in our region remind us not only of the gravity of the situation, but also the urgency for us to work more closely together,” said Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the president of Burkina Faso, a nation that has now become the epicenter of the security crisis that has its roots in neighboring Mali’s conflict that began in 2012.

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WNU Editor: There are a lot of conflicting messages from the West on what is happening in this part of Africa. French President Macron is saying that a turning point in the war against Islamic extremists has been reached .... Macron in Niger: France, Sahel are allies in "turning point" in war on jihadists (France 24). The German government is saying that the threat is increasing .... Terrorism poses growing threat in Africa's Sahel, Germany warns (DW). The U.S. message is confusing. On the one hand they are saying they will be ramping up operations .... 2 years after the Niger ambush, the US reportedly plans on ramping up counterterrorism efforts in the region (Task & Purpose), followed two days later with a decision to withdraw from the region .... Report: US Considers Pulling Troops from West Africa (VOA/AFP). As to what is my take. Islamic extremists have definitely taken a hold in this region, and they are not leaving.

Fighting In The Sahel Region Of Africa Is Displacing Tens Of Thousands

Eurasia Review: Violence, Displacement On Rise In Sahel Region Of Africa

Catholic Relief Services is warning of increasing violence and displacement in the Sahel— the vast area of western and north-central Africa stretching from Senegal to Sudan.

In 2018, more than 320,000 people in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger were forced to leave their homes, CRS reports. Burkina Faso, in particular, saw a four-fold increase in displaced persons since the start of this year.

“The increase of violent attacks has been devastating to so many families,” Jennifer Overton, CRS’ regional director for West Africa, said Sept. 12.

“People are struggling not only to keep their families safe and together, but also to meet basic needs like food and shelter.”

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More News On The Growing Violence In The Sahel Region Of Africa

Commander Visits Niger, Assesses Security Situation -- Africa News
Rebel-controlled town in Mali concerns African leaders -- AFP
The further north, the more dangerous it is: On the Burkina Faso front line -- Al Jazeera
Periscoping Burkina Faso: a jihadist domino in the Sahel? -- Foreign Brief

Radical Islamism Is Wreaking Havoc In Africa

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African Studies Center

Wall Street Journal: Africa’s Terror Crescent

A spate of attacks shows jihad’s long reach on the Continent.

For all the attention attracted by the battle against Islamic State in the Middle East, Islamism is also wreaking havoc in Africa. Jihadist groups control territory stretching from the Horn of Africa to the Mediterranean coast and south to Nigeria, and that crescent was ablaze this weekend.

Al Shabaab on Saturday took responsibility for a bomb that ripped a yard-long hole in a Daallo Airlines plane while it was flying from Mogadishu to Djibouti on Feb. 2. The would-be bomber blew himself out of the cabin, while in a miracle the other passengers and the crew survived.

Al Shabaab, which is al Qaeda’s Somalian franchise, called the attack “retribution for the crimes committed by the coalition of Western crusaders.” Al Shabaab said it intended to bomb a Turkish Airlines flight but switched targets after bad weather forced the Turkish carrier to cancel. The Daallo plane was carrying many of the passengers from the cancelled Turkish flight. Ankara, a NATO member, is building a military base in Somalia and contributes to antiterror efforts in Africa.

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WNU Editor: And it is only going to get worse.

Jihad Comes To Africa

A man holds a copy of the Quran at a protest against Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou’s presence at a Paris rally after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Niamey, Niger, in January 2015. PHOTO: TAGAZA DJIBO/REUTERS

Yaroslav Trofimiv, WSJ: Jihad Comes to Africa

Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and other ruthless groups threaten to turn the continent into global jihad’s deadliest front

Africa’s Muslim belt is getting bloodier.

Boko Haram—the regional affiliate of Islamic State and one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups—has accelerated its campaign of almost daily suicide bombings. Just last month, the group massacred 86 people, many of them children, in the Nigerian village of Dalori and 32 others in the Cameroonian village of Bodo.

To the west, al Qaeda’s regional franchise has been waging war on the government of Mali and expanded its reach last month to the previously peaceful country of Burkina Faso, slaying at least 30 people—many of them Westerners—in an assault on a luxury hotel. In the east, another al Qaeda affiliate, Somalia’s al-Shabaab, overran an African Union military base three weeks ago and slaughtered more than 100 Kenyan troops.

Sub-Saharan Africa was long seen as relatively immune to the call of Islamist militancy because of its unorthodox religious practices—rooted in Sufism, a more mystical mode of Islam that focuses on individual spirituality—and its traditional cultures, which are far removed from strict Middle Eastern ways. Today the area has become the fastest-growing front of global jihad—and perhaps its deadliest.

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WNU Editor: A sobering analysis on the growth and spread of radical Islam in Africa. Read it all.

Terrorists And Extremist Groups See Growing Opportunities In Africa

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Graphic from the Washington Post

African Terrorist Threat Not Far From Obama’s Mind -- National Journal

The president's trip is focused on increased trade and development, but terrorist and extremist groups see growing opportunities in Africa too.

When President Obama lands in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, next week, he will see a city that reflects the rapid changes that are reshaping Africa. The traffic-snarled streets are a riot of bright color, with buildings painted in splashes of pink and orange sherbet, and pedestrians dressed in blaring red dresses and screaming yellow soccer shirts. On the shoreline, large container ships will be stacked to the horizon of the Indian Ocean, bespeaking the economic miracle that has brought Africa’s average economic growth rate on par with Asia’s at nearly 6 percent.

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My Comment: Africa is a perfect breeding ground for extremists. A number of failed nation states. Widespread poverty. Huge territories that are ungovernable. Sectarianism/tribalism/religious extremists .... the rule and not the exception. Yup .... the African terrorist threat should not be far from president Obama's mind.

Intelligence Traffic Indicates Al-Qaeda Affiliate In North Africa Wants To Conduct More Terror Operations

Al-Qaeda Affiliate In North Africa Said To Have Sights On Other Western Targets -- Washington Post

New intelligence on al-Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa indicates that the militant group is seeking to carry out attacks on other Western targets in the region after its deadly assault on a natural gas complex in Algeria, senior U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday.

The push to mount follow-on strikes is seen as evidence that al-Qaeda was emboldened by the Jan. 16 raid and subsequent battle with Algerian security services that killed dozens of hostages and militants.

A senior U.S. intelligence official said that new streams of information have surfaced in the weeks since the assault and that “what we have seen is intelligence suggesting a desire to carry out more attacks.”

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My Comment: The desire to carry out more terror attacks is probably there, but in their attack on the Algerian gas complex a number of these terrorists were killed .... and the Algerian government showed no interest to negotiate. So any future attack in Algeria or in any other North African state will probably be a suicide attack .... and to find 20 or 30 men willing to do that is going to be an obstacle.

The Rise Of Islamic Militant Groups In Africa

The Ansar Dine militant group, which has seized the northern half of Mali, is thought to have links with al-Qaeda

Africa's Top Three Terror Groups Are Joining Forces To Mount Larger Attacks Against The West, Claims U.S. Military Commander -- Daily Mail

Africa is increasingly at risk from collaboration between three of the continent's most deadly terrorist groups, according to the leader of the U.S. military's Africa Command.

General Carter Ham said Al Qaeda, al Shabaab and Boko Haram are all combining efforts to share financial resources and exchange explosives.

The move risks endangering the delicate security balance in Africa.

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More News On The Growth Of Islamic Militant Groups In Africa

Africa's Islamist militants 'co-ordinate efforts' -- BBC
Africa's Islamist militants 'co-ordinate efforts in threat to continent's security' -- The Guardian
Africa militant groups training fighters together and sharing funds, explosives -- MSNBC/Reuters
African extremist groups linking up: U.S. general -- Chicago Tribune/Reuters
African Terrorist Groups Starting to Cooperate, U.S. Says -- Bloomberg
U.S. Africa Command Outlines Emerging Threats in the Region -- Ottawa Citizen/US Department of Defense

Main Islamist armed groups active in Africa:

* Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: Primarily active in Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger
* Boko Haram: Primarily active in northern Nigeria
* Al-Shabab: Primarily active in Somalia, has carried out attacks in Kenya

Terror Groups In Africa Are Starting To Work Together

Terror Collaboration In Africa Worries U.S. General -- Washington Times/AP

3 groups forming network in much of continent.

The general responsible for U.S. military operations in Africa said Wednesday he is worried that three terrorist groups based on the continent are attempting to share training and collaborate in other ways in pursuit of their goal of attacking the United States and other foreign targets.

Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, told a group of reporters that each of the three - al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Somalia-based al-Shabab and Boko Haram - poses a “significant threat” not only in the areas in which they operate but also to the United States.

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My Comment: This news should not surprise anyone .... many parts of Africa are a perfect breeding ground for these groups, and they are taking advantage of these conditions. Large Muslim populations where many feel disenfranchised .... coupled with dysfunctional or failed governments .... what more can a terror leader wish or want for.