Islamic state in Greater Sahara (JNIM)

Executive Summary: Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) took over Kpekakandi Base in northern Togo on July 20. This represents an expansion of the group’s operational focus in... MORE

Executive Summary Islamic State’s (IS) spokesman hailed the group’s African “provinces” for their sustained expansion. IS has been able to continue to opportunistically consolidate its presence in Africa while global... MORE

Executive Summary: A flood of foreign fighters to IS provinces in Africa is unlikely, but East Africa is more primed than West Africa to see an inflow of jihadists from... MORE

On December 4, Niger announced the “strengthening of military cooperation” with Russia, the latest in a series of shifts toward the Russian sphere of influence by post-coup Sahelian states on... MORE

In March, the new al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) leader, Abu Obeida Youssef al-Aanabi, affirmed that Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) is “deviant,” emphasizing that AQIM was still... MORE

On July 26, a military coup d’état ousted the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021. This resulted in the establishment of a military junta, or... MORE

Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) continues to demonstrate its ability to combat its al-Qaeda-affiliated nemesis, Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), expanding and carrying out large-scale attacks... MORE

In August, the Sahelian Islamist landscape grew more crowded as a new group entering the scene: Wahdat al-Muslimin (Unity of Muslims). Wahdat al-Muslimin has called for Islamic State in Greater... MORE

The town of Gao in northern Mali has been a key hub of jihadist operations since 2012. At that time, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA)... MORE

Amid ongoing coup contagion in West Africa, the region’s new military regimes—especially in Mali, but possibly in Burkina Faso and Niger in the future—are eyeing Russia, and particularly the Wagner... MORE