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 attention is concentrated elsewhere. While IS has focused on the Israel–Hamas conflict to some extent,... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s advances in Africa are moving to a new political-strategic level by establishing further military and economic ties across the continent. Moscow has long worked to gain influence across the Sahel and is now aiming to establish footholds throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow is consolidating the Wagner Group’s operations in Libya under the direct control of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) and relying on the African Corps under the purview of Russia’s deputy defense minister. Field Marshal... 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 the basis of counter-terrorism (Africa News, December 4). The announcement came after a Russian delegation... 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 at war with ISGS (France24.com, March 6). In August, there were emerging signs of a... 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 in ways that outmatch JNIM. On October 3, for example, ISGS killed 29 Nigeriens in... 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 Sahara (ISGS) and Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) jihadist groups to unite... 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) controlled Gao, while al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) controlled Timbuktu, and Ansar al-Din controlled... 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 Group, as potential partners in counter-insurgency support. Russia is more than willing to play a... MORE

Abdallah Ag Albakaye holds a prominent position within Mali-based Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) as its emir in Talataye. The village of Talataye is in Gao, but is strategically located between the Menaka and Kidal regions. Ag Albakaye originally belonged to the JNIM sub-group,... MORE