Ahmed Mourad (Cairo)
West African countries are witnessing a remarkable growth in the activities of terrorist groups, which made the Global Terrorism Index issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace consider them one of the main centers of terrorism in the world. The West African region includes 4 countries among the countries most affected by terrorism, namely Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria, where a number of terrorist groups and organizations are spread.
«Boko Haram»
The Boko Haram group comes at the top of the list of terrorist groups in West Africa. It was founded in northeastern Nigeria in 2002, and began targeting specific areas inside Nigeria, after which its activity extended to the Lake Chad basin through killings, kidnappings, and suicide attacks. After its founding 20 years ago, specifically in 2022, Boko Haram ranked fourth among the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, according to the 2022 Global Terrorism Index.
«Al-Qaeda»
Al-Qaeda is one of the most prominent terrorist groups active in West Africa, and it was initially an extension of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. This organization is considered the first source of logistical support for other terrorist groups operating in West Africa.
«ISIS»
The so-called “ISIS West Africa Province” was formed from one of the factions of the “Boko Haram” group, after it pledged allegiance to “ISIS” in March 2015, and called itself the “West Africa Province.”
Struggles and initiatives
Ambassador Souad Shalabi, former assistant to the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Affairs, and a member of the Committee of the Wise in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), attributes the spread of terrorist groups to several reasons, including the state of economic decline and deterioration of living conditions that the countries of the region suffer from, and the rise in tribal and ethnic conflicts. The inability of governments to confront or reduce them, the fragility of the security situation, the weak control of borders between countries, and the low levels of education.
Ambassador Suad Shalaby explained in a statement to Al-Ittihad that the concentration of terrorist groups in West Africa is due to the change in France’s strategy and its adoption of a method of formulating military partnerships with the national armies of the countries of the region instead of a direct military presence, in addition to the state of polarization and the struggle for hegemony between the major powers around West Africa. This allowed the expansion of terrorist organizations.
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