Militant Islamist violence in Sahel surges, contradicting juntas’ security claims

The number of people killed in Africa’s central Sahel region by insurgents, armed groups, state forces and foreign mercenaries has surged this year, according to data by The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), contradicting the claims by the military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and now Niger that they are tackling insecurity.

At least 7,800 civilians were killed in the region during the first seven months of this year up to 21 July, the ACLED data show, which puts the number of deaths well ahead of last year. The data analysis has also revealed that Burkina Faso is the worst hit of the three African nations. The ACLED, which is a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project, has also analyzed the key trends in Niger that is the latest Sahel nation that saw a military coup launched in late July. Contrary to the claims by coup leaders, Niger experienced a record year for violence in 2021 measured by fatalities, and in the first six months of 2023, political violence decreased by an estimated 39% when compared to the previous six-month period.

Militant Islamist violence in Africa set new records for violent events and fatalities in this past year, which is the continuation of a relentless decade-long upward trend, a recent Africa Center for Strategic Studies analysis has found. Drawing on ACLED data, the researchers found that there was a 22% increase in the episodes of violence involving militant Islamist groups in Africa in 2022 when compared with 2021. Fatalities linked to these events shot up 48% to 19,109 deaths, reflecting a sharp rise in deaths per event. The Sahel and Somalia accounted for 77% of all such violent events in the past year.

“In the aftermath of Mali’s coups, Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries made matters 100 times worse by perpetrating horrific massacres, which drove communities into the terrorists’ open arms,” writes Baria Alamuddin, an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. Following the 2022 coup in Burkina Faso, “with Niger the latest victim of this pandemic of military mutinies, destabilization of this obscure state will have profound consequences for Africa and global security,” she warns.