Burkina Faso: JNIM’s use of landmines and explosive devices

Burkina Faso has been one of the central battlegrounds in the Sahel’s expanding jihadist conflict for more than a decade. The al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) is one of the main armed groups operating there, alongside Islamic Read More …

UNODC facilitates regional exchange on strengthening cross-border coordination in countering use of IEDs and drones in the Sahel

Terrorist violence continues to pose a serious threat to stability and security across West Africa, with the Sahel region remaining the epicentre of global terrorism-related deaths. In recent years, terrorist groups, particularly those affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq Read More …

Burkina Faso: Mlitant attacks on army leave at least 10 dead

Suspected Islamist militants attacked an army unit in northern Burkina Faso Sunday, the latest in a series of alleged militant attacks that have killed at least 10 people in four days, security sources told AFP. On Sunday, militants carried out Read More …

Burkina Faso: ICITAP Counter-IED Advisors Train Burkinabe National Police in First Demolition Course

On January 19, ICITAP Counter-IED Advisors delivered Burkina Faso’s Groupe Spéciale d’Intervention de la Police Nationale (GSIPN) its first-ever explosives safety and demolition range instruction, marking a historic milestone in ICITAP’s engagement with the Burkinabe National Police. This session was Read More …

UNODC Supports Burkina Faso in strengthening its response to the evolving threat of Improvised Explosive Devices

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) pose a grave security threat in the Sahel region. Threatening lives and livelihoods, the widespread use of IEDs by terrorist groups in the Sahel leads to increased loss of life, serious injuries, and psychological trauma among Read More …

Burkina Faso: WFP suspends flights to Solle after explosion

The U.N. World Food Programme said on Wednesday it had suspended flights to the northwestern Burkina Faso town of Solle after an explosion near a helicopter it chartered injured a crew member and a government official. The WFP is trying Read More …

Burkina Faso: Militant attack on military base in Dargo kills 50 troops

A deadly assault on a military base in Dargo, northern Burkina Faso, has left around 50 soldiers dead. Local sources told the Associated Press that about 100 militants stormed the base on Monday, killing troops before looting and setting it Read More …

Sahel militants turn civilian drones into deadly weapons

Terror groups are increasingly using new tactics, notably armed suicide or kamikaze drones, according to a government statement released following several attacks on cities in western Mali on 1 July. The use of commercially available small civilian drones for strikes Read More …

Niger targets jihadist financing, kills 13 in illegal gold mine raids

Niger’s army has raided jihadist-controlled informal mining sites in the country’s west, killing more than a dozen insurgents and seizing material linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, it said. An army statement said the raids took place last Read More …

Mali army foils attempted infiltration in Timbuktu

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) have announced that they successfully repelled an attempted infiltration targeting their military base in the northern city of Timbuktu. According to the General Staff of the FAMa, thirteen assailants were neutralised during a counter-offensive launched Read More …

The shadow constellation: How Starlink devices are shaping conflict and crime in the Sahel

Violent extremist groups in the Sahel, including Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are exploiting Starlink to enhance their operational capabilities. Criminal actors are not only trafficking Starlink devices but using them to Read More …

Burkina Faso: Al Qaeda affiliate says 200 soldiers killed in recent attacks

A West African al Qaeda affiliate said it killed 200 soldiers in an attack on an army base in Burkina Faso this week, according to a group that tracks the online activity of Islamist militants. Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin Read More …

Benin: Militants inflict heavy losses on armed forces in an attack in the north

Militants inflicted heavy losses on Benin’s armed forces during an attack this week on a fortified military post in the north of the country, the military said in a statement. Col. Faizou Gomina, the national guard chief of staff, said Read More …

In Ghana, Sahel jihadis find refuge and supplies, sources say

Islamist militants fighting in Burkina Faso are discreetly using Ghana’s north as a logistical and medical rear base to sustain their insurgency, seven sources told Reuters, a move that could help them expand their footprint in West Africa. The sources, Read More …

Burkina Faso: Nearly 70% of the territory is now under state control, compared to 40% in 2022

The Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, spoke at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Monday, September 30, 2024, on behalf of Burkina Faso. Among other things, he said, to the cheers of the assembly, Read More …

Burkina Faso: Up to 200 people killed in attack in Barsalogho region

An armed group linked to al-Qaeda, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for what it says was an attack that killed up to 200 people and injured at least 140 in central Burkina Faso. The attack took place Read More …

Sahel: UN Security Council must call out “Ukraine’s support for terrorism”

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have petitioned the president of the UN Security Council to denounce what they call the Ukrainian government’s “open support for international terrorism” in the Sahel. A letter dated August 19 and signed by the envoys Read More …

Mali is still unsafe under the military: why it hasn’t made progress against rebels and terrorists

The scale of casualties suffered by the Wagner group and Malian forces during a recent assault in the Tinzaouaten region reveal vulnerability in Mali’s counterinsurgency posture. The attack was reported in the media as the biggest loss for Russian paramilitaries Read More …

Escalating Violence In Sahel As JNIM Claims Rising Jihadi Operations

As violence continues to escalate in the Sahel region of Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) has been intensifying its campaign of terror, particularly in the Central Sahel, which comprises Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Niger Republic. Newly released Read More …