In 2024, Nigeria experienced 197 attacks from improved explosive devices (IEDs) – an average of nearly one IED attack every two days. Troublingly, the use of IEDs in West Africa is on the rise, with terrorist groups increasingly relying on them as a weapon of choice.
The appeal of locally manufactured IEDs lies in the minimal resources and relatively basic technical knowledge needed to deploy them, whilst simultaneously allowing terrorist groups to carry out deadly and destructive attacks. As a result, a growing number of men, women, and children across the region have been killed, injured, or left deeply traumatized, and whole areas, including vital farmland that communities rely on for their survival, have been rendered inaccessible.
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Source: UNODC Nigeria
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