Latest news with #jihadism
Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Times
What we see in Gaza is jihad rekindled. Netanyahu must be stopped
M ohammad Abu Rumman, an expert on jihadism at the Politics and Society Institute in Amman, has said the Middle East is facing a new wave of radicalisation 'because of what is happening in Gaza'. Affiliates of fundamentalist groups are on a big recruitment drive. The UN has documented a rapid increase in the frequency of fanatical social media posts, and an academic paper found 'significant peaks in extremism scores' on social media 'that correspond to real-life events, such as the IDF's bombings of al-Quds Hospital and the Jabalia refugee camp'. All this corroborates what senior Israeli sources told me in February: that terrorist networks are replacing dead Hamas fighters at a rate of five to one. At the time, it sounded a realistic appraisal. Now, after five more months of destruction, I suspect it will prove to be a dire underestimate. A British security source told Reuters that the Gaza war is 'likely to become the biggest recruiter for Islamist militants since 2003'. The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism warned that such conditions are 'active incubators for the next generation of extremist operatives'.
The Sun
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
ISIS slaves lift lid on ‘true face' of Syria's ex-jihadi Al Qaeda-linked leader… & warn West shouldn't trust him
TWO former slaves have issued a stark warning to the West about Syria's new 'reformer' president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Yazidi women Fatima & Nada - who were kidnapped by ISIS, and whose names we have changed to protect their identities - have pleaded with Western leaders not to trust the former jihadi warlord. 17 17 17 17 And both of them claimed to have met al-Sharaa while they were enslaved - who was then known by his moniker Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Nada - who was snatched by ISIS and forced into slavery- told The Sun: 'He is dangerous - he is very dangerous.' Meanwhile, Fatima - who had at least 60 members of her family killed by the death cult - said: 'Many of them now who were [al-Qaeda or ISIS] are now claiming to be moderate. "I don't believe him.' President al-Sharaa now positions himself as an outward looking moderate, renouncing his jihadism and swapping his combat fatigues for a suit after deposing dictator Bashar al-Assad. But questions remain over his history and his grip on power - with disturbing reports of ISIS-esque atrocities being committed in Syria by groups linked to his regime. Fatima and Nada accused the then al-Jolani and his terror group Jabhat al-Nusra of being 'no different' than ISIS. Both are speaking out as they still feel the agony of what was done to them by the jihadi groups - along with their fellow Yazidis. While both were happy to provide historic pictures of themselves, they declined to be pictured or named as of today - fearing reprisals from jihadis still on the loose. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking minority group who were brutalised by ISIS - with around 5,000 killed while more than 10,000 were enslaved and trafficked. How Shamima Begum camps are fermenting twisted next generation of ISIS as kids make 'cutthroat' gesture & hurl firebombs Both Fatima & Nada lost family members - with many still missing - and both were tortured, abused and forced into slavery by ISIS. With al-Sharaa's personal history steeped in jihadism - as well as their claims to have seen him meeting with ISIS emirs in 2015 - they fear what his ascension will mean for Syria and the Middle East. 17 17 Both slaves - now freed - bravely gave their testimony to Brit squaddie turned documentarian Alan Duncan. Duncan fought against ISIS with the Kurdish Peshmerga - but now uses his camera to expose the crimes of ISIS and other jihadi groups, particularly working on the plight of the Yazidis. He has previously reported on testimony against Shamima Begum - and investigated the camps in northern Syria currently holding ISIS fighters. Both women have spoken out as last week Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with al-Sharaa - pledging nearly £100m in humanitarian aid to Syria. And this week the US has reportedly decided to delist his current group - Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the successor to the brutal al-Nusra - as a terrorist organisation. One of the former slaves, who we are naming only as Nada - explained how she met al-Jolani in 2015 while she was being held captive in Syria. 'HE CAME TO PRAY' She said she was "owned" at the time by an ISIS emir. Nada alleged she saw al-Jolani twice during her captivity in Syria, where the emir would bring him to his house to pray before the two would hold "meetings". The meetings would involve al-Jolani and around 10 militant commanders who would arrive at the compound. She described that al-Jolani was treated as a guest of honour, being seen with a level of respect usually reserved for figures like ISIS leader al-Baghdadi. Nada said: 'In 100-years I won't forget a face. I saw him twice. We were face-to-face.' 17 17 17 17 Nada described how she was asked to bring food to them - but the ISIS members described him as a "big man" and said he was "special". She did not know the subject of the meetings, with the slaves of course not being present during the apparent talks. She warned Western politicians 'not to believe' that al-Jolani was reformed - warning he could 'kill many people again'. She went on: 'Trump, the British, the Europeans, they can't see him. He is still dangerous. I am sad and angry.' She said she remains convinced that he still has jihadist sympathies, 'he still has it here (in his head)'. 'It is hard to change that,' she told The Sun. Nada was held prisoner for two years by ISIS along with her children working as slaves, and she described being 'hurt' every day. Her husband is still missing and she revealed young children in her extended family were forced to serve in the so-called "Cubs of the Caliphate" - ISIS's equivalent of the Hitler Youth. The family was subject to forced conversations while living with ISIS - with the jihadis threatening to kill her children if she didn't obey them. 'IF THEY LIKED US - THEY WOULD BUY US' Fatima also explained how her whole family was captured by ISIS - with many of them being killed, including her 5 uncles, her grandmother, and her husband & cousins. She said at least 60 members of her extended family ended up being wiped out by the jihadi death cult. And she claims she ended up being held alongside the sister-in-law of human rights activist Nadia Murad, a Nobel prize-winning former Yazidi slave who was kidnapped when she was 19 and worked with Amal Clooney to draw attention to the genocide. Those who survived were taken and the women ended up being sold at a slave market in Mosul, Iraq - with people from all over the world who were working with ISIS. She even revealed her son in a photo taken of the ISIS 'caliphate cub' - saying her boy was then trained to be a suicide bomber. Fatima was eventually sold to a senior ISIS emir who was being hunted by the Americans. And she also says she saw al-Jolani twice in 2015. 17 17 17 17 The genocide of the Yazidis By Henry Holloway, Deputy Foreign Editor FEW people suffered more under the vicious boot of ISIS than the Yazidis. Thousands of women and girls from the Kurdish minority group were forced into sexual slavery by the vicious terror group. And the terrorists simply killed all the group's men they could get their blood-stained hands on. It is estimated at least 5,000 Yazidis were killed, at least 10,000 kidnapped, and some 500,000 were forced to leave their homes. The United Nations recognises the barbarity as nothing short of genocide. ISIS first attacked the Yazidis during their bloody rise to power in 2014, butchering their way through their communities in northern Iraq. Massacres were widespread - with victims being gunned down, beheaded or even buried alive. Disturbing accounts detail atrocities such as a mother being forced to eat pieces of her own baby, or women being burned alive for refusing to have sex with ISIS fighters. Mass graves are still being discovered from this period - with 30 more bodies discovered this month in Hamadan. But those who weren't killed were forced into slavery by ISIS. Yazidi women and children were bought, sold and subjected to forced conversation to ISIS's warped version of Islam. They were turned into slaves - sold, raped and abused, Yazidi women who were pregnant were given forced abortions - and then raped by ISIS fighters so they could give birth to "Muslim babies". ISIS considered Yazidis "devil worshippers" because of their religious beliefs. The survivors are still reeling from the horrors inflicted upon them by ISIS - and they want justice. Germany has managed to convict ISIS fighters of genocide for their crimes against the Yazidis - and meanwhile, probes are also being carried out by the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. Britain however - for whatever reason - appears to not be pursuing ISIS fighters for their complicity in the crimes against the Yazidis. It is estimated some 2,700 Yazidis remain missing across the Middle East. Many families remain desperate that loved ones they lost may one day return to them - just like the incredible case of slave Fawzia, who was rescued from Gaza in 2024. She said: 'We were told a very important person was coming so we had to clean and prepare for him.' The then slave even cooked for the warlord - with it being the duty of the slaves to serve and prepare food for the emirs and their guests. She explained there is no way the then al-Jolani would not have known there were slaves present. And that Murad's sister-in-law was also present when they met the warlord. All the slaves had to line up to greet him and the other emirs when they arrived at the house by car. And she claimed that slaves were even sold at these meetings, with her emir offering them to his guests. 'If they liked us - they would buy us, it was like a market for women and kids,' she said. She said she recognised his laugh and his smile, adding: 'It was him, for sure. "Not 100%, 200%.' Much like Nada, she feels deep hurt that the perpetrators and enablers of the crimes against the Yazidis have never been held accountable. AL-SHARAA OR AL-JOLANI? Born in Saudi Araba, al-Sharaa was a member of al-Qaeda fighting against the US in Iraq, spending five years in American jails, before being dispatched to set up the al-Nusra terror group in Syria by eventual ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Sharaa met with the al-Baghdadi while both were being held by the US - and the two were allies during the formative years of the group that would become ISIS. Leading al-Nusra, he ended up with a bounty of £8million on his head from the US and was on a list of most wanted terrorists by the FBI. ISIS and al-Nusra were opposing forces - with al-Nusra resisting a merger in 2013 and also breaking its ties with al-Qaeda in 2016. ISIS was known for its obsence levels of violence which it paraded in cinematic videos online, but al-Jolani's al-Nusra also carried out atrocities such as torture and public executions, according to Amnesty International. But there are reports of the two groups cooperating amid the carnage in Syria in the mid-2010s. It was reported by The Guardian in 2014 that ISIS and al-Nusra leaders were holding meetings about how to combat US-led strikes. And Al Arabiya reported that Nusra members were pressuring the leadership to reconcile with ISIS also in 2014. By the middle of 2015- al-Qaeda had essentially declared war on ISIS. Al-Sharaa, born in Riyadh and now aged 42, has repeatedly claimed to have renounced his jihadi roots and is presenting himself as a reformer for Syria. He led the HTS to depose brutal dictator Basher al-Assad - leaving him fleeing into the arms of his pal Vladimir Putin and now sitting in exile in Moscow. But while Assad is gone and hopes are growing for a new Syria, fears remain that al-Sharaa has a fragile grip on the groups that put him into power. What is happening to the Alawites in Syria? BENEATH the veil of high-powered meetings with the West, disturbing reports of massacres, kidnap and enslavement is sweeping Syria. This is particularly targeting a religious minority called Alawites - with chilling echoes of the horrors inflicted on the Yazidis by ISIS. According to a Reuters investigation, at least 1,500 Alawites were killed during three days of massacres from March 7 to 9 - with evidence of involvement from Syria's new leaders. The new government is led by a now-dissolved Islamist faction, formerly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which was previously al-Qaeda's Syria branch, known as the Nusra Front. Reuters found that the spate of violence came in response to a rebellion organised by former officers loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad. And it revealed a chain of command leading from the attackers directly to men who serve alongside Syria's new leaders in Damascus led by al-Sharaa. The investigation uncovered 40 sites of killings, rampages and looting against the Alawites. Many in Syria resent the religious minority - who enjoyed a high level of influence inside the military and government during Assad's iron-fist two-decade rule. Some of the attackers responding to the March uprising had lists of names of men to target - including former members of Assad militias. Families with those surnames would later appear on lists of the dead handwritten by village elders. Survivors told Reuters how the bodies of loved ones were mutilated. Horrifying footage showed fighters humiliating Alawite me - forcing them to crawl and howl like dogs. Among the dead were entire families, including women, children, the elderly and disabled people in dozens of Alawite villages and neighbourhoods. In one case, an entire Alawite town was destroyed overnight with its hundreds of residents replaced by Sunnis. And at least a dozen factions under the new government's command took part in the killings, according to Reuters. Nearly half of them have been under sanctions for human rights abuses, including killings, kidnapping, and sexual assaults. The units involved in the killings included: The government's General Security Service, its main law-enforcement body back in the days when HTS ran Idlib and now part of the Interior Ministry Ex-HTS units like the elite Unit 400 fighting force and the Othman Brigade Sunni militias that had just joined the government's ranks, including the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and Hamza division, which were both sanctioned by the European Union for their role in the deaths President al-Sharaa has ordered an investigation into the violence and set up 'civil peace' mediations. An official in the new government, Ahmed al-Shami, said: "The Alawite sect is not on any list, black, red or green. "It's not criminalized and it's not targeted for retaliation. The Alawites faced injustice just like the rest of the Syrian people in general. 'The sect needs safety. It's our duty as a government which we will work on.' But the massacre of Alawites is continuing, Reuters found. Beneath the surface of high-powered meetings with the West, there are disturbing reports of massacres, kidnap and enslavement in Syria. And this is particularly targeting the Alawite group - with chilling reminders of the horrors inflicted on the Yazidis by ISIS. At least 1,5000 Alawites are reported to have been killed across Syria - and there have been reports of dozens of women being subject to rape, forced marriage of kidnapping. Much of this violence is carried out by the factions under the control of al-Sharaa's government, reported a detailed investigation by Reuters. Al-Sharaa himself has condemned the violence - and has seemingly vowed to punish those responsible. Amnesty International have called on al-Sharaa to publish a full and transparent investigation into the massacres. The United Nations is expected to publish a report saying they have found no "active links" between al-Sharaa's government and his former allies al-Qaeda. Duncan formerly served with the Queen's Own Highlanders and Royal Irish Regiment. He then fought alongside the Kurdish Peshmergas as a sniper to battle against ISIS. And after the war was over, he decided to use his camera as his new weapon in exposing the depravity of the jihadi cult's crimes. His most famous story was the rescue of Naveen Rasho - a Yazidi woman who was held as a slave by ISIS in Syria, which is available to watch on Vimeo. One of Naveen's captors - an ISIS bride known as Nadine K - has since been jailed in Germany for her role in the genocide. 17 17 From jihad to reform…who is al-Sharraa? BASHAR al-Assad was toppled by rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa - known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani at the time. The Islamist once fought for al-Qaeda and ISIS and was inspired to be a jihadi by the 9/11 terror attacks. His group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HST) was the driver behind the lightning offensive that deposed Assad. And President al-Sharaa - who fought with al-Qaeda in Iraq following the US 2003 invasion - is now in the driving seat. He was first drawn to jihadist thinking following the September 11 terror attacks in New York. In 2006, he was imprisoned in some of the worst Iraqi prisons, becoming friends with ISIS leader Abu Bakr-Al Baghdadi. By 2011, he had moved back to Syria with six men and a stipend of £40,000 to establish al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate. He formed al-Nusra - and remained aligned with his Baghdadi until resisting an effort to merge with ISIS. Al-Jolani's then decided to split with al-Qaeda in 2016. He rebranded as the HTS, or the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, in 2016 with the US designating it a terror organisation a year later and placing a £8million bounty on his head. HTS tried to present a more moderate image and shy away from its terrorist anti-Western Jihadist roots as less extreme organisation. The group claimed to have rooted out al-Qaeda and ISIS operatives and cells in its territory and promoted itself to the West as a viable anti-Iran partner. He told PBS in 2021 that he had no desire to wage war against Western nations and the group established a semi-technocratic government in Idlib and the area of northwest Syria it controlled. In a victory statement following Assad's demise, al-Sharaa said claimed Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities would be safe under HTS rule. But since coming to power, there have been reports of massacres and enslavement in Syria.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How an al-Qaeda offshoot became one of Africa's deadliest militant groups
Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is the main group behind a surge in militant jihadist attacks sweeping across several West African nations, especially Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. On 1 July, the group said it had carried out a major coordinated attack on seven military locations in western Mali, including near the borders with Senegal and Mauritania. There is growing concern about the impact JNIM could have on the stability of the region. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have struggled to contain the violence – and this is one of the factors that contributed to several military coups in the three Sahel countries over the last five years. But like the civilian governments they replaced, the juntas are seemingly unable to stem the growing jihadist threat, especially from JNIM. JNIM has become one of Africa's deadliest jihadist groups within the space of just a few years. It was formed in Mali in 2017, as a coalition of five jihadist militant groups: Ansar Dine Katibat Macina Al-Mourabitoun Ansar al-Islam The Sahara branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb These groups started collaborating after the French military pushed back several jihadist and separatist organisations that were operating in northern Mali in 2012. Eventually, the leaders of the groups came together to create JNIM. In recent years, they have expanded geographically, establishing new areas of operation. JNIM is led by Iyad Ag Ghali, a former Malian diplomat who belongs to the Tuareg ethnic group. He was at the helm of the Tuareg uprising against the Malian government in 2012 which sought to establish an independent state for the Tuareg people called Azawad. Deputy leader Amadou Koufa is from the Fulani community. Analysts believe the central leadership helps guide local branches which operate across the Sahel region of West Africa. While it is difficult to know exactly how many fighters there are in JNIM's ranks, or how many have recently been recruited, experts suggest it could be several thousand - mostly young men and boys who lack other economic opportunities in one of the poorest regions in the world. The group rejects the authority of the Sahel governments, seeking to impose its strict interpretation of Islam and Sharia in the areas where it operates. Analysts say that in some areas, JNIM has been known to impose strict dress codes, implement bans against music and smoking, order men to grow beards and prevent women from being in public spaces alone. This version of Islam can be at odds with the religion as practised by local communities, says Yvan Guichaoua, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies. "These practices are clearly breaking from established practices and certainly not very popular," he says. "But whether it's attractive or not, also depends on what the state is able to deliver, and there has been a lot of disappointment in what the state has been doing for the past years." Disillusionment with the secular justice system can make the introduction of Sharia courts appealing to some. After its beginnings in central and northern Mali, JNIM rapidly expanded its reach. While its strongholds are in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, JNIM has also carried out attacks in Benin, Togo and at one point Ivory Coast. It is now operational throughout Mali and 11 of Burkina Faso's 13 regions, according to the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (Gi-Toc), a civil society organisation. In the last year, Burkina Faso has become the epicentre of the group's activities – predominately the northern and eastern border regions. This is, in part, because of divisions and defections in the country's military as well as how deeply embedded the militants are in the local communities, according to Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst for security consultancy firm Control Risk. "JNIM have an ability to embed in local communities or to be able to use local grievances as a means of recruiting or winning sympathy towards their cause," she told the BBC. In recent months violent incidents have spiked in Burkina Faso to previously unseen levels, according to analysis from BBC Monitoring's jihadist media team. Major attacks have also recently been carried out in Mali, Niger and Benin. In the first half of 2025, JNIM said it carried out over 280 attacks in Burkina Faso – double the number for the same period in 2024, according to data verified by the BBC. The group has claimed to have killed almost 1,000 people across the Sahel since April, most of them members of the security force or militias fighting alongside government forces, according to BBC Monitoring data. Almost 800 of these have been in Burkina Faso alone. Casualties in Mali were the next highest (117) and Benin (74). "The frequency of attacks in June is just unheard of so far," says Mr Guichaoua. "They have really stepped up their activities in the past weeks." The militants use a variety of tactics designed to cause maximum disruption, Ms Ochieng explains. "They plant IEDs [improvised explosive devices] on key roads, and have long-range capabilities. "They [also] target security forces in military bases, so a lot of their weapons come from that. They have also attacked civilians - in instances where communities are perceived to be cooperating with the government." Starlink - a company owned by Elon Musk which provides internet via satellites - has also been exploited by groups like JNIM to enhance their capabilities, according to a recent report by Gi-Toc. The company provides high-speed internet where regular mobile networks are unavailable or unreliable. Militant groups smuggle Starlink devices into the country along well-established contraband routes, G-toch says. "Starlink has made it much easier for [militant groups] to plan and execute attacks, share intelligence, recruit members, carry out financial transactions and maintain contacts with their commanders even during active conflict," an analyst from Gi-Toc told the BBC's Focus on Africa podcast. The BBC has contacted Starlink for comment. The group has multiple sources of income. At one time in Mali, funds were raised through kidnapping foreigners for ransom but few remain in the country because of the deteriorating security situation. Cattle-rustling has now become a major source of income, according to an analyst from Gi-Toc. They did not want to be named as it could risk their safety in Mali. "Mali is a big exporter of cattle so it's easy for them to steal animals and sell them," the analyst said. Research by Gi-Toc shows that in one year in just one district of Mali, JNIM made $770,000 (£570,000) from livestock. Based on this figure, JNIM could be earning millions of dollars from cattle theft. JNIM also imposes various taxes, according to experts. "They tax the gold, but basically tax anything that goes through their territory, whether that's listed goods or illicit goods," Gi-Toc says. "There can be an extortion type of tax, where JNIM tell citizens they need to pay in return for protection." The militants have also been known to set up blockades, at which people must pay to leave and enter the area, according to Ms Ochieng. France's armed forces were on the ground supporting the government in Mali for almost a decade - with over 4,000 troops stationed across the Sahel region fighting groups that went on to form JNIM, as well as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. While they had some initial success in 2013 and 2014, reclaiming territory from the militants and killing several senior commanders, this did not stop JNIM's growth after it was formed. "Counterinsurgency efforts have failed so far because of this idea that JNIM can be beaten militarily, but it is only through negotiation that the group will end," Gi-Toc's analyst suggested. In 2014, Sahelian countries banded together to form the G5 Sahel Task Force, a 5,000-strong group of international troops. However, over the past couple of years, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn, undermining the task force's ability to tackle the insurgency. Minusma, the UN peacekeeping force – while not a counter-insurgency effort – was also in Mali for a decade to support efforts, however it left the country at the end of 2024. Military coups took place in Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. Poor governance under the military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger subsequently has allowed militant groups like JNIM to flourish, according to analysts. These juntas were swift to tell French troops to leave, replacing them with Russian support and a joint force formed by the three Sahelian countries. Though Russian paramilitary group Wagner has withdrawn its troops from Mali entirely, Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary group, will remain in place. In Burkina Faso, a so-called "volunteer" army, launched in 2020 before the military takeover, is one strategy being used to fight militants. Junta leader Ibrahim Traoré has said he wants to recruit 50,000 fighters. But experts say many of these volunteers are conscripted by force. Inadequate training means they often suffer heavy casualties. They are also often a target for JNIM attacks. The military juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali have also been accused by human rights organisations of committing atrocities against civilians, particularly ethnic Fulanis. Human rights group say the government often conflates the Fulani community with Islamist armed groups, which has furthered hampered peace efforts. Between January 2024 and March 2025, the military government and their Russian allies were responsible for 1,486 civilian casualties in Mali, according to Gi-Toc. This extreme violence against civilians has generated anger towards the government, fuelling further recruitment for JNIM. How 'blood gold' is fuelling conflict in West Africa 'I thought I would die' - freed captive tells BBC of life in jihadist base Why Burkina Faso's junta leader has captured hearts and minds The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
JNIM in Mali: How an al-Qaeda offshoot became one of Africa's deadliest militant groups
Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is the main group behind a surge in militant jihadist attacks sweeping across several West African nations, especially Burkina Faso, Mali and 1 July, the group said it had carried out a major coordinated attack on seven military locations in western Mali, including near the borders with Senegal and is growing concern about the impact JNIM could have on the stability of the Faso, Mali and Niger have struggled to contain the violence – and this is one of the factors that contributed to several military coups in the three Sahel countries over the last five like the civilian governments they replaced, the juntas are seemingly unable to stem the growing jihadist threat, especially from JNIM. What is JNIM? JNIM has become one of Africa's deadliest jihadist groups within the space of just a few was formed in Mali in 2017, as a coalition of five jihadist militant groups:Ansar DineKatibat MacinaAl-MourabitounAnsar al-IslamThe Sahara branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic MaghrebThese groups started collaborating after the French military pushed back several jihadist and separatist organisations that were operating in northern Mali in 2012. Eventually, the leaders of the groups came together to create JNIM. In recent years, they have expanded geographically, establishing new areas of is led by Iyad Ag Ghali, a former Malian diplomat who belongs to the Tuareg ethnic group. He was at the helm of the Tuareg uprising against the Malian government in 2012 which sought to establish an independent state for the Tuareg people called Azawad. Deputy leader Amadou Koufa is from the Fulani believe the central leadership helps guide local branches which operate across the Sahel region of West it is difficult to know exactly how many fighters there are in JNIM's ranks, or how many have recently been recruited, experts suggest it could be several thousand - mostly young men and boys who lack other economic opportunities in one of the poorest regions in the world. What does JNIM want? The group rejects the authority of the Sahel governments, seeking to impose its strict interpretation of Islam and Sharia in the areas where it say that in some areas, JNIM has been known to impose strict dress codes, implement bans against music and smoking, order men to grow beards and prevent women from being in public spaces version of Islam can be at odds with the religion as practised by local communities, says Yvan Guichaoua, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies."These practices are clearly breaking from established practices and certainly not very popular," he says."But whether it's attractive or not, also depends on what the state is able to deliver, and there has been a lot of disappointment in what the state has been doing for the past years."Disillusionment with the secular justice system can make the introduction of Sharia courts appealing to some. Where does JNIM operate? After its beginnings in central and northern Mali, JNIM rapidly expanded its reach. While its strongholds are in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, JNIM has also carried out attacks in Benin, Togo and at one point Ivory is now operational throughout Mali and 11 of Burkina Faso's 13 regions, according to the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (Gi-Toc), a civil society the last year, Burkina Faso has become the epicentre of the group's activities – predominately the northern and eastern border regions. This is, in part, because of divisions and defections in the country's military as well as how deeply embedded the militants are in the local communities, according to Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst for security consultancy firm Control Risk."JNIM have an ability to embed in local communities or to be able to use local grievances as a means of recruiting or winning sympathy towards their cause," she told the BBC. Are JNIM attacks increasing in scale? In recent months violent incidents have spiked in Burkina Faso to previously unseen levels, according to analysis from BBC Monitoring's jihadist media team. Major attacks have also recently been carried out in Mali, Niger and the first half of 2025, JNIM said it carried out over 280 attacks in Burkina Faso – double the number for the same period in 2024, according to data verified by the group has claimed to have killed almost 1,000 people across the Sahel since April, most of them members of the security force or militias fighting alongside government forces, according to BBC Monitoring 800 of these have been in Burkina Faso alone. Casualties in Mali were the next highest (117) and Benin (74)."The frequency of attacks in June is just unheard of so far," says Mr Guichaoua. "They have really stepped up their activities in the past weeks."The militants use a variety of tactics designed to cause maximum disruption, Ms Ochieng explains."They plant IEDs [improvised explosive devices] on key roads, and have long-range capabilities."They [also] target security forces in military bases, so a lot of their weapons come from that. They have also attacked civilians - in instances where communities are perceived to be cooperating with the government."Starlink - a company owned by Elon Musk which provides internet via satellites - has also been exploited by groups like JNIM to enhance their capabilities, according to a recent report by Gi-Toc. The company provides high-speed internet where regular mobile networks are unavailable or unreliable. Militant groups smuggle Starlink devices into the country along well-established contraband routes, G-toch says."Starlink has made it much easier for [militant groups] to plan and execute attacks, share intelligence, recruit members, carry out financial transactions and maintain contacts with their commanders even during active conflict," an analyst from Gi-Toc told the BBC's Focus on Africa BBC has contacted Starlink for comment. How is JNIM funded? The group has multiple sources of one time in Mali, funds were raised through kidnapping foreigners for ransom but few remain in the country because of the deteriorating security has now become a major source of income, according to an analyst from Gi-Toc. They did not want to be named as it could risk their safety in Mali."Mali is a big exporter of cattle so it's easy for them to steal animals and sell them," the analyst by Gi-Toc shows that in one year in just one district of Mali, JNIM made $770,000 (£570,000) from livestock. Based on this figure, JNIM could be earning millions of dollars from cattle also imposes various taxes, according to experts. "They tax the gold, but basically tax anything that goes through their territory, whether that's listed goods or illicit goods," Gi-Toc says. "There can be an extortion type of tax, where JNIM tell citizens they need to pay in return for protection."The militants have also been known to set up blockades, at which people must pay to leave and enter the area, according to Ms Ochieng. What about efforts to fight them? France's armed forces were on the ground supporting the government in Mali for almost a decade - with over 4,000 troops stationed across the Sahel region fighting groups that went on to form JNIM, as well as Islamic State in the Greater they had some initial success in 2013 and 2014, reclaiming territory from the militants and killing several senior commanders, this did not stop JNIM's growth after it was formed."Counterinsurgency efforts have failed so far because of this idea that JNIM can be beaten militarily, but it is only through negotiation that the group will end," Gi-Toc's analyst 2014, Sahelian countries banded together to form the G5 Sahel Task Force, a 5,000-strong group of international troops. However, over the past couple of years, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn, undermining the task force's ability to tackle the the UN peacekeeping force – while not a counter-insurgency effort – was also in Mali for a decade to support efforts, however it left the country at the end of 2024. What impact have military coups had on JNIM? Military coups took place in Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in governance under the military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger subsequently has allowed militant groups like JNIM to flourish, according to juntas were swift to tell French troops to leave, replacing them with Russian support and a joint force formed by the three Sahelian Russian paramilitary group Wagner has withdrawn its troops from Mali entirely, Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary group, will remain in Burkina Faso, a so-called "volunteer" army, launched in 2020 before the military takeover, is one strategy being used to fight militants. Junta leader Ibrahim Traoré has said he wants to recruit 50,000 experts say many of these volunteers are conscripted by force. Inadequate training means they often suffer heavy casualties. They are also often a target for JNIM military juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali have also been accused by human rights organisations of committing atrocities against civilians, particularly ethnic Fulanis. Human rights group say the government often conflates the Fulani community with Islamist armed groups, which has furthered hampered peace January 2024 and March 2025, the military government and their Russian allies were responsible for 1,486 civilian casualties in Mali, according to extreme violence against civilians has generated anger towards the government, fuelling further recruitment for JNIM. You may also be interested in: How 'blood gold' is fuelling conflict in West Africa'I thought I would die' - freed captive tells BBC of life in jihadist baseWhy Burkina Faso's junta leader has captured hearts and minds The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Malay Mail
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Terror group JNIM uses violence, negotiation to position itself as political force in Sahel
ABIDJAN, July 5 — In Africa's turbulent Sahel region, the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadist group is expanding its influence by repeated massacres, food distribution and signing pacts with local authorities to position itself as a key political player. The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has not ruled out governing states and has condemned bloody attacks allegedly carried out by mercenaries from the private Russian company Wagner and its jihadist rivals and even staged revenge attacks. JNIM has become the most influential jihadist group and, according to the United Nations, the most significant threat in the Sahel, using weapons and politics to weaken states and position itself as a credible alternative. A recent coordinated attack on several military installations in western Mali, bears the group's hallmarks. JNIM claimed responsibility for the strikes in seven towns. What is the political strategy? The group has 'oriented its propaganda towards defending marginalised populations and victims of violence, frequently publishing videos depicting acts of violence committed by security forces and their auxiliaries to legitimise its narrative,' according to a UN report in February. The JNIM, for instance, denounced the 'massacre of more than 130 Fulani civilians' by the Burkinabe army and its civilian auxiliaries in March near Solenzo, in the west of the country, according to Human Rights Watch. In a propaganda video, it distributed food to survivors. 'In retaliation, the JNIM launched a major attack on a military camp in Diapaga (east), killing more than 30 soldiers' and civilian army auxiliaries, 'claiming this act as the beginning of Solenzo's revenge', according to a recent analysis by Nina Wilen, director of the Africa programme at the Egmont Institute for International Relations. 'In other areas, JNIM may punitively massacre civilians or starve civilians via siege to coerce these communities into agreements,' Liam Karr, an analyst for the American Enterprise Institute, said. How does the group govern? The JNIM does not have the capacity to govern large cities like the Sahelian capitals. However, it governs villages indirectly through local agreements tailored to the area. Such agreements allow the group to impose Islamic law on local communities, prohibit them from cooperating with national armies and generate revenue by imposing Islamic taxes. 'Local populations are often open to some compromise with JNIM because the state was unable to protect them,' said Karr. 'These deals lead JNIM to lift sieges, cease attacks or agree to protect populations, which helps bring a return to normalcy and peace.' In Mali, the JNIM ended a nearly two-year blockade on the central city of Boni as well as the road linking it to the key cities of Douentza and Gao in March, after signing an agreement with local leaders authorised by the Malian government. What are the differences with rivals? The Islamic State in the Sahel (IS), JNIM's rival, has a much more brutal political strategy that allows the group to rule by terror. In southwestern Niger, the IS butchered 71 civilians in Manda in June and another 44 in Fambita in March. 'JNIM's strategy allows it to be much more flexible and establish more lasting roots among the populations it governs, whereas IS Sahel is more centralised, with a greater degree of direct control' and its rule is more brutal, Karr said. 'These differences are emblematic of the broader doctrinal differences between Al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates worldwide.' Does JNIM aim to capture states? The JNIM's political strategy has recently led the group to join forces with Malian Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), observers say. They say the JNIM was inspired by the HTS, or Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. 'JNIM... views the HTS experience as a potential template. JNIM could do this in northern Mali alongside the FLA, as it did it in 2012,' Karr said. He, nevertheless, noted challenges that limit the group's ambitions. HTS had broken away from Al-Qaeda and enjoyed broad popular support and an external sponsor, Turkey, while the JNIM, still affiliated with Al-Qaeda, depends largely on its own fundraising and the weapons it acquires from Sahel armies, he said. 'JNIM is still an Al-Qaeda affiliate, which is not popular among a large portion of the population who view the group as terrorists,' Karr said. 'Secondly, JNIM is predominantly linked with minority groups, in the geographic and political peripheries of the Sahel states, such as the Fulani and Tuareg. This means that other ethnic groups view the group as a threat.' Daniele Garofalo, a specialist in jihadist movements, said: 'At the moment, their idea is much closer to the Taliban strategy. 'In my opinion, both Taliban and HTS strategies could work. But they would have to go through a total detachment from Al-Qaeda, a change in the type of attacks, a different kind of power creation and stabilisation work. This could take years.' — AFP
