Mapping the contours of Jihadist groups in the Sahel
THE Sahel region, an area covering 3 million sq km, has been a hotbed of Islamic Jihadi groups in recent years. FOLAHANMI AINA, Doctoral Candidate in Leadership Studies, King's College London Today, the region has no fewer than seven insurgent groups scattered in six countries. The area stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean and encompasses a dozen countries. These include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. Jihadi groups have taken advantage of a number of underlying conditions, which fuel local grievances across the Sahel. These include endemic…