Is Jihadists Choosing Sahel Of Africa As Their Regrouping Point?

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:58 am

The jihadist are reigning their ugly head once again as they continue to grow in power, this time, in the African continent. The efforts by the French forces have not been enough to wade them off. A multi-national approach to the whole thing is starting to gain criticism. 

There has been an attempt to encroach the Sahel region of Africa by the jihadist extremists. A multi-national force is having problems keeping them at bay.  

Mali was being held together by British troops. But it experienced another coup in a span of nine months.  Meanwhile, it seems that the local coup leadership is signing up deals with the jihadist group. French President Emmanuel Macron isn’t happy with this development and sees this as a side deal that is going to spill only more trouble for the African continent. 

The aim of the jihadists to is to create a caliphate across the world. They started with Yemen, Sudan, Syria and Iraq, but have been systematically defeated by the western countries and their military know-how. 

Macron has given off a strong warning that he intends to withdraw his 5100 troops if the coup leaders carry out their suggestion of making a deal with the same Islamist insurgents the troops are fighting.

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The United States led multi-national war games called the African Lion 21 has seen some nations withdraw support over internal skirmishes. The larger perspective seems to be lost. These games were being conducted by U.S. Africa Command with allies and African partners in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal and the surrounding seas from June 7-18, seeks. The intent was to strengthen U.S. and partner nations’ capability to promote regional stability and support interoperability.

Sahel is a strategic point for migrant movement, smuggling, drug trafficking and therefore a great hideout spot for jihadists to continue their agenda at hand. Both the Islamic State group and its rivals in Al-Qaeda have reasons to turn their attention towards Africa. If this place becomes a hotspot of war, it is only going to become a huge humanitarian disaster like Yemen. 

Young Malians have joined extremists groups within the African continent. There is problem of unemployment, poverty, drought and lack of medical facilities. All these internal issues are enough for Mali and then neighboring nations to become hotspot for internal strife, anger and corruption that is what jihadists will eventually breed upon.

Western intervention also finds it difficult to protect the place from being encroached. There is lack of local support from the forces and population. 

Unless the local governments have the interest of the people in focus, it is going to too difficult to stop the insurgence of local coups and jihadists from taking over Sahel.