Safety and Security
One of the biggest concerns identified in the Youth Survey of 2024, is Safety and Security. According to the survey, three-in-five youths in Africa are confident in the government’s ability to deal with terrorism and insurgency. However, many felt terrorism and insurgency are impacting their lives; there were increases in those who know someone who supports a terror group or has been approached by a terror group themselves. And these concerns are not misplaced. Radical Islamic insurgency is one of the most prominent forces eating away at our security on the continent. In this article, Illia Djadi, Niger-born analyst on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), looks at the spread, the role and drivers of radical Islamic insurgency in SSA.
Regional Realities
Sub Saharan Africa is a vast geographical area stretching from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East and extending southwards to South Africa. It is an area rich in many ways – people, culture, natural resources, to name a few. But there are also challenges, including governance, economy, and youth employment. Another reality is security challenges. Radical Salafist-Wahabist interpretations of Islam has caused a proliferation of so-called jihadist groups.
West Africa
Looking specifically at the situation in the area called the Central Sahel, involving Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Analysts agree that this region has become the epicenter of international jihad because two major groups are active here:
- Al Qaida (AQ): represented by an entity known as the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), it is not so much a group as a network that joined forces in 2017 to improve operations and strategy. AQ is no longer most active in Afghanistan. Today it is most active in the Central Sahel.
- Islamic State (IS): represented by a group called the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. Similar to AQ, IS is no longer strongest in its birthplace, Syria and Iraq where they had been militarily defeated. They are now most active in the Central Sahel.
Lake Chad Basin
Terrorist activity here is led by radical Islamic group Boko Haram. Born in 2009, it remains active in northern Nigeria but also other areas in the entire Lake Chad basin including parts of Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. Boko Haram has undergone a mutation, and a splinter group is now known as the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP). These two groups share many similarities and for a while, worked together. They continue to perform raids making life miserable for communities there.
Central Africa
This part of the continent has also not been spared. In the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a multitude of armed groups are active. But one is to be distinguished as a jihadist group, and that is the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). They started as a Ugandan political revolution against the regime of Yoweri Museveni but was chased out of Uganda. They found refuge in the East of the DRC. They are affiliated to the Islamic State and are causing immense suffering for the mostly Christian population there.
East Africa
Most notable here is the Somali group, Al Shabaab. The name loosely translates to young militants. Their activities affect communities in Somalia and areas in northeast Kenya along the extensive and porous border with Somalia.
Southern Africa
A group also called al Shabaab (but not connected to the Somali al Shabaab), is active in the North of Mozambique, in the province of Cabo Delgado. They too are affiliated to the Islamic State.
Hidden Networks
Looking at these maps, we realize that there is not a single region in SSA that has not been affected by terrorism. Even in countries where there is no real military presence, there are sleeper cells active – especially in South Africa. A group of experts from the UN has recently established that the ADF is receiving support from South Africa.
