Islamist insurgency in the Sahel

Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
Part of the war on terror and spillover of the Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
Map showing areas where the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara operates
Date 15 February 2011 – present (13 years, 3 months) Location Sahel (mainly Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) Status Ongoing Mali War: Tuareg rebels and allied Islamists overrun Northern Mali in 2012 until pushed back by a French intervention Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso: Mali War spills over into Burkina Faso by 2015 as Islamists capture about 40% of Burkinabé territory Boko Haram insurgency arises in Nigeria and extends in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon Jihadist insurgency in Niger French and American intervention on behalf of governments Rise of the coup belt
Belligerents
Local governments:  Mali  Burkina Faso  Niger[1]  Nigeria  Cameroon  Chad[2]  Togo[3]  Ghana[4]  Ivory Coast[5]  Benin[6] MINUSMA[2] (2013–2023) AFISMA[7] (from 2013) Supported by:  France[2][8][9]  United Kingdom[10][11][12]  United States[13]  Germany[14]  Sweden[15]  Czech Republic[16]  Netherlands[17]  Denmark[18]  Turkey[19][20] Wagner Group[21]	Al-Qaeda and allies: AQIM (from 2007) JNIM (from 2017) Al-Mourabitoun (2013–17) Ansar Dine (2012–17) MUJAO (2011–13) Macina Liberation Front (2015–17) Ansar al-Sharia of Mali (2012–present) Ansar ul Islam (2016–present) Al-Mulathameen Al-Shabaab Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat remnants[2] Ansar al-Sharia of Mauritania National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (2012) IS-GS Boko Haram (from 2006, partially aligned with ISIL since 2015)[22][23] ISWAP Ansaru Islamic Movement of Nigeria
Commanders and leaders
Assimi Goïta Choguel Kokalla Maïga Ibrahim Traoré Apollinaire J. Kyélem de Tambèla Abdourahamane Tchiani Ali Lamine Zeine Bola Tinubu Paul Biya Joseph Ngute Mahamat Déby Succès Masra Faure Gnassingbé Victoire Tomegah Dogbé Nana Akufo-Addo Alassane Ouattara Robert Beugré Mambé Patrice Talon Former commanders: Amadou Toumani Touré Dioncounda Traoré Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta Bah Ndaw Modibo Sidibé Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé Cheick Modibo Diarra Django Sissoko Oumar Tatam Ly Moussa Mara Modibo Keita Abdoulaye Idrissa Maïga Boubou Cissé Moctar Ouane Abdoulaye Maïga Blaise Compaoré Honoré Traoré Yacouba Isaac Zida Michel Kafando Roch Marc Christian Kaboré Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba Tertius Zongo Luc-Adolphe Tiao Paul Kaba Thieba Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré Lassina Zerbo Albert Ouédraogo Mahamadou Issoufou Mohamed Bazoum Mahamadou Danda Brigi Rafini Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Goodluck Jonathan Muhammadu Buhari Philémon Yang Idriss Déby Emmanuel Nadingar Djimrangar Dadnadji Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet Albert Pahimi Padacké Saleh Kebzabo Gilbert Houngbo Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu Komi Sélom Klassou John Atta Mills John Mahama Gilbert Aké Jeannot Ahoussou-Kouadio Daniel Kablan Duncan Amadou Gon Coulibaly Hamed Bakayoko Patrick Achi Thomas Boni Yayi Pascal Koupaki Lionel Zinsou	Abdelmalek Droukdel †[24] Abu Ubaidah Youssef al-Annabi[24] Iyad Ag Ghaly[25] Amadou Koufa[24] Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi † Abu al-Bara al-Sahrawi[26] Ibrahim Malam Dicko † Abdoul Salam Dicko[27]
Strength
Total armed forces:  Mali: 7,350 AFISMA: 2,900[7]  Niger: 12,000  Chad: 30,350  France: 5,100 deployed in the Sahel[8][9] Supported by:  United States: 1,325+ advisors, trainers[13][28]	AQIM (former GSPC): 1,000[2][29][30]–4,000[31] MUJAO: ~500[7] Al-Mourabitoun: Fewer than 100[32] Ansar Dine: 300[33]–10,000[7]  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISWAP: 6,000[34]–20,000[35][36]
Casualties and losses
34,074+ people killed[a] 3 million displaced[38]

An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.

The conflict is generally seen to have begun during the early stages of the Mali War, which itself was seen as a spillover conflict of the Insurgency in the Maghreb. As Islamist Tuareg rebels overran Mali in 2012, a concurrent insurgency in Nigeria, led by Boko Haram, began to spread to nearby countries. By 2015, the Mali war had spread to Burkina Faso and Niger, which led to heavy fighting and humanitarian crises in both countries. The conflict in Nigeria also reached a climax before a coalition offensive forced insurgents into remission. By 2019, the effects of the region-wide conflict began to accelerate due to resentment within the populace and due to alleged inability to handle the conflict. These views led to a series of coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan, Chad and Guinea, which led to the region being labeled a 'coup belt'.

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