Violent Extremism in West Africa in the 21st Century

Since the early 2000s, there has been a steady increase in violent extremism and terrorism across the African continent. In West Africa, terrorism and violent extremism have had a devastating impact in terms of the loss of life, displacement of people, loss of livelihood and development..
Violent extremism continues to spread throughout West Africa, including in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Between 2016 and 2019, the Sahel saw a record number of deaths, with violence linked to violent extremism organizations doubling every year in West Africa.
West African governments have responded to this threat, both individually and regionally. International support has also been garnered from countries such as the USA and France. However the violent extremism continues to grow- both as a result of factors intrinsic to the region, as well as due forged relationships with international violent extremist groups.
Events related to violent extremism rose from 3 in 2015 to 137 in 2018, with an undiminished upward trend. In the Sahel, armed attacks on civilians are estimated to have displaced nearly 3 million people, 1 million of whom have been displaced since January of 2019.
Nigeria
Main Article: Boko Haram Insurgency
Since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, it has resulted in an estimated 2.5 million internally displaced people, over 200,000 Nigerian nationals seeking refuge in other countries.
Government Response
Ivory Coast
In June 2021 the Ivorian government in collaboration with France, inaugurated the International Counter-Terrorism Academy in Jacqueville, Côte d'Ivoire. The aim of the academy is to train soldiers across West Africa in combating the surge of violent extremism expanding from the Sahel. This however was not followed up by implementation.
In 2019, ECOWAS adopted the 2020-2024 Action Plan, whose priority areas range from pooling of efforts and coordination of counter-terrorism initiatives to promoting inter-community dialogue and preventing violent extremism. There however exist a number of hurdles in the way of implementation.
This operation is gradually being drawn to a close however- France cites a conflict in counter-terrorism tactics with governments in the Sahel, while politicians and residents of the Sahel demonstrate skepticism as to France's intentions, due to possible colonial associations.
USA
As part of an intervention in Niger, the American military has been deploying special forces and drones to support the Nigerien government in their counter-terrorism operations.
Continued Spread
The extremist forces from the Sahel are progressively expanding into littoral states in West Africa, such as Benin, , and Ghana. Benin and Côte d'Ivoire have begun to experience such extremist attacks within their borders

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