Groups seeking to control the Sahel
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SAHARA DESERT 
SAHEL

Countries spanning the vast Sahara and Sahel region face terrorist groups seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate across West Africa
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JIHADIST GROUPS IN SAHEL REGION

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al Murabitoun, Ansar Dine, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS)
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ALGERIA
AQIM grows out of long-running Islamist insurgency
French Foreign Legion base, supported by Germany, Italy, Romania

LIBYA
More than 100 militias with around 125,000 fighters including AQIM and ISGS

EGYPT
Reaper drone at French airbase in Niamey, Niger

MAURITANIA

MALI
UK Chinook helicopters 
Gao
Bamako MINUSMA HQ EUTM HQ

Madama 
NIGER
Agadez
U.S. base for armed drones
Niamey Reaper drones

CHAD 
N’Djamena Operation Barkhane HQ

Ouagadougou BURKINA FASO Special-forces base

NIGERIA Metele

SUDAN

SOUTH SUDAN

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Kamango

CAMEROON

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

UGANDA

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COUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATIONS

2013: United Nations launches Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)

Strength: 16,450 troops from 56 countries Fatalities to date: 195
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2014-present: France launches Operation Barkhane, counter- terrorism operation covering G5 Sahel – Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso. Supported by Canada, Estonia, U.S. and UK

Strength: 5,000 troops Fatalities to date: 13
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2016: EU Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) extended to include G5 Sahel

Strength: 600 troops from 21 EU states
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2009-present, Nigeria: Boko Haram war against government

Nov 2018: Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacks Nigerian Army base at Metele, killing 100 soldiers
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2015-present, Burkina Faso: Spike in attacks by AQIM and ISGS have killed around 500 people and displaced 135,000 since Nov 2018
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2014-present, Cameroon: Boko Haram insurgency spills over border. Attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP kill more than 2,500. Women and girls forced to carry out suicide attacks
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Apr 2019, D. R. Congo: Islamic State claims its first-ever attack in state, targeting army base at Kamango.
IS is linked to Allied Democratic Forces – Ugandan militant group with goal of creating Islamic state
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Dec 2018, Burkina Faso: Italian and Canadian aid workers Luca Tacchetto and Edith Blais (far left) kidnapp

Jan 2019: Canadian geologist Kirk Woodman (left) abducted and killed by ISGS
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Sources: Combating Terror Center, Jamestown Foundation, Long War Journal, Soufan Centre
Pictures: Getty Images, LinkedIn © GRAPHIC NEWS