Jihadist threat in Africa’s Sahel region
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Islamist groups with links to Al Qaeda and so-called Islamic State are strengthening their presence across Africa’s Sahel region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso
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Jihadist groups
Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM) 
Ansarul Islam
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) 
Boko Haram / Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)
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ALGERIA
MAURITANIA 
MALI
NIGER 
NIGERIA
SENEGAL
BURKINA FASO
CAMEROON
CHAD 
SUDAN
N’djamena
ERITREA SOUTH
SUDAN
Agadez
Gao
Niamey

800km 500 miles

Sahel semi-arid region
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ANTI-INSURGENT OPERATIONS  Major military presence

France  Germany  United States  Italy

French troops (Operation Barkhane)
4,500

UN peacekeeping forces (Mali)
15,000

G5 Sahel taskforce (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger)
4,000
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Sources: France 24, ISPI, Reuters, United Nations
© GRAPHIC NEWS