Could Jihadists Seize Parts of Coastal West Africa?
Could Jihadists Seize Parts of Coastal West Africa?
Podcast / Africa 1 minutes

Could Jihadists Seize Parts of Coastal West Africa?

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Africa Deputy Director Pauline Bax and Sahel expert Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim about the southward drift of jihadists from the Sahel to coastal West Africa and what can be done in response.

Recent years have seen increasing fear in some Gulf of Guinea countries, notably Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, that jihadists who have overrun much of the Sahel move south. Militants already operate in forested areas along the Benin-Burkina Faso border, and northern Benin and Togo have both seen an uptick in jihadist attacks. 

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Africa Deputy Director Pauline Bax and Sahel Senior Analyst Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim to discuss what’s behind militants’ southward march. They first look at how jihadists captured swaths of Burkina Faso, which borders several Gulf of Guinea countries and could serve as a gateway to coastal West Africa. They ask whether coastal governments should see the presence of militants in their north as spillover from the Sahel or a problem rooted in the local politics of often-neglected regions. They talk about how militants are recruiting and raising money. They also look at the policies of the different governments involved, coordination among them and the involvement of Western capitals and Russia, among outside powers. They look at how coastal countries in West Africa differ from their Sahelian neighbours and what they can learn from mistakes in the Sahel. 

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

For more analysis of the topics discussed in this episode, be sure to check out our Sahel and West Africa regional pages.

Contributors

Executive Vice President
atwoodr
Deputy Program Director, Africa
PaulineBax1
Deputy Project Director, Sahel
IbrahimYahayaIb

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