Since early 2024, the violent campaigns of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) jihadist groups have been reshaping the security landscape in the Sahel and its littoral borderlands. These groups have significantly expanded their operations, transforming the regions bordering the Sahel toward the coast into an active conflict hotspot.
ACLED data show that JNIM and ISSP have entered a new phase of expansion, and their growing influence in the border regions across Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo is part of a broader regional trend of jihadist expansion and, consequently, a larger number of the civilian population being exposed to conflict.
