Off the heels of successive coups in the region, ACLED and GI-TOC are launching a joint series of publications profiling non-state armed groups in West Africa that explores the intersections between their involvement in illicit economies and attempts at governance provision. The first installment analyzes the operations and organizational structure of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in the Sahel. It focuses on the central role of illicit economies in JNIM’s governance strategies and in financing and resourcing the group’s operations.
On 19 October at 9 am EST/3 pm CET we held a virtual launch of the inaugural report in this series, featuring a panel discussion with ACLED Senior Researcher Héni Nsaibia, GI-TOC Senior Analyst Dr. Eleanor Beevor, International Crisis Group Senior Analyst Sahel Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, and Ornella Moderan, a political and security analyst working on the Sahel, moderated by ACLED Africa Regional Specialist Ladd Serwat. See the full recording of the event below, and read the report here.
