THE SAHEL'S BATTLE AGAINST RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM: WHY WEST AFRICA MUST CONFRONT VIOLENT RADICALISATION WITHOUT UNDERMINING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The Sahel region is fighting for its future. Stretching across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, the region has become the epicentre of one of the world's deadliest insurgencies. Armed extremist groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa Province (ISWAP), Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and other militant organisations continue to wage a brutal campaign of terror against innocent civilians. They attack villages, burn schools, bomb markets, kidnap women and children, assassinate traditional rulers, and massacre worshippers in churches and mosques. Their actions have displaced millions of people and crippled economic activities across the region. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that these atrocities are often committed under the false banner of Islam—a religion that explicitly condemns the murder of innocent people. Burkina Faso's Tougher Position In recent years, Burkina Faso's military government under Captain Ibrahim ...