10/15/2018 Burkina Faso (International Christian Concern) – There is a new Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist cell in Burkina Faso. They seem to have split off from another larger group that operated in Mali, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin(JNIM). This split could be the beginning of increased attacks by Al-Qaeda in the Sahel region of Africa. This region is known to have people groups who are susceptible to radical teachings and extremist ideals. This with the fact that many of these country have weak security at their borders and small and inefficient militaries may make for a new training ground for Al-Qaeda.

Over the past year there have been several terrorist attack on the civilian population in Burkina Faso. These attacks included gunmen shooting a café in the capital city Ouagadougou, where 8 people were killed and over 80 more were injured. If this group continues to grow, attacks in Burkina Faso are very likely to continue and get worse.

Currently there is a large push by the Sahel countries, with French support, to fight JNIM and other extremist groups that have started to take control and recruit in Mali, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso. Despite these attempts, the groups have grown. With much of Northern Mali still under terrorist control, it is hard to stop this growth due to large populations to recruit from and vast lands in which to train. Unless there is a change in the populations from which these people are recruited, it will continue to fail. There must first be freedom of religion and development aid given to these countries.

For interviews with Nathan Johnson, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected]