War in the Sahel
| War in the Sahel | ||||||||
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| Part of the war on terror and spillover of the Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) | ||||||||
Map showing areas where the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara was active in 2021 | ||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
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Benin Supported by: Africa Corps (since 2021) Turkey (since 2022) France (2013-2023) United States (until 2024) MINUSMA (2013-2023) AFISMA (2012-2013) G5 Sahel (until 2023) |
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Nigerien anti-coup movement:
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
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Assimi Goïta Former commanders:
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Amadou Koufa Former commanders: Abu al-Bara' al-Sahrawi |
Alghabass Ag Intalla Bilal Ag Acherif Rhissa Ag Boula Fahad Ag Almahmoud † | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
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Total armed forces: Mali: 7,350 AFISMA: 2,900 Niger: 12,000 Chad: 30,350 France: 5,100 deployed in the Sahel Supported by: United States: 1,325+ advisors, trainers |
JNIM: Up to 6,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
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47,880+ people killed 25,806+ killed (2023—present) 3 million displaced | ||||||||
A war in the Sahel region of West Africa has been ongoing since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.
The conflict is generally seen to have begun during the early stages of the Mali War, which itself was seen as a spillover conflict of the Insurgency in the Maghreb. As Islamist Tuareg rebels overran Mali in 2012, a concurrent insurgency in Nigeria, led by Boko Haram, began to spread to nearby countries. By 2015, the Mali war had spread to Burkina Faso and Niger, which led to heavy fighting and humanitarian crises in both countries.
The conflict in Nigeria also reached a climax before a 2015 coalition offensive forced insurgents into remission. By 2019, the effects of the region-wide conflict began to accelerate due to resentment within the populace and due to alleged inability to handle the conflict. These views led to a series of coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan, Chad and Guinea, which led to the region being labeled a 'coup belt'.