THE speed with which poorly governed states are collapsing under the weight of terrorism has become a deafening catastrophe. Nowhere is this more alarming than in West Africa, where vast, arid and weakly governed territories in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have become fertile breeding grounds for extremist violence.
In a recent warning, the United States said the Islamic State poses a formidable threat to the sub-region.
To confirm the warning, the joint military forces of the United States and Nigeria killed a top ISIS leader, Abu Bilal al-Minuki and his cohorts on Friday at his base in Borno State.
In its 2026 counterterrorism strategy document, the US noted that surviving remnants of ISIS and affiliated jihadist groups had relocated to Africa and Central Asia after losing their strongholds in Iraq and Syria, exploiting ungoverned spaces and fragile states.
The report identified parts of Africa — including West Africa, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan and Somalia — as areas witnessing a dangerous resurgence of terrorist activities.
