| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Fragmented security allows terrorists’ cross-mobility across Lake Chad and Sahel |
| 2026-07-29 |
| By Taiwo Adebayo Researcher, Lake Chad Basin, ISS [ISSAFRICA] As Islamic State affiliates extend their reach, states must find ways to share intelligence and cooperate, despite political fractures. Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has resolved to send 100 fighters to reinforce Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) in Ménaka near Mali’s border with Niger, defectors communicating with current fighters told ISS Today. This comes months after ISSP retreated from the area when Malian forces regained control. Such decisions by ISWAP’s Shura Council, made at a recent meeting, pose a major challenge to Lake Chad Basin and Sahel counter-terrorism operations – and show an organisation both under pressure and extending its reach. Anti-insurgency structures in each region are not designed to match ISWAP and ISSP’s cross-regional mobility. ISSP operates mainly across the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger border area, where the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin is also active. Success will depend on cooperation between these governments. One defector quoted a fighter who attended the Shura Council meeting as saying: ‘They [ISSP] are having problems [in Ménaka]’ – meaning the group needed support. Fifty more fighters were heading to Nasarawa in Nigeria’s North Central, hundreds of kilometres from ISWAP’s Lake Chad stronghold, he said – the second such deployment to Nasarawa since 25 fighters were sent there last year. More at the link Related: Islamic State West Africa Province: 2026-06-22 Nigeria: The Making and Unmaking of Abubakar Shekau Islamic State West Africa Province: 2026-06-21 ISWAP’s ‘Tax’ System is Bleeding Farmers Dry in Northeastern Nigeria Islamic State West Africa Province: 2026-06-19 The War Over Who Is Muslim Related: Islamic State Sahel Province: 2026-07-07 Who Funds The Fire? Islamic State Sahel Province: 2026-06-26 Mali: 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 48 Malian soldiers were killed in Tinzawatene Islamic State Sahel Province: 2026-06-20 Coordinated attacks against Nigerien forces in Bani Bangou, Tassia and Inates on June 17 resulted in the death of 150+ soldiers Related: Ménaka: 2026-07-20 Video.. Hundreds of JNIM Fighters Chase Malian Battalion That Fled at the First Shot Near Gao Ménaka: 2026-07-12 Azawad Front announces toll of 'Six Days Battle': 'We broke Russian, Malian and Sahel state's largest deployment’ Ménaka: 2026-06-19 Mali: Several attacks by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS), including in the capital Niamey |
| Posted by:badanov |