Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Name	Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Native name	دولة الإسلام في الصحراء الكبرى
Dates	2015 – present
Leaders	Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (2015–2021), Abu Huzeifa (2021–present)
Area	Sahel region, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso
Allies	Islamic State (core)
Opponents	Mali Armed Forces, Niger Armed Forces, Burkina Faso Armed Forces, France, G5 Sahel Joint Force, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. It is a Salafi jihadist militant group and an official province of the Islamic State active in the Sahel region of Africa. Formed in 2015 after a split from the al-Mourabitoun battalion, the group has been responsible for widespread violence and instability in the border regions of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Its operations have intensified regional conflicts and drawn significant international military intervention.

History

The group emerged in May 2015 when the veteran jihadist commander Abu Walid al-Sahrawi and his followers pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the then-leader of the Islamic State. This faction had previously operated under the banner of al-Mourabitoun, which was itself an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. The pledge was accepted by the Islamic State's central leadership in October 2016, formally establishing the group as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. Under al-Sahrawi's leadership, it conducted high-profile attacks, including the 2017 ambush near Tongo Tongo that killed four U.S. and five Nigerien soldiers. Following al-Sahrawi's death in a French Operation Barkhane strike in August 2021, command passed to Abu Huzeifa.

Organization and structure

The group operates as a semi-autonomous province or wilayat within the global Islamic State network, receiving strategic guidance and ideological endorsement from the core leadership. Its internal structure is believed to be cell-based and hierarchical, with specialized units for military operations, logistics, and religious policing. Leadership has been drawn from experienced fighters with backgrounds in groups like Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. The group maintains ties with local communities and other militant factions through complex networks of alliances and coercion, often appointing local emirs to administer controlled zones.

Ideology and objectives

The group adheres to the radical Salafi jihadist ideology promulgated by the Islamic State, seeking to establish a caliphate governed by its strict interpretation of Sharia law across the Sahel region. Its objectives explicitly reject the legitimacy of national governments like those in Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou, as well as international institutions like the United Nations. The group's propaganda, disseminated through outlets like the Al-Naba newsletter, emphasizes sectarian violence, the implementation of hudud punishments, and the expulsion of foreign influence, particularly that of France and other West African states.

Military activities and tactics

The group is notorious for employing asymmetric warfare tactics, including ambushes, improvised explosive device attacks, and raids on military outposts and civilian settlements. It frequently targets national armed forces, international peacekeepers from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, and symbols of state authority. A hallmark of its strategy is the use of extreme violence, including mass executions, as seen in the 2021 attacks in Tillabéri Region, and the systematic targeting of ethnic groups like the Dogon and Fulani to inflame communal conflicts. These tactics are designed to destabilize regions, seize resources, and demonstrate the weakness of central governments.

Territorial control and area of operations

While it does not hold major urban centers, the group exerts significant influence and control over vast, remote rural areas, particularly in the Liptako-Gourma region where the borders of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso converge. Its area of operations spans the Ménaka and Gao Regions in eastern Mali, the Tillabéri Region in western Niger, and the Sahel and Est regions of northern Burkina Faso. This tri-border zone provides a permissive environment for logistics, recruitment, and launching cross-border raids, effectively creating a haven beyond the full reach of state security forces.

Relationship with other jihadist groups

The group's relationship with the dominant Al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, is characterized by intense rivalry and violent conflict, often termed the "jihadist civil war" in the Sahel. This competition for resources, recruits, and territorial influence has led to frequent clashes, such as those in the Ménaka area. Despite a shared enemy in the Mali Armed Forces and international forces, ideological differences and leadership disputes have prevented a sustained alliance. The group maintains its primary allegiance to the Islamic State's central command, distinguishing it from the Al-Qaeda network in the region.

Category:Militant Islamist groups in Africa Category:Islamic State Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States