Waves of terrorist threat is lapping against West African coast before hitting hard  

Mohamed el-Dabouli

Two Jihadist groups, Boko Haram and Nasrut-e-Islam have reportedly remobilized their fighters on the shores of the West Africa before hitting hard. Two African countries, Togo and Benin, which are rich in oil fields, are in the crosshairs.

African countries of the Gulf of Guinea (Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) are collectively producing more than 4.5 million barrels per day. Thanks to Chevron, the giant American oil company, the oil production in the area is bigger than OPEC’s.

Since Jihadist groups revealed themselves in Asia and Africa, they have been aiming their threat at areas rich in natural resoruces, such as oil and uranium. While Nusrat-el-Islam is active in countries rich in uranium, such as Mali, Niger and Chad. ISIS feels thirsty for oil in Syria and Iraq. In the meantime, Boko Haram has mobilised its fighters in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, which are rich in their water resources.

Concerning Shabab al-Mujahedeen, the Jihadist group decided to camp close to the strategic Strait of Bab al-Mandab, which controls about 8% of global trade carried through the Red Sea.  Expanding their territory, Shabab al-Muhjahedeen is now at a stone’s throw from Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia, which is said to be rich in natural gas.

Counterterrorism experts are associating the growing threat of Jihadist groups in West Africa with several factors, such as the lack of security, ethnic rivalries and long-standing injustices done to religious and ethnic minorities.

Nusrat-e-Islam and Boko Haram have spent the past five years in mobilizing their fighters in the Gulf of Guinea. In 2014, Boko Haram decided to export its threat to Chad and Cameroon, and even beyond.  However, Nusrate-Islam prioritized Burkina Faso, which is widely regarded as the northern gate to Togo, Benin and Ghana.

In its latest statement on Oct. 30, Nusrat-e-Islam gave an ultimatum to the government of Burkina Faso to withdraw from the G5 Sahel, otherwise it (the government) would be responsible for the grave consequences. The G5 Sahel is the institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in West Africa. The group was formed on Feb. 16 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at a summit of five Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The military aspect is coordinated by the respective countries’ Chiefs of Staff. The purpose of G5 Sahel is to strengthen the bond between economic development and security, and together battle the threat of jihadist organizations operating in the region.

Seeking to win the hearts of the Burkina Faso people, Nusrat-e-Islam held in its statement the government responsible for unemployment and poverty, which allegedly gripped hard on the country.

Two years before the Jihadist group came up with its threat, a hotel in the capital Ouagadougou, which was allocated for French troops, came under attack. In March this year, the French embassy Ouagadougou was attacked and eight people were killed. Cote D’Ivore, Burkina Fasco’s neighbouring country, was not more fortunate. In March, 2016, the tourist industry in this country was shocked as a result of suicidal attacks on three hotels.