Exploring violent extremism in the Sahel

Date: 2017-11-07

Time: 14:00 to 16:30

Venue: African Union (Small Conference Room 4), Addis Ababa

RSVP: Mariamawit Wole, Phone: +251 11 515 6320, Email: [email protected]

A closed briefing on violent extremism in the Sahel region will be provided to the African Union in Addis Ababa on the following issues:

ISS research challenges conventional wisdom that young people in Mali’s jihadist groups are unemployed, idle and fanatical. A study of formerly engaged youths assessed the role that religion and unemployment play in encouraging them to join jihadist groups, and recommended how to better respond to extremism.
Mali is considered to be the epicentre of the Sahel crisis. The persistent terrorist threat has now expanded from the north to the centre of the country. With presidential elections scheduled for August next year, these threats strain the country’s polarised politics.
Instability in Mali has spread into north-eastern Burkina Faso and western Niger. Weak governance, local conflicts, transnational organised crime and violent extremism are intertwined in the Liptako-Gourma region. The joint regional force of the G5 Sahel will be deployed into this complex security environment.
Public messaging from extremist organisations allows the spread of propaganda and ties into recruitment efforts. Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region has been particularly active in its communication, providing clues as to the group’s orientation and strategy.

Chair: President Pierre Buyoya, AU High Representative for Mali and Sahel

Opening remarks: Amb Alfred Dube, Director, ISS Addis Ababa

Speakers:

Lori-Anne Théroux-Bénoni, Director, ISS Dakar

Baba Dakono, Researcher, ISS Bamako

Ibrahim Maïga, Researcher, ISS Bamako

Omar S Mahmood, Researcher, ISS Addis Ababa

Picture: Wikimedia Commons