|| (EXPLAINED) The Tussle Between IS and AL-QUEDA For Control in Africa's Sahel. ||

West Africa's Sahel struggles to contain deadly Jihadist groups that have infiltrated communities. 

Leaders of G5 Sahel countries gathered in Niamey for emergency talks after Niger faced the most spectacular military attack on its soil since the Jihadist gained a foothold in this region.

"The endless attacks carried out by terrorist groups in our region remind us not only of the gravity of the situation, but also the urgency for us to work more closely together," said Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, The President of Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso and Niger are part of the G5 Sahel, a regional military initiative that includes Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Niger, that was formed in 2014 to rout out jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The body is backed the United states, the United Nations and the former colonial power France, who some activists in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso blame for the escalating violence.

Why is there a tussle between IS and Al-Qaeda?

• The tussle between IS and Al-Qaeda is not just a battle for influence, resources and recruits in the context of the Jihadist movement in various parts of the world. The two Terrorist groups are ideologically different and sharing different views of whom they see as their enemies. 
• The ideology of Al-Qaeda is to overthrow and reconstruct what it considered corrupt regimes in the middle east who have engaged in apostasy, straying away from al-Qaeda's interpretation of Islam and replace it to those who conform to the group's beliefs. They considers United States to be the reason for conflict, turmoil in the middle east.
• In contrast, the IS focuses on domestic “enemies”, a long list that includes religious minorities as well as competing jihadi groups. This list includes the Iraqi Shias, Hezbollah, the Yazidis in Iraqi-Kurdistan, Kurds elsewhere in Iraq and Syria, and other jihadi groups it considers to be its rivals. The Islamic State hopes to build just what its name suggests a state with a government where Muslims can live under the IS’s interpretation of the religion and law.

Why has Africa's Sahel become a battleground?

• New territory for more recruits, influence and access to resources is not the only reason the African Sahel has become the latest battleground. Research on the operations of terrorist groups shows illegal armed groups intentionally seek out countries where there are high rates of poverty, corruption and religious and ethnic conflict. They also look for governments that are unable to curb the development and growth of illegal armed groups, such as these two terrorist organisations. Countries in the African Sahel have been battling their own challenges with high rates of poverty, corruption and ethnic conflict, making them vulnerable hunting grounds for groups like the IS and al-Qaeda.

 What Impact has this had in Africa's Sahel?

• The presence of these militant Islamist groups have exacerbated the situation for civillians in the Sahel who had already been dealing with growing ethnic conflict and the chain reaction of climate change that has been hitting the pastoral communities the hardest. The conflict has also caused mass displacement of people and observers believe that the situation may only deteriorate in the coming years. In 2019 alone, the United Nations said that 5,60,000 people had been displaced in Burkina Faso, followed by approximately 2,00,000 in Mali and 1,86,000 in Niger.
• Islamist militant groups in the Sahel and West Africa are also known to target schools, forcing the institutions to close. Many affected children are then used by these militant groups who engage them in forced labour, sexual exploitation and force them into joining these armed militant groups as child soldiers.