Terrorism in Africa: the Sahel, Nigeria, Somalia and Mozambique

The short answer. Terrorism in Africa now kills more people than anywhere else: the Global Terrorism Index 2026 calls sub-Saharan Africa the global epicentre of terrorism, and the Sahel region alone accounted for more than half of all terrorism deaths in 2025.¹ The main groups are al-Qaeda's JNIM in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Boko Haram and Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) around Lake Chad, al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya, and a small Islamic State-linked force in northern Mozambique.

Key facts #

• The Global Terrorism Index 2026 recorded 5,582 terrorism deaths worldwide in 2025, down 28 per cent, and put six of the ten most affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa.¹
• The Africa Center for Strategic Studies counted 23,968 deaths linked to militant Islamist groups in Africa in 2025, up 24 per cent. The count includes fighting with armies.²
• JNIM, al-Qaeda's Sahel coalition, was the second-deadliest terrorist group in the world in 2025, with 1,274 deaths in 147 incidents across Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.¹
• Nigeria recorded 750 terrorism deaths in 2025, a rise of 46 per cent and the largest increase of any country. ISWAP and Boko Haram caused 80 per cent of them.¹
• On 8 September 2026 Intersociety, a Nigerian civil-liberties group, reported at least 3,083 Christians killed and 3,193 abducted in Nigeria between January and August 2026. The killings themselves are verified by independent monitors; this particular total is Intersociety's own count, and its method was not described in the coverage.¹⁵
• Published figures for Christians killed in Nigeria vary widely. ACLED recorded 317 from January 2020 to September 2025, counting only attacks where the victims' Christian identity was a reported factor; Open Doors counted 3,490 from October 2024 to September 2025; Intersociety claimed 7,087 in the first 220 days of 2025. They use different definitions and periods and are not comparable.¹⁷¹³¹⁴

What is happening with terrorism in Africa? #

Terrorism in Africa is concentrated in four theatres: the Sahel, the Lake Chad basin, Somalia and northern Mozambique. The first three account for 98 per cent of the fatalities the Africa Center links to militant Islamist groups.²

Source: Global Terrorism Index 2026.¹ Mozambique ranks 15th and Kenya 21st.

The two main counts measure different things. The Global Terrorism Index uses its own definition of terrorism and gives Somalia 317 deaths in 2025.¹ The Africa Center counts every death in violent events involving militant Islamist groups, including battles with armies, and gives Somalia 8,813.² Do not add or compare the two series.

What is driving Sahel terrorism? #

Sahel terrorism is driven mainly by JNIM, an al-Qaeda alliance formed in 2017 from four smaller groups. It aims to topple the governments of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin, and its leaders want to impose their ideology, including Sharia law.¹ Over 75 per cent of the deaths attributed to it in 2025 were soldiers and police.¹ Its rival, Islamic State Sahel Province, belongs to the Islamic State network. France's nine-year campaign ended in August 2022, with 59 French soldiers dead by President Macron's count, and the juntas turned to Russia.⁹

In 2025 JNIM turned to economic warfare. In September it announced a blockade of fuel imports to Bamako.⁵ The UN Monitoring Team says it destroyed hundreds of tankers, and Bellingcat verified more than 130 burnt-out tankers by early November.⁶⁵

The war then reached the capital region. On 25 April 2026 JNIM and the separatist Azawad Liberation Front attacked several towns at once. The defence minister, Sadio Camara, was killed by a suicide car bomb, and the separatists seized Kidal.³ As of October 2026, Mali's army says it has retaken Kidal with Russia's Africa Corps. The separatists call their exit a controlled withdrawal.⁴

Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso #

The Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso is the deadliest in the Sahel. The country ranked second in 2025 after two years at the top, and terrorism deaths fell 45 per cent, from 1,532 to 846.¹ JNIM carried out over 80 per cent of the attacks. The deadliest, on 9 October 2025 near Djibo, killed over 120 soldiers, with 30 reported missing.¹ External assessments suggest the army controls 30 per cent or less of the country, although the government says it has reclaimed territory.¹

Niger ranked third, with 703 deaths, including at least 71 worshippers killed at a mosque in Manda on 20 June 2025. Local media blamed Islamic State Sahel Province.¹ The Africa Center says jihadist violence is spreading to coastal states, with a record 305 deaths in Benin.²

What is the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria? #

The Boko Haram insurgency is a war in north-east Nigeria. It began with a Salafi preacher's movement in Maiduguri and became an armed revolt in 2009, when police shot dead its founder, Mohamed Yusuf. Abubakar Shekau took over and in 2015 pledged allegiance to Islamic State. In 2016 the movement split: Islamic State recognised Yusuf's son as ISWAP's leader, and Shekau went back to the name JAS, still widely called Boko Haram. In May 2021 ISWAP overran his forest base and he blew himself up.¹¹

Today the two groups fight each other as well as the state. In 2025 ISWAP carried out 92 attacks and killed 384 people, and Boko Haram carried out 43 attacks and killed 213. A newer group, Lakurawa, killed 74.¹ Civilians were 67 per cent of the dead.¹ The Africa Center says the Lake Chad basin had its deadliest year since 2015, with 4,779 fatalities, and that ISWAP overran at least 16 military bases.²

Two cautions apply. Much violence in the north-west is banditry, not jihadism: the Africa Center attributes the kidnapping of 253 children from a Catholic school in Niger State to bandits.² And foreign action is contested. On 25 December 2025 the United States fired missiles at two Islamic State camps in the north-west.¹ Analysts told Al Jazeera that Jabo, one town hit, had no known Islamic State presence.¹²

How many Christians have been killed in Nigeria? #

The killing of Christians in Nigeria is verified. Independent monitors (Open Doors, ACLED via the Associated Press) and Amnesty International have documented thousands of Christians killed in targeted attacks, including massacres at churches and Christian villages. What is not settled is the exact national total: the published figures differ by a factor of more than twenty because each producer counts something different.

Christian communities have been attacked. Amnesty says gunmen killed more than 100 people at Yelewata, in Benue State, on 14 June 2025, while Open Doors puts that attack at more than 200 dead.¹⁹¹³ An attack on a church at Owo in June 2022 killed at least 50 people.²⁰

Intersociety's newer report, covering January to August 2026, claims at least 3,083 Christians killed. That Christians continue to be killed in 2026 is not in doubt. The precise total is Intersociety's own count: Catholic World Report, which published it on 8 September 2026, did not independently check the numbers.¹⁵

But the religious reading is disputed. Nigeria's government denies any genocide, and its foreign minister called the conflict regional, not Christian against Muslim.¹⁸ Analysts told the Associated Press that most victims of armed groups in the Muslim-majority north are Muslims, though it gave no number.¹⁷ Al Jazeera's analysis attributes Middle Belt violence mainly to clashes between largely Muslim Fulani herders and largely Christian farmers over land and water.¹⁸ Open Doors itself says ORFA data show thousands of Muslims have also been killed.¹³ The fair summary: the killing of Christians in Nigeria is verified and continuing; only the exact national figure is disputed.

Is al-Shabaab still a threat in Somalia and Kenya? #

Al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda's Somali branch, is still a serious threat and in 2025 came within 50 kilometres of Mogadishu. Its Shabelle Offensive began in late February 2025, and in March it tried to assassinate the president.¹ The Global Terrorism Index calls it al-Qaeda's wealthiest affiliate.¹ UN Member States told the Security Council's monitors it has 10,000 to 18,000 fighters,⁷ and annual revenue of $100 million to $200 million.⁸

On the Index's definition its toll is falling: 286 deaths in 2025, the third yearly fall.¹ The Africa Center's wider count, which includes battles, rose 93 per cent to 8,813 deaths linked to al-Shabaab and Islamic State in Somalia.²

Al-Shabaab in Kenya #

Al-Shabaab raids Kenya to pressure it over its troops in Somalia.¹ It claimed the Westgate mall siege in Nairobi in September 2013, which killed at least 67 people.²¹ Four gunmen killed 148 people at Garissa University College in April 2015.²² In 2025 it made 15 cross-border attacks that killed 24 people.¹ On 28 July 2026 a roadside bomb in Mandera County killed five Kenyan officers. No group claimed it, but officials suspect al-Shabaab.²³

What is the Islamist insurgency in Mozambique? #

The Islamist insurgency in Mozambique first appeared around 2014 and stepped up its attacks in October 2017, in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado.²⁵ It is known locally as "al-Shabab", but Al Jazeera says it has no known link to the Somali group.²⁷ Islamic State first claimed an attack there in June 2019.²⁶ The UN calls the group Ahl al-Sunna wal Jama'a (ASWJ) and says regional states put it at 250 to 350 fighters in February 2026.⁶

ACLED has recorded at least 6,542 deaths since 2017, including at least 2,747 civilians.²⁴ The UN says more than 1.3 million people have fled their homes.²⁸ Fatalities rose 51 per cent in 2025 to 531, the Africa Center says.² TotalEnergies announced a full restart of its $20 billion gas project on 29 January 2026, after a five-year freeze.²⁹

What causes jihadism in Africa? #

Jihadism in Africa grows where states are weak, armies are abusive and money is easy to raise.

• State abuse. The Global Terrorism Index says 71 per cent of recruits in sub-Saharan Africa cited abuse by state security forces as the tipping point.¹ The Africa Center says civilian deaths from armed forces and allied militias in Mali and Burkina Faso have exceeded those attributed to militant Islamist groups since 2023.² Human Rights Watch reported that Malian soldiers and foreign troops allegedly executed about 300 civilian men at Moura in 2022.¹⁰
• Money and weapons. The UN lists ransom, road tolls, smuggling, cattle theft and zakat levies as JNIM income, and reports a ransom of about $50 million for a Gulf royal kidnapped in September 2025.⁶ The Index says Libya's collapse spread weapons southward.¹
• Ideology and branding. Islamic State attacks in sub-Saharan Africa almost doubled in 2025, from 111 to 221, and its core mission is a caliphate.¹ The wider ideology is explained in what Islamism is, and how radicalisation works covers the recruitment side.

What cuts the other way? #

• The victims are mostly African. Civilians were two-thirds of Nigeria's terrorism dead, and the Manda attack hit a mosque.¹
• Governments commit abuses too. The Africa Center says heavy-handed security tactics keep driving recruitment, and it cites atrocities by junta-aligned Russian paramilitaries.² Countering extremism cannot rest on force alone.
• Deaths fell in 2025. They fell in ten sub-Saharan countries and rose in four. But the Index warns the fall masks territorial gains by jihadists, who attack civilians less while they consolidate control.¹
• The West is rarely the target. Africa's groups mostly fight governments and armies in Africa. Europol says most attacks and plots in the EU involve lone actors or small self-initiated cells, so the direct threat to Europe from African groups looks small (assessment).³⁰

Questions people ask #

What is jihadism in Africa? #

Jihadism in Africa means armed groups that use religious war language to fight governments and impose their version of Islamic law. They include al-Qaeda's JNIM and al-Shabaab, Islamic State's ISWAP and Sahel branches, Boko Haram, and an Islamic State-linked group in Mozambique. They are small minorities, and Muslims are their main victims.

Which African country has the most terrorism? #

In the Global Terrorism Index 2026, Burkina Faso ranks second in the world, Niger third, Nigeria fourth and Mali fifth. Pakistan ranks first. Burkina Faso had the most terrorism deaths in Africa in 2025 on the Index's count, with 846, but Nigeria's toll of 750 was rising fast. Rankings use a five-year weighted measure, so they change slowly.

What is the difference between Boko Haram and ISWAP? #

Both come from the same Nigerian movement. Boko Haram, led by Abubakar Shekau until his death in 2021, treated all civilians as targets. ISWAP broke away in 2016 as Islamic State's recognised branch and tries to win Muslim civilians by taxing them and running courts. The two now fight each other, and ISWAP has grown stronger.

Are Christians being killed in Nigeria? #

Yes. This is verified by independent monitors and human-rights groups, especially in Benue and Plateau states and the north-east. Only the exact totals are disputed. Open Doors counts 3,490 in a year, Intersociety claims more than 7,000 in under eight months, and ACLED's narrow count is far lower. Muslims are also killed in large numbers. Nigeria's government rejects the genocide label.

How many Christians have been killed in Nigeria in 2026? #

The latest claim, from the Nigerian group Intersociety, is at least 3,083 Christians killed between January and August 2026. The killings are verified and continuing; this total is Intersociety's own count, reported on 8 September 2026 without a described method. ACLED's narrower conflict-event count for 2020 to September 2025 is far lower, so the exact national total is not settled.

Does terrorism in Africa threaten Europe? #

The direct threat is small. African jihadist groups mostly target local governments and armies, and Europol says most terrorist attacks in the EU come from lone actors or small cells. The indirect effects are real: kidnappings of foreigners for ransom, and lost investment, such as the five-year freeze on Mozambique's gas project.

Related guides #

• Islamist terrorism worldwide: the global picture and all guides.
• Global Terrorism Index 2026: the ranking behind many figures here.
• Islamic State today: ISWAP, Islamic State Sahel and the Mozambique branch.
• Al-Qaeda and its affiliates: JNIM and al-Shabaab.
• Terrorist attacks in Europe: the direct threat to Europe, for comparison.
• Hezbollah and Iran: the state-backed Islamist network outside Africa.
• Islamist terrorist groups list: designations and bans.
• The Taliban, TTP and terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan: the other region that tops the Index.

Cite as: The Analyst, "Terrorism in Africa: Sahel, Nigeria, Somalia (2026)", Fighting Islamists, updated 24 October 2026. https://fightingislamists.com/jihadism-africa.html

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