The Central Sahel region, encompassing Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, is facing a severe crisis marked by escalating violence. This region is plagued by armed conflict and inter-communal clashes, fueled by a decade-long insurgency from Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Sahel Province. The violence has reached alarming levels, with over 12,000 deaths in 2023 alone, the majority being civilians, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). The crisis has also led to massive displacement, with at least 2.8 million people internally displaced, including 2.1 million in Burkina Faso. Beyond the Islamist insurgency, conflicts between ethnic militias and community self-defense groups have added another layer of complexity, resulting in retaliatory attacks and widespread abuses.
Background to the Sahel Crisis
Armed Islamist Groups’ Abuses
Armed Islamist groups in the region are systematically committing severe abuses against civilians. These include grave violations against children and conflict-related sexual violence. These groups employ tactics such as sieges, threats, kidnappings, and the use of improvised explosive devices and landmines. These are deliberate strategies to control supply routes and expand their influence. In areas under siege, these groups are committing war crimes by obstructing humanitarian aid, leading to starvation, imposing illegal taxation, and intentionally destroying and looting civilian infrastructure. This includes places of worship, health centers, food storage, and water services, all violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Furthermore, insurgents are actively targeting secular education by burning schools and threatening, abducting, or killing teachers.
Counterterrorism Operations and Human Rights Violations
Unfortunately, counterterrorism efforts in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have also been marred by human rights violations. Security forces in Mali and Burkina Faso are implicated in actions that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. In Mali, the Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps (formerly Wagner Group), working alongside the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) since at least December 2021, has been accused of potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include summary executions, rape and sexual violence, pillaging, and torture of civilians. In Burkina Faso, state-sponsored militias, particularly the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), have also been linked to serious crimes, often along ethnic lines.
Political and Security Upheaval
The Central Sahel region has experienced significant political instability and security deterioration since 2020, including military coups in all three nations. ACLED data indicates that in Niger, civilian deaths at the hands of armed Islamist groups increased in the first year following the military takeover, with attacks becoming more deadly despite being less frequent. Nigerien defense and security forces have also been responsible for a surge in civilian casualties since the July 2023 coup, along with arbitrary arrests of civilians based on ethnicity. Amidst these political shifts, military regimes have been suppressing civic and political freedoms and limiting international oversight of human rights. The formation of the Alliance of Sahel States – a mutual defense pact between the three military regimes – and their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2024 have further exacerbated regional fragmentation and tensions.
Recent Developments in the Crisis
Deterioration in Burkina Faso
Since the beginning of 2024, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly expressed grave concern over the rapidly worsening situation in Burkina Faso. Over 2,100 civilians have been killed this year alone, many in mass casualty incidents. In late August, the al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) carried out one of the deadliest attacks in the country, resulting in an estimated 200 to 600 deaths in Barsalogho. In April, Burkinabé authorities extended a “general mobilization” decree, ostensibly to combat violence and regain territory from armed Islamist groups. However, this law has been misused to forcibly conscript, arbitrarily arrest, or kidnap perceived critics, human rights defenders, and magistrates in counterinsurgency operations, actions that may constitute enforced disappearances.
Escalation in Mali
Northern Mali has seen increased tensions and sporadic clashes since August 2023, leading to the displacement of thousands of civilians, some fleeing to avoid recruitment by armed groups. An offensive by FAMa and Russian paramilitaries has been marked by systematic and indiscriminate killings of civilians, particularly targeting Tuareg, Arabic-speaking tribes, and Fulani communities. Other abuses include targeted attacks on civilian property and looting. Recent clashes have occurred in Tinzaouaten, a rebel stronghold, involving FAMa, Russian paramilitaries, and a coalition of separatist Tuareg movements. While FAMa has conducted airstrikes against armed groups, these have resulted in dozens of civilian casualties amidst targeted attacks. Concurrently, JNIM has killed numerous civilians and destroyed civilian property in central Mali since January.
Attack in Mali’s Capital
In September, JNIM launched an unprecedented and large-scale deadly assault in Mali’s capital, Bamako. This included setting fire to a World Food Programme aircraft. Following the attack, reports emerged of arrests targeting individuals from the Fulani community. Videos also circulated showing mobs burning bodies after calls to lynch members of this community.
Analysis of the Crisis
Structural Vulnerabilities
While Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger each face unique challenges, they share common underlying issues. These include structural vulnerabilities, weak governance, limited state presence, and porous borders. Despite stated goals by military authorities to improve security and protect civilians, the security situation has deteriorated, increasing risks to civilians. Furthermore, efforts to investigate alleged atrocities by state actors have been undermined.
Impact of Armed Islamist Groups
The expanding influence and control of armed Islamist groups have led to serious human rights abuses and war crimes. These groups appear to be deliberately targeting civilians to coerce cooperation or forcibly displace communities. They also use blockades to punish communities perceived as supporting the military. These blockades hinder humanitarian aid access to vulnerable populations and obstruct the gathering of information on the human rights situation.
Ethnic and Religious Targeting
Populations continue to be targeted and persecuted based on their ethnic and/or religious identity. The actions of the VDP militia are exacerbating abuses and potential atrocity crimes, fueling ethnic tensions, encouraging militant recruitment among pastoralist communities, and contributing to a climate of impunity. The increasing use of aerial weapons in counterinsurgency operations has contributed to indiscriminate violence, civilian casualties, and possible war crimes.
Limited Accountability
Despite the worsening situation in Mali, the UN sanctions regime and peacekeeping mission have been terminated. This has created significant gaps in human rights monitoring, civilian protection, and accountability. Crackdowns on human rights defenders and freedom of expression across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have further hampered independent documentation and monitoring of violations and abuses.
The insurgency in the Central Sahel is rooted in the 2012-2013 armed conflict in northern Mali, during which populations suffered war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Iyad Ag Ghaly, leader of the armed Islamist group Ansar Dine, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC has also convicted Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz, a senior member of Ansar Dine’s Islamic Police of Timbuktu, and Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, also of Ansar Dine, for war crimes. However, overall accountability remains limited, with few alleged perpetrators arrested, prosecuted, or tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Risk Assessment
- Militarized counterinsurgency approaches that stigmatize certain populations and increase the risk of escalating violence.
- Unresolved long-standing inter-communal tensions and grievances, and the use of militias and self-defense groups that perpetrate attacks along ethnic lines.
- Impunity for past and ongoing atrocities committed by all armed actors.
- Capacity to commit atrocity crimes, including the availability of personnel, arms, and ammunition.
- Shrinking civic space and crackdowns on independent media, human rights defenders, and real or perceived opponents by military regimes.
Necessary Action
While countering violent extremism is essential, it is crucial that all armed actors ensure their operations comply with International Humanitarian Law and do not worsen inter-communal tensions or incite further violence. Military forces must establish clear guidelines for the use of aerial weapons during operations to minimize civilian harm. All actors should refrain from supporting or collaborating with ethnically aligned militias with poor human rights records.
Further measures are needed to curb the proliferation of arms, improve land management, and achieve political settlements in areas facing the highest atrocity risks.
The military authorities of the Central Sahel, with the support of national human rights commissions and independent experts, must investigate all violations of International Human Rights Law and IHL. Authorities must cease all acts of harassment against civil society and ensure they can operate without fear of reprisal. The Malian military government should cooperate with the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali to enable them to effectively carry out their mandate.
