Militant jihadist groups linked to al‑Qaeda and Islamic State are increasingly turning the tri‑border region of Nigeria, Benin, and Niger into a new stronghold, with violence spreading deeper into West Africa’s coastal borderlands, multiple reports say.
Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project shows a sharp rise in militant activity across the tri‑border area between 2024 and 2025. Violent incidents involving Islamist fighters increased by roughly 86–90%, and related fatalities more than doubled as these groups exploit weak state presence, porous borders, and remote forest corridors for recruitment, staging, and operations.
Analysts warn that the expansion is no longer limited to isolated cross‑border raids but reflects deeper entrenchment, with jihadists establishing bases in rural belts and herding routes. Group activity has been reported in northern Benin’s Alibori and Borgou departments, Niger’s Dosso region, and Nigeria’s Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger and Kwara states.
In some cases, militant violence is edging close to strategic targets: an assault on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey last month saw Islamic State‑linked fighters launch coordinated attacks that damaged aircraft and threatened sensitive facilities, underscoring how the threat now reaches capital city locations.
The trend reflects a broader pattern of jihadist spread beyond the traditional Sahel conflict zones, with weaker governance and under‑policed frontier areas providing militants space to recruit, train, and mount increasingly coordinated attacks that pose growing risks to civilian populations across West Africa.
