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Vol 66 No 20

Published 10th October 2025


Jihadist fighters advance as governments stall

Al Shabaab tries to regain the initiative in Somalia, Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado is jolted by fresh attacks and the Sahel is the most lethal region

The global spotlight has shifted away from Africa’s jihadist wars, but the violence has not. As western military forces disengage and attention shifts to Ukraine and Gaza, militant groups across the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin and East Africa remain on the offensive, responsible for more than 22,000 fatalities over the past year – nearly 99% of all jihadist-related deaths worldwide. From Al Shabaab’s 4 October assault on high-security Godka Jilow prison in Somalia’s capital to the Islamic State’s expanding financial networks and the growing cross-border mobility of its fighters, jihadist operations are evolving not diminishing.

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