Analysts are warning that the recent massacre of around 160 members of the predominantly Muslim Fulani herding community in central Mali is part of a security crisis in the country and the broader Sahel region.
Over the past few years, militant groups linked to al-Qaeda have terrorized parts of Mali and have managed to severely undermine government control over large swaths of territory. Islamist fighters have also fueled tensions between local communities, including the Fulani. It is rather disturbing that the rise of Jihadist fighters occurred despite the presence of various foreign troops in Mali, including UN peacekeepers, French soldiers and troops of Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania who together with Mali troops make up the G5 Sahel Joint Force.
Earlier this month, the head of the US Special Operations Command Africa stated that the G5 Sahel Joint Force and its international allies are “not winning” the counterterror war in the Sahel region.
Read more: Mali’s security crisis: A cycle of exploitation and corruption
