Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah
In an unprecedented public warning in early February 2021, Bernard Emie, head of France’s Directorate-General for External Security, reported, “From Mali, [Islamist] terrorists have worked on attacks against us, against our partners, and they are thinking about attacks in the region and Europe.” Emie expressed concern that al-Qaeda is planning to expand its terrorist operations further across West Africa toward the Gulf of Guinea. “These countries are now targeted too,” he warned. “To spread southwards, the terrorists are already financing men who are entering the Ivory Coast or Benin on the borders of Nigeria, Niger, and Chad.”
Africa Is a Jihadist Playground for the Resurgent Islamic State and al-Qaeda