Nigeria, June 17 -- Insecurity has risen sharply in the Sahel in recent months. Between late May and early June, major attacks claimed by Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) targeted various locations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

This resurgence underscores the two groups' adaptive capabilities and questions the efficacy of counter-terrorism strategies implemented by the Alliance of Sahel States' (AES) military-led governments. Consequently, some analysts are concerned about the potential for a Sahelian capital to fall under jihadist control - drawing parallels to the December 2024 capture of Damascus by the terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

However, there are criti...