Jihadist Rivalry Spills Into Niger as Sahel Conflict Escalates

Fighting between West Africa’s two main jihadist factions, one linked to al-Qaeda and the other to Islamic State, has for the first time spread into Niger, marking a significant escalation in their long-running rivalry, according to statements from one of the groups and conflict analysts.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP) have been engaged in repeated clashes since 2019. Monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) estimates that their confrontations have occurred hundreds of times, resulting in more than 2,100 deaths. Until recently, these encounters were largely confined to Mali and Burkina Faso.

However, the violence has now extended into Niger’s Tillaberi region in the west, where ISSP fighters reportedly launched an attack on a JNIM position. In a statement dated Monday, ISSP claimed responsibility for the assault, saying it killed 35 JNIM members and captured weapons and motorcycles. The group said the attack, carried out on April 2, was in retaliation for an earlier JNIM assault on a village in the same region.

Human Rights Watch has previously accused ISSP of carrying out deadly attacks in Tillaberi that have killed scores of civilians. JNIM has not publicly addressed the latest incident and could not be reached for comment.

ACLED senior analyst for West Africa, Heni Nsaibia, noted that ISSP’s claims are generally considered credible, as the group has often provided visual documentation of its operations, including images of fighters killed and equipment seized.

The spread of clashes into Niger highlights what analysts describe as weak state control across large parts of the Sahel. Nsaibia warned that continued rivalry between the groups is likely to drive further recruitment, territorial expansion, and violence, making it increasingly difficult to contain the insurgency.

In a separate development, JNIM released a video statement claiming it had killed one member of a rival group and abducted another during an April 5 attack in Nigeria’s Kebbi State. The group referred to its targets as “khawarij,” a term it commonly uses for ISSP fighters, though it may also apply to other opposing factions.

Security experts say limited cooperation between Nigeria and Niger has created vulnerabilities that groups like JNIM are exploiting. Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at Control Risks, said the group appears to be using southern Niger and northwestern Nigeria as operational bases, which is also contributing to increased friction with established Islamic State affiliates in the region.