Al-Qaeda's "expansion project" towards the Gulf of Guinea: "A risk pointed out for years"

Audio 05:57

French intelligence is worried about an expansion of al-Qaeda in West Africa (photo taken in Mali in 2017).

AP - Christophe Petit Tesson

By: Jean-Baptiste Marot Follow

7 min

Al-Qaeda in the Sahel is currently developing an “expansion project” towards the Gulf of Guinea, in particular Côte d'Ivoire and Benin, the head of French foreign intelligence, Bernard Emié, assured Monday.

The Sahel is plagued by a myriad of jihadist groups, linked either to al-Qaeda or to the Islamic State (IS) group, and established in areas largely neglected by the central powers.

The decryption of Alain Antil, researcher and director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Center at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

  • Ivory Coast

  • Sahel

  • Terrorism

  • Benign

  • France

  • Intelligence

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