Highlights

Violence linked to militant Islamist groups in Africa surged by 22 percent over the past year (comprising 6,859 events). This represents a new record of extremist violence and reflects a near doubling in the number of such events since 2019.

Militant Islamist violence in Africa remains concentrated in five theaters, each comprising distinct locally based actors and context-specific challenges—the Sahel, Somalia, Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, and North Africa.

Militant Islamist Activity by Theater Militant Islamist violence in the Sahel and Somalia accounted for 77 percent of the total reported violent events across Africa in 2022.

Fatalities linked to militant Islamist groups increased an alarming 48 percent over the previous year.

The estimated 19,109 death toll passes the previous peak of 18,850 fatalities linked to militant Islamists set in 2015 when Boko Haram was at its height. It also marks a sharp reversal from 2021, which saw a slight drop in fatalities—to 12,920.

The escalation in fatalities is entirely a result of the increased violence in the Sahel and Somalia (accounting for 74 percent of total reported fatalities in Africa) as extremist-linked deaths in the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, and North Africa all plateaued or declined over the past year.

This spike in militant Islamist-linked fatalities was marked by a 68-percent increase in fatalities involving civilians and remote violence (which often targets civilians), underscoring the heavy costs being borne by noncombatants.

Source: Africa Center for Strategic Studies