Are the Sahel’s Jihadists Opening a New Front in Guinea?

According to the 2026 Global Terrorism Index, sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for more than half of all terrorism-related deaths. The Sahel is the epicenter of this violence, with three regional states—Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali—among the world’s top five worst-affected countries, with a tenfold increase in terrorism fatalities since 2007.

The two most prominent groups active today in the Sahel are the al-Qaida affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The threat does not end in the Sahel, however. JNIM in particular is expanding further across the broader West African region, with Guinea the latest victim of its spread.

In late March, the Guinean government announced that it had dismantled a suspected terrorist network linked to JNIM and had arrested 11 people in April 2025 following a nationwide counterterrorism operation. The government did not explain why it had taken so long to announce the arrests. The dismantled cell admitted involvement in a longstanding hostage-for-ransom operation, which helped finance jihadist operations. The government’s investigation also found JNIM-affiliated WhatsApp groups that were being used to radicalize over 500 members as well as to coordinate jihadist operations in Guinea.