International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 55

International Journal on Criminology
work for combating terrorism have been introduced, giving it a strong legal and
institutional basis.
22. Below are a number of specific anti-terrorist military operations in the region:
• The Multinational Joint Task Force (Force Multinationale Mixte) around the
Lake Chad basin (Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, and Benin ) has limited
the frequency of Boko Haram attacks.
• Special operations by the Nigerian army in Borno State have reclaimed territory
occupied by Boko Haram.
• Military operations in northern Mali—conducted, since 2013, by Mali's national
army and French and ECOWAS forces—have dismantled most of
AQIM's positions. AQIM-affiliated groups have subsequently adopted a new
strategy in the south of the country that focuses on suicide bombings in hotels
and restaurants, in order to maintain media interest in AQIM's activities.
• The strategies and military operations of the Nigerien, Burkinabé, and Ivorian
armies have decreased the number of terrorist attacks in these countries.
23. The main effect of these operations has been to reduce the main terrorist groups'
scope of action, pushing their attacks toward the countries’ land borders—particularly
toward Niger and Nigeria, where Boko Haram has created whole communities
of victims over the last three years. In Burkina Faso and Mali, on the other
hand, attacks have become very unpredictable, occurring across the country.
Sources of Terrorist Financing
24. Typologies reports on terrorist financing in West Africa show that terrorist
groups use several confirmed sources of financing. These include:
25. Extortion: Terrorist groups force local people to pay taxes and fees for protection
and security (against the terror the groups themselves have imposed). They
also profit from illicit activities, including migrant smuggling and drug trafficking.
This highlights the link between terrorist groups and organized crime, particularly
in the Sahel, where they coexist.
26. Theft and looting: Several typologies and testimonies have shown that Boko
Haram engages in theft and looting to finance itself, and to acquire the goods it
needs to survive. Such acts include attacks on boats, police stations, military barracks,
the looting of small villages and farms, and attacks of villages on market
days to obtain cash and food. Reliable, consistent sources report that Boko Haram
have begun commercializing the theft of livestock in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and
Nigeria.
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