Fulani extremism

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Ethnic conflicts involving the Fulani people (also known as Fula) occur in West Africa, primarily in Nigeria, but also in Mali, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic, due to conflicts over land and culture. [1] [2] The death count for each attack is small, although the cumulative death count is in the thousands. [1]

Contents

History

Conflict between farmers and herders

The Fulani are largely nomadic/semi-nomadic and live in the semi-arid climate of West Africa. [3] Due to population growth and desertification, Fulani nomads have to move south towards more fertile lands to graze their herds. [4] [5] This created conflicts with the farmers. [3] This resulting violence left a death toll of over 10,000. [4]

These conflicts are being framed as a ethno-religious conflict despite a considerable number of Fulani herdsmen not being Muslim or practicing Muslims. Peaceful Fulani communities have also been attacked and raided by bandits including Fulani militias. Millions of Fulani communities also suffer from stigmatisation and discrimination as they are blamed for the crimes of a few thousand Fulanis. [6] [7]

Attacks

Nigeria

Nigeria experienced the most attacks. January 2018 marked a five year high in the number of events associated with Herder-Farmer conflicts in Nigeria. In 2018, 1,868 fatalities have been attributed to Herder-Farmer conflicts involving (both the farmers and the herders in conflicts instigated by the two bodies on attacks on its members). In just January 2018, there were 91 violent events associated with the conflicts, resulting in a reported 302 fatalities. However, these conflicts are not so easily classified. Majority of the violence involving these conflicts revolves around disagreements between pastoralists and farming communities, which is why many describe the conflicts as farmer-herder conflict. Majority of the Fulani in Nigeria are Muslim, leading to describe the violence as a religious conflict [8]

Most of the Herder-Farmer conflicts are typically carried out with firearms, although bombs and kidnapping are also used. The escalated conflicts mostly target private property followed by government buildings, businesses and religious institutions. [1] [9] [10]

Mali

Fulani has had much influence in Mali. In 2012, the Malian government was overthrown by Amadou Sanogo. [11] Although tension between the Christian south and the Muslim north was already present, the coup weakened the country and allowed terrorism to rise.

Several Liberation groups have risen in Mali. The Macina Liberation Front (FLM) formed in 2015, and committed 29 attacks with at least 129 casualties. [12] Another group is the National Alliance for the Protection and the Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ). This group carried out one attack in 2016 that killed 17 and injured 35. [13]

Malian groups targeted state facilities rather than private property. A majority of the attacks were done with firearms. [12]

Efforts to reduce this conflicts were aided by France, Mali's former colonizer, which sent military aid and assistance. The aid was largely to counter the rise in terror. The United States supported France in this effort. [14] The United Nations sent peacekeeping troops to Mali. However, the peacekeeping troops became a target. [15]

Central African Republic

As of April 2019, fourteen attacks had occurred in the Central African Republic. The main target was private property. The weapon of choice is a firearm. [1]

Democratic Republic of Congo

As of April 2019, one attack had occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [1] On March 26, 2016, there was an attacked in a military base in Ngaliema. The attackers injured a soldier but cost them three of their own men. [16]

Cameroon

In February 2020, there was a massacre carried out in the Ngarbuh massacre alongside Cameroonian soldiers during the Anglophone Crisis. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fula people</span> Ethnic group in Sahel and West Africa

The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people is an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide.

The Azawad conflict has been a conflict in Northern Mali between the MNLA, a Tuareg nationalist group, and a coalition of Islamist groups. The conflict began when Northern Mali declared itself independent from the government, creating the unrecognized state of Azawad. The Islamists and MNLA formed an alliance in combatting the Malian government. An internal conflict sprung up over the imposing of sharia law in the new state and the MNLA distancing itself from the coalition to a democratic state. Islamists gained popularity amongst anti-Tuareg tribes which helped them overthrow MNLA authority in Gao. Both sides clashed repeatedly leading to the Battle of Gao, where the MNLA were driven from the North's two main cities, Gao and Timbuktu. The MNLA soon lost all of its strongholds in the North in a matter of months. They went into hiding secretly gaining support and strength. The beginning of 2013 led to the start of the French intervention in Mali that ousted the Islamists from the North's cities and brought back Malian authority. The MNLA supported the French and Chadian forces in military operations against Islamists' sanctuaries in the mountains. The MNLA recaptured several important towns in the Kidal Region but refused to disarm or hand them over to the Malian government. A series of Islamist-sponsored terror attacks plagued MNLA forces for siding with the French. Checkpoints and bases were targeted with suicide bombings that targeted MNLA members. A peace deal was reached with the Malian army in June that let the army transverse freely in MNLA-occupied zones that were under Malian jurisdiction. Ethnic violence sprung over the murder of a Tuareg Government officer's family. The MNLA responded by harassing and murdering Fulani civilians, who constitute a majority of Islamist rebels. The Islamists stepped up their attacks in one such instance massacring 30 Tuareg merchants. The MNLA has since been battling Islamists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulani herdsmen</span> Nomadic people in West Africa

Fulani herdsmen or Fulani pastoralists are nomadic or semi-nomadic Fulani people whose primary occupation is raising livestock. The Fulani herdsmen are largely located in the Sahel and semi-arid parts of West Africa, but due to relatively recent changes in climate patterns, many herdsmen have moved further south into the savannah and tropical forest belt of West Africa. The herdsmen are found in countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, and Cameroon. In Senegal, they inhabit northeastern Ferlo and the southeastern part of the country. In some of these countries the Fula constitute a minority group. They inhabit Northern Nigeria and some parts of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communal conflicts in Nigeria</span> Communal conflicts in Nigeria

Communal conflicts in Nigeria can be divided into two broad categories:

Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria are a series of disputes over arable land resources across Nigeria between the mostly-Muslim Fulani herders and the mostly-Christian non-Fulani farmers. The conflicts have been especially prominent in the Middle Belt since the return of democracy in 1999. More recently, they have deteriorated into attacks on farmers by Fulani herdsmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadou Koufa</span>

Amadou Koufa, nom de guerre of Amadou Diallo, also spelled Hamadoun Kouffa or Amadou Kouffa is a Malian Fulani jihadist and preacher who founded Katiba Macina, later part of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogossagou massacre</span> Attacks against Fulani herders in central Mali

On March 23, 2019, several attacks by gunmen killed a reported 160 Fulani herders in central Mali. The violence came in the aftermath of the Malian government cracking down on Islamic terror cells in the country. Two villages, Ogossagou and Welingara, were particularly affected.

On 10 June 2019, the Dogon village of Sobane Da in Mali was attacked. Moulaye Guindo, mayor of neighbouring Bankass, blamed a Fulani militia group. The attack killed 35 people, revised from an earlier claim of 95 killed with 19 missing. A survivor said the attackers numbered about 50, driving motorbikes and pickup trucks. The government of Mali has suspected that terrorists have committed the attack.

The Fulani refers to an ethnic group, the Fulani are group of people whose neighboring farmers are against them in various ethnicities. Nigeria is considered a “melting pot” of different cultural and ethnic groups. Ethnic identification in the country is a complicated amalgamation of primordial and constructivist approaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nomadic conflict</span> Nomadic conflict

Nomadic conflict, also called farmer–herder conflict, is a type of environmental conflict where farming and herding communities overlap and has been used to refer to fighting among herding communities or fighting between herding and farming communities. This is sometimes referred to as conflict involving “pastoralists” or “nomadic” people and “agriculturalists” or “settled” people. The conflicts usually arise from destruction of crops by livestock and is exacerbated during times when water and lands to graze are scarce.

Anti-Fulani sentiment is the hostility that exists towards Fulani people in Nigeria, Mali and other West African nations and the discrimination that they are subjected to as a result of it. The Fulani are a semi-nomadic ethnic group that is dispersed across several West African countries. Fulani people represent 6% of Nigeria's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Nasarawa massacre</span> 2021 attack by gunmen in Nasarawa, Nigeria

The 2021 Nasarawa massacre was an attack by Fulani herdsmen gunmen on Tiv civilians that occurred on December 20, 2021, in the state of Nasarawa, Nigeria. The herdsmen killed approximately 52 people according to eyewitnesses in 12 different villages, although the death toll was initially put at least 20 by the Tiv Development Association.

On 18 and 19 June 2022, 132 civilians were killed by Islamist insurgents in Bankass Cercle, Mopti Region, Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal agriculture in Nigeria</span>

Majority of Herders in African countries are Livestock owners. Livestock Farming is a part of Nigeria's agriculture system. In 2017, Nigeria has approximately over 80 million Poultry farming, 76 million Goats, 43.4 million Sheep, 18.4 million Cattle, 7.5 million Pigs, and 1.4 million of its equivalent. Livestock Farming is about 5% of Nigeria's GDP and 17% of its Agriculture GDP.

The Koulogon massacre took place on January 1, 2019, in a Fulani village near the town of Koulogon Habbé, Bankass Cercle, Mali.

On April 21, 2019, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a Malian military base at Guiré, Mali, as revenge for the Ogossagou massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Plateau State massacres</span> Mass murders in Nigeria, 23–25 December 2023

A series of armed attacks occurred between 23 and 25 December 2023 in Plateau State in central Nigeria. They affected at least 17 rural communities in the Nigerian local government areas of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi, resulting in at least 200 deaths and injuries to more than 500 people as well as significant property damage. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, they are believed to have been committed by Fulani militias.

The National Alliance for the Protection of Fulani Identity and the Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ) was a Fulani nationalist political and military movement formed on June 21, 2016, during the Mali War.

On January 3, 2020, suspected Fulani militants attacked the town of Tawari, Kogi State, Nigeria, killing twenty-nine people.

On July 1, 2020, Fulani militants attacked four Dogon villages in Mali's Bankass Cercle, killing at least thirty-three people.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "GTD Search Results". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  2. 1 2 "Cameroon: Civilians Massacred in Separatist Area | Human Rights Watch". www.hrw.org. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 Baca, Michael W. (2015-07-16). "Farmer-Herder Clashes Amplify Challenge for Beleaguered Nigerian Security". IPI Global Observatory. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  4. 1 2 Ilo, Udo Jude; Jonathan-Ichaver, Ier; Adamolekun, 'Yemi (2019-01-24). "The Deadliest Conflict You've Never Heard of". ISSN   0015-7120 . Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  5. ↑ "Land Conflict Has Long Been a Problem in Nigeria. Here's How Climate Change Is Making It Worse". Time. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  6. ↑ Salkida, Ahmad (2020-06-13). "Fulani: Villain And Victim Of Militia Attacks?". HumAngle. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  7. ↑ Moritz, Mark; Mbacke, Mamediarra (2022-03-23). "The danger of a single story about Fulani pastoralists". Pastoralism. 12 (1): 14. doi: 10.1186/s13570-021-00227-z . ISSN   2041-7136.
  8. ↑ Matfess, Hilary (2018-10-05). "Fulani Militias in Nigeria: Declining Violence Not a Sign of Lasting Peace". ACLED. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  9. ↑ Harvest of Death Three Years Of Bloody Clashes Between Farmers and Herders in Nigeria (PDF). Maitama, Abuja-FCT, Nigeria: Amnesty International. 2018.
  10. ↑ Nwangwu, Chikodiri; Enyiazu, Chukwuemeka (2019). "Nomadic Pastoralism and Human Security: Towards a Collective Action against Herders-Farmers Crisis in Nigeria" (PDF). Nomadic Pastorialism and Human Security: Towards a Collective Action Against Herders-Farmers Crisis in Nigeria | AfriHeritage Working Paper 2019 010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  11. ↑ "Mali coup d'etat leader Amadou Sanogo says President Amadou Toumani Toure, other officials 'safe and sound'". National Post News. 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  12. 1 2 "GTD Search Results". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  13. ↑ "National Alliance for the Protection of Peul Identity and Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ)". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  14. ↑ "U.S. to keep supporting French military effort in Mali: Pentagon chief". Reuters. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  15. ↑ "Terror attacks on the rise in Mali: UN". France 24. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  16. ↑ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 201603260030". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
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