Professor Rohan Gunaratna is Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, in Singapore. He has over 30 years of academic, policy, and operational experience in national and global security and has held senior research positions and fellowships at institutions such as the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.

In this session, Prof. Rohan Gunaratna explores the evolving threat of terrorism in Africa, drawing on insights from his newly co-edited volume The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa.

He traces the roots of modern terrorism on the continent back to 1991, when Osama bin Laden relocated to Sudan, training fighters from across North and West Africa. From there, jihadist networks expanded into East Africa, West Africa, and the Sahel. Today, the threat is moving deeper into the continent and southwards, with growing implications for the Indian Ocean region.

Prof. Gunaratna identifies the Sahel—particularly Mali—as the current epicentre of global terrorism, driven largely by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). He explains how JNIM has drawn inspiration from groups such as the Taliban, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and Al-Shabaab, showing how the trajectories of other terrorist groups provide tactical and organisational lessons. By forging alliances with Tuareg and Fulani communities, JNIM has expanded its influence and now surrounds Bamako, while also competing with Islamic State–linked groups across the region.

Warning that JNIM’s ambitions extend beyond Mali, Prof. Gunaratna calls on African leaders and the international community to recognise the scale of the threat and strengthen regional cooperation to counter it.

Interviewer: Camilla Cormegna - Crime, Extremism and Terrorism Desk