Germany Confronts Extremism in Sahel Region

Regional Extremism on the Rise
Human rights groups have criticized Burkina Faso’s junta.

“The Burkinabe authorities are using increasingly brutal methods to punish and silence alleged critics and opponents,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher for Human Rights Watch.

According to her findings, at least six opposition members and activists have disappeared since late November. Last year, Burkina Faso introduced compulsory military service, meaning adults can be forced to serve in the army against their will.

After visiting Burkina Faso, Schulze will continue her trip to the northern border region of Benin, a country of 13 million inhabitants which has also seen increasing terror attacks in the last few years.

The Clingendael Institute, an international think tank based in The Hague, has said people in Benin are among the supporters of the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group, which originated in Mali and spreads religious messages in mosques that prohibit, for example, the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and pork.

Kamal Donko, a social science research assistant at the LASDEL Institute in Parakou, northern Benin, said young people are receptive to such messages. “There is poverty, unemployment and dissatisfaction in rural areas. This is related to government measures. This can lead to young people becoming radicalized,” he told DW.

However, Donko believes something else could spill over from the Sahel region into the coastal states like Benin: the frustration felt by the younger generation with the older elites and France, the former colonial power.

“Young people in the border regions may want to copy what is happening elsewhere,” he said, referring to anti-government protests. According to Germany’s Development Ministry, it is working with Benin on strengthening its state structures.

Job Training to Counter Migration, Extremism
In the town of Dogbo in southwestern Benin, Jules Tohountode is involved in vocational training as president of the Education Services International.

Young people can take courses at the NGO’s training center and learn how to become car mechanics, bakers or welders. For Tohountode, the advantages are obvious. “Many people with an academic education and a diploma are neither employed by the state nor by companies,” he said.

Well-trained tradespeople, on the other hand, are in demand or can set up their own business.

ohountode said companies are specifically looking for craftsmen, and many are offering permanent contracts — meaning taxes are paid. Currently, the vast majority work in the informal sector.

For Tohountode, however, the social component is key: a paid, fulfilling job prevents migration from the countryside to the city, which strengthens rural areas.

“This also applies to terrorism. If someone is employed, that is already a barrier. They won’t join extremist groups so quickly,” he said.

Katrin Gänsler is German print, radio, and online correspondent working and living in Western Africa.Additional reporting by Katharina Kroll. This article is published courtesy of Deutsche Welle (DW).