Terrorism in the Sahel: The Jihadists of Northern Africa | Investigative Documentary

foreign [Music] this is the home of the dogon an ethnic group indigenous to Eastern Mali steep Cliffs dominate the landscape villagers were carved out of the rock here in the 15th century a decade ago this area was the top tourist destination in Mali but ever since 2016 jihadists have wielded control in the region this area is now the most dangerous in the country neither the Mali and nor French military has a presence here armed men at security checkpoints like this are a rare sight this is for

our protection because there's no Army here our driver modibor knows his way around the area he used to drive tourists here how's your family all as well thanks thank God Patrol the entrance to the dogon territory [Applause] jihadists are constantly trying to infiltrate the area so every vehicle is searched only local residents are allowed to pass through we're now in songo there's a training camp for hunters here they're training right now here 's men are dressed in the traditional uniform of

the dozo a secretive Brotherhood of initiated hunters and warriors armed with knives and old hunting rifles the men are highly respected in the area they wear amulets believed to have magical powers that make them invisible and even Bulletproof [Applause] the dozo have formed a militia many in the village have joined the dozo to fight the jihadists oh the dozo are part of the most powerful militia in the region danambasagu with about a thousand soldiers their leader is Yusuf toloban he doesn't o

ften show his face fearing assassination he seeks safety in the Rocky Cliffs Commander mataur takes us to him we're headed to Casa you'll see where we were attacked there are many jihadists there okay have a good trip thanks Marto and his men regularly Patrol the cliffs this is the last stronghold against the jihadists and must be defended at all costs Burn Down The Villages more than 12 were destroyed they stole money and killed many people then they burned down all the houses the storage facil

ities they took all the animals although their homes are just 20 kilometers away maton his men only see their families three times a year [Music] we don't stay in the city we can last a long time out here three four months we don't even return to the village for a day was 25 years old ten years ago he dropped out of school to join the dozo and fight three minute break these men are between 25 and 60 years old they used to lead peaceful lives as farmers and herders then the jihadists came thank y

ou we do this because it's our only option they destroyed our country the jihadists took all our animals we have nothing left I was a student in Quran school they drove us out and burned all the qurans there's no mosque anymore they took all the prayer rugs they even took out burial mats but we're still here so they haven't destroyed everything the state doesn't understand what's going on here is that normal are we not part of this nation we the land of the dogon of course we are we're at war no

matter what happens we're in this until the end we were granted special access to spend a few days with these men they'll do everything they can to defend the land of the dogon this small territory in the Sahel [Music] the Sahel region stretches across Africa from the Savannah to the desert home to both farmers and nomadic herders the region spans eight countries all plagued by terrorism especially prevalent in Mali under the banner of al-Qaeda in the Islamic maghreb a coalition of jihadist gro

ups came together in 2017. with its growing influence in the heart of Mali the group wants to impose Sharia law and the Malian Army is ill-equipped to stop them known for its corruption and in discipline the military is failing to hold the jihadist's advance despite the thousands of French soldiers who have been providing support and training in the Sahel for a decade okay repeated coups have weakened the Malian government and left large parts of the country neglected the dogon have formed self-

defense groups but without the presence of State authorities all tensions between farmers and herders are resurfacing when animals are left to roam disputes often erupt over grazing areas there's constant conflict the jihadists exploit these tensions to attract new recruits we spoke with four people who regretted signing up everything you do requires their approval you have to do things you don't want to do they forcefully indoctrinate you the only country in the Sahel to successfully hold back

the jihadists is Mauritania the nation's military is hunting jihadists down both on the ground and in the air with the help of counter-insurgency aircraft I'm coming mauritanias using traditional methods as well soldiers on camels Gathering Intel in the desert hello we don't want your sheep we need information a journey through the Sahel which has become home to International jihadists in Mali 60 of jihadist attacks are carried out in the center of the country jihadists have surrounded the dogon

territory but the cliffs form a natural barrier they prevent the jihadists from reaching the plateau and the big cities [Music] in the cliffs the danam basagu was the only militia mounting of resistance commander matore and his men are fighting in a hostile environment temperatures can reach 45 degrees Celsius in the shade the vegetation is sparse as is the food supply it's not yet ripe in winter time we don't have anything else to eat the dozo rely on support from villagers who climb the Steep

Cliffs to deliver supplies the Shia is one of them Glory respect glory to you they touch their hands to the ground in greeting a sign of utmost respect the Shia brings the hunters food he returned to his home region a year ago to support the fighters we need water give them water here's the water Chief we haven't eaten anything since yesterday we haven't found anything since dinner yesterday we're hungry we're gonna change that yes we'll feed you I'm counting on you but before they sit down why

foreign stations guards around the camp come over here yes there are many jihadists there some 30 jihadist units operate on the plains below the closest one is only a kilometer away [Music] from this vantage point we're able to see when they climb up even without binoculars that's why we're here we'll clean the rifles are these army rifles no we found them with the jihadists we shot at them they died and we took their weapons the dozo received no aid from the Malian government or from Internati

onal troops yes operational Commander what's your location whenever he reaches the crest in the mountain martor calls the leader of the militia for further instructions yes the first Camp yes okay thank you very much where's Joker okay let's eat now here meal time is Holy the men eat their food in silence without putting down their weapons thank you very much let's go about 50 like this one Patrol the cliffs one of them is tulobas this war leader stays constantly on the move because he's the jih

adist's main target he avoids media attention but with the urging of an intermediary he finally agreed to talk to us tell him that you're the only reason I came this morning I had no intention of coming I don't even meet with people from my Village you can ask them they see me when I pass by but that's it you do me cholobar left the Malian Army 25 years ago to fight the Tuareg rebellion in Northern Mali when the jihadists started gaining ground he returned to the dogon territory in 2016 and foun

ded the danambasagu militia [Music] all the hunters you see here are malians there aren't any foreigners the government doesn't give us weapons we're in our caves and when jihadists come by we kill them and take their weapons the Army doesn't help us France doesn't help us no one helps us but the locals are on our side to this day and his Hunters have managed to maintain control of the cliffs but the jihadists have carried out several devastating raids over the years since 2016 12 villagers have

been pillaged in the commune casa they burn down everything the moment they got here they gathered all they could and burned it see what did they burn kitchen utensils and motorcycles over there they took the animals the jihadists gave the villagers a cruel ultimatum either comply and pay the Islamic tax all watch their homes be pillaged and that was all destroyed and then rebuilt there was Millet everything was decimated usato laws the deputy mayor of Casa he's helping residents rebuild there

was Millet and onion planted here everything was destroyed YouTube they stole everything they could and burned the rest the jihadists want to destroy everything that's at odds with their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam in 2012 they destroyed mausoleums and tombstones of Muslim Saints in Timbuktu world heritage sites [Music] they also smashed tribal art including these statuettes there are countless such Treasures in Mali many here believe that natural objects have souls the cliff is the l

ast line of defense against the jihadists there are only a few routes that lead to the plateau matau and his men risked their lives defending it you see this packaging of the ammunition and they were eating cookies jihadists try to enter this way five months ago they ate here and they attacked us you were up there yes we were up there and they were below how many about 100. we had about 24 men [Music] at dusk the dozo climbed to the summer to watch for jihadists who might try to enter through th

is access point [Music] this is where my tour's unit was stationed the attack stretched on for six hours [Music] our team was here yes they ran and came with a rocket launcher and many other weapons and ammunition they have more resources than we do anyone from your side injured there were casualties there were yes injuries and deaths really yes lost seven men during the attack but we were Never Surrender even if we have to sacrifice Our Lives we'll do it together because this is our home our te

rritory the land of the dog if we had to leave our land where would we go the military isn't coming what else can we do there's no other choice we're exhausted but we're not backing down I've never backed down since the day I was born that's why they call me mature that means Hammer the little Hammer hits the Big Stone [Music] the dozo set up camp they have to be especially careful at night to avoid being seen the Villager bashia is back with dinner the stove needs to go here so you can't see th

e fire from any distance light is forbidden at night if we want to smoke we have to hide like this I've got to hurry thank you [Music] you see that that's how they sleep right on top of the boulders always weapon in hand [Music] we arrive in Casa the main town here continues to be a target for jihadist raids as his customary the dozo must remove their hunting clothes and magical amulets before entering [Music] for more than a year children in Casa haven't been able to attend school teachers fled

after the last attack the classrooms are used as temporary housing for the hunters hi hello how are you how's everyone all good no issues everyone's fine God bless you you're our soul protectors you're the Guardians of the Fatherland the jihadists have tried to attack Casa six times thanks to my tour and the Dozer they haven't been successful does the government not listen to you don't they know what's happening the government knows what's happening but they're afraid to come here because the a

rea is overrun with jihadists they're scared even the mayor's not here he stays in Coro is the only government official here who has not deserted his post when his superiors fled he turned to the traditional spiritual leader Hogan to discuss the community's economic and security problems they took all the grazing livestock what do they do with the animals they steal I have no clue what they do they probably eat them after they've stolen them or sell them as Farmers our Fortune lies in our oxen g

oats and sheep we have nothing more an ox cost 6 monthly wage of the average Malian with 68 million cattle Mali supplies most of the beef in the region exporting to Senegal Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso foreign [Music] but the conflict has destabilized this important economic pillar and it's made it harder to Source nutritious food the 25 000 people who live in dogon's largest town bandiagara have been especially devastated by the scarcity of meat butchers at the market don't have much to do the

meat shortage has driven up prices 25 in three years that's 3000 CFA francs three thousand Francs a kilo of red meat costs 3000 CFA now that's the equivalent of 4 Euros 60 cents per kilogram two days pay here with all the hardships facing locals butchers are barely making a profit we used to make a lot of money now we don't earn anything we don't want to stop working that's the way it is right now half of the butcher shop his father Kamya is the president of the butcher's Guild it's a family bus

iness passed down from father to son since 1942 but they've never experienced a crisis like this before the war ahmadul bought about 20 cattle a week he's been looking to buy cattle for five days now and he's finally found one for sale [Music] how much for that one there three hundred and ninety thousand could you go down a bit 40 million MP 385 000 is the minimum a bit lower I'll do it for 300 10 000. 315 000 325 okay 380 000. the trader isn't budging he already took on a considerable Risk by b

uying the castle he can't afford to sell the animals for a low price it was also very expensive at where we bought them if you don't buy them someone else will the journey is difficult and risky risky it's extremely risky there are many dangers along the way but we go out searching for cattle anyway there aren't many animals left they're impossible to find we only find single cattle now the other day I drove over 26 kilometers and only found these here feel confidently the conflict has to end th

at's the only way it's the only way we just want peace everyone must come to the table and negotiate peacefully then things can go back to the way they work can no longer afford to purchase cattle he might have to close up shop he's part of the Fulani ethnic group traditionally nomadic herders they're facing increasing harassment by farmers jihadists and the military most Fulani are semi-nomadic in the dry season they migrate with their herds to Southern pastures but ever since the war broke out

the state stopped managing the traditional migration routes as a result the catalog wiping out crops igniting conflict between farmers and herders when animals are left to roam disputes often erupt over the grazing areas there's constant Conflict for some time now the Administration has been putting the Fulani under a great deal of pressure they take you away and lock you up herders hate being confined a herder would pay a million to avoid it Malian judges are often corrupt and Order herders to

pay astronomical fines as resentments started to build Fulani man saw an opportunity to recruit his people as jihadists his name Amadou kufa called his group katibat Messina referring to the golden age in the 19th century when the Fulani and the Messina Empire ruled Central Mali I'd like to thank God for allowing me to live to see the day when thousands of Fulani joined the jihadist to fight on this Divine path to martyrdom is started out as a preacher in the 1990s at the time audio tapes of hi

s sermons were popular among the Fulani a fresh stream of recruits allowed amadukufa's group to expand its influence in central Mali the town of mukti lies at the junction of the Nigerian bani Rivers it's a strategic place of trade between northern and southern Mali since 2019 the river separates mukti from jihadist's controlled areas trade between the two sides continues although Sharia laws in full force on the other side now when women cross the river they must wear a black hijab they faced b

eatings the punishment for stealing is losing a hand or a foot everybody four former jihadists who used to live across the river agreed to meet with us all four are Fulani and say they joined the jihadists because they were persecuted this former heard us as his village was invaded by the Malian Army and attacked by dozo hunters they say that all Fulani are jihadists but that's not true they attack our villagers killing women small children two or three-year-olds who can't defend themselves and

even old women who can't use a gun for any of your relatives yes those who sign up to fight must acquire their own weapon and motorcycle some spend up to 1 800 Euros on gear they force you to hold your hands like this while praying were you asked to convert to salafism yes I myself and Maliki they wanted me to convert but I refused so I left the group malikism has been practiced here for centuries unlike salafism it Advocates a tolerant reading of the Quran salafism was brought to Mali in the 19

80s by preachers from the Gulf Nations these four men were disappointed the jihadist life wasn't what they'd envisioned so they returned home to live alongside their former neighbors of various ethnicities when I returned home the dogon were initially scared of me but after some time my neighbors were no longer afraid they now look at me as if I did nothing wrong they've gotten used to me foreign will always need each other to cultivate the fields to build houses to dig Wells that's what the dog

on do best livestock farming is the fulani's expertise hundreds of thousands of Fulani have left Central Mali due to persecution especially by Malian soldiers some have found refuge in neighboring countries including in Mauritania the most stable state in the Sahel some 67 000 people live in the umbera refugee camp most of them are Tuareg who fled jihadists the Northern Mali in 2012. the newest arrivals however are all Fulani Like Chief bergiso a year ago he fled his village after being threaten

ed by a Malian Soldier the soldier said to me I swear to you I will not say it twice I heard the Fulani are killing us jihadists are killing us so we're going to kill all the Fulani I called someone at the judicial district he told us to stay home and no one would hurt us but no officials took his calls for help seriously the military returned to the Village the next Friday first they surrounded us that was between 1 and 2 p.m then they invaded the village they attacked everyone there they're no

t they went into the rooms and dragged sick people out of their homes they killed seven people the Fulani were terrified Bergie helped send 1 000 families to Mauritania right now I wouldn't even go back if they charted a plane we'll never forget what they did to us they murdered people Fergie and his fellow villagers will not go back to Mali without a guarantee of safety in Mauritania refugees receive food from the United Nations they can lead some semblance of a normal life they're allowed to f

arm land raise their animals and even go to school caring for the population in order to win the movers part of the mauritanian government strategy after a dozen jihadist attacks Mauritania massively restructured its military it's now considered the most professional in the region one of mauritania's main air bases is an atar at the edge of the Sahara Desert the planes parked on the tarmac seemed to be from another age like this antique from the 1950s or these brazilian-produced fighter planes t

hey may look rudimentary but they're perfectly suited for the war here Colonel taleb leads this Squadron this aircraft doubles our range and is powerful we're also able to attach different types of weapons to it we have two built-in 12.7s as well as electric machine guns and rocket launchers we can use 70 millimeter Rockets yes that's for vehicles what weapon we choose often depends on the target one advantage to these fighter planes is their agile and able to land on uneven runways in the middl

e of the desert but first the Air Force has to pinpoint the enemy's location that's where this reconnaissance aircraft comes in look at you this Cessna Caravan is constantly monitoring the 2 000 kilometer border Mauritania shares with Mali a total of 450 000 kilometers of desert operates the sensors he controls the high resolution cameras with a range of up to 20 kilometers [Music] in their eyes jihadists and black market Traders are closely linked the country among the poorest in the world has

spared no expense here each surveillance system costs 1 million US Dollars and makes it possible to search the ground in all conditions with the help of the heat sensors Lieutenant Yusuf can see the imprint of the vehicles in the sand even several hours after they've traveled a given route check that out those are tracks from cars that's impossible to see with the naked eye that shows there's activity look dad the desert is not as empty as it seems Nomads pitched their tents here and gold panner

s mine gold which is abundant in the region this is one of the trucks that's used for transporting supplies when he spots weapons Lieutenant Yusuf alerts the command high-ranking officers order the raids [Music] over the past three years Colonel taleb and the pilots at the atar bay have intercepted 25 pickup trucks from Smugglers or jihadists we obtained exclusive footage from a mission in January 2019. on this day the mauritanian Army destroyed four jihadist trucks [Music] [Music] [Music] mauri

tania's ground troops have also been restructured 2009 the state formed a special intervention group units specializing in counter-terrorism eight units of 200 men each guard the border with Mali attention are you ready to fight [Applause] to your posts oh my God this platoon of 80 soldiers sets out on a three-day Patrol the trucks are fitted with heavy machine guns they cover 18 000 square kilometers the off-road vehicles cover as much ground as possible stopping every 500 meters [Music] every

Bush could be a potential hiding place for the enemy [Music] tell him to weave between the trees and move fast to fight the jihadists the Army also relies on human intelligence the herders are constantly crossing the Savannah a valuable source of information seen anyone new no one oh well with you yes thank God thank God okay you're free to go jihadists would not go unnoticed by the nomads to gain their trust the military brings them medicine every month [Applause] when the military comes to a v

illage This Is How They greeted they give in a warm welcome of Brotherhood friendship and love [Applause] over the past 12 years the special intervention group's presence has radically changed life for many residents including this catalona ever since the Army arrived the animal theft has stopped nothing more has been stolen not even a rooster and we can sleep at night now look our cows can roam as they please no more theft foreign [Applause] government doesn't just focus on security they also w

ant to avoid what's happened in Mali where many residents feel left behind [Music] that's why the government and Mauritania started a citizen police force in the most remote parts of the country where men travel by camel [Music] oh I decided a minute [Music] 25 soldiers are preparing for an expedition spanning several days [Music] under the command of Colonel L Khalil that's it before you go yes some water before leaving we have to recharge this will keep me going the whole day until Midday Thre

e sips of course a real camel driver can last a whole day on that with just three sips I can guarantee that with two liters of water at the most I can make it 24 hours not to mention the camels with two canteens full of water they can manage up to 10 days in the middle of the desert this up [Music] although camels can cover 65 kilometers in a day and carry 400 kilograms they're stubborn animals and can be difficult to maneuver to be part of the camel Cavalry it's required to be a nomad and have

a thorough knowledge of the region its people and dialects foreign [Music] you've been doing this long yes how many years I used to do it yes the men's most important job is to form relationships with the locals and listen to their problems how are you where are you coming from me I'm getting water from where to drilling well the biggest concern here is the water supply come from there there's no water no Don the water's out a water shortage can quickly lead to conflict among Farmers the kernel

passes on the information let's keep moving forward let's go this is all part of their mission just like their intelligence operations hello we don't want your sheep we need information the men ask the same question at every encounter is the well working and has there been any suspicious activity he says everything is normal nothing out of the ordinary all right you can go there's no water no water no no there's a well up ahead further ahead there's a well in front of there that's where we'll se

t up camp Sharma the camel riding unit is responsible for maintaining the wells [Music] in recent years the mauritanian government and the European Union have financed the drilling of hundreds of new wells a policy that's proven effective [Music] have you ever reported the presence of jihadists yes of course there have been several cases we informed the authorities about some turned out to be ordinary citizens but in other cases they were really terrorists anything can happen when you see suspic

ious activity you report it straight away [Music] another benefit of these Wells low locals can stay in these desert areas which might otherwise become a Haven for jihadists from Mali [Music] foreign