This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
Published on November 5, 2019, the situation in Mali's Mopti region has become increasingly dire as the Fulani people, also known as Peuls, have been ensnared in a deadly jihadist insurgency.
The Fulani are the biggest ethnic group in the Mopti region and have been the most numerous recruits to Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist cells, such as the notorious Katiba Macina.
Amadou Koufa, the Fulani leader of the group, has called on his 'brothers' throughout West Africa to join his holy war against 'non-believers.'
The deep poverty and isolation of the Fulani people have made many vulnerable to the siren call of the jihad, which is disseminated at lightning speed on social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook.
The herders' prominent role in the jihadist revolt has ignited long-standing rivalries with farmer groups, based on access to land.
The conflict has turned a once-peaceful tourist region into a no-go area for visitors, with highways sown with roadside bombs and swathes of the countryside littered with abandoned burned-out villages.
According to the UN, hundreds have been killed and the situation is getting worse by the day, with the number of people who have fled their homes in Mopti quadrupling over the last year to 70,000.
The violence in Mali has spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, stirring anxiety among the coastal states of West Africa that they could be next in line.
