This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
Published on November 6, 2019, by AFP.
The Fulani people, also known as Peuls, have been herding cattle across the Sahel for centuries, but their lives have taken a deadly turn as they become increasingly entangled in Mali's jihadist insurgency.
With the spread of the insurgency from Mali's north to its center, the Fulani have become a key demographic in the conflict, with many of its members joining Al-Qaeda-linked cells such as the notorious Katiba Macina.
The group's Fulani leader, Amadou Koufa, has called on his 'brothers' throughout West Africa to join his holy war against 'non-believers', using social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook to disseminate his message.
The deep poverty and isolation of the Fulani people have made them vulnerable to the siren call of the jihad, and their prominent role in the conflict has ignited long-standing rivalries with farmer groups over access to land.
The conflict has turned a once-peaceful tourist region into a no-go area, 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 to 70,000 over the last year.
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.
