A report by the Timbuktu Institute think tank has indicated that the jihadist activities mainly by the JNIM Jihadi group, have expanded into the region of Kayes between 2021 and 2024.

According to the institute, the JNIM is now trying to infiltrate eastern Senegal as it has increased its attacks sevenfold in the past three years.

The Kaye region is a tri-border area of Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. JNIM, an extremist group linked to al-Qaida, has orchestared dozens of attacks in the broader Sahel region that encompasses Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad.

Benin has been the latest victim with recent attack claiming the lives of at least 70 soldiers and has for years faced spillover violence in its north from Sahel countries like Burkina Faso and Niger in their battle against Islamic extremist groups.

The tri-border area has long been a hotbed for extremist violence, primarily concentrated around the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex.

The large national park spills over into all three countries and has become a launching pad for cross-border attacks by militants.

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