Summary: Jihadist insurgency in the Sahel (mainly pertaining to groups affiliated with Al-qaeda and the IS) since the Algerian civil war and collapse of Libya's Gaddafi regime. The presence of jihadist groups can be explained by various socioeconomic and cultural factors. In recent years, counterterrorism efforts by the West were seeminf successful, especially in Niger given the strong relations between the Mazoum government and the United States. However, there was a military coup in Niger, upending all the progress made in counterterrorism. The junta (group that took power in Niger) is aligned with the Kremlin-backed Wagner group, which may step in to take over counterterrorism efforts, losing the Western world a strong ally.