The Sahel region of Africa, which has become the “global epicentre of terrorism,” accounted for nearly half of all terrorism-related deaths for the third consecutive year in 2025, the Global Terrorism Report said Thursday. It defines terrorism as “the systematic threat or use of violence, by non-state actors, whether for or in opposition to established authority”. The trend remained largely unchanged in 2025, with nearly half of the 5,582 deaths attributed to “terrorists” occurring in the Sahel, although the total number of victims in the region fell, the Australia-based think tank said. Read Also:https://trendsnafrica.com/sahel-region-accounts-for-maximum-terrorism-related-deaths/“The epicentre of terrorism has shifted from the Middle East and North Africa, into the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa,” the report said. Burkina Faso was the most affected country in the world for two consecutive years but was overtaken in 2025 by Pakistan.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 21, 2026 02:03 UTC