West Africa

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is expanding its operations in the region

The regional bloc is grappling with an economic downturn, Islamic insurgents and contentious elections

Piracy may be waning off Somalia, but South-east Asian pirates have been active and Nigerians are moving into kidnapping

Authorities expect between 120,000 and 150,000 migrants to transit through Niger en route to Europe in 2016

Intra-regional intelligence sharing sheds light on terrorism threat, but states will struggle to respond

Existing and new militant groups pose threats to states that have little experience in dealing with Islamist violence

Attacks by al-Qaida's West African affiliate are made easier by relatively unprepared governments

States across the region are stepping up security in a bid to pre-empt further high-profile attacks