Terrorists Use Food as a Weapon: How Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab Exploit Hunger

May 18, 2025 | Simone Papale and Emanuele Castelli
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Over the last decade, there has been growing international focus on the role of food in conflict, particularly in Africa. The continent has seen an increase in jihadist terrorism in several regions. Violence, like that exercised by terrorist organisations, is linked with food security conditions, causing a vicious circle of hunger and conflict. Terrorism generates food disruptions. It undermines production systems and supply routes.