Authored by: Cara Rau, Intelligence Analyst Specialising in African Jihadism
Bottom Line Up Front
On 20 December 2024, Islamic State (IS) released a video of its West Africa Wilayah (ISWAP) entitled "Empowerment Generation" showing units of child soldiers in combat and in training in West Africa.
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| ISWAP poster advertising the video "Empowerment Generation". |
The name of the video speaks to ISWAP's attempts at recruitment of youths through the illusion of power. The group is appealing to the countless children in the region who feel left behind and disenfranchised and for whom joining ISWAP seems the only way to gain a sense of power and control over their lives which have been dominated by the shadow of conflict.
The video not only showed child recruits taking part in ISWAP operations, but highlighted them receiving combat training, classroom learning, and Quran recitation practice and religious education. One striking feature is the use of the children in the execution of adults, a clear illustration of the use of power over traditional authority figures as a recruitment tactic by ISWAP. One section also shows the children being taught Arabic.
The training took place on land and on water, highlighting the importance of the environment for warfare in the Lake Chad Basin area, where ISWAP is based.
Parts of the video were subtitled in Hausa, a common language in Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger, both areas where ISWAP operate.
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| Young recruits receive training on water. Source: Empowerment Generation |
It is clear from the video that camaraderie between recruits is an important part of their ISWAP conditioning. About halfway through the 29-minute and 42-second long video, the viewers are shown a chanting session carried out in the evening around a campfire by the children. This highlights how ISWAP builds bonds between the recruits. Chanting sessions are also an important part of Islam, viewed often as a sacred act. Later on, the recruits are seen renewing their pledge of allegiance to the current IS Caliph, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, another bonding mechanism.
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| Child fighters of ISWAP during a chanting session. Source: Empowerment Generation |
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| ISWAP child soldiers renew their pledge of allegiance to the current IS Caliph, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Source: Empowerment Generation |
In the shadow of Boko Haram
ISWAP's blatant use of child soldiers is striking, especially considering that Boko Haram's use of child soldiers in combat and their ill treatment, were among the principal reasons for the ISWAP split from Boko Haram. The late leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, was known for his ruthless abuse of the children in his ranks and he famously remarked that he did not care if 100 000 children died in service of the group. ISWAP's child soldiers are victims of violence including beatings, rape, and sexual assault. While few join voluntarily or are born in the camps, many end up as ISWAP fighters through kidnapping. Children are an ideal target for ISWAP recruitment; they are impressionable and since many might already have grown up surrounded by violence from ongoing conflicts, they are often desensitised to violence. Many children recruited by ISWAP also see no alternative: they do not have access to quality education and their economic prospects are weak, if they exist at all. Indeed, the issue of child soldiers in Jihadist groups in rural Africa is a symptom of larger socio-economic problems. Throughout the video, the children are shown in clean clothes and they appear unharmed, a distortion of the harsh reality that awaits them should new recruits join as a result of seeing the video. ISWAP cannot afford showing potential recruits the real abusive environment they will be exposed to.
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| Child ISWAP fighters during an "intrusion training" drill where they practice entering a building. Source: Empowerment Generation |
Boys Are Victims Too
In Africa, especially in the Sub-Saharan region, there is a common misconception that only women and girls deserve a gendered approach in analysis of terrorist actions, propaganda, and tactics. It is true that women and girls are victims of horrendous violence and violations by Jihadist groups, but this latest ISWAP video highlights the importance of a well-rounded gendered approach to the issue of child combatants. Men and boys are targeted for recruitment as fighters by Jihadist groups in Africa specifically because they are male. In Africa, as in many parts of the world, boys are taught from birth that the role of a man is to be physically strong, intimidating, and violent. Men who fight other men and who get involved in altercations are often lauded as brave and respected. This traditional view of what it means to be a man undoubtedly reflects in ISWAP's recruitment of young boys, as is evident in the video, where all the child soldiers appear to be boys. Further, we have to note the fates of the boys who do not complete their military training in an ISWAP camp for reasons such as not being fit enough to endure the abusive training or who are perhaps lagging behind the others boys in their learning. These boys do not merely get the chance to leave and go home, but instead are treated as slaves. They are assigned the non-combat duties within the camp or at the homes of ISWAP commanders such as cleaning and cooking. Sometimes they are used as messengers. Regardless of their role, they remain victims, sometimes for decades until they die in combat or, if they are lucky enough, find the strength and opportunity to leave or escape.
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| Children receive military training under ISWAP. Source: Empowerment Generation |
Child Soldiers a Human Rights Issue
The use of child soldiers is a grave human rights violation, depriving children of their basic rights and exposing them to unimaginable horrors. The trauma they suffer leaves lasting mental, physical, and emotional scars. The human rights aspect of the use of child soldiers by Jihadist groups in Africa is often not focused on as much as their tactical and strategic use in battle. Consequently, the use of child soldiers and their impact is investigated more in the context of the larger strategy of the group in question instead of in the context of the social effects of children in battle. Particularly, there should be more research into how to reintegrate former child combatants into society after they have surrendered or been captured, specifically focusing on their mental health. Mental health is already not a priority in many parts of the developing world, which means that the mental health of children in DDR (Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration) programs is often disregarded. I would argue that this is a symptom of the low level of attention given to the social aspects of research into child soldiers in Jihadist groups. That being said, it is not easy to get access to useful and actionable data of child soldiers in these groups and the problem of more research into the social aspects of the use of children in combat by Jihadist groups is not easily solved.
An Aside on the Use of Drones in IS Propaganda Videos
Throughout the video, viewers are shown imagery from above, most likely taken by drones. The use of drones for propaganda production is noteworthy and deserves a write-up of its own, but this is a quick paragraph just to highlight both that ISWAP has access to what appears to be small commercial drones and that they continue to use drones for propaganda production. It is also worrying that they are likely using these commercial drones for surveillance of potential targets, getting the lay of the land before an attack. Drones likely play a big part in the success of ISWAP operations against military installations in Nigeria, particularly in Borno State. Drones eliminate the need for informants on the ground for information on target structures and simultaneously allow for high-quality and alluring propaganda footage.
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| Aerial footage of ISWAP child soldiers drilling |
Looking Forward
ISWAP very likely released this latest video as a way to recruit more children, pointing to the possibility of children in the region using social media to access Jihadist content. This should be concerning to security forces in the region, who are no-doubt overwhelmed by on-the-ground attacks and probably have little time, money, and resources to spend on counter-radicalisation online. Jihadist groups in West Africa are also proficient in social media use and often circulate their messaging in closed local WhatsApp groups so as to reach the most niche of audiences. Preventing the circulation of propaganda for the recruitment of children is almost impossible and Islamic State is one of the most sophisticated users of social media out there. They respond quickly and effectively to social media takedowns of their channels and it seems that as quickly as one of their channels gets taken down, another appears. Therefore, it is perhaps a better alternative to stem the root causes that drive children to find Jihadist groups attractive in the first place. This again goes back to improving socio-economic situations for children in rural areas and giving them the mental health tools they need to resist the gravity-like pull of Jihadist groups.
