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STORY: This 20-year-old fled from Mali to Spain after jihadist militants attacked his village.

:: Barcelona, Spain

His mother and father were dead, his brother and sister missing.

"I thought they had all died. I thought that I was the only one in our family still alive."

His ordeal is a sign of how groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State are gaining ground in the Sahel region.

And experts warn there's another risk.

:: Barsalogho, Burkina Faso

:: August 24, 2024

That huge swathes of jihadist-controled territory could become training grounds and launchpads for attacks, on major cities and Western targets, in the region and beyond.

:: How is the security situation changing?

Following coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, juntas there have turned their backs on traditional Western allies and embraced Russia.

:: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

:: January 25, 2022

Those coups were driven in part by frustration at the failure of authorities to tackle militant violence.

But despite promises to improve security, the new military regimes and mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group continue to lose ground.

:: Near Aguelhok, Mali

:: July 2024

Reuters has analyzed data from the U.S. monitoring group ACLED.

It shows that violent events involving jihadi groups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have almost doubled since 2021.

That's an average of 224 attacks a month, compared with 128 in 2021.

ACLED's Heni Nsaibia is an associate analysis coordinator for West Africa.

"Even if during certain periods, acts are becoming smaller in number, they are deadlier. So the fatalities, they are skyrocketing. And if we look at Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, all these countries are on track this year for it to become the deadliest."

:: Bamako, Mali

On September 17, the al Qaeda affiliated JNIM attacked strategic parts of Mali's capital Bamako, killing dozens.

That showed how the largely rural insurgency was capable of striking at the heart of power.

:: Barsalogho, Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is perhaps the worst hit of all.

In August, jihadists affiliated with al Qaeda slaughtered hundreds of civilians in a single day in a town two hours from the capital Ouagadougou.

About half the country is now beyond government control, the U.N. has said.

:: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

:: March 7, 2018

The Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney said Burkina Faso had topped its Global Terrorism Index for the first time this year.

That was with fatalities rising 68% to 1,907 - a quarter of all terrorism-linked deaths worldwide.

:: What can be done?

:: Agadez, Niger

:: April 21, 2024

Following their expulsion, Western powers that had previously invested in trying to beat back the jihadists now have very little capacity on the ground.

That's especially since the junta in Niger last year ordered the U.S. to leave a sprawling desert drone base in Agadez.

U.S. troops and the CIA had used drones to track jihadists and share intelligence with allies such as the French, who had launched airstrikes.

The U.S. is now looking for a place to reposition its assets.

:: Niamey, Niger

:: July 7, 2024

One fear for Western powers is the potential for the Sahel to become a base for global jihad, like Afghanistan or Libya in the past.

Speaking to reporters this month, General Michael Langley, head of U.S. Africa Command, said "all these violent extremist organizations do have aspirations of attacking the United States."

:: Niamey, Niger

:: December 22, 2023

European governments, meanwhile, are divided on how to respond.

Some object to keeping communication with juntas open because of human rights and democracy concerns.

Others, particularly those in southern Europe who receive the most migrants, disagree.

:: What's the impact on migration?

Data from the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration shows the number of migrants arriving in Europe from Sahel countries rose 62% to 17,300 in the first six months of 2024.

:: November 3, 2023

That's from 10,700 a year earlier.

The IOM also said that the route to Europe that has seen the steepest rise in numbers this year is the dangerous crossing from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands.

It was that route taken by the 20-year-old migrant now in Barcelona.

:: Barcelona, Spain

It took him two years to get there, and he's now applying for asylum.

He's arrived in Europe at a time when anti-immigrant far-right parties are on the rise and some EU states are tightening their borders.

But for him and others like him, the spiralling threat of jihadist violence means they have no other option than to flee.