Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become a key tool in asymmetric warfare, employed in the pursuit of many objectives, including destabilization of the state and governing authorities, exertion of control and influence, and creation of fear in a population. More than 80 per cent of civilian IED casualties occur in civilian spaces, and civilians are deliberately targeted, including vulnerable groups such as children.

The use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in West Africa expanded dramatically over the last decade. IED-building networks have established material and training links across conflict areas in West and Central Africa, and their designs have remained constant and inexpensive throughout the region—helping to increase their use in attacks against domestic and international security forces, UN peacekeepers, and civilians.
 

'Agence France Presse estimates that in Burkina Faso alone, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have killed nearly 300 civilians and soldiers since 2018. The Small Arms Survey documents the trafficking of IED components in the Sahel and West Africa, having undertaken fieldwork in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and Niger, to date. By considering the regional dimensions of the trafficking in question, the aim is to be able to establish an evidence base for developing a regional response...'

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are increasingly used by insurgents, have devastating effects on government forces and civilians. Between 2011 and 2013, more than 4,300 IED events in 66 countries resulted in an estimated 65,400 casualties, the vast majority of them civilian.

Four countries—Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria—bear an especially high incidence of IED attacks, accounting for a total of more than 3,300 incidents and more than 51,000 casualties during that period.