Rights abuses often ‘tipping point’ for extremist recruitment, UN study finds

Newly trained al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia in 2011. Photograph: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP

Human rights abuses committed by security forces and economic deprivation are among the most important drivers of recruitment to extremist groups in Africa, a survey has found.

Researchers working for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) interviewed more than 1,000 active or recent militants across eight countries in Africa in the pioneering study.