The Sahel, the region of transition between the Sahara and the savanna is now a haven for extremist organizations and criminal organizations with international reach. Desertification, pastoral-agrarian conflicts, marginalized communities, inadequate governance, harmful intervention of international powers, and under sourced security forces have all contributed to the unstable conditions that allow these types of groups [...]
Overview This report examines the implications of the political, economic, and military involvement by Iran and its proxies in the Sahel region of Sub-Saharan Africa. To examine these issues, the report’s sections define the Sahel region, explain the reasons that aid and involvement by external powers are welcomed by the local governments, analyze the [...]
Title Picture Source: Quartz Africa Since the early 1960s when West African countries gained independence from their former European colonial rulers, many of them have engaged in political, economic, and geo-strategic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In many cases, these relations intensified in the recent period, with China playing a major [...]
Name Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS) Overview The IS-GS emerged as an Islamic State (IS) grouping, initially called the Islamic State in Mali (ISM), in May 2015. At that time, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, a co-leader of Al-Mourabitoun (AM) (“The Sentinels”), an al Qaida in the Maghreb (AQIM) affiliate in Mali, Niger, [...]
Quick Facts Geographical Size: 482,077 square miles. Eighth largest country in Africa. A landlocked country, Mali’s porous borders extend approximately 4,500 miles and border seven countries: Mauritania to the West, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso to the south, Niger to the east, and Algeria to the north. Population: 18.5 million (2018). Language: French (Official), Bambara (80%), Berber, Arabic. Religion: Muslim (90%), indigenous beliefs (9%), Christian [...]
Last week’s article discussed the violence at Lake Chad as a result of extremist groups and transnational criminal organizations. This week’s article will take a brief look at U.S. involvement in the Lake Chad Basin region, specifically with the country of Chad. The U.S. provides military assistance to Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger — the four border countries of [...]
The Sahel Research Group’s interview with Ambassador Alexander Laskaris discussed U.S. Africa Command’s (AFRICOM’s) perspective on terrorism in the Sahel. One statement in particular highlighted the nature of the challenge. Our overall assessment in the Sahel is that we are dealing primarily with governance crises. Marginalized communities exist all along the Sahel belt. Their respective country governments [...]
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