The Sahelian Knot

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 [...]

The Sahelian Knot

Safe Haven Sahel

Extremist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda have found a home in the Sahel. Communities marginalized by their governments have proved to be the perfect foothold for radical extremism to take root. Up until now, the activities and goals of Isis and Al-Qaeda affiliated organizations based in the Sahel have been regional in nature. As [...]

Safe Haven Sahel

Assessing the Impact of Iran’s Intervention in the Sahel

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 [...]

Assessing the Impact of Iran’s Intervention in the Sahel

Burkina Faso: A Risk Report

Quick Facts Country Name:  Burkina Faso (“Land of the Honest People”). Formerly known as Republic of Upper Volta, with the name Burkina Faso adopted in 1984. Geographical Location/Size:  A landlocked country located in Western Africa. It is bounded by Mali to the north and west, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, and Cote [...]

Burkina Faso: A Risk Report

Transnational Crime in the Sahara

Introduction             Over the past decade, international terrorism and the migration crisis in the Mediterranean have drawn international attention to the security situation in North Africa and the surrounding Trans-Sahara region. High-profile incidents like the wave of popular unrest known as the Arab Spring and subsequent Libyan civil war captured headlines and compelled Western military [...]

Transnational Crime in the Sahara

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

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, [...]

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

The Fulani

Peul (Fulani) Women. Picture taken in Paoua, Central African Republic. Security Implications of Nigeria’s Fulani’s Pastoral Migration: A Risk Report By Dr. Joshua Sinai, Consultant to FireWatch Solutions, Inc. Quick Facts: Nigeria Geography:  Nigeria’s size is estimated at 356,667 square miles. It shares land borders with Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the [...]

The Fulani

Risk Report: Mali

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 [...]

Risk Report: Mali
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