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Deaths linked to militant Islamist violence in Africa continue to spiral

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Fatalities linked to militant Islamist violence jumped by 20 percent in the past year, claiming more than 23,000 lives—a new record. Over 80 percent...

Scramble for the Sahel – why France, Russia, China and the...

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The Sahel, a region 3,860km wide located south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent, has been a focus of...

Sub-Saharan Africa most conflict-affected region globally – IISS

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Sub-Saharan Africa was the most conflict-affected region globally in 2023, with over half a dozen conflict regions, according to the International Institute for Strategic...

Sub-Saharan Africa internal and regional conflicts driven by “meddling”

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Sub-Saharan Africa, according to an international think-tank report, “grapples” with widespread internal and regional conflicts in the continent's Sahel and Great Lakes regions, Sudan...

Kidnappings in the Sahel – a favoured weapon of war

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Over 180 kidnappings were recorded in the war-torn countries of Mali and Burkina Faso in the first half of 2023 – an average of...

Fatalities from militant Islamist violence in Africa soar by 50 per...

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Over the last year, violence linked to Islamist groups in Africa increased by a quarter while deaths grew by almost 50% to over 19...

‘Unprecedented’ insecurity in West Africa and the Sahel, UN Security Council...

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Although West Africa and the Sahel continues to face unprecedented security challenges, it is still “a land of immense opportunities”, a senior UN official...

US concerned about violent extremism in the Sahel

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The United States is deeply concerned by multiple crises in the Sahel: security, humanitarian, and political; “crises which are causing a dramatic increase in...

ISS: Options for reviving security cooperation in the Sahel

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The Sahel is experiencing increasing political and security upheavals. A series of unconstitutional changes in government have occurred in Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso,...

Illegal weapons flowing back into Sahel

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Extremist groups are again trafficking weapons from Libya and other sources into the Sahel, signaling a potential escalation of violence. Analysts say the increase...

Five zones of militant Islamist violence in the Sahel

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The deterioration of the security environment in the western Sahel is marked by an array of differing actors, drivers, and motivations, calling for contextualized...

Feature: Sahel security forces look for answers after decade of violence

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Mass atrocities, forced displacement, public executions: terror. It has been a fact of life in parts of Africa’s Sahel region since extremists gained a...

The crisis is multidimensional, and the solution must be global

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Mohamed Znagui Sid’Ahmed Ely knows the security challenges of the Sahel well. A former brigadier general in the Mauritanian Army, he has spent time...

Sahel-based violence ripples across borders into coastal countries

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Attacks by Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are rippling out of the Sahel and across the borders of countries to the...

Herder-farmer conflict in the Sahel needs a new description: why ‘eco-violence’...

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The Sahel – a 5,000km long strip of the African continent stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea – has become the...

Feature: Trajectories of violence against civilians by Africa’s militant Islamist groups

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Extremist group violence against civilians is driven by context-specific factors—outgroup grievances, intimidation to control territory, and a response to heavy-handed security responses—that require enhanced...

Surge in militant Islamist violence in the Sahel dominates Africa’s fight...

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A 70-percent annual increase in violent events linked to militant Islamist groups in the Sahel propelled a new record of extremist violence in Africa...

Joint West African operation confronts terrorists

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As Sahel-based terror groups push south, some West African nations have joined forces to push back. Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo recently conducted...

Pentagon chief tells French counterpart US supports Sahel mission

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France has Washington's continued support for counterterrorism efforts in Africa's Sahel region, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his French counterpart in a phone...

After killing Sahel Islamic State leader, France to hunt other chiefs

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French military forces have killed the leader of a West African affiliate of Islamic State by drone strike in a "decisive blow" against the...

Chad to halve its troops fighting Sahel militants, spokesperson says

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Chad has decided to recall half of its 1 200 troops battling Islamist militants in the tri-border area of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger,...

France to reshape troop presence in Sahel within weeks

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France will soon begin reshaping its military presence in the Sahel region of West Africa, where it has been on the front line of...

France kills senior Islamist leader in Sahel, vows to fight on

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French forces killed an al Qaeda leader during an operation in the Sahel region of Africa, France's armed forces minister said on Friday, vowing...

French journalist kidnapped in northern Mali appears in video

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A journalist who disappeared last month in Mali’s northern city of Gao appeared in a video on Wednesday appealing to authorities to do everything...

ISS: Sahel counter-terrorism takes a heavy toll on civilians

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Military operations that cause civilian deaths and violate human rights are fuelling terrorist groups’ propaganda. National and foreign forces deployed to fight terrorism in the...

Niger mourns 137 victims after deadliest attack in recent memory

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Flags flew at half-staff and Koranic verses played on state media on Tuesday as Niger began observing three days of national mourning for the...

Armed men attack passenger convoy and village in Niger, killing 58

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Armed men in southwestern Niger killed at least 58 people when they intercepted a convoy returning from a weekly market and attacked a nearby...

Violent deaths due to small arms show small decrease

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Independent research organisation Surveys Security Assessment bemoans the lack of official data available from northern African countries and those in the G5 Sahel making...

France stays the course in the Sahel

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Despite setbacks, France reaffirmed its commitment to intensify its fight against Islamist insurgents in the Sahel region and sees South Africa as an ally...

At least 18 killed in attacks in Burkina Faso and Mali

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Suspected Islamists killed at least 18 people in attacks in northern Burkina Faso and central Mali on Wednesday and Thursday, government and security sources...

France rules out immediate troop cuts in Sahel, Chad deploys reinforcements

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French President Emmanuel Macron ruled out an immediate reduction of French troops battling Islamist militants in the Sahel region of West Africa on Tuesday,...

Chad reinforces troops against militants in Sahel as France mulls changes

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Chad will deploy some 1 000 troops to the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali to reinforce national armies that, backed by...

ISS: Many strategies but little progress securing the Sahel

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More holistic approaches are now being used, but they still see conflict and violence through a counter-terrorism lens. ince it started nine years ago, the...

Violence in West Africa’s Sahel displaces record 2 million people, UN...

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The number of people fleeing violence in West Africa’s Sahel region has quadrupled in the past two years, with 2 million now displaced in...

Macron opens door to France pulling some troops out of Sahel

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President Emmanuel Macron opened the door on Tuesday to withdrawing some troops from Africa’s Sahel region, saying France could “adjust” its operations after successes...

Making sense of the Sahel

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In recent years, the region has become a base for violent extremists and those fighting them. The Sahel, a semiarid region stretching from Senegal on...

Mali says troops regain control of village besieged by jihadists

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Malian troops have regained control of a village in the centre of the country where more than 2 000 residents have been besieged by...

Inequality seen as a root cause of West Africa’s Sahel crisis

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Unequal access to wealth is one of the main causes of worsening violence in West Africa’s Sahel, which has forced millions to flee their...

US defense chief’s rare Algeria visit points to Sahel region threats

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US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made a rare visit to Algeria on Thursday for talks with the president about war-torn Libya and the...

West African bloc may lift Mali sanctions soon, says envoy

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West African leaders may lift painful economic sanctions against Mali once an interim president is inaugurated on Friday in the wake of the 18...

US to provide $720 million Syria aid and funds for Sahel,...

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The United States said on Thursday it would provide more than $720 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis in Syria, plus...

US warns aid at risk unless alleged abuses in West Africa’s...

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The United States said on Thursday it was “deeply concerned” about increasing alleged human rights abuses by state security forces in the West African...

Sahel remains fragile despite battle gains against militants

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French and West African troops have made gains against Islamist groups in the Sahel but the situation remains fragile with persistent attacks by the...

Coronavirus complicates Sahel’s complex security situation

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COVID-19 is complicating an already complex security situation in the Sahel, with terrorist groups exploiting the pandemic stepping up attacks on national and international...

ISS: Does the Sahel really need more AU troops?

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Last year saw a significant resurgence of extremist violence in the Sahel, especially in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, where the United Nations (UN) recorded over...

French-led Operation Monclar sees success in the Sahel

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French, Malian, Burkinabe and Nigerien soldiers took part in a joint counter-terrorism operation in the Sahel earlier this month involving several thousand troops. As part...

France and its allies officially establish Takuba force in the Sahel

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France and several of its European and African allies officially formed the Takuba Task Force on Friday, made up of European special forces that...

Sahel hostages released

A Canadian woman and an Italian man kidnapped while travelling through Burkina Faso 15 months ago have been freed and are in good health,...

ISS: Sahel militaries need better governance to face the terror threat

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Terror attacks on soldiers in Sahel states are raising questions about these armies’ ability to withstand extremist threats and protect their populations. A total...

Widespread knock-on effects violence in the Sahel

Violence in Africa’s Sahel region has driven mining exploration companies to put projects on hold, with downstream effects for an industry struggling to expand...