Sahel ‘at a crossroads’ as armed groups gain sway in Africa: UN
1 year, 7 months ago

Sahel ‘at a crossroads’ as armed groups gain sway in Africa: UN

Al Jazeera  

Efforts to combat armed groups linked to ISIL, al-Qaeda, and others have failed to stop their expansion in Africa’s Sahel region, a senior United Nations official has warned. Without greater international support and regional cooperation, the instability will increase towards West African coastal countries, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee told a Security Council meeting on Tuesday. “The devastating effects of the continuing destabilisation of the Sahel would be felt far beyond the region and the African continent.” A counterterrorism force – now comprised of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger – lost Mali a year ago when its ruling generals decided to pull out. “Given that the Sahel is at a crossroads, as it is seeing many threats to international peace and security, it’s absolutely vital that we provide support to the force,” he said. “The force needs what it has always lacked and what it has always sought – that is sustainable funding and equipment as we seek to counter terrorism.” UN counterterrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov told the Security Council in January that ISIL’s expansion in Africa’s centre, south and Sahel regions is “particularly worrying”.

Security Africa African Force Isil Mali Niger Sahel Pobee  pobee  mali  africa  groups  armed  support  council  sahel  security  gain  crossroads  international  african  niger  sway  force

History of this topic

Sahel-based Salafi-Jihadist groups are infiltrating Nigeria: Here's what they want to do
1 month, 1 week ago

Sahel-based Salafi-Jihadist groups are infiltrating Nigeria: Here's what they want to do

Firstpost  

Salafi-jihadist groups aim to establish support zones in northwestern Nigeria, facilitating recruitment, fundraising, and logistical support for operations across West Africa and potentially Europe Suspected Islamist sect member captured by Nigerian troops lies next to a tree in Nigeria. Salafi-jihadist groups, some affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, are reportedly infiltrating Nigeria’s northwestern Kebbi and Sokoto states with an …

Terrorism and organized crime rampant in Sahel and spilling into West Africa coastal states, UN says
5 months, 1 week ago

Terrorism and organized crime rampant in Sahel and spilling into West Africa coastal states, UN says

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

West African leaders’ summit opens as coup-hit countries form alliance
5 months, 2 weeks ago

West African leaders’ summit opens as coup-hit countries form alliance

Al Jazeera  

The formation of Sahel alliance by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger overshadows ECOWAS summit, set to open in Abuja. A West African leaders’ summit has opened a day after the military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger forged a new alliance severing ties with the Economic Community of West African States. The ECOWAS summit is being hosted in the …

What’s behind the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States?
5 months, 2 weeks ago

What’s behind the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States?

Al Jazeera  

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have set up their own bloc, after leaving ECOWAS. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have come together to form the Alliance of Sahel States. Each is ruled by a military government – and that’s led to a split from the larger West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States. Or will a …

Jihadis from Africa’s Sahel have crossed into Nigeria’s north, a new report says
6 months ago

Jihadis from Africa’s Sahel have crossed into Nigeria’s north, a new report says

LA Times  

Jihadi fighters who had long operated in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have settled in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from neighboring Benin, according to a new report, the latest trend in the militants’ movements to wealthier West African coastal nations. The extremists believed to be linked to al Qaeda have in the last year crossed over from Benin’s hard-hit northern region …

West Africa’s Sahel becoming a drug trafficking corridor, UN warns
8 months ago

West Africa’s Sahel becoming a drug trafficking corridor, UN warns

Al Jazeera  

Drug seizures, mainly of cocaine and cannabis resin, have soared in the region, according to a UN report. Drug seizures have soared in the West African Sahel region, according to a new United Nations report, indicating the conflict-ridden region is becoming an influential route for drug trafficking. “The involvement of various armed groups in drug trafficking continues to undermine peace …

Juntas ruling Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Juntas ruling Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

Associated Press  

BAMAKO, Mali — A joint security force announced by the juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region countries faces a number of challenges that cast doubt on its effectiveness, analysts said Thursday. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement after meeting with his counterparts Wednesday that the joint force …

Juntas ruling Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Juntas ruling Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

The Independent  

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The Islamic State group poses rising threat in Africa despite progress, UN experts say
10 months, 1 week ago

The Islamic State group poses rising threat in Africa despite progress, UN experts say

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The Islamic State extremist group poses a rising threat amid political instability in West Africa and the Sahel and remains intent on carrying out attacks abroad, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Thursday. “Daesh affiliates continued to operate with increasingly more autonomy from the Daesh core,” he said, warning that if this trend persists there is a risk …

France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel
1 year ago

France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel

Associated Press  

ABUJA, Nigeria — France on Friday completed the withdrawal of its troops after they were asked to leave Niger by the country’s new junta, ending years of on-the-ground military support and raising concerns from analysts about a gap in the fight against jihadi violence across the Sahel region of Africa. France already announced this week that it would close its …

A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy
1 year ago

A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy

Associated Press  

ABUJA, Nigeria — Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors. In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. …

Rights groups report widespread war crimes across Africa’s Sahel region with communities under siege
1 year, 1 month ago

Rights groups report widespread war crimes across Africa’s Sahel region with communities under siege

Associated Press  

ABUJA, Nigeria — Security forces and armed groups are committing war crimes against civilians in Africa’s Sahel region, where extremists and rebels are increasingly fighting to exert dominance and control resources in communities, according to new reports from two rights groups. Civilians are increasingly being killed, abducted or abused, including in Burkina Faso, where jihadi groups have fought for many …

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso establish Sahel security alliance
1 year, 3 months ago

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso establish Sahel security alliance

Al Jazeera  

The Sahel nations sign pact that will allow them to cooperate against threats of armed rebellion or external aggression. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have signed a mutual defence pact, as the three Sahel countries aim to help each other against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression. “I have today signed with the Heads of State of Burkina …

US warns military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel hamper fight against terrorism in the volatile region
1 year, 3 months ago

US warns military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel hamper fight against terrorism in the volatile region

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The United States warned Friday that the string of military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel region will hamper the fight against terrorism and demanded that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers deny safe haven to terrorist groups including al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Their actions and their activities in Africa are destabilizing, and we’ve encouraged countries in Africa to condemn their …

Libya’s stability at greater risk after deadly militia clashes, turmoil in Niger and Sudan, UN says
1 year, 4 months ago

Libya’s stability at greater risk after deadly militia clashes, turmoil in Niger and Sudan, UN says

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Libya’s stability is at greater risk following recent militia clashes and amid turmoil in neighboring Sudan and Niger that could spill over into the oil-rich North African nation, the country’s U.N. special envoy said Tuesday. Abdoulaye Bathily told the U.N. Security Council that political divisions in Libya “are fraught with risks of violence and disintegration for countries.” …

Niger adds to growing list of countries in the Sahel run by the military
1 year, 4 months ago

Niger adds to growing list of countries in the Sahel run by the military

Associated Press  

ABUJA, Nigeria — Mutinous soldiers in Niger this week overthrew the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum, adding to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa’s Sahel region and raising fears of regional destabilization. Karim Manuel, west and central Africa analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, says the military governments threaten to unwind democratic gains made not …

Despite anti-coup rhetoric, can the West exit Niger, its latest Sahel hub?
1 year, 4 months ago

Despite anti-coup rhetoric, can the West exit Niger, its latest Sahel hub?

Al Jazeera  

As the international community condemns the unfolding coup in Niger, analysts say the West still needs a presence there for an eye on the Sahel. “Our first coup d’etat was Kountche, Colonel Kountche, on 15 April, 1974,” said Afhagad, who asked to use a pseudonym amid the country’s ongoing political crisis, before quickly rattling off names of other strongmen who …

Over 1,800 ‘terrorist attacks’ in West Africa in 2023: ECOWAS
1 year, 4 months ago

Over 1,800 ‘terrorist attacks’ in West Africa in 2023: ECOWAS

Al Jazeera  

The West African bloc is set to discuss strengthening a regional standby force to tackle insecurity and threats of coups. Omar Touray told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that half a million people in the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States are refugees and nearly 6.2 million are internally displaced. “The reversal of democratic gains runs parallel …

West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attack in first six months of 2023, regional official says
1 year, 4 months ago

West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attack in first six months of 2023, regional official says

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attacks in the first six months of the year resulting in nearly 4,600 deaths with dire humanitarian consequences, and a top regional official said Tuesday that’s just “a snippet of the horrendous impact of insecurity.” Omar Touray told the U.N. Security Council that half a million people in the 15-nation Economic …

Counter-terrorism experts say Africa is the world’s terrorism hot spot with half of 2022’s victims
1 year, 6 months ago

Counter-terrorism experts say Africa is the world’s terrorism hot spot with half of 2022’s victims

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Counter-terrorism experts said Tuesday that Africa is now the world’s terrorism hot spot, with half of the victims killed last year in sub-Saharan Africa, though al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates remain widespread, persistent and active elsewhere around the globe. Col. Gen. Igor Sirotkin, deputy director of Russia’s Federal Security Service and head of its National Anti-Terrorism Committee, …

UN: Africa’s Sahel desperately needs help to fight violent extremism and stop its spread
1 year, 7 months ago

UN: Africa’s Sahel desperately needs help to fight violent extremism and stop its spread

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior U.N. official warned Tuesday that without greater international support and regional cooperation the instability will expand toward West …

EXPLAINED | How the Sudan crisis puts the entire Sahel at risk
1 year, 7 months ago

EXPLAINED | How the Sudan crisis puts the entire Sahel at risk

The Hindu  

Published : May 10, 2023 18:08 IST - 5 MINS READ Hopes for a quick resolution to the fighting in Sudan are fading. UN Special Representative Volker Perthes also recently told DW that the fighting in Sudan attracts “opportunists and mercenaries”, who seek to enrich themselves. He warns the Sudan crisis could fuel “two crisis regions”: in the Horn of …

UN hears Africa, its Sahel region, are new terrorism targets
1 year, 8 months ago

UN hears Africa, its Sahel region, are new terrorism targets

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — African nations called on the world Tuesday to pay attention to how terrorism targeted their continent, particularly its Sahel region, telling the United Nations Security Council that Africans made up nearly half the world’s terror attack victims. Using his country’s bully pulpit as Security Council chair for March, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi told the council that “though …

UN says threat from Islamic State extremists remains high
1 year, 10 months ago

UN says threat from Islamic State extremists remains high

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The threat posed by Islamic State extremists remains high and has increased in and around conflict zones, and the group’s expansion is “particularly worrying” in Africa’s center, south and Sahel regions, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Thursday. Undersecretary-General Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that the group, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, continues to …

Sub-Saharan Africa is ‘new epicenter’ of extremism, says UN
1 year, 10 months ago

Sub-Saharan Africa is ‘new epicenter’ of extremism, says UN

Associated Press  

NAIROBI, Kenya — The new global epicenter of violent Islamic extremism is sub-Saharan Africa where people are increasingly joining because of economic factors and less for religious ones, says a new report by the U.N.'s international development agency. Those interviewed were drawn from various extremist groups across the continent including Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabab in Somalia, which pledges allegiance …

Jihadi violence hits Benin, shows spread across West Africa
1 year, 11 months ago

Jihadi violence hits Benin, shows spread across West Africa

Associated Press  

COTONOU, Benin — It’s been more than a year since jihadis first stormed Igor Kassah’s town in northern Benin but the priest still lives in fear. The violence in Benin, a country of 12 million people, is largely a result of what’s happening in neighboring Burkina Faso, where jihadi attacks have killed hundreds and displaced nearly 2 million people. Benin’s …

ISIL-K Seeks to Recruit Members from Other Terror Groups; to Develop Threat Capability from Afghanistan: UN Report
2 years, 4 months ago

ISIL-K Seeks to Recruit Members from Other Terror Groups; to Develop Threat Capability from Afghanistan: UN Report

News 18  

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan seeks to strengthen its capabilities by recruiting members from other terror groups and if succeeded in regaining control over the lost territory in eastern Afghanistan, the outfit may prove difficult for the Taliban to reverse such gains, a UN report has said. Should it succeed, it may prove difficult for the Taliban to …

What can stop hunger in the Sahel?
2 years, 6 months ago

What can stop hunger in the Sahel?

Al Jazeera  

On Tuesday, May 31 at 19:30 GMT: A hunger crisis in Africa’s Sahel region is intensifying, with the UN warning that 18 million people are facing starvation in the next three months. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently released an extra $30 million from an emergency relief fund to help 1.7 million people in Niger, Chad, …

UN: Mali pullout from counterterrorism force `unfortunate’
2 years, 7 months ago

UN: Mali pullout from counterterrorism force `unfortunate’

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s top political official for Africa called Mali’s decision to withdraw from the Sahel regional counterterrorism force “unfortunate and regrettable” Wednesday, especially at a time of increasing terrorist activity and insecurity. Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told the U.N. Security Council that this week’s decision by Mali’s ruling junta to leave the force “is most certainly a …

ISIL 2.0: How the group became a franchise
2 years, 8 months ago

ISIL 2.0: How the group became a franchise

Al Jazeera  

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has changed form several times over the years. However, bloody attacks are still carried out and claimed as propaganda successes, like that by ISIL’s Afghanistan affiliate on Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, which killed at least 175 people. The ISIL franchise gets stronger From Iraq to Syria and on to Afghanistan, …

How Burkina Faso became the epicentre of conflict in the Sahel
2 years, 9 months ago

How Burkina Faso became the epicentre of conflict in the Sahel

Al Jazeera  

Casualties in the West African state are eclipsing those in its neighbour Mali, the birthplace of the conflict. Power grab Experts say Burkina Faso has also become the epicentre of the conflict because armed groups are seeking to control the country’s gold mines and regional economic trade routes connecting other landlocked Sahel countries to the West African coast. “As for …

Sahel violence threatens West African coastal states
2 years, 11 months ago

Sahel violence threatens West African coastal states

Al Jazeera  

Concerns grow that violence that has long crippled countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will spill over further south. However, fears are growing over a spillover of violence within its borders as armed groups operating in the landlocked Sahel countries push for expansion into coastal states. A number of other West African coastal states have faced a growing …

UN says many lives lost daily in Africa’s Sahel Crisis
3 years, 1 month ago

UN says many lives lost daily in Africa’s Sahel Crisis

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. peacekeeping chief warned Friday that the crisis in Africa’s Sahel region remains volatile, with insecurity and instability seriously undermining prospects for development and many lives lost every day as a result of terrorist attacks. U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills echoed the alarm of the U.N. and other council members at “rising violent extremism, intercommunal violence, …

Terror in the Sahel: On growing Islamist violence in Africa
3 years, 6 months ago

Terror in the Sahel: On growing Islamist violence in Africa

The Hindu  

The massacre of at least 160 people in a border village in Burkina Faso over the weekend is a grim reminder of the threat the Sahel region faces from Islamist terrorism. The security situation in Burkina Faso, which saw its first major Islamist terrorist attack in 2015, has deteriorated steadily, especially along the borders with Niger and Mali. Four main …

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