It's Time For World Leaders to Give Damn About The Sahel

Most of the world outside of the multiple countries within the Sahel Region more than likely have no idea what the Sahel Region actually is or where it's located. The Sahel separates northern Africa from western area of Africa. There are several countries within the Sahel Region as well. There are Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Sudan within the Sahel.

The Sahel, the vast semi-arid region of Africa separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south, is as much a land of opportunities as it is of challenges. Although it has abundant human and natural resources, offering tremendous potential for rapid growth, there are deep-rooted challenges—environmental, political and security— that may affect the prosperity and peace of the Sahel.

For this reason, the United Nations has come up with a unique support plan targeting 10 countries to scale up efforts to accelerate prosperity and sustainable peace in the region.

Target countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

Source: The United Nations

The Sahel has several issues to deal with often times they have draughts, to the north of the Sahel is the Sahara Desert.

The semiarid steppes of the Sahel have natural pasture, with low-growing grass and tall, herbaceous perennials. Other forage for the region’s livestock (camel, pack ox, and grazing cattle and sheep) includes thorny shrubs and acacia and baobab trees. The thorny scrub once formed a woodland, but the country is now more open and relatively traversable by motor vehicle. The terrain is chiefly of the savanna type, with little continuous cover and a dangerous tendency to merge into desert because of overstocking and over-farming. At least eight months of the year are dry, and rain, confined to a short season, averages 4–8 inches (100–200 mm), mostly in June, July, and August.

Source: Britannica

The two main ‘jihadist’ coalitions operating across Sahelian countries, the Jama’a Nasrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate based in Mali that also operates in Burkina Faso and Niger, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) are now essentially competing for the control of different areas, specifically the tri-border region between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Aware of the lack of air support from French and international forces, ISGS in particular has significantly increased its pressure since March 2022, launching a series of lethal attacks along the southern border. Interestingly, JNIM seems rather cautious, somehow waiting to evaluate their move in relation to the reactions to this new ISGS activity, especially from the local population. Directly connected to this renewed activism of jihadist actors, violence against civilians is reaching a new peak in the area, with deadly massacres registered in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso during the last few months.

Source: International Center for International-Terrorism

Billions reaching towards trillions of dollars have poured into Ukriane, in way of supplies, weapons, money and funding. Ukraine's population is slightly over 43 million people, there are millions more people in the Sahel region and they receive little to no support from western powers. Efforts come in the form of food, the terrorists in their Ukraine are getting funding from some where.

How are they able to afford weapons, vehicles, fuel and other supplies for constant bombardment of their selfish endless crime spanning several countries?

“In the Sahel, the climate crisis is combining with increasing instability and the low level of investments in development to create a disempowering mix that is heavily taxing Sahelian communities, with the added risk of jeopardizing the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said UN Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel Abdoulaye Mar Dieye. “There are solutions, focused on people’s agency and investments at scale, but they require resolute commitment and dedication from all, as well as the right data and analysis to know what is coming in order to execute proactive and impactful policy responses.”

Source: UNHCR USA

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