Environment

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Sahel: Niger Emerges as Key Battleground as JNIM and Islamic State Collide$

A rival jihadist war may be heating up in the Sahel, and Niger could be the place where the conflict could turn into a major strategic contest. The latest reporting and claims suggest that the rivalry between JNIM, the al-Qaeda-aligned network, and the Islamic State...

The Nigeria Precedent: Why Degrading One Group Won’t Secure Mali$

Since late December 2025, US Africa Command has been conducting airstrikes in northern Nigeria alongside the Nigerian military, targeting ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters. The campaign escalated in May 2026 into a joint offensive combining special forces raids with...

Sahel: How Gold and Jihadist Violence Are Redrawing the Guinea-Mali Border$

Along the border between Guinea and Mali, two forces are reshaping the landscape: armed jihadist groups pushing south from the Sahel, and a rapidly expanding gold economy that reaches from small riverside pits to industrial mines. Together, they are transforming...

Behind the Algeria-Mali Rapprochement: Security, Trade and a Sahel Reorder$

For 15 months, Algeria and Mali were locked in a diplomatic standoff that froze airspace, stalled ambassadorial contacts, and deepened mistrust over how to handle the war in the Sahel. In early July, Bamako and Algiers jointly moved to restore relations, with the...

North Africa and the Sahel on Alert Over Locust Upsurge$

An upsurge of desert locusts is taking shape in Northwest Africa, with Morocco currently facing the highest pressure while Algeria, Mauritania, and Sahel countries prepare for possible summer migrations. Recent reports from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization...

Mali’s Jihadist-Separatist Alliance Pushes Toward Anéfis as Fighting Enters Its Sixth Day$

A jihadist-separatist alliance has opened a new front in northern Mali, ambushing a Malian-Russian convoy near Anéfis and pushing to seize the strategic town, while Bamako continues to insist its forces retain control even as fighting has spread to Gao, Sévaré, Konna,...

Mauritania: Water Scarcity Sparks Protests in Chami$

Residents of Chami have protested severe water shortages that have left entire neighborhoods without supply for days, underscoring growing stress on Mauritania’s fragile urban infrastructure.

Mauritania Battles Dual Outbreaks Amid Sahel’s Shifting Climate$

Mauritania is facing outbreaks of diphtheria and Rift Valley fever that have killed 36 people in recent weeks. Hundreds of cases have been recorded across several regions, exposing gaps in health capacity and the impact of seasonal rains that heighten disease spread in the Sahel.

Sahel Displacement Hits 4 Million: UN Warns of Growing Crisis$

Nearly 4 million people are now displaced across the Sahel, the UN warns, as violence and collapsing services escalate a regional humanitarian crisis.

Niger: Heavy Rains Force Back-to-School Delay$

Heavy rains and flooding in Niger have forced authorities to delay the start of the school year, as hundreds of classrooms have been damaged or are being used to shelter displaced families. The government is working to restore school infrastructure so education can resume safely for thousands of students.

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