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Sahel: More violence in Niger
Niamey, Feb 8, 2020 - At least 11 civilians had been killed in two separate attacks in Niger, which is struggling to contain a wave of jihadist violence, officials said Saturday. In one attack on Friday, members of the Islamist group Boko Haram killed six civilians in...
Sahel: France sends 600 more soldiers to Mali
Paris, Feb 2, 2020 - France said Sunday it was boosting its military presence in the Sahel by adding a further 600 troops to its 4,500-strong operation in Mali and four other countries in the region. Defence Minister Florence Parly said in a statement that the bulk of...
Sahel: Nearly 300 children killed or maimed in Mali conflict in 2019
Dakar, Jan 28, 2020 - Hundreds of children in the Sahel were killed, maimed or forcibly separated from their parents last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, as a jihadist conflict rages across the region. In Mali alone, 277 children were killed or maimed during...
Sahel: Concern in France as US military prepares to reduce its presence in the Sahel
Washington, Jan 27, 2020 - French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly warned Monday that expected cuts to the Pentagon's African operations would hamper efforts against jihadist groups, especially in the Sahel region. But US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made clear...
Sahel: France takes more steps toward conflict escalation in the Sahel
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: (you can also listen the opinion by clicking on the audio player above) | France's hawks, those who like to project the image of a superpower, are hoping for some miracle tipping point to take place in the Sahel. Their latest idea is to...
Sahel: Insecurity forces Niger to halt voter registration in troubled regions
Niamey, Jan 21, 2020 - Niger's election commission said Tuesday it had suspended a voter registration drive in a western border region buffeted by jihadist insurgents. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said because of security circumstances in the...
Sahel: New wave of population displacement in Niger amid rising terrorism
Niamey, Jan 19, 2020 - Nearly 7,000 people have fled the region in western Niger where jihadist fighters killed 89 soldiers in a devastating attack earlier this month, the UN refugee agency said. But insecurity in the region is making it difficult for the UNHCR to...
Sahel: Massacre in Niger’s Tillaberi region
Niamey, Jan 12, 2020 - A jihadist attack on a military camp in western Niger three days ago left 89 soldiers dead, according to a new toll announced by the government on public radio Sunday. "After a thorough search, the toll has been established as 89 dead among...
Sahel: Niger accuses Sudanese asylum seekers of burning refugee camp
Niamey, Jan 6, 2020 - Niger police have arrested more than 300 Sudanese asylum seekers after accusing them of burning down a UN refugee camp in the north of the country, prosecutors said on Monday. The Niger town of Agadez has become a major transit point for migrants...
Crisis in Sahel: France’s quagmire
The Sahel is experiencing utter destabilization. Almost all countries of the region, starting with Mali, then Niger, Chad, more recently Burkina Faso, and to a certain extent northern Nigeria, are falling apart and suffering from a series of factors that conspire to...
Sahel: Insurgency and criminal activity in the Sahel
Criminal activities such as arms and drug trafficking are crucial to the survival of jihadist groups in the Sahel, creating links with organised crime, a South African research centre said Tuesday. A study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) over two...
Sahel: Niger gets military equipment from US
Niamey, Dec 10, 2019 - The United States is donating $21 million (19 million euros) of military equipment to Niger help fight jihadism in the Sahel region, an American diplomatic told AFP on Tuesday. The Americans have already handed over dozens of armoured vehicles,...
Sahel: Insurgents raid army camp in Tahoua, Niger, 17 casualties
Niamey, Dec 11, 2019 - Three soldiers and 14 attackers died in an assault earlier this week on an army camp in western Niger near the border with Mali, the defence minister said. Heavily armed "terrorists" in a dozen 4x4 vehicles led the attack early Monday morning on...
Humanitarian disaster in the Sahel, millions facing famine
Geneva, Nov 19, 2019 - More than 2.4 million people need urgent food aid across the central Sahel region, encompassing Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, where rising jihadist violence has triggered a humanitarian crisis, the UN said Tuesday. "If we do not act now to...
Sahel: Dozen killed in insurgent attack on Niger military base in Diffa
At least 10 people were killed on 29 October, when gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in Blabrine in southeastern Niger's Diffa region, near the border with Nigeria. The assailants destroyed the base.
Sahel: Almost half million people displaced in Niger
Niamey, Oct 24, 2019 - The number of refugees and internally displaced people in Niger now stands at more than 442,000, an increase of around 40,000 in less than five months, according to UN figures released Thursday. Niger, one of the poorest countries in the year,...
Sahel: Southern Niger hurt by border closure with Nigeria
Dan Issa, Niger, Oct 23, 2019 (by Boureima Hama) - "Nothing crosses into Nigeria and nothing comes out. It's hermetically sealed," said Amadou Idi, sitting in a makeshift shelter to keep out of the rain, and reflecting on the downturn in his luck. "We twiddle our...
Sahel: Floods continue to wreck havoc on Niger
Niamey, Oct 20, 2019 - Floods in southeast Niger have forced 23,000 people to flee their homes since early October, officials said Saturday, threatening a new humanitarian crisis in a region already wracked by Boko Haram Islamist violence. Heavy rains have caused the...
Sahel: Conflict with Jihadists expands to southwest Niger
Niamey, Oct 7, 2019 - Two soldiers were killed and five others wounded in a "terrorist" attack in southwest Niger, a region that until recently had been spared jihadist raids, the interior ministry said Monday. "A detachment of the security and defence forces (FDS)...
Sahel: France wants to drag Europe into a conflict with no endgame
France has begun asking its European partners to send special forces to Mali and other Sahel nations in Africa, to shore up local forces who are being increasingly targeted by deadly jihadist attacks across the vast desert expanse. The idea is to improve on the basic...
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