Keep an eye on the Sahel

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Authorities in Guinea-Bissau this week announced the seizure of 1.8 tonnes of cocaine – the largest in the country’s history – said to be en route from South America to Islamist militants in West Africa’s Sahel.

The meeting of the two sinister worlds is the latest reminder of the region’s mounting problems. Fueled by climate change and insecurity an estimated 6.7 million people have been displaced in recent years, with at least 30 million facing acute food insecurity.

Efforts to counter flourishing criminal networks and Islamist militancy, including the internationally backed G5 Sahel Joint Force, are floundering.

The confluence of factors is making it all but impossible to tackle the underlying problem of chronic underdevelopment.

All of this is obviously bad news for the region’s population, but the Sahel’s troubles could have deeper consequences for West Africa.

Burkina Faso’s government, for example, has repeatedly warned about the potential for instability to spill over into coastal countries, including key economies like Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria. There have already been cross-border attacks, underlining the point.

All of these countries are facing significant economic and social problems in their own right. The last thing they need is the kind of instability we’re seeing in the Sahel.

It’s well worth keeping an eye on the region.

This report reflects the views of the author alone, not those of How we made it in Africa.


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