Niger

 Added on January 29, 2018  jmetzler   , ,

U.S. support needed in Mali, a nexus for Sahel terror and people smuggling

U.S. support needed in Mali, a nexus for Sahel terror and people smuggling

By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The landlocked West African state of Mali remains a critical crossroads for both international people smuggling and a nexus of radical Islamic terrorism in the Sahel, the vast arid region on the southern reaches of the Sahara desert. Here amid ancient caravan routes, porous borders, and weak governance, […]

 Added on November 6, 2017  jmetzler  

Africa’s Sahel region ‘sinking into chaos’ as terror spreads

Africa’s Sahel region ‘sinking into chaos’ as terror spreads

By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The recent killing of four U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers in Niger tragically highlighted a quiet but lethal conflict in sub-Saharan Africa’s Sahel region. Here in the confluence of the arid and largely forgotten lands of Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania lay a vast land plagued […]