Sahel: forests, safe havens to terrorists?

Liman NADAWA, Consultant, Center for Security Strategies in the Sahel and Sahara, Center4s.org

 Increasingly, countries in the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea are taking special measures to protect forests from terrorist control. In these hard-to-reach areas, terrorists have bases, exploit natural resources to finance themselves, and forge links with local populations, whom they transform into recruitment sources for future fighters. They also engage in smuggling. Involved in multiple forms of trafficking, they administer these enclaves according to their own governance. From there, they also launch surprise attacks against the Defense and Security Forces (FDS). The rampant exploitation of forests by terrorists groups has contributed to the spread of terrorism in the Sahel and then to the Gulf of Guinea. Regular armies are attempting to combat them, using weak air power among other means.

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Sahel: threats on security and development.

Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, president centre4s

The Sahel tragic dilemma can be, more or less, summed up by this formula: no security without development. That is a dilemma as the reverse—no development without security—is also correct. Crises and conflicts that this region, the Sahel, has experienced since the great droughts of the 1970s and their human and economic consequences have completely transformed the landscape, particularly in terms of human and security circumstances. On that background, many perverse effects have been added or rather fixed on.

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Sahel: Are mercenaries efficient fighting terrorism ?

Limam NADAWA, Centre des stratégies pour la sécurité du Sahel Sahara, Centre4s.org 

Faced with the immense challenges of combating terrorist threats in the Sahel, states and their allies are hiring mercenaries. Supposedly more seasoned and experienced, they are meant to support national armies and their auxiliaries. However, in practice, their results are more nuanced, while their respective costs are taking their toll on the budgets of the recruiting countries. Their impact on the defense and security forces (FDS) is also a subject of controversy. Will this practice lead to a clear-eyed and rational re-evaluation after the attacks that Mali suffered on May 28, 2026? 

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Sahel: Gulf of Benin countries in terrorist crosshairs

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Sahel: sprawling cigarettes muggling

Paul Amara, Consultant, Centre des stratégies pour la sécurité du Sahel Sahara, Centre4s.org

Cigarette smuggling generates billions of dollars annually worldwide, including in the Sahel. This complex trade originates in the Balkans and the United Arab Emirates, passes through North Africa, and ends in Libya, from where it streams into the Sahel. Libya is therefore considered the hub of cigarette smuggling in the Sahel. Widespread corruption, porous borders, and a lack of cooperation between countries fuel the growth of cigarette smuggling. The identifiable actors involved are also numerous. These include major countries, major brands, criminals, government officials, and terrorists who operate throughout the Sahel. The scale of the problem makes combating it a monumental task.

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