The Sahel Security Crisis
Jihadism, coups, and state collapse south of the Sahara
The Sahel has become a core theater of terrorism, military rule, and humanitarian stress, with violence spilling toward the coast.
Why the Sahel became so unstable
The Sahel is the broad belt south of the Sahara stretching from Mauritania to Sudan. Weak states, poverty, armed ethnic tensions, trafficking routes, and climate stress have created a highly volatile environment. Jihadist groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara exploit those gaps and move across borders faster than governments can respond.
Armed groups and local networks
The main armed networks use coercion, extortion, and recruitment in areas where the state is absent or distrusted. They attack civilians, security forces, and international convoys, while also controlling smuggling corridors and taxing local trade.
Weak governance and few alternatives
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have all struggled with corruption, uneven development, and limited control over remote territory. For many young men, joining an armed group looks like the only available path to income, protection, or status.
Coups and the turn away from the West
Since 2020, the region has seen a chain of military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Each junta justified its intervention as a response to security failure, yet none of them stabilized the situation. Several governments pivoted away from France and other Western partners and moved closer to Russia and Wagner-linked networks.
The French withdrawal and the security vacuum
France was the dominant external military power in the Sahel for decades. Operation Serval and then Barkhane tried to contain jihadist expansion, but local backlash grew and anti-French protests spread. The withdrawal of French and EU forces left a vacuum that Russia has been trying to fill through mercenaries, advisers, and political influence.
What the situation looks like in 2025
By late 2025, violence had moved beyond the landlocked core of the Sahel toward coastal states such as Benin and Togo. Millions have been displaced and humanitarian access remains dangerous and inconsistent. The crisis is no longer a narrow counterterrorism problem; it is a regional governance collapse with cross-border consequences.
Related articles
More background reading from the wiki
The Wagner Group in Africa
The Wagner Group turned battlefield access, regime protection, and resource deals into a broader Russian strategy in Africa.
France's Withdrawal from the Sahel
After decades of military presence, France left the Sahel, reshaping regional security and French foreign policy.