The Latest Breaking News from Sahel

Violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which has wracked much of West Africa’s inland Sahel region for more than seven years, is spreading to the region's coastal states and Benin is the hardest hit

Despite a security crisis in the West Africa and Sahel regions, Covid-19, and diplomatic tensions with France, organisers of the African Biennale of Photography have managed to put on the Pan-African exhibition in Bamako, Mali in the spirit of resilience and resistance.

French-backed NGOs in Mali fear their future is in limbo after military-run authorities ordered the suspension of their activities earlier this week. The announcement marks a further twist in the downward spiral between the Sahel nation and its former colonial power.

Violence has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2.7 million across the Sahel, according to the UN.

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo on Tuesday warned that a rampant Islamist insurgency in West Africa's Sahel is threatening to engulf the entire region.

West African coastal states are holding talks on boosting military cooperation against jihadist violence spilling over from the Sahel. This follows recent announcements that several international peacekeeping contingents are being withdrawn from Mali.

France announces the end of Operation Barkhane. A decade of fighting in Africa's troubled Sahel region has seen over 2,000 jihadist fighters killed, but despite the French military intervention, violence continues. Also, protesters voice their opposition to Uganda's pipeline project that will see drilling take place within the country's largest…

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday a strategic shift for its military forces deployed in the Sahel region of Western Africa which are helping several countries contain jihadist insurgencies.

Violence in the Sahel is escalating, killing more than 11,000 people in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso since 2012. Such conflict has emerged for a number of reasons, including religious insurgencies and access to water and grazing resources. Climate change leading to environmental degradation exacerbates these clashes.