After Sierra Leone, Niger is counting its flood victims as torrential rainfalls have plagued the country since June. At least 44 people have died from the floods according to the most recent government announcement; Dosso and Maradi are the two most affected regions. According to an UNOCHA situation report on 30 August, the floods have affected more than 80 000 people, destroyed 4 900 houses and 900 hectares of crops and caused substantial material damage. Read on

African and European leaders from Chad, France, Germany, Italy, Libya, Niger and Spain met on 28 August in Paris to discuss how to better tackle migration flows from Africa to Europe. As a follow-up to the Valletta Summit on migration in 2015, they agreed on a short-term action plan to crack down on networks of people smugglers and to stop illegal migration, via Libya, to Italy and other European countries. Read on

Following the green light from the United Nations on 21 June, G5 Sahel leaders officially launched a joint military force (FC-G5S) during an extraordinary summit held on 2 July in Bamako. French President Emmanuel Macron participated in the event. He confirmed that the French would back the new force and called for its rapid and effective implementation. Read on

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, and Angel Losada, EU Special Representative for the Sahel, and the G5 Sahel Foreign Ministers (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) met on 5 June in Bamako, Mali, to discuss their strategic partnership. They want to move the establishment of the joint armed force forward to fight against terrorism and to secure, among other things, the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Read on