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14 Feb 2020

SWAC/OECD at the Munich Security Conference

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Chad

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SWAC:

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At the invitation of the Munich Security Conference, the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) launched its report, “The Geography of Conflict in North and West Africa,” during a side event on 14 February 2020. It is the first time that the SWAC Secretariat has taken part in the world’s leading forum for debating international security issues, an important step towards raising its profile and the visibility of its analytical work. Read on

14 Feb 2020

The Geography of Conflict in North and West Africa

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SWAC:

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This SWAC/OECD study maps the evolution of violence across North and West Africa, with a particular focus on Mali, Lake Chad and Libya. The work is based on a new spatial indicator of political violence designed to assess the long-term evolution of conflicts and provide policy options. It calls upon the region’s states and the international community to promote regional initiatives to restore state legitimacy, increase investment in border regions and better protect civilians. Read on

31 Jan 2020

Dangerous border areas

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SWAC:

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In the past decade, one third of the incidents of political violence that have caused casualties in the region have taken place within 50-km of a land border. Inhabitants of small and medium‑sized towns in the Lake Chad basin have been the main victims of this political violence. Read on

04 Jan 2020

Burkina Faso: no peace in sight

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Women and children were the targets of the most recent terrorist attacks in northern Burkina Faso. Some 35 civilians were killed during a first attack on Christmas Eve in Arbinda, in the Soum province of the Sahel region; nearly all of the victims were women. A second attack, on 4 January 2020, on a school bus convoy in the Sourou province in the Boucle du Mouhoun, killed 14 people, including seven school children. Read on

02 Jan 2020

Fulani-Dogon, brothers who have become enemies

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This report published by the French newspaper La Libération reviews the relationship between the Fulani and Dogon ethnic groups, who lived in traditionally complementary ways. Drawing on local interviews, the article explains the traditional roles each group played, describes the changes that occurred following the jihadist occupation and analyses the root causes of tension, which has caused escalating intercommunal violence. Read on

30 Dec 2019

Avoiding the resurgence of inter-communal violence in eastern Chad

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Chad

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Agriculture & Fisheries

Climate & Climate change

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In response to rising inter-communal violence in eastern Chad, the government increased its military presence and declared a state of emergency in its eastern provinces of Ouaddaï and Sila, as well as in Tibesti in the north in August 2019. Tensions might increase during the upcoming local elections, currently scheduled for February 2020. The latest report by the International Crisis Group analyses inter-communal conflicts in eastern Chad, in particular between Arab and non-Arab communities, moving beyond herder-farmer relationships. Read on

29 Dec 2019

Running for peace in the Sahel

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Niger held its first marathon under the slogan “Running for peace in the Sahel”. The “Grand Marathon du Ténéré” took place on 29 December 2019 around the city of Agadez in northern Niger. It aimed to help put a stop to the isolation of this troubled region. Read on

21 Dec 2019

Towards a single currency: from CFA franc to the Eco

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Cross-border co-operation

Development co-operation

Economy

Regional integration

Sahara-Sahel

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One important step forwards towards a single currency was made on 21 December 2019 when Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara – who is also the current president of the UEMOA – and French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to reform the CFA franc, the common currency of the eight UEMOA member countries. Some 134 million people in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo use the CFA franc. Under the reform plan: the CFA franc will be renamed the “Eco”; France will withdraw from all governance bodies; and the Bank of France will no longer hold half of the foreign reserves. However, the Eco will continue to be pegged to the Euro and France will retain, for the time being, its role as its financial guarantor. Read on

17 Dec 2019

Regional organisations remain our first counterparts for conflict resolution in the region

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Culture & Society

Democracy & Peace

Development co-operation

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In his UN Security Council briefing on 17 December 2019, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNOWAS, highlights that regional organisations remain “our first counterparts for conflict resolution in the region.” Discussions at the ECOWAS and G5 Sahel summits highlighted the “undeterred regional solidarity, and the commitment to bring this violence to an end. The Security Council’s support to the region cannot falter at this juncture,” he declared. Read on

15 Dec 2019

Niger mourns 71 soldiers following deadly terrorist attack

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According to official figures, 71 soldiers were killed during a terrorist attack on a military base located in Inates, in the Tillaberi region of Niger near the Malian border on 11 December 2019. Twelve soldiers were wounded and 30 are missing. This is the deadliest attack on security forces in Niger’s history. The government declared three days of national mourning. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), originally a branch of Boko Haram in Nigeria, claimed responsibility for the attack. Demonstrating their solidarity, G5 Sahel leaders gathered at an extra-ordinary summit in Niamey on 15 December 2019 to pay homage to the soldiers who were killed. They called for closer co-operation and more international support in the fight against the Islamist threat. Read on

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Sahara-Sahel

SWAC/OECD at the Munich Security Conference

The Geography of Conflict in North and West Africa

Dangerous border areas

Burkina Faso: no peace in sight

Fulani-Dogon, brothers who have become enemies

Avoiding the resurgence of inter-communal violence in eastern Chad

Running for peace in the Sahel

Towards a single currency: from CFA franc to the Eco

Regional organisations remain our first counterparts for conflict resolution in the region

Niger mourns 71 soldiers following deadly terrorist attack

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Finding the right role for the G5 Sahel Joint Force