This analysis from Matthieu Pellerin at the French research institute IFRI focuses on security issues along the Niger-Libya border. Since 2011, security initiatives have been mostly externally driven, even as they responded to the government of Niger’s demands to secure its borders against jihadist attacks. Never before has the Sahel region been so highly militarised. However, the heavy presence of external security forces may be negatively affecting the interests of local communities. Most efforts are solely focused on border control without any long-term vision about how to help this fragile area develop and become more stable. Read on

The G5 Sahel Security College was inaugurated on 16 September in Bamako during a meeting chaired by Salif Traoré, the Malian minister in charge of internal security and civic protection. The college aims to train security forces and build a network of people involved in security activities, inclduing police agents, judges, religious authorities and civil society leader. Four dedicated training centres focus on military intelligence (Chad), border security (Niger), criminal police (Burkina Faso) and training services (Mauritania). Read on

Food security experts met from 12-14 September in Lomé to analyse the ongoing agro-pastoral campaign and harvest forecasts for 2019 in the Sahel and West Africa. With the exception of central and western areas of the Sahel, the food production forecast is overall average or good. Cereal production is estimated at about 66-73 million tonnes. This would be a 10-20% increase compared to the five-year average, thus much faster than the average population growth. Read on

The United Kingdom is increasing its diplomatic presence in the Sahel and intends to scale-up its development assistance. During her three-day visit to Africa, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced the UK government would open embassies in Chad and Niger. The embassy in Mali will also be expanded. By 2019, the UK intends to support up to 2.5 million people to avoid the worst effects of drought and insecurity and support up to 2.3 million people with food assistance. Read on