The murderous attack on the Joint Operational Mechanism base in Gao on 18 January threatens to undermine efforts to achieve peace in Mali. The attack, which killed nearly 80 people and injured more than 100, targeted a key feature of the Algiers peace agreement: joint patrols. These patrols, which bring together soldiers from the Malian military, members of the Co-ordination of Azawad Movements as well as from several militia groups, are aimed at securing areas that are currently beyond the control of authorities, particularly in the north. Read on

This article, which was published on the AFD Ideas-4-Development blog, offers an interesting analysis of the humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria which has passed largely unnoticed. Home to 177 million people - half of them Muslims - Africa’s most populous country is often feared even though it is also unknown on the international stage. Read on

Of the 9.5 million people in need of food and nutrition assistance in 2016, the majority are located in the Lake Chad basin, where civil insecurity is disrupting markets and destroying the livelihoods of local households. The Islamist Boko Haram insurgency is the main cause of acute malnutrition in this area and the Nigerian government declared a nutritional emergency in the state of Borno in June 2016. Read on

Security threats exacerbate structural weaknesses: Niger, Chad and Mali are very fragile countries, combining problems related to their high rates of population growth, poverty and food insecurity. Security threats are exacerbating these structural weaknesses. In Sahelian countries, the insecurity-food complex must be addressed via a single, integrated approach. Read on