The security crisis in the Sahel has been going on for 9 years, killing tens of thousands (nearly 6,500 dead in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2020 alone), forcibly displacing millions of people and triggering record levels of food shortages (famine threatens 13.4 million people). Observers deplore a particularly alarming situation in the Liptako-Gourma region, where Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso share porous borders. So far, the many strategies cited here and there have been ineffective against attacks by violent extremist groups and other armed actors who combine with illicit activities, local conflicts and community violence to further weaken a region that has long suffered from shortcomings in terms of governance. Who benefits from the conflict, analysts ask?
