Terrorism spilling over from Sahel to coastal West Africa- UN warns

The “pervasive threats” of terrorism and organized crime are spilling over from the conflict-stricken Sahel to more stable coastal areas in West Africa, a UN envoy said.

Terrorist groups sprouting from the Algerian civil war legacy found safe haven in the vast desert swathes of the Sahel where they acted in connivance with trafficking groups taking advantage of weak central governments and porous borders.

“It’s drugs, it’s weapons, it’s human beings, it’s mineral resources, and even food,” Leonardo Simão, the U.N. special representative for the Sahel and West Africa, said after briefing the U.N. Security Council.

Groups such as Islamic State (IS) continue to wage a violent campaign in the region, with annual deaths due to terrorist activity growing more than 2,000 percent between 2007 and 2022.

The Sahel now accounts for 43 percent of the world’s terrorism deaths—more than South Asia and the MENA region combined.