Niger: a Sahel country bumping along (catch all)

[davidbfpo]

Try this WoTR article which is a gem on the often confusing and deteriorating situation. Here is a taster:

Though some armed groups have adopted jihadist ideologies, the proliferation of these groups remains an intensely local phenomenon. The central cause of conflict in most cases is the behavior of state actors, not the spontaneous appearance of foreign jihadists.

Link:https://warontherocks.com/2018/02/th...-in-the-sahel/

[AdamG]

Inquiry of Soldiers’ Deaths Urges Curtailing West Africa Missions

WASHINGTON — A draft military investigation into the deadly ambush of American soldiers in Niger in October calls for the Pentagon to scale back the number of ground missions in West Africa, and to strip commanders in the field of some authority to send troops on potentially high-risk patrols.
While United States troops will continue accompanying local forces on military patrols across West Africa and the continent’s Sahel region, the missions will be vetted more rigorously than they have been over the past year, according to two military officials with knowledge of the findings who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation has not been released.

.....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/u...s&nlid=4952992