Sahel Alliance FAQ (PDF)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Sahel Alliance FAQ (PDF) FAQ on the Sahel Alliance 1 Table of contents WHAT IS THE SAHEL ALLIANCE? P.3 HOW DOES THE SAHEL ALLIANCE WORK? P. 3 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SAHEL ALLIANCE AND THE G5 SAHEL? P. 4 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SAHEL ALLIANCE AND THE SAHEL COALITION? P. 5 HOW DOES THE SAHEL ALLIANCE ENSURE COHERENCE OF ITS INTERVENTIONS WITH P. 5 THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES OF THE G5 SAHEL? 2 WHAT IS THE INTEGRATED TERRITORIAL APPROACH (ITA)? P. 6 HOW ARE THE PRIORITY AREAS DEFINED? P. 6 WHAT IS THE RESULTS FRAMEWORK OF THE SAHEL ALLIANCE AND HOW IS IT P. 6 MONITORED? WHAT IS THE PROJECT PORTFOLIO LABELLED «SAHEL ALLIANCE»? P. 7 WHO CAN I CONTACT IF I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE SAHEL ALLIANCE? P. 7 What is the Sahel Alliance? he Sahel Alliance is an together a large number of institutional essential themes, which cut across all international coordination development aid actors working in the the actions of the Sahel Alliance: Climate, platform launched in July 2017 Sahel. The members of the Sahel Alliance Gender, Youth and the Private Sector. One by a group of bilateral and have chosen to concentrate their efforts of the main objectives of the Alliance is to Tmultilateral development partners. Its aim in six priority sectors of intervention, improve and accelerate the implementation is to provide a more coordinated, joint, in line with the development priorities of the projects being financed, especially adapted and effective response to the established by the G5 Sahel countries: in vulnerable areas, in order to boost their development challenges and concerns of Agriculture, rural development and food impact. To achieve this, members base the countries and populations of the G5 security; Decentralisation and basic their actions on four key principles: Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger services; Education and youth employment; and Chad). It currently has 14 full members Energy; Governance; Domestic security. and 11 observer members, thus bringing The priority sectors are reinforced by four TargetingCiblage of des their RedevabilitéMutual NouveauxNew modes modes of ZonesFragile fragiles and & interventionsactions accountabilitymutuelle d’actionaction vulnerablevulnérables areas suron 6 6 secteurs priority prioritaires sectors betweenentre partenaires partners, plusthat innovants are more et plus receivefont l’objet particular d’un andet 4 4 thématiques transversal surbased des on objectifs shared innovativeflexibles. and engagementattention. transversales.themes. objectives.partagés. flexible. particulier. 3 How does the Sahel Alliance work? n terms of governance, a solid chaired by Germany, in the person of Thanks to this global system, significant mechanism was put in place in mid- the Director for Africa of the Federal progress has been made: pooling of a 2019 based on a General Assembly Ministry for Economic Cooperation and portfolio of projects by the members of (GA), an Operational Steering Development (BMZ), Mr. Christoph Rauh the Sahel Alliance; definition of indicators ICommittee (OSC) and a Coordination Unit for monitoring results and making a (CU). • The Alliance Coordination Unit (ACU) commitment with the G5 countries to has been based in Brussels since April mutual accountability; joint proposals to • The first General Assembly of the 2019. Currently headed by Mr. Adrien change operating methods in order to make Alliance was held in Nouakchott on 25 Haye, the team in charge of running the aid more effective (setting up dedicated February 2020, under the presidency of General Secretariat of the Alliance. funds/facilities, carrying out and sharing France, in the person of its Minister for diagnostics in the areas of intervention, Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean- To promote the Alliance on the ground, setting up databases and mapping tools for Yves Le Drian. The second General a network of spokespersons has been the geolocation of activities carried out for Assembly is being held in N’Djaména on set up in each of the G5 countries. They better coordination and decision-making 15 February 2021, under the Presidency represent the Sahel Alliance internally (vis- support); writing position papers on the of Spain, in the person of its Minister à-vis the members represented locally) main public policy reforms to be conducted/ for Foreign Affairs, European Union and and externally (vis-à-vis the authorities, encouraged in the sectors and transversal Cooperation, Ms. Arancha González partners and third parties). Their mission areas of intervention of the Alliance; writing Laya; is to facilitate communication, coordination reports on the results achieved and the and implementation of Alliance decisions in impacts of the projects financed. • Four meetings of the Operational the field. To complement and support this Steering Committee have been held mechanism, UCA liaison experts have been in the last two years (2019-2021), deployed in each of the G5 countries. 1 Germany, France, European Union, World Bank, African Development Bank, UNDP, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, United Kingdom, EIB, Norway 2 United States, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, IFC, Gates Foundation, Tony Blair Institute, OIF What is the difference between the Sahel Alliance and the G5 Sahel? he G5 Sahel, whose Executive • The close link between economic For its part, the Sahel Alliance is a Secretariat is located in development and security, as the coordination platform, possessing neither Nouakchott, Mauritania, is an governments are convinced of the legal nor moral personality. It was created intergovernmental cooperation interdependence of the challenges of in 2017 to improve the effectiveness of Tframework created, under the impetus of security, peace and development; development aid from donors working in the Mauritanian presidency of the African the G5 Sahel countries and to be the latter’s Union, at a summit organised from 15 to 17 • To involve Sahelian states directly privileged interlocutor on development February 2014 by five Sahel States: Burkina threatened by the various jihadist issues, in a spirit of mutual accountability. Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. organisations operating in the region. While the G5 Sahel and the Sahel Alliance The aim of the G5 Sahel organisation is to share common development objectives, both fight against insecurity and carry out their functioning and prerogatives are development actions: different and do not so much overlap as complement each other. Mauritania 4 Mali Burkina Faso Niger Chad What is the difference between the Sahel Alliance and the Sahel Coalition? he Sahel Alliance works with the President of the European Council and G5 Sahel States and their international G5 Sahel as co-actors of Pillar 4 the High Representative of the European partners. The objective is to make it a (development aid) of the Sahel Union, the President of the African Union coherent regional action that encompasses Coalition. This global initiative Commission and the Secretary-General all the actors involved in the Sahel, whether Twas announced at the Pau Summit on of the International Organization of La they are involved in security, political 13 January 2020 by the Heads of State Francophonie. The Coalition for the Sahel or development issues. This initiative of France, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, wants to give a more collective response proposes a new framework for international Niger and Chad, in the presence of the to the challenges of the Sahel region, by action, through four complementary pillars, United Nations Secretary-General, the bringing together the actions led by the each of which has its own steering. 1 2 3 4 FIGHT AGAINST STRENGTHENING THE SUPPORT THE SUPPORTING ARMED TERRORIST CAPACITIES OF THE RETURN OF DEVELOPMENT GROUPS ARMED FORCES OF THE STATE AND THE REGION’S STATES ADMINISTRATIONS TO COORDINATION BY THE G5 THE TERRITORY SAHEL AND THE SAHEL ALLIANCE 5 How does the Sahel Alliance ensure coherence of its interventions with the national and regional priorities and strategies of the G5 Sahel? egularly consulted throughout strengthen joint efforts in response to a of the Alliance have demonstrated their the construction of the multidimensional crisis. This agreement capacity to engage in the implementation conceptual framework of the was a key step in the dialogue between of emergency projects in border areas of Alliance, the five countries the Sahel Alliance and the G5 Sahel. The great fragility, and thus respond to a strong Rand the Executive Secretariat of the G5 G5 Priority Investment Plan (PIP) Donors’ demand from the Heads of State of the Sahel have continuously shared their Conference, held on 6 December 2018 in G5 Sahel. The partnership takes the form common priorities and concerns. In order Nouakchott, was another important step of regular consultations, the participation to strengthen their ties, the Sahel Alliance in the partnership established and sent a of G5 Sahel bodies in meetings of the and the G5 Sahel signed a partnership strong signal on the rise of development Alliance’s governing bodies, the association agreement on 30 October 2018 in Niamey actions in the Sahel. The members of the of G5 development experts with Alliance to increase coordination and coherence Sahel Alliance contribute €1.8 billion to the thematic groups, the working links between between the resources made available by PIP, including €266 million for the Emergency line ministers, G5 national focal points and the donors and the priorities
Recommended publications
  • S/2019/868 Security Council
    United Nations S/2019/868 Security Council Distr.: General 11 November 2019 Original: English Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel Report of the Secretary-General I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2391 (2017), in which the Council requested me, in close coordination with the States members of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and the Niger) and the African Union, to report on the activities of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel. It provides an update since my report of 6 May 2019 (S/2019/371) on progress made in the operationalization of the Joint Force, international support for the Force, the implementation of the technical agreement signed between the United Nations, the European Union and G5 Sahel States in February 2018, challenges encountered by the Force and the implementation by the G5 Sahel States of a human rights and international humanitarian law compliance framework. 2. The period under review was marked by low-intensity activity by the Joint Force due to the rainy season, which hampered the movements of the Force, and the impact of persistent equipment and training shortfalls on its operations. In accordance with resolution 2391 (2017), international partners continued to mobilize in support of the G5 Sahel. The attack of 30 September on the Force’s base in Boulikessi, Mopti region, central Mali, inflicted heavy casualties. The terrorist group Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.
    [Show full text]
  • Case Study One: the G-5 Sahel Background
    Case Study One: The G-5 Sahel Background: G5 Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – face a plethora of complex challenges, including the growing threat of violent extremism, governance deficiencies, climate change and demographic growth. The interconnectedness of these challenges have made it imperative that countries coordinate their efforts to promote regional development and tackle cross-border insecurity. The G5 Sahel, which is an inter- governmental organization established in 2014 in Nouakchott was intended to do exactly that. So far, however, the response of the involved countries has been largely dominated by a security focus. In 2017, the G5 Sahel launched a Joint Force (Force conjointe du G5 Sahel, FC-G5S). This concept of joint military operations was not new in the Sahel. Rather, this collaboration sought to resurrect a short-lived joint Malian-Mauritanian experiment that had taken place in 2011. In Operation Benkan (Unity), the forces of both countries collaborated to dislodge militants of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) from their base in the Wagadou forest on the Malian side of their border. In 2013, the Nigerian, Malian and French armies conducted Operation Roussette on the border between Mali and Niger. After Operation Roussette, a handful of cross-border military operations were carried out in early 2014 by hundreds of troops from the five armies concerned. Each army operated on its side of the border, but had a right of hot pursuit, and was assisted by French troops who provided support in terms of planning, logistics, intelligence, air cover, and medical evacuations. After a year of coordinated military action in which the practice of coalition warfare proved promising, the necessity for the affected states to institutionalize their military consultation, planning, and operations became more pressing.
    [Show full text]
  • S/RES/2359 (2017) Security Council
    United Nations S/RES/2359 (2017) Security Council Distr.: General 21 June 2017 Resolution 2359 (2017) Adopted by the Security Council at its 7979th meeting, on 21 June 2017 The Security Council, Recalling its resolutions 2295 (2016), 2253 (2015), and 2227 (2015), Recalling its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, Affirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, Expressing its continued concern over the transnational dimension of the terrorist threat in the Sahel region, as well as the serious challenges posed by transnational organized crime in the Sahel region, including arms and drug trafficking, the smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons, and its increasing links, in some cases, with terrorism, and underscoring the responsibility of the countries in the region in addressing these threats and challenges, Recalling the listing of MUJAO, the Organisation of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Eddine and its leader Iyad Ag Ghali, and Al Mourabitoun on the Al-Qaida sanctions list established by the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, reiterating its readiness, under the above- mentioned regime, to sanction further individuals, groups, undertakings and entities who are associated with Al-Qaida and other listed entities and individuals, and taking note of the merger of AQIM, Al Mourabitoun and Ansar Eddine terrorist groups into Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin
    [Show full text]
  • The Sahel Alliance
    POLICY BRIEF DISORDER FROM CHAOS: WHY EUROPEANS FAIL TO PROMOTE STABILITY IN THE SAHEL Andrew Lebovich August 2020 SUMMARY France, Germany, and Sahel countries launched the Sahel Alliance in 2017 with the aim of bringing together major international donors to better coordinate development assistance and other financing efforts for the region. The Alliance aimed to integrate security, development, and governance perspectives but has struggled to find coherence and effectiveness – although it has adopted some novel approaches. The worsening security situation in the Sahel led international actors to then set up new initiatives, including the Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel and, more recently, the Coalition for the Sahel. However, the relationship between these initiatives remains largely theoretical, with the practicalities of cooperation and burden sharing yet to be fully defined. These new initiatives risk privileging security solutions to complex problems, meaning that necessary governance reforms may fall by the wayside. This is despite widespread acknowledgement, including from senior French officials, that there is no purely military solution to the varied conflicts and challenges in the Sahel. Introduction Hopes were high when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of the Sahel Alliance at a G5 meeting in Nouakchott, Mauritania in July 2017. The new alliance’s goal was for France and Germany, along with other international partners, to play a more effective role in improving stability in the Sahel by bringing development concerns together with security and governance work. The activities of the Sahel Alliance since its formation demonstrate some of the wide-ranging ambitions of European and international policy in the region.
    [Show full text]
  • The Transmutation of Jihadi Organizations in the Sahel and the Regional Security Architecture
    No. 10, April 2018 FUTURE NOTES THE TRANSMUTATION OF JIHADI ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SAHEL AND THE REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE Djallil Lounnas This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 693244 Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture: Mapping Geopolitical Shifts, regional Order and Domestic Transformations FUTURE NOTES No. 10, April 2018 THE TRANSMUTATION OF JIHADI ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SAHEL AND THE REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE Djallil Lounnas1 In March 2017, the four most powerful jihadi organizations in the Sahel, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar al-Din, Al-Mourabitoun and Katibat Macina – the latter three linked directly or indirectly to Al-Qaeda – announced their unification and the creation of the Jama’a Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin’ (JNIM) also known as Group in Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), under the leadership of Iyad Ag Ghali. This unification ended the factionalism that had long characterized jihadi organizations in the region and gave birth to what can be considered as one of the most powerful Al-Qaeda affiliates. The creation of the GSIM is especially dangerous in view of the fact that the Sahelian sub-regional system is composed of weak states unable to quell the jihadi threat and geographically linked to Libya, a collapsed state and considered a safe haven for jihadi organizations, in spite of the presence of the international community, especially the French military operation Barkhane. Even more dangerous is the presence of an affiliate of the Islamic State, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) led by Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, an organization which, although on the surface appearing to be the main rival of the GSIM, has been following a strategy of rapprochement with Iyad Ag Ghali.
    [Show full text]
  • Cooperation Or Competition? Security in West Africa Between ECOWAS and the G5
    PERSPECTIVE | FES PEACE AND SECURITY Cooperation or Competition? Security in West Africa between ECOWAS and the G5 JAN GREBE December 2018 n Established in February 2014, the regional organisation G5-Sahel with its Member States Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad has aroused great expecta- tions with regard to a stabilisation of the Sahel region, which is plagued by numer- ous conflicts. At the same time, the region has increasingly moved into the focus of (European) public attention in recent years due to its role as a key route for migration to Europe. At present, however, caution is warranted with regard to the creation of new structures and coalitions, as cooperation and links with established security structures such as ECOWAS and the AU remain hazy. n ECOWAS and G5-Sahel signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they agreed on cooperation in various areas as recently as July 2018. Both sides stressed that they wanted to avoid duplication of efforts and exploit synergies between the two organisations. What form this ultimately takes in actual practice remains to be seen. There are still considerable misgivings within ECOWAS about the new organi- sation, as it was not involved in its inception. n There is a need for a comprehensive strategy to stabilise the Sahel region that does not rely solely on military components, as G5 Sahel is favouring at present. The inte- gration of G5 Sahel into the APSA context, and thus indirectly into ECOWAS as well, is important in a multidimensional approach to stabilising the Sahel. European policy should therefore assign greater support to the systematic leveraging of synergies based on the Memorandum of Understanding concluded by the two organisations, greater political coordination and a stronger role for ECOWAS with its civilian instru- ments in efforts to stabilise the Sahel region.
    [Show full text]
  • GCERF and G5 Sahel Commit to Curbing Violent Extremism in Liptako-Gourma Region
    GCERF and G5 Sahel Commit to Curbing Violent Extremism in Liptako-Gourma Region Nouakchott, Mauritania, 25 February, 2021 - The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) signed an agreement today to refocus global attention on the threat of violent extremism in the region. The signing in Nouakchott today was a commitment to bolster local efforts seeking to interrupt the cycle of violence in the Central Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, starting with the Liptako-Gourma region. GCERF, the global fund for preventing violent extremism, already funds grassroots organisations working to curb radicalisation in Mali. The Secretary General of the G5 Sahel, S.E.M Maman Sidikou, said the partnership exemplifies “the determination of the G5 Sahel to partner with organisations that are both willing and able to help resolve the security crisis in the region. The situation in the Sahel is a matter of international stability and security. It is a pressing problem that has ramifications beyond the immediate region”. Conflicts in the Lake Chad Basin and the Liptako-Gourma region have created fertile environments for violent extremism and serious organised crime in an already fragile region. The Executive Director of GCERF, Dr Khalid Koser, said “the time was right to direct global resources to communities on the frontline of preventing violent extremism in the Sahel”. “GCERF’s work in Mali has shown that for a modest sum, communities can seize control of the agenda and guide the international response. It is the community leaders, activists and small NGOs – those who have the established trust of their communities - that can really steer people onto a positive path, and away from participating in acts of terrorism,” Dr Koser said.
    [Show full text]
  • Peacebuilding Commission Meeting on the Sahel Region and the United
    Peacebuilding Commission Meeting on the Sahel region and the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel 28 April 2021, 10:00 AM (New York time) Concept Note Background Over the past few years, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) has been supporting regional peacebuilding priorities in the Sahel, including within the framework of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and its UN support plan (UNSP)1. In S/PRST/2021/3, the Security Council encouraged the Peacebuilding Commission’s continued engagement in support of the Sahel and UNISS. The Council called on UNOWAS to work with all elements of the UN system at Headquarters and in West Africa and the Sahel, in particular the Regional Collaborative Platform, to strengthen integrated responses to the challenges facing the region, and in that respect welcomed the appointment of Abdoulaye Mar Dieye as the UN Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel. The Council also encouraged greater coherence and coordination with partners in the region to help enhance the regional implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the African Union Agenda 2063. In the last PBC meeting on the Sahel and UNISS on 14 October 2020, there were calls for scaling up in resource mobilization and even stronger support from the international community to ensure that the security, governance and resilience pillars of the UNISS are efficiently implemented. Since then, the situation in the Sahel has remained precarious, as evidenced by the intensification of terrorist and violent extremist attacks against security and defence forces as well as civilians, especially in central Sahel.
    [Show full text]
  • The United Nations Foundation Team Traveled to Bamako, Gao, And
    The United Nations Foundation team traveled to Bamako, Gao, and Timbuktu from September 16-26, 2018, to learn more about the United Nations Integrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). During our visit, we met with more than 50 UN officials, civil society groups, Western diplomats, and international forces including leadership in MINUSMA, Barkhane, and the G5 Sahel Joint Force. Below you will find our observations. Background The landlocked country of Mali, once a French colony and a cultural hub of West Africa, was overrun in January 2012 by a coalition of Tuareg and terrorist groups moving south towards the capital of Bamako. At the time, the Tuareg movement (MNLA) in northern Mali held legitimate grievances against the government and aligned itself with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), the Islamic militants and jihadists in the region. Simultaneously, a mutiny of soldiers launched a military coup d’ etat led by Captain Amadou Sonogo, who took power from then President Amadou Toumani Touré and dissolved government institutions, consequently leading to a complete collapse of institutions in the northern part of the country. This Tuareg movement declared Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu an Independent State of Azawad by April 2012. However, soon after, the Tuareg move- ment was pushed out by the jihadists, Ansar Dine and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).1 In the early days of the conflict, the UN and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) put together a power-sharing framework which led to the resignation of President Toure. Dioncounda Traoré was subsequently appointed interim President and a transitional government was established.
    [Show full text]
  • Projectsheet
    May 2020 INTEGRATION FOR IMPACT: INTERPOL AND THE G5 SAHEL JOINT TASK FORCE – POLICE COMPONENT The aim of this project is to promote the effective use of INTERPOL policing capabilities in the member countries of the Sahel region to combat terrorism. A joint response The Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) was founded in 2014 as a regional, intergovernmental organization. It provides an institutional framework to promote development and security within its five member countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The Sahel region has experienced a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets. Terrorist groups are present across borders and repeatedly target communities and national institutions through coordinated attacks, taking advantage of porous and extensive borders. It is essential to identify terrorists, their movements and means of action, in order to prevent and disrupt their activities. As part of its security mandate, the G5 Sahel created the Joint Task Force in 2017 to strengthen the fight against threats to peace and security and bolster development. Its main objectives are to collect, process, exploit and share relevant criminal information among a diverse range of actors in a complex environment. It is structured around Military and Police Components, which are connected through the national and regional Security Cooperation Platforms (PCMS, in French “Plateformes de Cooperation en Matière de Sécurité”). � INTERPOL AND THE G5 SAHEL JOINT TASK FORCE – POLICE COMPONENT The project: integration for impact 3. Connecting and maintaining INTERPOL I-24/7 access – in the field and at strategic ports of entry in all G5 INTERPOL supports the Police Component of the G5 Sahel Joint Sahel countries to ensure access to INTERPOL databases for Task Force (FC-G5S PC) through a three-year project (2019-2022), frontline officers.
    [Show full text]
  • Crossing the Wilderness
    REPORT — SPRING 2021 Crossing the wilderness Europe and the Sahel This report is part of Friends of Europe’s Peace, Security and Defence programme. Written by Paul Taylor, it brings together the views of scholars, policymakers and senior defence and security stakeholders. Unless otherwise indicated, this report reflects the writer’s understanding of the views expressed by the interviewees and participants of survey. The author and the participants contributed in their personal capacities, and their views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions they represent, or of Friends of Europe and its board of trustees, members or partners. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted, provided that full credit is given to Friends of Europe and that any such reproduction, whether in whole or in part, is not sold unless incorporated in other works. The Peace, Security and Defence programme is supported by the United States government. This report is produced in partnership with Publisher: Geert Cami Author: Paul Taylor Publication Director: Dharmendra Kanani Programme Manager: Elena Saenz-Feehan Programme Executive: Alex O’Mahony Programme Assistant: Krystal Gaillard Editors: Anna Muizniece, Angela Pauly, Teresa Carvalho & Daniel Pietikainen Design: Matjaž Krmelj © Friends of Europe - April 2021 Table of contents Foreword 6 Methodology and Acknowledgments 10 Executive summary 14 No promised land 14 Crisis of legitimacy 16 Instability and intervention 17 Containment, not victory 18 No proxy war, french lead 20 Widening coalitions, endless
    [Show full text]
  • Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa Marco Cochi
    Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa Marco Cochi ► Jihadist groups that formed the provinces of the Islamic State have proved to be fundamental to carry out apocalyptic al-Baghdadi's project of Salafi fundamentalist hegemony, allowing to its organization to continue to exercise its significance, even after the loss of Syrian and Iraqis territories. Among the various groups that in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Sahel have sworn loyalty to the Caliphate, one in particular stood out for the high lethality and the wide range of action. This group is known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) led by the emir Adnan al-Sahrawi. The impact of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara on security in the Sahel region On the first day of Ramadan in 2014, Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)1, announced the restoration of the Caliphate and decided to change the name of the group to Islamic State (IS)2. The proclamation led thousands of foreign fighters to decide to leave for Syria and Iraq to join the militias of the new Caliphate. Four months later, through official propaganda IS's bodies (al-Furqan Media Foundation and Dabiq Magazine), the terrorist organization announced that other jihadist groups had declared their affiliation to the Caliphate, assuming the name of provinces (wilayats) of the Islamic State. However, before swearing allegiance to the caliph al- Baghdadi, these groups would have to implement the military strategy and the government system of central core. Over time, the wilayats proved to be fundamental to carry out the apocalyptic al- Baghdadi's project of Salafi fundamentalist hegemony.
    [Show full text]