The African Sahel spans over 5,900 kilometres wide and roughly 1,000 kilometres in length from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. This mostly flat region, with minor ranges including the Marrah Mountains, the Ennedi Plateau, and the Aïr Mountains, is primarily savanna and lies at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The Sahel spans ten nations: Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea. These nations experience similar ecological and security challenges in controlling this critical territory, which transitions the continent from a desert wasteland to the lush greenery found just south of the region.
Despite the region’s rich history of kingdoms, such as the Sahelian Kingdom and the Mali Empire under Mansa Musa, it quickly fell under French and British colonial rule during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The decolonization movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the region, especially in the former French colonies, did not lead to full agency for the new nations, as many struggled to gain full autonomy from former colonial rule. Even after the end of colonization, France and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom, continued to significantly influence the societies, economies and politics of Sahel nations.
As Gérard Prunier discusses , France’s role during the Cold War consisted of combating Marxist rebel and political movements in Africa, especially in the Sahel. This led to France’s involvement, whether wanted or not, in national crises and reforms. Many Africans viewed France’s engagement as a neo-colonial entanglement aimed at controlling its former colonies. The end of the Cold War led to what Daniela Kroslak called the ‘Paristroika’ moment of shifting French political interest in their former colonies. Foreign aid and assistance shifted away from political loyalties towards Paris and the anti-communist campaign, and instead focused on good governance, proper utilisation of foreign aid and democratisation.
For many African leaders, who relied on French aid to maintain their monopoly of power, the new post-Cold War dynamic led to significant instability. Islamic extremist and separatist actors within the Sahel fostered insecurity, which remains a primary hindrance to state and economic development. The major Islamic jihadist movements include Boko Haram, Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Islamic State and other minor extremist groups. However, the Sahel’s existing security crisis went beyond Islamic jihadists to also include various insurgencies, separatist movements and other terrorist actors.
This regional insecurity became a global concern after the Al Qaeda attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. In the aftermath, the US-led’ War on Terrorism’ went beyond just Al Qaeda to include the multiple Sahel’s Islamic jihadist forces. However, as M.L.R. Smith comments, military and political decision-makers failed to recognize how terrorism is a tactic rather than a military actor. The Sahel’s insecurity led to growing Global North concerns that the region could become a base for Islamic extremist groups. Thus, the Global North’s attention to the region was expressed through diplomatic, financial and military means.
These security operations included several US, British and French-led operations in the Sahel to combat Islamic extremist groups associated with Al Qaeda, specifically the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Several Global North operations, such as the British Operation Newcombe (2013-2022) and others based on ending the Mali War, such as Operation Serval (2013-2014) and Operation Eprvier (1986-2014) in Chad, ultimately failed to properly defeat Islamic extremist groups. French Operation Barkhane (2014-2022) was the culmination of many past anti-terrorism operations operating within the Sahel.
The rise of Islamic extremist groups and other antagonistic forces in the region was not established from just one factor. There is a plethora of factors that led to the Sahel’s instability, such as the collapse of Libya, which led to the flooding of cheap weapons through the porous borders of many African nations within the Sahel. Additionally, poor governance, lack of economic development, and poor livelihoods for defense and security forces all contributed to and prolonged the conflict. Combating these antagonistic forces led to the creation of multiple anti-terrorism operations, culminating in the formation of Operation Barkhane. It was a French-led multinational force, including aid and support from European nations such as France, Denmark, Estonia, and the United Kingdom, along with the regional states of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, and Mali.
Despite France contributing the bulk of the forces, consisting of over 5,500 deployed. Its mandate included combating and defeating Islamic extremist groups such as AlQaeda, Nusrat al-Islam and the Islamic State Sahel Province. Operation Barkhane originated in January 2013, following Operation Serval in Mali, but became an independent military operation by August 1, 2014. For the next eight years, until August 15, 2022, French soldiers continued to work with their partners to unsuccessfully attempt to establish security in their deployments across five Sahelian nations: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania. Beyond combating the Islamic irregular forces, the military operation also trained local forces, supported regional political partners and attempted to prevent the formation of some terrorist sanctuaries. While there were some successes in Operation Barkhane, such as the neutralising of Islamic jihadist forces, it failed to handle the persistent threat posed by the Islamic extremist forces.
By November 9, 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron ceased its operations. Despite support from many regional and Global North nations, the operation failed to secure sustainable peace by being ineffective in stopping Islamic jihadists and extremist actors within the region. By 2022, many Sahel nations that had previously welcomed France’s commitment decided to terminate not only the military operation but also their relations with France. Its failure to stop those antagonistic forces should be seen as the tipping point that led not only to its end but also to the rise of coups d’état in the Sahel.
The Sahel’s instability led not only to failures in military operations but also to the rise of coups in the region. By July 2024, six nations had experienced successful coups: Mali, Chad, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and, to a lesser extent, Sudan. These nations’ political history of coups led to it being termed the ‘Coup Belt’. Turning away from Global North concepts of liberalism and human rights, these new military leaders promised to crack down on insecurities, rebellions and Islamic extremist groups through new social contracts between government and civilians. Many of these new leaders experienced noticeable support from their citizens after growing tired of the insecurity, despite condemnation by Global North rights groups of human rights abuses and a lack of democracy.