The contagion of coups d’etat in the Sahel and West Africa shows no signs of slowing, with an attempted coup in perennially fragile Guinea-Bissau the latest installment in what could be a long saga.

The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) claimed a May 16 attack near Tongo Tongo, Niger, killing more than 20 soldiers not far from the Malian border. In March it issued a photo of its members in Burkina Faso and in April it claimed an attack on a militia in Mali. But, it is not clear that the ISWA group based primarily in Nigeria is behind those attacks. 

European and Chinese leaders are jetting back and forth between Asia and Europe to tamp down escalating security and economic challenges. North Korean troops in Kursk, falling European competitivenes…

This multi-state project could establish India, instead of China, as the Asian authority on trade. However, Delhi’s track record on economic corridors is mixed.

Up to now, radical jihadi activity in West Africa has been centered in Mali—with spillover to adjacent parts of Burkina Faso and Niger—and the Lake Chad Basin. The two locales are now increasingly br…

In a follow up to his remarks in December, Mohamed Iban, Chambas, the UN special representative sand head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) sounded the alarm on growing militant and jihadi violence. In his January 8 briefing to the UN Security Council, he said the “devastating surge” in terrorism has “shaken public confidence.” He focused on Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, where casualties from terrorism have increased fivefold since 2016, with 4,000 deaths in 2019 compared to 770 in 2016.