How the Sahel’s tribal divisions undermine security in conflict-prone African region

The July 26 coup in Niger was the latest to afflict the region following similar takeovers in Mali and Burkina Faso. (AFP)
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Updated 28 August 2023
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How the Sahel’s tribal divisions undermine security in conflict-prone African region

  • From Niger to Sudan, understanding the role of tribalism is key to unpacking recent conflicts and coups
  • Security analysts say militant groups exploit geography, criminal networks and tribal divisions for recruitment

NAIROBI, Kenya: Africa is home to a rich tapestry of cultures, histories and identities that have woven together to form an intricate social fabric. But there is perhaps no other region that better demonstrates the continent’s resulting political and social complexities than the Sahel.

Located between the Sahara desert of the northwest and the savanna of Sudan in the east, the Sahel stretches more than 5,000 kilometers across 14 countries.

The arid climate of the Sahel has seen the region fall prey to drought and creeping desertification, contributing to regular convulsions of conflict and political violence.

It has witnessed a series of military coups in recent months and years, dealing a heavy blow to the region’s political stability and once-promising democratic transformation, creating a new era of uncertainty and insecurity.

The July 26 coup in Niger was the latest to afflict the region following similar takeovers in Mali and Burkina Faso. Meanwhile, on the eastern flank of the Sahel, Sudan remains in the throes of internal strife as rival military factions vie for power.




From Niger, main, to Sudan, understanding the role of tribal identity in Africa’s Sahel region is key to unpacking recent conflicts and coups. (AFP)

Middle East nations like Saudi Arabia and Egypt have historically influenced the Sahel through trade, migration and cultural exchange.

Many Sahelian tribes have strong historical connections with Arab communities, fostered by trans-Saharan trade routes and the spread of Islam. These ties have influenced language, religion and social customs, creating a unique blend of cultures in the region.

At the core of this complexity, however, is tribalism — an age-old phenomenon that has both shaped and strained the dynamics of nations.

The Sahel is home to numerous ethnic groups, from the farming communities of the Songhai and Bambara to the nomadic Fulani and Amazigh.

In this vast and diverse expanse, where borders blur and ethnic groups intermingle, understanding the role of tribal connections becomes paramount in deciphering the region’s past, present and future.

Tribal connections in the Sahel and the Middle East have often been intertwined with the emergence of various armed groups. However, viewing this connection as a direct causal factor would be an oversimplification.

Instead, the historical interplay between ethnic and tribal groups has given rise to organized activities that range from legitimate trade to illicit dealings.

These activities have historically centered on specific groups that have held influence over trade routes, resources or strategic locations.

As borders were drawn in the colonial and post-colonial periods, tribes found themselves separated or confined within new nation states, fueling tensions and rivalries that persist to this day.




Tribal connections in the Sahel and the Middle East have often been intertwined with the emergence of various armed groups. (AP)

Experts say that ethnic interactions within the region are a blend of harmony and discord, camaraderie and suspicion.

“The Fulani of western Africa and other groups stand as a testament to the complexities of ethnic dynamics,” Aneliese Bernard, director at the Washington-based consultancy firm Strategic Stabilization Advisors, told Arab News.

“As certain groups took control of illicit trades and wielded power, some communities got sidelined, a disaffection that made them vulnerable to recruitment and targeting by emerging armed groups.

“Afterwards, other groups started to stigmatize them, making coexistence even harder.”

The role of tribal connections in the emergence of armed groups is complex, however, and its understanding demands a thorough evaluation of histories, allegiances and sensitivities.

“Rather than directly causing the emergence of extremist groups, certain ethnic and tribal groups historically played central roles in various organized activities, including illicit trades and control of specific resources. These dynamics existed before modern colonization and border-drawing in the region,” said Bernard.

“Over time, certain groups gained control over criminal activities, and this control was not limited to a single group. Access to arms and organized operations allowed some groups to dominate specific illicit trades, such as narcotics.”

With some tribes benefiting from the prevailing political and socioeconomic environment, new leaders emerged as beneficiaries of the lack of development that continues to plague the region.

SAHEL FACTS

• The region stretches more than 5,000 km across 14 countries.

• Infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world.

• At least 65% of the population is below 25 years of age.

• The area where Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger meet is considered the Sahel’s epicenter of violent activity.

Beatrice Bianchi, a political analyst and Sahel expert for the Italian think tank Med-Or Foundation, highlights the case of the Burkina Faso-based Islamist group Ansar Ul-Islam.

Bianchi said the group primarily recruits among ethnic Fulani people, “leveraging on local frustration, due to impoverishment, where tribal connection plays a role.”

“This has a contamination effect among communities in the region of the free boundaries,” she said.

The Sahel’s ethnic diversity makes both security efforts and state building even more daunting for African governments. Therefore, navigating the sensitivities of different groups and addressing historical grievances demand a more nuanced approach.




The Sahel is home to numerous ethnic groups, from the farming communities of the Songhai and Bambara to the nomadic Fulani and Amazigh. (AFP)

Development efforts, often led by external actors, have grappled with a failure to understand the intricacies of local cultures and identities, leading to policies that inadvertently disregard or undermine these foundations.

The region’s colonial past, during which the western Sahel was colonized by France in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as cross-regional interactions, have also influenced language and identity.

“While colonial languages serve as common forms of communication, they have also contributed to a sense of unity among diverse populations,” said Bernard.

The downside, she explained, is that the colonial imposition of foreign languages has sometimes eroded native tongues, endangering cultural heritage.

This linguistic erosion is mirrored in the challenges of governance, development and diplomacy, where the lack of fluency in local languages can hamper effective engagement.

“Engaging with diverse tribal and ethnic groups presents formidable challenges in conflict-resolution efforts,” Royce de Melo, a Middle East and Africa analyst and security and defense consultant, told Arab News.

“To navigate the impact of tribalism on security, peace and political alliances, it is crucial to recognize that cultural dynamics often influence the effectiveness of strategies.”

Efem Nkam Ubi, associate professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, says the historical divisions created by colonial borders have inadvertently affected the tribal landscape.




Young people gather to register to volunteer to fight for the country as part of a volunteer initiative, in Niamey, Niger. (AP)

“The activities of extremist insurgents are primarily rooted in criminality rather than tribal affiliations,” he told Arab News.

“The Sahel’s multi-ethnic and multi-tribal composition, coupled with the porous nature of its colonial borders, has sometimes provided an environment where armed groups exploit existing ethnic and tribal divisions for recruitment and support.”

In Sudan, for instance, tribalism’s intersection with politics is more evident than ever before, particularly since the country was plunged into the devastating conflict encompassing its capital Khartoum and its ethnically mixed regions of Darfur and Kordofan.

The Janjaweed, the forerunner of the Rapid Support Forces currently challenging the Sudanese Armed Forces, has roots in tribal affiliations, revealing how these connections can be co-opted for political ends.

Just as the Janjaweed’s ranks were bolstered by the Rizeigat tribe, more than 4,000 Nigerien fighters from the tribe’s Mahamid branch serve in the RSF.

“Tribalism in Africa is a powerful force that can drive unity and division,” said Bernard.

“Tribal and ethnic identities, intertwined with religious beliefs, influence individual and collective choices in conflicts, and even drive participation in extremist groups.”


Trump says he is disappointed in Putin

Updated 04 July 2025
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Trump says he is disappointed in Putin

  • US leader will also speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday
  • The Kremlin earlier said Putin told Trump that Moscow will not ‘give up’ on its aims in Ukraine

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday he is disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and does not think Putin will stop the war in Ukraine.

Trump also said he will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump said that a phone call Putin resulted in no progress at all on efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“No, I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked if he had moved closer toward a deal to end Russia’s invasion, adding that he was “not happy” about the ongoing war.

The Kremlin earlier said Putin told Trump that Moscow will not “give up” on its aims in Ukraine.

The pair spoke as US-led peace talks on ending the more than three-year-old conflict in Ukraine have stalled and after Washington paused some weapons shipments to Kyiv.

The Kremlin said the call lasted almost an hour.

Trump has been frustrated with both Moscow and Kyiv as US efforts to end fighting have yielded no breakthrough.

“Our president said that Russia will achieve the aims it set, that is to say the elimination of the root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

“Russia will not give up on these aims.”

Moscow has long described its maximalist aims in Ukraine as getting rid of the “root causes” of the conflict, demanding that Kyiv give up its NATO ambitions.

Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands of people and Russia now controls large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Even so, Putin told Trump that Moscow would continue to take part in negotiations.

“He also spoke of the readiness of the Russian side to continue the negotiation process,” Ushakov added.

“Vladimir Putin said that we are continuing to look for a political, negotiated solution to the conflict,” Ushakov said.

Moscow has for months refused to agree to a US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine.

Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Putin of dragging out the process while pushing on with Russia’s advance in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said that Putin had also “stressed” to Trump that all conflicts in the Middle East should be solved “diplomatically,” after the US struck nuclear sites in Russia’s ally Iran.

Putin and Trump spoke as Kyiv said that Russian strikes on Thursday killed at least eight people in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting ally Denmark on Thursday.

A senior Ukrainian official said that Trump and Zelensky planned to speak to each other on Friday.

The US deciding to pause some weapons shipments has severely hampered Kyiv, which has been reliant on Western military support since Moscow launched its offensive in 2022.

Zelensky told EU allies in Denmark that doubts over US military aid reinforced the need for greater cooperation with Brussels and NATO.

He stressed again that Kyiv had always supported Trump’s “unconditional ceasefire.”

On Wednesday, Kyiv scrambled to clarify with the US what a White House announcement on pausing some weapons shipments meant.

“Continued American support for Ukraine, for our defense, for our people is in our common interest,” Zelensky had said on Wednesday.

Russia has consistently called for Western countries to stop sending weapons to Kyiv.


North Korean detained after crossing land border: Seoul military

Updated 04 July 2025
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North Korean detained after crossing land border: Seoul military

  • The Military Demarcation Line is the de facto border area separating the two Koreas
  • ‘Relevant authorities’ to investigate the detailed circumstances of the incident

SEOUL: A North Korean who crossed the heavily fortified land border into the South has been detained and taken into custody, Seoul’s military said Friday.

The North Korean, identified as a male civilian, managed to cross the Military Demarcation Line in the midwestern part of the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The MDL is the de facto border, which runs through the middle of the DMZ – the border area separating the two Koreas, which is one of the most heavily mined places on earth.

“The military identified the individual near the MDL, conducted tracking and surveillance,” the JCS said in a statement.

It then “successfully carried out a standard guiding operation to secure custody,” it added.

The operation took about 20 hours, according to Seoul, after the man was detected by a military surveillance device sometime between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. Thursday (1800 to 1900 GMT).

The mission to safely guide him to the South involved a considerable number of South Korean troops, the JCS said, and took place in an area difficult to navigate due to dense vegetation and land mine risks.

The man stayed mostly still during the day, and South Korea’s military approached him at night.

He willingly followed the troops after they offered to guide him safely out of the DMZ, according to the JCS.

It said “relevant authorities” will investigate the detailed circumstances of the incident.

North Koreans are typically handed over to Seoul’s intelligence agency for screening when they arrive in the South.

The incident comes after a North Korean soldier defected to the South by crossing the MDL in August last year.

Also last year, another North Korean defected to the South across the de facto border in the Yellow Sea, arriving on Gyodong island off the peninsula’s west coast near the border between the Koreas.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, with most going overland to neighboring China first, then entering a third country such as Thailand before finally making it to the South.

Defections across the land border that divides the peninsula are relatively rare.

The number of successful escapes dropped significantly from 2020 after the North sealed its borders – purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders along the land frontier with China – to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

No unusual activities by the North Korean military have been detected, the JCS said Friday.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung, who took office last month, has vowed a more dovish approach toward Pyongyang compared with his hawkish predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol.

“Politics and diplomacy must be handled without emotion and approached with reason and logic,” Lee said Thursday.

“Completely cutting off dialogue is really a foolish thing to do.”


Trump orders national park entry fees hike for foreign tourists

Updated 04 July 2025
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Trump orders national park entry fees hike for foreign tourists

  • US president: ‘The national parks will be about America First’

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said national parks would hike entry fees for foreign tourists to “improve affordability” for Americans, as he launched the country’s year-long 250th birthday celebrations.

“For this anniversary, I’ve just signed an executive order to raise entrance fees for foreign tourists while keeping prices low for Americans,” Trump told a cheering crowd at a rally in Iowa.

“The national parks will be about America First,” the Republican leader said, after issuing an executive order.

In it, Trump also instructed the interior and state departments to “encourage international tourism to America’s national parks.”

The order outlined that revenue raised was to be used to improve the infrastructure and “enhance enjoyment” of the country’s vast national park system.

It is a rare move by the climate skeptic president to promote the environment and green spaces.

In the executive order, Trump also revoked a 2017 directive by former president Barack Obama on “promoting diversity and inclusion in our national parks,” in his latest attack on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives.

Some conservation groups have however voiced concerns about hundreds of National Park Service permanent staff members being laid off since Trump took office in January, ahead of peak tourist season in summer.


MAGA faithful cheer Trump for pausing Ukraine weapons after bristling at Iran strikes

Updated 04 July 2025
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MAGA faithful cheer Trump for pausing Ukraine weapons after bristling at Iran strikes

  • With the Ukraine pause, Trump is sending the message to his MAGA backers that he is committed to following through on his campaign pledge to wind down American support for Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is getting praise from his most ardent supporters for withholding some weapons from Ukraine after they recently questioned the Republican leader’s commitment to keeping the US out of foreign conflicts.
This week’s announcement pausing deliveries of key air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment to Ukraine comes just a few weeks after Trump ordered the US military to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Bombing those sites in Iran had some hardcore supporters of the “Make America Great Again” movement openly questioning whether Trump was betraying his vow to keep America out of “stupid wars” as he inserted the US military into Israel’s conflict with Tehran.
With the Ukraine pause, which affects a crucial resupply of Patriot missiles, Trump is sending the message to his most enthusiastic backers that he is committed to following through on his campaign pledge to wind down American support for Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia, a conflict he has repeatedly described as a costly boondoggle for US taxpayers.
“The choice was this: either prioritize equipping our own troops with a munition in short supply (and which was used to defend US troops last week) or provide them to a country where there are limited US interests,” Dan Caldwell, who was ousted as a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, posted on X.
Caldwell publicly worried before the Iran strikes that US involvement could incite a major war and ultimately cost American lives.
Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec, another ardent MAGA backer, warned as Trump weighed whether to carry out strikes on Iran last month that such a move “would disastrously split the Trump coalition.”
He was quick to cheer the news about pausing some weapons deliveries to Ukraine: “America FIRST,” Posobiec posted on X.
Both the White House and the Pentagon have justified the move as being consistent with Trump’s campaign pledge to limit US involvement in foreign wars.
“The president was elected on an America first platform to put America first,” Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said.
At the same time, the decision is stirring anxiety among those in the more hawkish wing of the Republican Party. Many are flummoxed by Trump’s halting the flow of US arms just as Russia accelerates its unrelenting assault on Ukraine.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who hails from a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, wrote to Trump and the Pentagon on Wednesday expressing “serious concern” about the decision and requesting an emergency briefing.
“We can’t let (Russian President Vladimir) Putin prevail now. President Trump knows that too and it’s why he’s been advocating for peace,” Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, wrote on X. “Now is the time to show Putin we mean business. And that starts with ensuring Ukraine has the weapons Congress authorized to pressure Putin to the negotiating table.”
Trump spoke by phone with Putin on Thursday, the sixth call between the leaders since Trump’s return to office. The leaders discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues but did not specifically address the suspension of some US weapons shipments to Ukraine, according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser.
Zelensky said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he hopes to talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension.
The administration says it is part of global review of the US stockpile and is a necessary audit after sending nearly $70 billion in arms to Ukraine since Putin launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022.
The pause was coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby.
Colby, before taking his position, spoke publicly about the need to focus US strategy more on China, widely seen as the United States’ biggest economic and military competitor. At his Senate confirmation hearing in March, he said the US doesn’t have a “multi-war military.”
“This is the restrainers like Colby flexing their muscle and saying, ‘Hey, the Pacific is more important,’” said retired Navy Adm. Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Backers of a more restrained US foreign policy say the move is necessary, given an unsettled Middle East, rising challenges in Asia and the stress placed on the US defense industrial complex after more than three years of war in Ukraine.
“You’re really coming up to the point where continuing to provide aid to Ukraine is putting at risk the US ability to operate in future crises,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities. “And you don’t know when those crises are going to happen.”
“So you have to be a little bit cautious,” she added.


Over 100 former senior officials warn against planned staff cuts at US State Department

Updated 04 July 2025
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Over 100 former senior officials warn against planned staff cuts at US State Department

  • State Secretary Rubio faulted for recklessness in amid "unprecedented challenges from strategic competitors, ongoing conflicts, and emerging security threats"

WASHINGTON: More than 130 retired diplomats and other former senior US officials issued an open letter on Thursday criticizing a planned overhaul of the State Department that could see thousands of employees laid off.
“We strongly condemn Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announced decision to implement sweeping staff reductions and reorganization at the US Department of State,” the officials said in the letter.
The signatories included dozens of former ambassadors and senior officials, including Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser under President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
The timing of the cuts remains unclear, with the US Supreme Court expected to weigh in at any moment on a bid by US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt a judicial order blocking the firings.
The administration in late May notified Congress of a plan to overhaul its diplomatic corps that could cut thousands of jobs, including hundreds of members of its elite Foreign Service who advocate for US interests in the face of growing assertiveness from adversaries such as China and Russia.
Initial plans to send the notices last month were halted after a federal judge on June 13 temporarily blocked the State Department from implementing the reorganization plan.
The shake-up forms part of a push by Trump to shrink the federal bureaucracy, cut what he says is wasteful spending and align what remains with his “America First” priorities.
“At a time when the United States faces unprecedented challenges from strategic competitors, ongoing conflicts, and emerging security threats, Secretary Rubio’s decision to gut the State Department’s institutional knowledge and operational capacity is reckless,” the former officials wrote.