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.”


University of Birmingham students facing disciplinary hearing over pro-Palestine activism

Updated 7 sec ago
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University of Birmingham students facing disciplinary hearing over pro-Palestine activism

  • Student Antonia Listrat: ‘Funding genocide is violent; protesting genocide is peaceful’
  • Legal rights group sounds alarm over ‘nationwide crackdown’ on solidarity with Palestinians

LONDON: Two pro-Palestine students at the UK’s University of Birmingham are facing disciplinary proceedings over their activism, with a major legal rights group sounding the alarm over a “nationwide crackdown” on solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The European Legal Support Centre submitted legal documents to the university’s misconduct panel on behalf of the two students, Mariyah Ali and Antonia Listrat.

Amid the war in Gaza and sweeping pro-Palestine solidarity at institutions across the UK, the two students had demanded that their university divest from arms companies supplying the Israeli military.

Ali and Listrat face a disciplinary hearing on April 7, with the ELSC urging the university to dismiss the proceedings.

Coventry MP Zarah Sultana labeled the university’s move “an assault on democratic rights,” while the decision was questioned by UN Special Rapporteur Gina Romero, who highlighted “harassment, intimidation and reprisals” against the students at the university.

The pair have been supported by the university’s student body, which elected Listrat as guild president and Ali as ethnic minorities officer.

Ali said: “The disciplinary process against Antonia and me is a blatant attempt to suppress dissent and silence the wider student movement.

“This authoritarian crackdown is not just an attack on our right to protest — it is a display of institutional Islamophobia and bureaucratic repression.

“The student movement for Palestine is stronger than ever. Instead of charging students, the University of Birmingham must focus on divesting from companies complicit in genocide and war crimes.”

The student union also passed a motion supporting pro-Palestine solidarity that was subsequently blocked by union trustees.

By taking punitive measures against the students, the university is “contradicting the democratic will of students,” the ELSC said.

Anna Ost, the center’s senior legal officer, added: “We are deeply concerned that the university’s intention and effect in targeting these two students is to dissuade the wider university community from speaking out for Palestine.

“The university needs to change its approach, drop the disciplinaries, and demonstrate that fundamental freedoms are still promoted on its campus.”

The targeting of the students is part a wider crackdown on pro-Palestine activism across the UK in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Since October 2023, at least 28 universities across the UK have disciplined more than 113 students for activism, a joint investigation by Sky News and Liberty Investigates found.

The ELSC warned that the campus crackdowns, which have involved police and private security, is creating a “chilling effect” that “sets a dangerous precedent for campus democracy.”

British universities are legally bound to protect freedom of expression under the education and human rights acts, it added, warning that the University of Birmingham is “violating these obligations by penalizing students for their political beliefs.”

The center called on the university to dismiss the charges against the students and uphold freedom of speech, expression and assembly on campus.

Listrat said protesting is “an integral part of campus life” that signifies a “healthy and progressive society.”

She added: “As far-right rhetoric rises throughout the world, we need to make a huge effort to protect our rights and uphold international law and morality.

“Enabling genocide and profiting from human rights violations is quite a violent stance that the University of Birmingham has taken. Funding genocide is violent; protesting genocide is peaceful.”


German military to order exploding drones for first time, sources say

Updated 43 min 16 sec ago
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German military to order exploding drones for first time, sources say

  • Russia and Ukraine have fielded such single-use drones
  • The procurement of armed drones has been controversial in Germany

BERLIN: The German military will be armed with loitering munitions, or exploding drones, for the first time, two defense ministry sources said on Thursday, as Berlin tries to catch up with a technology that has shown its destructive power in Ukraine.
Both Russia and Ukraine have fielded such single-use drones, which cruise toward their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
But the procurement of armed drones has been controversial in Germany, with some politicians associating them with targeted extrajudicial killings by US forces in Afghanistan.
It took years of heated debate before parliament agreed in 2022 to enable a large drone such as the Heron TP, which flies at much higher altitudes, to carry arms.
However, military upgrades are more urgent now for Germany, amid the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine and doubts about the future of US military protection.
Last month, parliament approved plans for a defense spending surge worth hundreds of billions of euros.
Contracts with two companies for a first batch of exploding drones will be signed in the coming days, the sources said, declining to name the companies. The army, air force and navy will test them in the following months.
“The use of drones and the defense against drones is crucial for the survival of our troops on the modern battlefield, that’s something we learned in Ukraine,” said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Each soldier must be capable of operating drones, just as today, everybody knows how to use binoculars.”
Germany will aim to sign longer-term contracts by the end of the year for a larger number of drones, shortening the period for introducing new weapons which usually takes years.
As drone technology evolves rapidly, the deals will specify that companies supply a limited number initially for training purposes, and that they may be asked later to supply a larger number of the latest models at short notice, if needed.
“There’s no use in purchasing thousands of drones ... only to realize they are outdated by the time we need them,” one of the sources said.


Trump moves to fire several national security officials over concerns they’re not loyal

Updated 03 April 2025
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Trump moves to fire several national security officials over concerns they’re not loyal

  • National security adviser Mike Waltz is fighting back criticism over using Signal app to discuss attacks on Yemen's Houthi militants

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has moved to fire several senior White House National Security Council officials soon after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently committed to his Make America Great Again agenda, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Loomer presented her research to Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, making her case for the firings, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Serio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, took part in the meeting, the people said.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes declined to comment on the meeting or the firings, insisting that the White House does not discuss personnel matters.
Loomer, who has promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories, was a frequent presence on the campaign trail during Trump’s 2024 successful White House run. More recently, she’s been speaking out on social media about some members of Trump’s national security team that she insists can’t be trusted.
The move by Trump to push out staff comes at a moment when his national security adviser Mike Waltz is fighting back criticism over using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.
A journalist, The Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Rosenberg, was mistakenly added to the chain and revealed that Trump’s team used it to discuss precise timing of the operation, aircraft used to carry out the strikes and more.
Waltz has taken responsibility for building text chain, but has said he does not know how Rosenberg ended up being included.


Russia, African juntas blast Ukraine as they deepen ties

Updated 03 April 2025
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Russia, African juntas blast Ukraine as they deepen ties

  • Moscow has tried to build new partnerships in Africa, where it has been growing in influence in recent years, including militarily
  • Foreign ministers from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow for the summit

MOSCOW: Russia and a group of west African countries led by military juntas hailed growing military ties at a summit in Moscow on Thursday, with some condemning Ukraine as a “terrorist” state.
Facing isolation in the West following its full-scale offensive against Ukraine, Moscow has tried to build new partnerships in Africa, where it has been growing in influence in recent years, including militarily.
Foreign ministers from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow for the summit, which Lavrov said would “strengthen the whole suite” of their relations.
The three Sahelian countries are led by juntas who seized power in coups and have turned away from former colonial power France while moving closer to Russia, which has been sending mercenaries to help them fight a transnational jihadist insurgency.
Lavrov said Russia was ready to help “strengthen the three countries’ combat capability” and train soldiers and law enforcement officers.
He added that Moscow could help the countries form a joint armed force “by organizing special courses, by using instructors who are already working in large numbers in the countries” and by “supplying military production.”
Mali’s Abdoulaye Diop said that Mali and Russia shared views on “fighting against terrorism.”
“We consider Ukraine as simply a terrorist state,” the minister said at a press conference.
Mali last year broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing a senior Ukrainian official of having admitted Kyiv played a role in a heavy defeat suffered by Malian troops.
Niger then joined Mali in cutting diplomatic ties, accusing Kyiv of supporting “terrorist groups.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Thursday rejected claims it had interfered in Mali’s affairs as “baseless,” and suggested Diop’s comments were unserious given he “represents an illegitimate junta that usurped power.”
Moscow has concluded defense agreements with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and supplied them with military equipment.


UK watchdog announces probe into Prince Harry charity

Updated 03 April 2025
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UK watchdog announces probe into Prince Harry charity

  • The watchdog added that it would be examining whether the charity’s current and former trustees had “fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law“
  • The row at Sentebale escalated on Sunday after its chairperson Sophie Chandauka accused the prince of “bullying“

LONDON: The UK’s charity watchdog on Thursday opened a probe into Sentebale, the African organization co-founded by Prince Harry, after a bitter boardroom row led King Charles III’s younger son to step down as patron.
“After a period of assessing the initial concerns raised with the Commission, the regulator informed the charity on 2 April 2025 it has opened a regulatory compliance case,” the Charity Commission said in a statement.
The watchdog added that it would be examining whether the charity’s current and former trustees had “fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law.”
The row at Sentebale escalated on Sunday after its chairperson Sophie Chandauka accused the prince of “bullying” and being involved in a “cover up.”

Earlier, Harry and Sentebale’s co-founder, Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso, announced their departure from the charity they established in 2006, following a “devastating” dispute between trustees and Chandauka.
Relations with Chandauka, who was appointed in 2023, “broke down beyond repair,” they said in a joint statement last week, prompting trustees to leave and demand that Chandauka resign.
Harry founded the charity in honor of his mother, Princess Diana, with Seeiso to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and later Botswana.
The latest accusations are a fresh blow for the prince, who kept up only a handful of his private patronages including with Sentebale after a dramatic split with the British royals in 2020.
While Harry was integral to the founding vision of the charity, to which he once said he was “committed for the rest of my life,” Chandauka has said “Sentebale has a future” beyond the prince.
Harry chose the name Sentebale as a tribute to Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 when the prince was just 12. It means “forget me not” in the Sesotho language and is also used to say goodbye.