The Sahel-Sahara region has officially become the global jihadist epicentre. From western Mali to the edges of the Lake Chad basin, millions of Sahelian civilians now live under the yoke of groups linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. Bans on farming, ultra-violent social rules, and constant fear of the next raid make daily life an ordeal. But the most dramatic aspect of this downward spiral is not just the strength of the attackers—it is the glaring absence of any real security policy to contain the fire in the Sahel.
The reign of reactive and ad hoc measures
Faced with an interconnected threat that crosses the porous borders of the Sahel with disconcerting agility, state responses remain desperately fragmented, vague, and improvised. We witness a succession of knee-jerk reactions after each massacre rather than the application of a well-thought-out, shared military doctrine.
A genuine security policy is not limited to buying military equipment or making announcements on social media. It requires:
- Real, durable strategic coordination among the Sahel front-line states.
- A permanent security plan for roads and agricultural zones to protect the Sahel’s rural economy.
- Territorial coverage and shared intelligence capable of anticipating enemy movements instead of simply assessing damage.
Instead, the current strategic vacuum leaves the field open for armed groups, who settle, levy taxes, and impose themselves as the sole administrators of large parts of Sahelian territory.
The trap of all-military without a global vision
Another symptom of this absence of security policy in the Sahel is the illusion that the crisis will be resolved by arms alone. By forgetting the “human security” component—including the return of public services, schools, health centres, and impartial justice in fragile areas—governments create a recruitment opportunity for jihadist recruiters.
Because there is no long-term vision to sustainably re-establish the state where it has failed, even temporarily successful military operations become futile efforts. As soon as the army withdraws or changes areas, terrorist groups return, stronger and more entrenched within local communities than before.
Urgent awakening or collapse
The assessment from Mali to Lake Chad is a stark warning for the region’s future. You cannot fight a global, structured insurgency with improvisation and broken strategic alliances. As long as Sahelian leaders refuse to design a comprehensive, scientific, and truly coordinated security policy, political speeches will follow one another while the ground continues to slip inexorably into the hands of armed groups.
