No military solution has so far proved effective at combatting jihadist insurgents in the Sahel region of West Africa. Now a new long-shot idea is making the rounds: bringing in Rwandan security forces. However, the “Rwandan model” is no solution for the Sahel’s nightmare. The search for new ideas will have to continue.
With the collapse of efforts to contain jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel, neighboring states are faced with acute dilemmas when it comes to the mass displacement engulfing West Africa. The plight of Fulani refugees in Ghana facing deportation back to Burkina Faso offers insights into how these conflicts have escalated so disastrously.
Two factors will have significant implications for the future of France’s military intervention in the Sahel and the region’s fight against violent Islamist extremists: Niger’s emerging role as the linchpin of France’s reconfigured strategy and the diplomatic tensions that have emerged in recent years between Niger and Mali.
