The situation in the Sahel and the ongoing conflicts

Communities in northern Côte d’Ivoire report an ongoing pattern of questioning, ethnically- motivated arrests, and abuse, in contrast to the good relationships with local forces and police they had until two years ago*. In one case, the national army arrested a number of men, beat them, and held them for up to two months**. In response to extremist attacks, Côte d’Ivoire has increased the military presence in the north, creating a special forces’ base and sending more military per ...

An HRW report details the massacre of at least 300 civilians in the central Malian town of Moura — the deadliest single atrocity in the country’s decade-long armed conflict. Most of the victims were from the Peuhl ethnic group. The widespread political and social exclusion of the Peuhl puts them at further risk of this type of violence and drives a cycle of grievances and fear that empowers violent extremist organizations (VEOs) and impedes peacebuilding. National governments and in ...