UN: Terrorism and organized crime spilling from the Sahel into West Africa coastal states

Terrorism and organized crime by violent extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are a “pervasive threat” in Africa’s volatile Sahel region and are spilling over to West Africa’s coastal countries, the top U.N. envoy for the area said, according to the Associated Press.

Leonardo Simão, the U.N. special representative for the Sahel and West Africa, said the focus on combating terrorism has largely failed to reduce illegal trafficking in the Sahel and called for more police to join the effort. 

“It’s drugs, it’s weapons, it’s human beings, it’s mineral resources, and even food,” Simão said after briefing the U.N. Security Council.

According to a new UN report on the Sahel and West Africa, hundreds of people have been killed in the first half of 2024 in terrorist attacks, many of them civilians.