Mauritania Warns: The “African Sahel” Region among the World’s Most Severe Crisis Hotspots

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Mauritanian Interior Minister Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine warned on Monday that the Sahel region in West Africa has become “one of the world’s most severe crisis hotspots,” particularly in Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, which concentrate the majority of global threats.

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This statement was made during his speech in Kuwait at the opening of the fourth conference on “Strengthening International Cooperation in Counterterrorism and Building Flexible Border Security Mechanisms,” which will last for two days.

The Mauritanian minister explained that the Sahel countries “suffer from governance issues, fragility, armed conflicts, the expansion of terrorism and organized crime, resulting in an influx of migrants and refugees and the destruction of economic infrastructure,” according to the Turkish news agency “Anadolu.”

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He added that “in light of this troubling situation, Mauritania has become an exception in the region by adopting a multidimensional approach based on the security-development duality,” noting that Nouakchott hosts “hundreds of thousands of displaced Malians and refugees, providing care for them in full harmony with local citizens.”

Ould Mohamed Lemine emphasized that “the armed forces have been trained and prepared to confront the unconventional warfare waged by terrorist groups with preventive measures,” noting that Mauritania “has not recorded any terrorist operations since 2011.”

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The fourth conference on strengthening international cooperation in counterterrorism and building flexible border security mechanisms began earlier on Monday in Kuwait. Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah inaugurated the conference, calling for a unified effort against terrorism, according to Kuwait’s official news agency.

The two-day conference includes participation from Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and Vladimir Voronkov, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Counterterrorism. Over 450 participants are attending, including 33 ministers, as well as representatives from UN specialized agencies, 23 international and regional organizations, and 13 civil society organizations.

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The African Sahel region is witnessing a noticeable increase in migration and displacement rates due to the intensifying activities of terrorist groups, particularly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which have become hotspots attracting terrorism from across the globe. These countries account for nearly 43% of the global total of deaths resulting from terrorist incidents, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index.

A report by the British site “Inhard” indicated that political instability in the region explains these figures, as the region has witnessed six coup attempts since 2021 alone.

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