YE: SAHEL INSTABILITY
Metadata
- YE: SAHEL INSTABILITY
- December 21, 2021
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script PLAYBOOK SLUG: YE: SAHEL INSTABILITY (TVPKG) HEADLINE: Sahel Conflict Set to Get Worse in 2022 Say Analysts TEASER: French drawdown of troops and political turmoil looks will likely compound instability PUBLISHED AT: 12/21/21 BYLINE: Henry Wilkins CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, mas VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Zoom, Twitter PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: TYPE: TVPKG: EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) Islamist militant attacks increased this past year in the Sahel region, leading to political instability that saw a coup in Mali, an attempted coup in Niger, and calls for Burkina Faso's president to resign. Burkina Faso experienced the deadliest terrorist attacks since the conflict began, but analysts say the worst could be yet to come. Henry Wilkins reports from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. ((VIDEO-VOA: DRONE SHOTS OF SAHEL LANDSCAPES - various, VIDEO-TWITTER: INATA BASE ATTACK - various, STATE SECURITY FORCES - various, IMAGES OF IDP SITES IN SAHEL - various)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: https://twitter.com/FadimaAbou)) ((NARRATOR)) 2021 marks the ninth year of conflict in Africa’s western Sahel, and in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, violence has only gotten worse. This video, recently posted online, purports to show a terror attack on a military base in northern Burkina Faso that killed almost 50 military police in November. Fatalities from the conflict between state forces and armed groups linked to Islamic State, al-Qaida and criminal gangs are up 18% since last year, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, The humanitarian impact has been huge, with close to 3.4 million now displaced as a result of the conflict, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Amadou Agli, from Burkina Faso, fled the north of the country around three months ago after terrorists attacked nearby villages. He says he has a message for the world. ((Amadou Agli, Displaced Person (in Moore, ?? secs))) “We are living through very hard times and I appeal to any people, NGOs, governments around the world who can help us. We have a food crisis, a housing crisis here and the children cannot go to school. ((VIDEO-VOA: IMAGES OF IDP SITES IN SAHEL - various)) ((NARRATOR)) The year also saw a shift in the region’s military structure, says Paul Melly, an analyst with London based think tank Chatham House. ((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom)) ((personal computer)) ((Paul Melly, Chatham House Analyst (in English, 27 secs))) “The start of the process of moving towards a new pattern of French deployment where the Sahel armies in the G5 Sahel military structure are much more, the frontline face if you like, with the French in more of a backup and special forces role, air support, intelligence.” ((VIDEO-VOA: SECURITY FORCES - various, IMAGES OF SAHEL PROTESTS - various)) ((NARRATOR)) France, which had 5,000 troops supporting Sahel security forces at the beginning of 2021, has said it will reduce that number to 3,000 by early 2022. Escalating insecurity has also plunged Sahel governments into political turmoil. Mali saw a coup by military leader Assimi Goïta in May after street protests against insecurity. The West African political bloc, ECOWAS, along with France have put pressure on Goïta to hold democratic elections in 2022. Protests against the government’s handling of security in Burkina Faso in November forced the government to reshuffle military leadership and the Cabinet. One analyst said this of the political situation in Burkina Faso. ((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom)) ((personal computer)) ((Andrew Lebovich, European Council on Foreign Relations (in English, 18 secs)) “What people are concerned about is the ongoing insecurity and the state of security forces. So, if that doesn’t improve, then no, the change in government certainly will not be enough to appease the opposition.” ((VIDEO-VOA: STATE SECURITY FORCES - various)) ((NARRATOR)) Attacks in Burkina Faso’s border area with coastal West African states including Benin and Ivory Coast raised concerns the instability could spread. ((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom)) ((personal computer)) ((Andrew Lebovich, Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (in English, 9 secs)) “I do think, at a minimum, it’s something to be concerned about and something to watch out for and something to actively work against.” ((VIDEO-VOA: SAHEL MILITIA GROUPS - various)) ((NARRATOR)) Meanwhile in Niger, the emergence of civilian militia groups to fill the security gap could play a big role in 2022, according to another analyst. In other Sahel countries they have been used to assist the military but have also been accused of human rights abuses. ((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom)) ((personal computer)) ((Philippe M. Frowd, University of Ottawa Associate Professor (in English, 15secs))) “We’ve seen this in southwestern Niger recently, kind of community violence spiraling and driven a lot by non-state armed groups. We see this in Burkina Faso as well where we have the state in fact relying on armed groups like this.” ((VIDEO-VOA: IMAGES OF IDP SITES IN SAHEL - various)) ((NARRATOR)) After a difficult 2021, the Sahel conflict looks set to get worse as the new year begins. ((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso))
- NewsML Media Topics Conflict, War and Peace, Politics
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date December 20, 2021 19:15 EST
- Brand / Language Service US Agency for Global Media