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The Sahel: a region changing hands

Across the Sahel, armed groups have stopped raiding and started governing. In five short lessons, drawn from two years of the Weekly Roundup and current to the end of October 2026, I set out what is happening, who is paying for it, and where the Church stands.

The lessons

  1. Not a war but a handover: armed groups across the Sahel have stopped raiding and started governing.
  2. Three kinds of violence: jihadists, bandits, and herders against farmers, with different causes.
  3. New patrons, and money of their own: France left, Russia struggled, and gold, cocaine and ransom now fund the fighting.
  4. Where the Church is, and what is not settled: closed churches, narrowing access, and whether the states fall.
  5. What it adds up to: three takeaways, what a long war asks of the Church, and questions to ask ourselves.

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Material in this Explainer was gathered over years of weekly issues of the Weekly Roundup.