Sahel Region:
Russia has tightened its grip over the Sahel region in West Africa, signing a key nuclear agreement with Niger recently.
- It is a semi-arid region of western and north-central Africa.
- A 5,000 kilometre belt of land, the Sahel stretches from Africa’s Atlantic Coast to the Red Sea.
- It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south.
- It runs through portions of the countries of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea.
- The Sahel is a semiarid steppe, a type of dry grassland.
- The vegetation is chiefly of the savanna type, with little continuous cover.
- It has low-growing grass, thorny shrubs, and scattered acacia and baobab trees.
- Since gaining independence in the 1960s, many countries in the Sahel have experienced violent extremism due to the confluence of weak and illegitimate governance, economic decline, and the worsening effects of climate change.
- The Sahel remains a principal transit point for migrants traveling from sub-Saharan Africa to northern coastal states and on to Europe.
