Publisher's Synopsis
There is a stark mismatch between the UK Government's vision of economic, political and security engagement in Africa's Western Sahel-Sahara region and the very light diplomatic footprint it actually has on the ground. The Committee is concerned at the degree to which the UK and its Western partners appear to have been caught out by recent crises in Mali, Libya, the Central African Republic and elsewhere. In Africa's Western Sahel-Sahara region jihadists have put down roots in remote and marginalised areas, capitalising on economic misery, weak state security and popular anger with corrupt governing elites. Concerted international action is needed to address the root causes of instability and prevent the contagion of extremism from spreading further. There is also concern that the EU does not yet have a clear policy on how it proposes to deal with this trend A powerful threat from extremism remains throughout the region with no sign yet
