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11. flew to Maradi from Niamey with on yet another UN flight. The UN gets criticized for being inefficient but Sahel countries would struggle without. Not only the aid but services such as the UN being the only reliable domestic airline service for anyone, not just the UN

8. Another rather population growth detail. While on 1990 some 35 people lived on one kilometer in Maradi in 2050 it will be more than 200. By 2050 the Maradi population will have tripled compared to 2012. Keep in mind that Niger is one of the world’s poorest countries.

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7.We did a small seminar in Maradi on population growth in Niger, where woman per around seven children. Maradi is even more population. The fertility rate here is 7.6. Almost 50 percent of the population in Mardi is 15 years or younger ..

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6. Supermarkets in Niamey are full of Nigerian stuff I remember from my time in Lagos for Reuters such as my favorite milk shake. Everything goes through Maradi at the border, which really feels like a Nigerian city like Kano or Maiduguri. Very packed and mosques not Sahel style

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5. Inflation is biting. With the Bénin border is still closed and insecurity hampering the Burkina route most imports come from Nigeria. I was surprised to drink this time Lagos-brewed Heineken rather Castel or Beaufort coming from Togo

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Sharing some observations from my latest trip to Niger, the capital Niamey and the economic center Maradi. Two years ago I was about to open an office there for a huge EU project to train political parties. Well now

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Niger used to import its food needs via Lome and Cotonou ports. But with the Bénin border closed and the Burkina Faso route dangerous most stuff comes these days from Nigeria - cafes and restaurants in Niamey now serve Lagos-bottled Heineken beer.

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Glad to be back in Tunisia for another Sahel Maghreb dialogue @KAS_africa this time to discuss employment opportunities for the two regions’ young populations

Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Sharing some observations from my recent Chad trip, my first since the French troop withdrawal late 2024. Obviously the Sudan refugee crisis is pressing (see separate thread) as Chad remains fragile and seeks post-Paris new alliances ….

10. Even before the USAID end the UN ops were funded by 40% only. Good news is that for Chad there seem to be some US cut exceptions for live saving aid. But overall the picture is very grim and more refugees are coming. And the 2003 Darfur refugees are still here

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9. Eastern Chad is poor even by the country’s standards lacking infrastructure. Obviously authorities want to move refugees away from Adre and the border but people might try to go back to look for jobs at Adre market - in times of shrinking donor budgets people report less aid.

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8. I haven’t met any refugee who thinks the Sudan conflict will be anytime over or with a solution in sight. Some might try go back and for forth but living in Darfur is for refugees not possible as long as the RSF is in charge.

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7. Refugees are almost entirely Masalit from El Geneina, once a major city in Darfur just behind the Chad border. People complain of lack of water, food and most importantly no jobs. Some have gone to Adre or back to Sudan to look for jobs.

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6. The camps away from border are safe but there are in the middle of nowhere with no big market offering jobs. This is Farchana camp where tents have turned into permanent housing with bricks and wells. Last year there were mainly tents. This one is home to almost 60,000

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5. Adre, a city of 40,000 pre-war, is packed with 250,000 refugees. Authorities and UN have started moving them away from the border. Picture of a car in a convoy. There is more security away from Adre where weapons are hidden in camp but the city also provides jobs at the market

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4. The arrivals of Arab refugees potentially creates tensions with Masalat and other tribes expelled by the RSF. The UN is setting up new temp camps north of Adre in Tine which is closer to El Fasher and a route taken by refugees from Zam Zam camp

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3. But also Arabs from Khartoum arrive in eastern Chad despite the long distance. They are targeted since the army conquered the capital, with some soldiers and people labeling them as RSF supporters. Made a rape victim from Khartoum

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2. Arrivals have been spiking since the RSF destroyed Zam Zam camp in El Fashir. Last week 11,000 came. Also from RSF-controlled El Geneina more non-Arabs arrive which are targeted by the Arab militia. I met someone with gun shot wounds and an amputated leg. Here are new arrivals

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1. Eastern Chad is now home to 1.2 refugees including those who came when the Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 and Chadians who grew up in Sudan. But two years into the Sudan war, more and more refugees come

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I spent the last three days in eastern Chad at the Sudan border, my first visit since April 2024 - the humanitarian situation has gone from very bad to much worse with a new spike in refugee arrivals. Thanks much for @helpfromgermany for having me again. A few thoughts: #chad #sahel

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Just arrived in New York, coming all the way from Chad on an rather empty Egyptair flight. Really excited to discuss all things Sahel first at an event at our UN office and then in DC. Great to be back in the US

Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Chad Sudan border - the cars and people in the background are on the Sudanese side. Main crossing point for refugees - arrivals picking up since RSF attacks on Zam Zam camp in El Fasher. Also Arabs fleeing Khartoum since the army defeated RSF there

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Good to be back in N’Djamena in Chad to discuss migration issues. My last visit was in July 2024 at Lake Chad. Much has happened since then post-election and with the Sudan war raging in the east

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8. The biggest worry of local leaders are that young and jobless Mauritanians will get radicalised (and go to Mali) for lack of opportunities and a feeling they are marginalised in their country because of the refugees - they see a camp with schools, clinics which they also need

7. The bigger problem is risk of radicalisation of Malians, who have lost everything and will grow up in a camp that like in other conflicts like Sudan will become permanent - there are no jobs in Mbera which looks like the end of the world. no even enough water. This is a roa

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5. The Malians fleeing conflict I met come from different groups, Tuareg, Peul and Arabs; they were farmers and herders, many lost everything so they won't be going back. Some families left the males behind to look after cattle (if they haven't lost them)

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4. There is no space in the camp so people stay in villages or in the open desert, putting a strain on public water or health services. US was a major donor so the end of USAID puts a question mark on humanitarian efforts outside the camp, camp services will be hit later

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3. There are around 300,000 Malians in Mauritania, likely more. More important are growth figures. In 2024 more than 100,000 arrived, now some 6000 arrive every month so you can add 70000 this year.

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2. Nobody knows how many Malians have arrived; the government delayed (a bit) UN registration ahead of 2024 election as refugees have become a toxic subject in a very poor country with just 5 million people. Registration has resumed so numbers will go up

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1. Mbera camp and its surroundings are the arrival point for Malian refugees since conflict broke out in the north in 2012. The camp itself is full so new people sleep in the open with the UN providing tents; its very, very hot, windy, and conditions are terrible; water is scarce

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

ith my colleague Steven Hoefner I travelled last week (thanks to GIZ and @Refugees @UNHCRWestAfrica ) to eastern Mauretania to visit Mbera camp, the Mali border and regional capital Nema to see the humanitarian crisis – I covered many conflicts for Reuters but this looks bad.. #sahel

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UNHCRWestAfrica registration center (co-financed by Germany’s GIZ) for Malian refugees in Mauretania near the joint border. Some 6,000 arrive every month fleeing conflict in Mali

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Mbera camp for Malian refugees on the Mauritanian side of the joint border. Exists since 2012 when the Mali crisis broke out. Last year more than 100,000 new refugees arrived Mali

Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Flew with my colleague Steven Hoefner to southern Mauritania near the Mali border to see firsthand a major refugee crisis - some 300,000 or so Malians fled conflict at home. Will spend the week here and share findings. Thanks to GIZ and @UNHCRWestAfrica for having us

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Soviet airline Aeroflot ad seen in Hotel in Kara in northern Togo- there was a time when they were flying to Lome during Soviet times it seems …

Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Libyan embassy in Praia in Cabo Verde - prime location next to missions from European Union, former colonial power Portugal, Russia and China. Probably little going on in terms of bilateral ties but the Africa embassy network set up by Gaddafi still exists

Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Our Air Senegal flight is 10h late so had a bit of time at Bamako. The usual Russian transport plane arrived no surprises but really interesting to see that RAM now seems to have TWO daily flights to Casa, making most of Air France’s absence

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Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Chinese supermarket in Bamako well-stocked with liquor

Ulf Laessing @ulflaessing.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Good morning Sofia. Really excited to be here for a @KASmediaSEE conference on Russia, the Sahel and Balkans and plenty of meetings. My first Bulgaria visit since 1992 (when I was returning to Germany by bus/train from year studying Arabic in Kuwait)

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11. Any project is badly-needed in the face of the US cuts. USAID also had projects in the borderlands as signs show -- our project is the extension of a previous one. More you can find here www.facebook.com/Senresilienc...

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10. I was in the border area as part of new EU-financed KAS project in the border town of Kedougou to strengthen resilience of communities. We are a political foundation promoting democracy but in this case we also help women or youth to grow fonio or make honey/spices .

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9. With prospect of trade wars as the US imposes tariffs there will be an even bigger demand for gold. If managed well there is a lot of money to be made but it comes often with pollution as mercury used to bind gold is dumped in rivers or ground polluting ground water

8. At the site many miners told us enthusiastically that they make so much more with mining than farming. The gold price just hit a record so a boom will continue. There are huge environmental/health risks -- this guy just resurfaced from a makeshift shaft (which has its own AC)

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7. Otherwise THE big business on both sides of the border is informal gold mining. We visited one site a bit further away. Authorities dont allow mining right at the border -- this is another sign of a stronger state here than in Mali where mining goes right to the border river

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