Unravelling the Illicit Economies Fueling Terrorism in the Sahel

The Sahel region faces complex security challenges, which experts say have been driven by violent extremism, farmer-herder conflicts and banditry. The 2025 Global Terrorism Index showed the region accounts for 51% of global terrorism-related deaths.

The death toll from terrorism is a major concern, but so too should be the illicit economies enabling and sustaining violent extremism, writes Ndubuisi Christian Ani, researcher at the Institute for Security Studies. 

Ani writes that the region’s significant gold deposits draw global attention and facilitate illegal economies that thrive amid regional instability. “With over 1.8 million people in the Sahel relying on mining for their livelihoods, violent extremists and bandits jostle for control of lucrative mining sites for financial gain and to recruit supporters.”