Author: NeilWalker

Due to a lack of viable technology solutions, screening of pedestrians at ports of entry has often been a lower priority, while customs and border security agencies have relied on screening technologies to inspect baggage, vehicles, mail and cargo containers for illicit goods and contraband. As a result, pedestrian-based smuggling of items such as currency, opioids, narcotics and other illicit items is a point of vulnerability for border security and customs enforcement. #bordertech #bordersecurity

The Liptako-Gourma is the area adjacent to the River Niger bend between the cities of Gao (Mali) and Niamey (Niger), which broadly comprises the adjacent administrative regions of Gao in Mali, Sahel in Burkina Faso, and Tillabéry in Niger. Because of its tri-state composition, since decolonization the region has also come to be known as the “three-borders zone”. Despite its administrative divisions, environmental, sociological and historical commonalities mean that this area is characterized by coherence and homogeneity. It therefore provides a valuable case study on the mutual relationships, influences and variations between security and mobility in border areas.

Over the past two and a half years, Algeria has convinced many of its citizens fighting in the Sahel to surrender. While this alone won’t end the region’s conflicts, for peacebuilding to succeed the presence of foreign fighters must be addressed. Algeria’s programme shows a way of doing so.