Sahara

03 October 2007 -- Some of the most widespread flooding in years has swept across Sub-Saharan Africa, from Ghana, Niger, Mali, and Togo in the west to Ethiopia, Uganda, and Sudan in the east. In the last 24 hours, the International Red Cross (IFRC) has added Burkina Faso to its emergency rolls after 33 deaths were reported and more than 75-hundred homes destroyed in torrential rains.    » read more »

29 August 2007 -- Decades of drought in the Sahel desert and its vast mineral reserves, have forced nomads to defend their pastures from both farmers and foreign investors. Land disputes have erupted into violent conflicts in parts of the Sahel, stretching from Senegal to Sudan, in recent years. This month, violence has escalated in Niger and Mali, involving nomad Tuareg fighters. As nomads are drawn into violence, analysts say it will become even harder for governments to end nomads' isolation and marginalization.    » read more »